Category Archives: SolidWorks

Join the BANSWUG team for this year’s Boston Heart Walk!

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Dear friends,

 

This year, the Boston Area North SolidWorks User Group (BANSWUG) has made a commitment to help raise funds for lifesaving science. The funds won’t go into someone’s back pocket. They’ll go to real, human hearts, like mine – and help keep them beating. But, just like my heart needed the help of caring doctors and nurses in 2011, I can’t do it alone. I need the support of our amazing SolidWorks community.  Please, join my team, or donate to the cause. Together, we’ll raise donations that will directly impact the lives of millions – and maybe someone you love (like me!). Register now to join my team or chip in at http://www2.heart.org/goto/BANSWUG. You’ll have a ton of fun, and you’ll help save lives!

If you’re in the Boston area, I urge you to join BANSWUG members at the walk on September 8th.  Being a walker is fun and easy. The American Heart Association provides great tools and tips, including your own personal fundraising page where you can solicit donations quickly online, and help us reach our goal! But don’t worry, you can participate even if you are unable to be at the walk in person. Simply head over to our team page and click “Donate to this Team.”  So join us in supporting the AHA’s funding of life changing and lifesaving research and educational programs at the same time.

Register to walk with us or donate through the link below!

http://www2.heart.org/goto/BANSWUG

Boston Heart Walk

September 8, 2018 @ 9:00am

DCR Hatch Shell

47 David G. Mugar Way

Boston, MA 02108

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Thank you, I look forward to seeing you at the walk this year!

 

With heart,

Daniel Herzberg

President, BANSWUG

www.banswug.org

What I Learned at SolidWorks World 2018

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Fresh off my return from SolidWorks World 2018 in LA last week, here are the most interesting tips, tricks, tools, and tidbits I picked up, which may help my fellow CAD users out there.

Section Views Kill Drawing Performance

Thanks to Alin Vargatu of Javelin Tech and Grant Mattis of Feature Walters, I learned that section views in drawings significantly increase drawing open, rebuild, and response times. Apparently SolidWorks creates a whole new copy of your model in memory, performs a physical cut, and then displays the edges of that model. Having multiple configurations in a drawing similarly increases required resources, but that at least makes sense.

High Quality Views are Actually Better for Performance

While draft quality views can be generated faster initially, they take a moment to update every time you zoom or pan the drawing, because they’re pulling their information from the model data. On the other hand, high-quality views take longer to generate up front, but then don’t need to be redrawn every time the view shifts. High quality drawing views also result in smaller drawing file sizes.

#Task (“SharpTask”)

This batch task manager is infinitely more functional than the build in SolidWorks Task Scheduler. It includes an online library of tasks to choose from, and multiple tasks can be run at a time. Plus, it’s free! There are several tasks I can already see benefiting from:

  • Freeze Feature Tree – Reduce rebuild time to zero for mature models
  • Change image quality – Reduce image quality of model files to increase graphics performance
  • Custom Properties Manager – Add, remove, and change custom properties (client, project description, date, etc.) for several files all at once
  • Rename bodies (such as structural steel members) from custom properties (cut list names)
  • Generate Tube Cut lists – Converts hollow cylindrical geometry to weldment parts, with cut lists and properties like ID, OD, thickness, and length. Then you can create cut tables in drawings
  • Renumber drawing sheets
  • Merge drawings
  • Save PDFs

Check it out here: https://cloud.centralinnovation.com.au/WebSharpSwTask

Lenovo Performance Tuner

Whether you’re using a Lenovo or not, you can download this free applet that lets you control how many CPU cores are used for which processes. From their site:

“For example, when running a single-threaded application, such as Dassault® SOLIDWORKS®, on systems that have a Quad-Core processor, Processor Affinity allows you to designate which core is used for that application, helping to better allocate resources for certain applications while others can function freely on the other cores. This also is beneficial for multi-core applications, like ANSYS®, which can be isolated to prevent it from consuming all of the system resources, allowing other applications to concurrently and smoothly execute on the same system.”

https://www.thinkworkstations.com/products/lenovo-performance-tuner/

 

2019 Enhancements

There seemed to be fewer enhancements announced this year than previously, ostensibly due to a huge push to increase stability and performance in “StabilityFest 2019,” SolidWorks’ response to last years “One and Two” kerfuffle. (At SolidWorks World 2017, the two most requested enhancements of the year were “focus more on fixing bugs” and “Improve program stability” even at the expense of new features.)

