Upgrading from Driveworks7 - One very important step

Recently we had a couple of customer run into a major roadblock when trying to upgrade their network license of Driveworks 7 ot Driveworks 9.   Like all our our other Solidworks products, we expected this to be a nice easy process.  Well it is, if you know the proper steps.

We knew that the Driveworks help menu tells us to stop the server before uninstalling.  No problem here.  Inside the license manager is a button to stop the service.

We then figured we would just need to uninstall the old license manager and install the new lincese manager.  So we pull up the control panel and go the program and feature, and uninstall Driveworks 7.   We downloaded the new Driveworks 9 installation media, but to our supprise it error out telling us that we cannot install the service.

Troubleshooting begins, checking permissions on every registry we could find.  We were even logged in as the Domain Admin, but no dice!  Now as a Domain Admin we should be able to install anything we want.

After talking to the Driveworks techs, we discovered one little step that was overlooked.  Inside of the license manager, after you stop the service, you will see a second button that says Uninstall Service.

 

This little button will save you hours of trouble shooting (other than the fact that I now know of this step).   Apparently this uninstalls something in the services that the windows uninstaller will not.  The resulting screen will tell you that the service in not installed.  Once you see this message, now you can go thru the windows uninstall process to remove the program.

Now when you try to install the new verison of the Driveworks licesne manager, you should have no issues!

Hopes this saves you the headache of having to call in, just to upgrade you license manager.

Webinar: Introducing SolidWorks Electrical

Learn how the new SolidWorks Electrical packages enable true collaboration among electrical and mechanical design teams.

Event Dates and Times

October 15 : 9am CDT REGISTER

October 26 : 9am CDT REGISTER

When registering, be sure to list Computer Aided Technology, Inc(CATI) as your Solidworks Reseller.

We will demonstrate how easily electrical systems can be integrated into your SolidWorks models, resulting in shorter design cycles, fewer errors and efficient collaboration among your electrical and mechanical design teams.

With SolidWorks Electrical, you'll have the powerful and user-friendly tools that you need to complete electrical schematics, manage wires and cables, define harness/interconnect systems, as well as a massive and customizable library of manufacturer parts and symbols. 

SolidWorks Electrical 3D integrates the schematic design data into your SolidWorks models with real-time, bi-directional updates. Because updates are automatic and instantaneous for all users working on a project, design teams can collaborate more efficiently, faster and with fewer errors. Space is limited, so sign up today! 

Space is limited, so sign up today. When registering, be sure to list Computer Aided Technology, Inc(CATI) as your SolidWorks Reseller.

Jim TeDesco
Marketing Manager
Computer Aided Technology, Inc. 

SolidWorks 2013 - Varied Dimension Patterning

One of my favorite enhancements for SolidWorks 2013 is the new ability to vary dimensions when creating a pattern.  To do this first create a feature to pattern as in the image below.

Then Start a pattern command and specify the direction as usual. In this instance it has been done in two directions.

Once you have started the pattern you can turn on the options box for varied dimensions. With this option turned on we can vary the pattern spacing as seen below.

On top of varying the pattern spacing we can vary specific dimension. In the blue box of the varied pattern option box select the dimension to vary. Once selected, you can vary the dimension both positively and negatively as seen below.

And that’s not all. Not only can you vary the pattern spacing and vary dimension but you can edit each individual patterned instance individually. Simply click on the pink dot and chose modify instance to obtain the modify box, make your modification and your done.

All of this was done with one pattern command. On longer do you have create complex sketches to vary the dimension of pattern entities.

Enjoy

Nick Jansen   Applications Engineer, CSWP

Treehouse 2 - SolidWorks Labs

Treehouse 2 from SolidWorks Labs

A great resource for testing new and upcoming software options can be found at SolidWorks Labs' web site.  This site can be accessed from http://labs.solidworks.com and contains several products that may be useful to your design process.  The one product that I have used for several projects is called Treehouse 2.  This is a very user friendly program that allows you to plan out your next design in a flow chart style process.  You can create assembly files with drawings, and even sub assembly groups with seperate parts and drawings for both.  You can name your files in this tree structure and basically plan out how you intend to group and organize the files to be designed at a later date.  Think of this as a template for a project that can get you started but can also allow you to add more files later as your design evolves.

