Moving Solidworks Files

We have always stressed that you need you use the Solidworks Explorer when you make changes to your Solidworks files so that Solidworks is able to track the changes.  This includes renaming, replacing, and now moving your files.  There is a new move function in the 2012 Explore that will move a solidworks file and update its references.  It appear that this is limited to one file at a time, but this is a step in the right direction.  Next we need to expand this functionality to move multiple file at a time.  Next time you are in Solidworks Explorer 2012 take a look at the new icons and test it out for yourself.

Changes to the 2012 Toolbox Structure

As more companies are upgrading to the 2012 Solidworks, there have been several calls into support to find out what are the changes to the 2012 toolbox.  Recently I have been going thru the Solidworks knowledge base and found Solution S-057076- What is the difference between the SolidWorks 2011 Toolbox Folder Structure and the SolidWorks 2012 Toolbox folder structure?

S- 057076 2011: Please see attached screen shot ‘folder structure 2011_.png’. In the 2011 version if you drill into a browser folder from a SolidWorks 2011 Toolbox, you'll see that there are only two folder levels and the last contains every single part file in that category.  For example, if in Windows Explorer you browse to the Browser->Ansi Inch->Washers folder, within the “Washers” category you see every single washer. 2012: Please see attached screen shot ‘folder structure 2012_.png’. In the 2012 version we are introducing a third level folder.  Now, the folder structure in Windows Explorer (SolidWorks Data > Browser) looks exactly the same as in the Task Pane and Toolbox Settings (Windows Start > All Programs > SolidWorks 2012 > SolidWorks Tools > Toolbox Settings).  This change allows the user to edit the Toolbox folder structure and generally to make the portability of toolbox more flexible. It is now possible to cut, rename, copy and paste folders and parts without creating a derived standard.   Additionally in 2012, we are eliminating the dependency of toolbox on the Access database. The data stored in various tables in the database such as sizes, lengths, drive types, part numbers, and properties, will now be stored in each part file. The benefits gained will include performance improvements when: • Dragging components from the task pane to the graphics area preview • Dropping components into the graphics area to finish loading of the Property Manager • Clicking OK to complete the insert, etc. Also, please note that part of the process when upgrading Toolbox from 2011 or older versions is to create the missing third level folders and properly move each component from the second level folder where it currently resides to the new third level folder.

Borrowing Licenses From SNL

If you haven't borrowed a license in a while you may see some changes. Most surprisingly you may find that going to the borrow tab things look a little different:

Next you might notice that there are no free Standard licenses. Trying to  borrow a Standard SolidWorks Network license, the error message "No Available licenses for SolidWorks Standard” appears. This is due to a change in the borrow procedure.

SolidWorks used to require borrowing a Standard license prior to borrowing a Premium seat. Starting in SolidWorks 2011this is no longer a required process. The process of borrowing Standard license when a Premium, Professional license is requested is now automated.

If a user needs to borrow a standard license on its own follow these steps:
1. Open SolidNetWork License (SNL) Manager and browse to "License borrowing" tab
2. Click a SolidWorks Office, SolidWorks Professional or SolidWorks Premium and click borrow
3. In the drop-down list select only SolidWorks Standard license.

Now you can do more work when you get home!! Just what we all wanted!! :)

John Van Engen
CATI Tech Support

 

Register for the December Installment of the SolidWorks Webcast Series - SolidWorks 2012 Costing Feature

Friday, December 9th - 11 AM CT New Costing Features in SolidWorks 2012 Allows for development of instant, repeatable and accurate quotes. Process precise quotes faster! Presented by: Todd Trein and Elton Smith SolidWorks Territory Technical Managers, Central Area This webinar will detail: Costing feature in SolidWorks, SolidWorks Sustainability, SolidWorks Simulation, and 3DVIA Composer. The seminar is approximately one hour in duration. >Register Here **When registering, be sure to list Computer Aided Technology, Inc.(CATI) as your SolidWorks Reseller. For companies that manufacture other companies' designs, SolidWorks Costing provides the ability to: Develop instant, repeatable and accurate quotes. Allow manufacturers the ability to process more quotes and win more business. Build the foundation to bring more products to market faster with higher quality. You will deliver more competitive products as well. Furthermore, 3DVIA Composer enables your company to create consumable product documentation, helping you to become a market leader. SolidWorks allows companies to better optimize their designs during the development phase. By automatically calculating the cost of parts, optimizing designs for strength and sustainability, a designer can make educated decisions early in the design process. This allows development teams to adjust their designs to meet cost targets before the designs go to manufacturing.