    Of the few announced, these are the features I think will have the greatest impact:

  • Interference detection in multibody parts
  • Add 3D textures to part using texture mapping

  • Lots of “Newser Interface” enhancements (pen, touch, Microsoft Surface Dial, VR)
  • Group mates by status (overdefined, underdefined, warning, suppressed, inactive, etc.)

  • Assembly defeature

SolidWorks 3DExperience Online Tools

SolidWorks is building an online pillar of product offerings to compete with other cloud-based CAD services. As usual, they stress that this is not a replacement for the current desktop tool, but we’ll see which way the dollar signs blow. The pillar consists of 5 tools so far, some of which are available today:

  1. 3DExperience Social Collaboration Services – A tool specifically for collaborating on rapid design iterations in the earliest stages of concept design. Not meant to be a full-featured 3D modeler.
  2. 3DExperience PLM Services – Basically PDM in the cloud, plus more project management tools.
  3. SolidWorks Product Designer – I can’t tell if Industrial Designer and Mechanical Designer combined to become Product designer, or if this is a third product. According to SW, it “brings a complete set of design capabilities including Parts, Assemblies, Sheet Metal, Motion Simulation, and Drawings.”
  4. SolidWorks Xdesign – The SolidWorks-class modeling tool in a browser or an app. It (supposedly) does everything SolidWorks can do (including open SolidWorks native files), plus some brand new features and tools that the old Parasolid kernel just couldn’t support.
  5. 3DExperience Marketplace – SolidWorks has created a network of dozens or hundreds of fabricators and part vendors to help you get your model made. In Marketplace Make, you can search fabricators based on price, tolerance, turn-around time, capacity and more, and submit 3D files for quote and manufacture right through the UI. However, either it’s being buggy, or the ability to submit RFQs hasn’t gone live yet. PartSupply is a catalog of over 500 component suppliers with easily half a million searchable components. I really like this service, because you can configure each component, view it in 3D, and perform side-by side comparisons. My favorite feature, though, is the ability to search by similar geometry. This give you the option to search for the right part, even if you don’t know what it’s called or who makes it. Just search for a vaguely similar component, and use the geometry search engine to hone in on the perfect part.

Last of all, it was announced that SolidWorks World 2019 will be held back in Dallas, February 10-13!

SOLIDWORKS World 2018 Demo Files

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The demo files from my SOLIDWORKS World 2018 presentation “This is Not a Toy – A Dozen Assembly Tools Taught with LEGO” are now available free in my model store!

If you’re interested in creating even more SOLIDWORKs LEGO models, check out my collection of over 300 LEGO part files, and share images of your creations here!

Join Your Fellow CAD Monkeys at SolidWorks World 2017

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SolidWorks World attendees over the past few years have probably heard rumblings about something called the CAD Monkey Dinner. This community-organized event brings together bloggers, users, employees and user group leaders to eat, drink, mingle, and take in the city’s sights and tastes before the main event gets underway. If you’re eager to spend an evening with the most passionate SolidWorks users and employees I’ve come to admire (or tolerate) over the years, this is your chance.

Ever since I started meeting the friendly SolidWorks community at my first SolidWorks World in 2011, I wanted to put together an event where we could all get together to check in, catch up, and celebrate another year at SolidWorks World. Since the first event in 2012 – during which a dozen SolidWorks gurus kicked off the tradition at the Hard Rock Café in San Diego – this “little” gathering has exploded in popularity. Dozens of CAD Monkeys have consistently taken over local hotspots – from Alice Cooperstown in Phoenix to the Y.O. Steakhouse in Dallas – with attendance rising every year. I’ve tried to make sure this event capture the spirit of the host city, including the best food, locations, and views each city has to offer.