You start by opening the free to download product called Treehouse 2.  This will work with SolidWorks 2008 and newer.

Next, you drag and drop your files into the graphics space and assign names for these files.  I'll start by adding an assembly and a drawing for this assembly:

Next I will continue my process by adding in some parts and their associated drawings:

You can not only assign names or part numbers to your files, but you can also edit the custom properties inside of these SolidWorks files by using your own templates that you created!

Once you have the file structure laid out, you can then export this to your folder of choice.  Treehouse will create each and every file for you as well as link the parts or assemblies to their corresponding drawing file!

So there you have a very easy to use and most importantly free application to help you plan out your next design in SolidWorks!  Enjoy!

Brian Reel
Technical Analyst 

New Machine? How To Return Your DriveWorks License Key

It happens
to everyone, you buy a brand new computer, then have to put all your programmes
on to the new machine and make sure they're all licensed to that new machine.
At DriveWorks we want you to be able to get back into action using your
DriveWorks Software on your new machine as quickly and easily as possible.

So...
simply return your license from your OLD machine via the internet to our
license server, and then whether that means you're lucky enough to be getting a
brand new machine or just reformatting and existing one, then the license is
available for you to use again when you're ready!

Here's
a simple guide to show you How To Return Your DriveWorks Solo License Key:

• Go to the Windows Start Button


• Click through All Programs >
  DriveWorks Solo > DriveWorks Solo License Manager


• Click Return License


• Click Finish on the License
  Management wizard once it is complete

And
to return your DriveWorks Pro License Key:

• Go to the Windows Start Button


• Click through All programs >
  DriveWorks (program group)


• Select the license that is to be
  returned and click View


• Click Return License


• Click Finish on the License
  management Wizard once it is complete

Then just
do all your changes to your machine and activate the same code again which you
can access through the DriveWorks Solo/DriveWorks Pro websites. Then you are
back in action!

The key
thing with this is making sure you return the license BEFORE you make the
changes to your machine, or BEFORE you need to activate it on your new machine!

This
procedure is really quick and easy, but if you do come across any difficulties,
then just send an email DriveWorks Licensing:

licensing@driveworks.co.uk 

Adding Bend Tables and Punch Tables in SolidWorks

With the exciting release of SolidWorks 2013 right around the corner, let’s take a look back at a couple of enhancements in 2012 that may have fallen through the cracks. The first one we will take a look at is the ability to now add Bend Tables into your SolidWorks drawings.  SolidWorks has always had bend notes and bend lines, but those notes can make the drawing look rather cluttered.  You can now add a Bend Table into your sheet metal drawings to clean it up and have less clutter.

One way to access this tool is to go to Insert, Tables, Bend Tables.

A table dialogue box pops up which is similar to the BOM table.  You select where you want to put the table and you can see that the notes change to tags and the tags in the table match the bends in the flat pattern.

The other new table that you can create is the Punch Table.  With this functionality, you can now locate your form tools easily and efficiently.  You access this table by going to Insert, Table, Punch Table.  To locate the position, you need to select an origin and either an X or Y axis and the face where the form tools are located as illustrated below.

Once you place the table at your desired location, you can see that SolidWorks tags each form tool and also adds the X, Y location of the tool as well as the angle. 

Again, this is a great way to effectively communicate your designs and to clean up your drawings.

Check back to this Blog on a regular basis to see the great new enhancements coming out in 2013!!

 

Phil Whitaker

 

How to Configure Your SolidWorks Workstation from BOXX

Adrian Fanjoy and myself were recently asked to team up with our friends at BOXX to help them out with an article they were working on about what hardware to consider when looking for a workstation  for SolidWorks.

The article starts by asking you three questions about your workflow.

1. How big are my assemblies?


2. How complex are my parts ­les?


3. How many geometric surfaces do I have?

Based upon your responses to those questions, you can begin to formulate a plan. In your plan for considering new hardware the article takes you through several different areas that you will want to consider and it starts with the number of processing cores in you workstation as well as the BOXX advantage of overclocking. They continue with the topics of RAM, Graphics Cards, and the gain in performance from using SSDs. The article concludes with a case for dedicated rending when your workflow includes a significant amount of rending your designs.

To get a copy of the full article select the link below

How to Configure Your SolidWorks Workstation from BOXX

Josh Altergott

CATI Support Manager