SolidWorks 2012 Enhancement - SolidWorks Sustainability

Sustainability has a new, advanced user interface that allows you to more closely model processes, with parameters like recycled content and duration of use. You also have access to the latest Sustainability Extras materials as soon as they become available—without waiting for service packs or new releases.

Benefits:

More accurately model your products with new “what if” scenarios and better support for unique and custom materials, beyond the standard SolidWorks material database.

SolidWorks 2012 Enhancement - 3DVIA Composer Enhanced Lifelike Experience

Enhanced Lifelike Experience enables you to add part-to-part shadows, ambient occlusion, and shadows to 2D panels with precise control for a more 3D appearance. A glow effect can also be added to highlight specific areas of interest.

Benefits:

Take precise control over your 3DVIA Composer renderings and add a more lifelike appearance to your visualizations.

SolidWorks 2012 Enhancement - SolidWorks Enterprise PDM Integrated Search

Enterprise PDM Integrated Search gives you the option of searching from within your current Explorer window—no separate dialogs needed. Access favorite searches or open the full search tool for all options.

Benefits:

Reduce screen clutter by streamlining the number of open dialog boxes.

Getting SVG and other vector files into SolidWorks with no cost to you.

 

Good morning everybody,

I was working on some things for the Solidworks 2012 rollout and came across an ipad 2 cover in the what’s new files. It was used for the feature freeze vignette. I thought to myself it would be really cool to cut the logo’s for the local sports teams I would be visiting. So I looked on line for some logos I could use. I found, of all places, the Wikipedia was a great source of SVG (super vector graphics) files. The problem was SolidWorks doesn’t open them, but vector editing packages do. I found a nice free tool called inkscape that will not only open svg and other vector files but will save out a really clean dxf that I can open into SolidWorks. I hope you enjoy the movie.

http://en.wikipedia.org/

http://inkscape.org/

 

Here is an example rendering

Bob McGaughey, CSWE

CATI

2012 Toolbox Hotfix 627753

Many of you launching SolidWorks 2012 SP0.0 will be receiving a message box prompting you to install a hotfix for Toolbox. This message is sent to you via the RSS news feeds on your task pane. The option for this is shown in the background tools>options>general> “Show latest news feeds in task pane”. The message box is on top of the options menu in this screen shot.

The message is alerting you to update to the hotfix and contains a link to a SolidWorks knowledge base solution article that contains the hotfix_627753.exe file and a link to the installation pdf file for this hotfix.

This hotfix is only necessary if the information in the message applies to you. If you installed a new 2012 toolbox without updating a 2010 or 2011 toolbox or a new 2012 install on a new machine do not have to worry about this. Also this fix is included in SolidWorks 2012 SP1.0 which will be fully released soon as it is in early visibility right now.

This installation will fix the toolbox listed in your Hole Wizard/Toolbox file location. If you are pointed to a network shared toolbox it only needs to be done once. So have your CAD Admin take care of it. Also a backup copy of your toolbox is suggested. So go to your toolbox file location and copy the SolidWorks Data folder to someplace safe or zip it up for backup.

If you need this fix it will take about 10 minutes to install. If you haven’t noticed an issue by now you can probably just wait until 2012 SP1.0 is released to get the updates.

Thank you,
John Van Engen
CATI Tech Support

SolidWorks 2012 Enhancement - Motion Optimization

Motion Optimization automatically uses motion study results to create sensors and refine machine aspects such as motor size, bearing loads, and range of travel. Dynamically adjust any input and immediately see changes to constraints or goals.

Benefits:

Optimize designs in a fraction of the time by refining the mechanism configuration to suit stock motors and actuators, ensuring range limits or bearing loads are not exceeded.