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This year, we expect upwards of 50 people to join in on the fun. Therefore, instead of a standard sit-down dinner as we’ve done in years past, we’ll be buying out a restaurant (TBA) and hosting this as a private event. Therefore, we’ll be selling tickets and collecting contributions from attendees in advance, which will allow us to rent out a nice venue in the heart of LA, near the Convention Center. It’s very important to buy tickets as early as possible, so that we can get an idea of headcount and budget, and put down a deposit.

Event Details

When: Saturday, February 4th 2017 @ 7:00pm PST (exact time to be confirmed).

Where: One of the many upscale restaurants in the LA Live area around the Convention Center. The exact location will depend on our budget, so buy your tickets now!

Cost: $40 per person, which is about the cost of a fancy dinner in downtown LA anyway. However, the Tilt system allows you to contribute risk-free, as you’ll only be charged after we meet our $2000 goal. This admission fee will cover food, some drinks and the event venue.

Tickets:
http://til.tt/No7qu?s=wb&u=dherzberg46

Contributing at least $40 will automatically add you to the guest list. (If you’re paying for multiple people, please add their names in the comments.)

This event could be one of the largest community-sponsored SolidWorks events ever, and the networking opportunities are invaluable. If you’re planning to arrive in LA by Saturday night, you won’t want to miss this gathering; and if you can’t be there, please help to spread the word, we need as many contributions as we can get!

See you in LA, monkeys!

Sharing 3D Data with Non-CAD Users… for Free!

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If you’re spending your precious time reading CAD blogs, it’s very likely that you’re the resident CAD Monkey at your company. And with that esteemed title comes every CAD-related question your co-workers can throw at you…

“Can you open this and take some screenshots?”

    “I just need to know this one dimension.”

        “Can you just make a quick drawing to send to our vendor?”

            “It just needs one small change. I’d do it but you’re the CAD guy”

The tips below are aimed at helping you – as they’ve helped me – educate your colleagues that they too can get the information they need from 3D models, without pushing everything through the overburdened CAD team. This post is broken into two parts: First, teaching your colleagues how to view, measure, and sometimes even edit incoming CAD models; and second, how to send 3D data to vendors or clients who may not have access to CAD software. And the best part is, if you’re already using SolidWorks, these solutions are all free.

Viewing and Measuring 3D CAD Data Provided by Clients / Vendors

External parties will often provide your engineers with 3D models in a variety of formats, which you’ll need to subsequently measure and analyze for inclusion in your designs. Depending on the type of file sent by the client, there are several free programs and tools that can be used to view, measure, and edit the files.

eDrawings Viewer

http://www.edrawingsviewer.com/

OS:
Mac / PC

Apps:
Android / iOS

The free version of eDrawings can view and measure certain 2D and 3D files. Many of us already have this program installed, but it’s limited in the types of files it can read. Install the correct version using the links above, and drag any of the following file types into the window:

With this tool, anyone can then measure, cross-section, and mark up a 2D and 3D file, but can’t edit existing geometry or drawings.

Pros: Free; Mac version available; Views 2D and 3D files; Measure and markup tools; Retains component tree
Cons: Limited file type compatibility; No editing tools; Requires installation; Newer eDrawings files cannot be opened in old versions

DraftSight

http://www.3ds.com/products-services/draftsight-cad-software/

OS:
Mac (x64 only) / PC / Linux (x64 only)

DraftSight is an entirely free 2D drawing editor, which supports the most common drawing formats, .dwg and .dxf (the same formats used by AutoCAD). Like SolidWorks, DraftSight rolls out major enhancements in yearly releases. DraftSight allows users to edit text and geometry, or even create drawings from scratch. After installing and activating, use DraftSight to open and edit 2D drawings using the ribbon UI, or the familiar Command Line.

Pros: Free; Mac version; Full 2D measuring and editing capabilities; Command Line familiar to AutoCAD users;
Cons: Limited to 2D formats; Requires installation

Onshape

https://cad.onshape.com/

Browsers: Safari / Firefox / Chrome / Opera

Apps:
iOS / Android

Onshape is a Cloud-based CAD system that runs in your browser. It can import dozens of 2D and 3D file types. Once imported, files can be measured, sectioned, and modified. However, all files uploaded to a free account are visible to the general public. Onshape features free and paid add-ons to extend its functionality, as well as FeatureScript, a coding environment which lets you write and publish your own features.

Part files

Parasolid B-rep (.x_t or .x_b) from v10 to v29

Parasolid mesh (.xmm_txt or .xmm_bin) from v28 to v29

ACIS (.sat) up to R21, 2016 1.0

STEP (.stp or .step) AP203 and AP214 (geometry only)

IGES (.igs or .iges) up to 5.3

CATIA v4 from 4.15 to 4.24

CATIA v5 from R7 to R25 (v5-6R2015)

CATIA v6 R2010x to R2013x, R2015x

SolidWorks (.sldprt) 1999 to 2016

Inventor (.prt) 9 up to 2015

Pro/ENGINEER, Creo from Pro/E 2000i to Creo Parametric 3.0

JT (.jt) up to 10

Rhino (.3dm)

STL (.stl)

OBJ (.obj)

Assembly files

Parasolid B-rep (.x_t or .x_b) from v10 to v29

ACIS (.sat) up to R21, 2016 1.0

STEP (.stp or .step) AP203 and AP214 (geometry only)

SolidWorks as Pack & Go .zip files from 1999 to 2016

Pro/ENGINEER, Creo from Pro/E 2000i to Creo Parametric 3.0 as .zip files

JT (.jt) up to 10

Rhino (.3dm)

Drawing files

AutoCAD (.dwg) up to 2013

DXF (.dxf) up to 2013

Pros: Free; No install needed; Full 2D & 3D measuring and editing capabilities; OS-independent; Parametric modeling system familiar to SolidWorks users; No file version conflicts.
Cons: All documents created by a free account are public and searchable.

Sending 3D Data to Clients for Review

It’s even more common to work with clients who rarely touch 3D data, and assume they have no way to review your designs without 2D drawings. In fact, there are several ways to share 3D models with your clients for preliminary review. This practice allows interferences and other issues to be caught and corrected before time and resources are spent detailing drawings.

eDrawings

http://www.edrawingsviewer.com/

OS:
Mac / PC

Apps:
Android / iOS

In addition to reading CAD data, as mentioned above, eDrawings can create compressed packages of parts, assemblies, and drawings, which are small enough to be sent via email and opened with any other version of eDrawings. Simply open any CAD file in eDrawings (as explained above) and save it as an eDrawings file (.eprt, .easm, .edrw, etc.) before sending. A client, having installed eDrawings on their own computer, can then open, measure, and markup the 3D file, and return it to us. All these features are also available on the mobile apps.

eDrawings also allows the export of Executable (*.exe) files, which include the entire eDrawings program, and therefore does not require a separate installation. Hoever, these files are difficult to send via email and are routinely blocked by spam filters and anti-virus programs.

Pros: Free; Views 2D and 3D files; Allows markup; Password protection (Pro only?); retains component tree; Attach simulation results;
Cons: Requires installation; Newer eDrawings files cannot be opened in old versions.

3D PDF

SolidWorks allows 3D files to be saved as a PDF, complete with measuring and viewing tools. In SolidWorks, save the model as a PDF, then check the ‘Save as 3D PDF’ box:

The resulting file includes the assembly tree, as well as tools for rotation, lighting, cross-section, measurement, markup and more. This file can be opened in Adobe Acrobat Reader and other modern PDF readers. Additionally, other files – such as 2D drawings or documents – can be attached directly to the PDF, or the 3D PDF can be appended to a PDF report (requires Acrobat Pro). This is by far the best technique for sharing data with clients who are restricted from installing programs or using cloud-based tools.

Pros: Free; Lightweight, universally accessible format; Retains component and body tree; No download required; Password protection available; Can be merged with other files or reports.
Cons: No geometry editing features; Created through SolidWorks;

Onshape

https://cad.onshape.com/

Browsers: Safari / Firefox / Chrome / Opera

Apps:
iOS / Android

Any model uploaded to Onshape can be shared with anyone via a link, even if the recipient does not have an Onshape Account. Additional features, such as export and re-share, are available if the recipient signs in, but simple tasks like measuring, sectioning, and manipulating are available instantly. Permissions can be set by the sharer, and revoked at any time.

Pros: Free; Retains feature tree and assembly tree; No install or login necessary; revoke access any time; Full measuring and editing capabilities; OS-independent; No file version conflicts;
Cons: All documents created by a free account are public and searchable.

A360 Online Viewer

https://a360.autodesk.com/viewer/#

Apps:
iOS / Android

Similar to Onshape, the A360 viewer lives in the cloud and is linked to an online account. After creating an account and uploading a model, you can do two things:

  1. Create a regular sharing link, which allows recipients to rotate, measure, section, etc. without creating an account or signing in.
  2. Start a Live Review session, which allows multiple people to simultaneously review the model via screen share and chat. Any participant can manipulate the model, and the driver’s cursor position is shown to all. Again, recipients are not forced to sign in or provide any information to take part in Live Review. The Live Review can take place even while others are viewing the part individually.

Uploads automatically expire after 30 days, but can be extended by the uploader.

Pros: Free; No install required; Files are private; OS-independent; retains component and body tree; Live Review; Supports most 2D and 3D model types;
Cons: Requires free account creation (for sender only); No editing tools; Limited comment tools

SolidWorks World 2017 Top Ten List Submission Ends Soon

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For anyone interested in making an impact on the future of SolidWorks, it’s not too late to head over to the Ideas section of the SolidWorks Forums to submit your enhancement requests. Idea submission is open to all – you can participate even if you’re not attending SolidWorks World in person.

The end for new submissions ends on December 15, and voting starts on December 16, 2016!

As you may know, I’ve been compiling data on the Top Ten List going all the way back to its inception in 2000. This data tracks all previous idea submissions, implementation time, popularity, and other patterns. Check out some previous ideas on the SolidWorks World Top Ten List Data page, and you may get some good ideas for submissions to this year’s list.

According to SolidWorks Product Definition Manager Matt Lorono, “Over 600 idea submissions are now available on SOLIDWORKS World 2017 Top Ten list! 

“If you wish, you can also choose to view ideas based on categories (such as Assemblies, Drawings, Simulation, etc.), which are available to the left of Ideas page. You may up or down vote as many ideas as you like.  To vote for an idea, simply click that idea’s title and click the up or down button.

“This year, we had a Top Ten rule change regarding ideas about bugs and stability. Focus more on fixing  bugs is available for those interested in asking SOLIDWORKS to focus more on bug fixes.

“The other is asking for more stability (reduce crashes): Substantially increase stability in SOLIDWORKS.  According to this year’s rules, if anyone wishes to call more attention to bug and stability, they are asked to bookmark or comment on these ideas (instead of creating individual ideas for particular bugs and crash fixes), then vote for them once voting
begins.

“Voting will close on Friday, January 20, 2017.

“The ten ideas with the most votes will become this year’s Top Ten List, and will be presented at SOLIDWORKS World 2017 in Los Angeles, CA on February 8, 2017.  Voting is an easy way to tell us how to improve SOLIDWORKS products to meet your needs.”

SolidWorks Visualize Integration will Cause Activation Headaches

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Now that SolidWorks 2017 is in Pre-Release, there’s some confusion about how SolidWorks subscription customers should claim and activate their free seat of SolidWorks Visualize Standard. When Visualize (formerly BunkSpeed) was released alongside SolidWorks 2016 last year, any SolidWorks subscription serial number could be used to download and activate the new rendering tool. Now, in SolidWorks 2017, the Visualize download is integrated into the SolidWorks Installation Manager, but requires a separate serial number. (No, your SolidWorks serial doesn’t work here.)

2016-09-20_9-31-15

 

So what gives? If your SolidWorks serial worked last year, and it’s more integrated this year, why do you need a different serial number, and where do you get it?

As it turns out, that added integration is the source of the problem. According to Visualize Product Manager Brian Hillner, Visualize 2016 was still hosted on Bunkspeed’s old servers (which is why Visualize was a completely separate download and activation). Because the activation servers were separate, you were able to use the same serial number for two different products. Now, in 2017, however, Visualize activation has been moved over to SolidWorks’ servers. This allows installation and activation to take place through the Installation Manager (above), but also requires a unique serial number. Since it’s possible to buy Visualize Standard without owning SolidWorks, the server needs to know which product your serial number entitles you to.

Ok, great, now how do we get this new serial number? A Visualize Standard serial number will be automatically added to the “My Products” section of the Customer Portal for all Subscription customers when SolidWorks 2017 enters SP0.0 on October 10th. This serial number will work perpetually, though it’s not clear whether the same serial number will be valid for future years’ releases.

2016-09-20_9-50-37

Stay tuned for more info on Visualize, and SolidWorks 2017.

SolidWorks World 2017 Early Bird Registration Now Open!

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In an announcement sent to customers this week, SolidWorks officially invited their community to “the premier 3D design event of the year, SOLIDWORKS World 2017! Taking place in Los Angeles, CA, from February 5-8, 2017, SOLIDWORKS World is the one event where like-minded professionals come together to share and explore their passion for all things SOLIDWORKS.” Early Bird Registration, which offers the most enthusiastic members of the SolidWorks community a $200 discount, is available until November 4th.

If you’re already sure you’ll be attending, head on over to the Registration page and make it official! (And tell us in the comments when you’re done.) Don’t forget to check out group discounts (3 for the price of 2!) and other resources at the SolidWorks World main page. Or, if you’re interested in giving a presentation at SolidWorks World, your registration could be free!

See you there!

Fun fact, sometime in the last several years, SolidWorks lowered the minimum attendee age from 21 to 18. Bring the kids!

What’s New in SolidWorks 2017: Chapter 2 – User Interface

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The leaves are turning, the air is chilling, and the smell of sweet, sweet CAD is in the air. Welcome to SolidWorks 2017! Take a look below for some of the best new features from the User Interface chapter of the 25th major SolidWorks release. You can learn more at the SolidWorks 2017 launch page: https://www.solidworks.com/launch

I’ll be back every few weeks with more of my favorite new features, but you don’t have to take my word for it. Try SolidWorks 2017 for yourself by logging to your free my.SolidWorks account and requesting a free, cloud-based Product Trial.

 

Honorable Mentions

Enhancements to Dynamic Reference Visualization

The parent/child relationship arrows displayed for Dynamic Reference Visualization have been redesigned to avoid obscuring other important information. What other subtle UI changes can you see in the example comparison image below?


Dedicated Hide All Types Button

The Hide/Show Items flyout in the HUD has been updated to include a dedicated, one-click Hide All Types command. Click the eye symbol (rather than the dropdown arrow) to toggle Hide All Types.

Enhancements to Breadcrumb Mate Information

When hovering over an assembly component, SolidWorks breadcrumbs will now display information about mates with errors, as well as information on the suppression state of mates.



Breadcrumbs also now include access to origins and reference planes of any part or subassembly selected.


Winner

FeatureManager Design Tree Comment Enhancements

The ability to add comments to certain areas of the design tree has been around for a while, but this functionality was so limited and – more importantly – so hidden, that it was nearly useless. While it was easy enough to add comments to part features, other users had no indication that the comment existed without checking each feature manually. Additionally, names and timestamps had to be added manually to each comment.

Comments can be used to explain design intent, guide users through training, or record specific design changes over the life of a product. It’s easy to see, then, why users have been clamoring for this much needed overhaul for years.

In SolidWorks 2017, comments can be added to not only part features, but every FeatureManager item, including mates, folders, materials, blocks, configs, and more. You can also add standalone comments, which are not attached to any one specific item (these comments appear in the Comments folder).

Most importantly, you can turn on Comment Indicators, which highlight any FeatureManager items which have comments. Additionally, usernames and timestamps are automatically added to new comments, and you can even attach images and generate screenshots of your model within the comment.

Better still, you can view ALL the comments that exist within a part, and export them to a single document.

Tune in next week when we discuss improvements to the licensing system.

Chapter 4: Installation »


SOLIDWORKS Visualize Review

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Greetings readers! After SolidWorks World 2016, I partnered with Develop3D to publish an in-depth review of SolidWorks Visualize, which launched that week.

If you subscribe to the print version of Develop3D Magazine, you may have already seen the review. However, starting today, you can read my article (as well as dozens of other CAD and tech tidbits) on the Develop3D site:

SolidWorks Visualize Review on Develop3D