SolidWorks 2012 Enhancement - Command Search

Command Search allows you to quickly find commands that are either hard to access, or not on the standard toolbars. Launch commands, drag and drop commands, or just highlight command locations in pull-down menus or toolbars directly from the search results.

Benefits:

Get up to speed faster with Command Search, and more easily customize the SolidWorks user interface to streamline your workflow.

Created sketch text that's linked to SolidWorks custom properties.

Good afternoon again guys,

Here is a good one that a couple of people have has me about. It shows you how to link your sketch text to a SolidWorks property and have feature automatically update.

Have a great weekend,

Bob McGaughey, Certified SolidWorks Expert

CATI

Purchase SolidWorks Premium With Subscription and Receive an iPad 2

Maximize your design productivity with SolidWorks Premium, the comprehensive 3D design solution! And when you purchase a new license of SolidWorks Premium with subscription, you will receive an iPad 2*.

REGISTER HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

This special offer ends November 30th, 2011, so act now to start experiencing your personal productivity gains.

*Apple is not a participant in or sponsor of this promotion. Promotional offers are valid only on qualifying product while supplies last; offers may not be combined with any other offers or promotions. Time of fulfillment may be dependent on availability. This offer is valid in the United States only.

SolidWorks 2012 Enhancement - Enhanced Equation Editor

The Equation Editor has been completely revamped for easier navigation and use. Syntax highlighting is
especially useful for trouble-shooting equations. Multiple views include Variable and Equation View, Dimension View, and Solve Order View.

Benefits:

Use the new capabilities to create equations faster and understand equation order more easily.

Check out some "Direct Editing" in SolidWorks

Good afternoon again everybody,

The term "Direct Modeling/Editing" is something the industries have been throwing around for last few years. Some people say it’s the “feeble attempt at old software trying to keep relevant.” There is a large part of me that agrees with that, modeling your products without features and IP built in seems… painful!  But, “Direct Editing” does have its place though, especially when you are working with imported models that have no feature history. “Why not use FeatureWorks, it can make features out of imported solids”, you say. Very true you can do that, but this time around I want to show some different tools to get that quick edit or change done. Hope you like the video.

Cheers,

Bob Mcgaughey, Certified SolidWorks Expert

CATI

SolidWorks 2012 Enhancement - Feature Freeze

Feature Freeze lets you control whether specific features will rebuild or not. Additional features can be added without having to rebuild earlier ones; at any point, features can be unfrozen.

Benefits:

Dramatically speed the design of complex models where rebuilding of specific features is not desired.

Product Recalls

I have the honor of attending the Dassault Systemes Customer Conference in Las Vegas this week. After making my donation to The Flamingo last night, I was well prepared for a morning filled with proudct discussions and customer testimonials.

So far, the most compelling presentation of the day was given by Steve McCarthy of Johnson & Johnson entitled "Product Lifecycle Management and the Patient." During his presentation, he mentioned that the number one reason for product recalls at J&J is design errors.

I found this to be very interesting since so much of what we offer at CATI allow companies to reduce design errors: Simulation to virtually test products, PDM Workflow to assure that products are checked and approved before manufacturing and shipping, and Technical Publication creation to assure that manufacturing processes are standardized and followed.

I did a little research and found several articles that in fact confirmed that the FDA has run studies that prove that design errors are responsible for 90% of all product recalls. I can't imagine that this is exclusive to the medical industry.

It got me thinking...if this figure is accurate and the use of applications such as those mentioned above can reduce even 25% of our customer's total recalls, what kind of cost savings could they realize?

SolidWorks 2012 Enhancement - Magnetic Lines and Balloons

Magnetic Lines allow you to automatically and precisely arrange balloons on a drawing. Balloons will snap to Magnetic Lines and can be moved from one Magnetic Line to another.

Benefits:

Create and place balloons precisely where they need to go, while spending less time detailing and aligning your drawings.

SolidWorks 2012 on the fly numeric input and dimensions

Good afternoon everybody,

Bob here with another short video to make you more productive. This one is a new enhancement in SolidWorks 2012. For the last couple of versions of SolidWorks we could have created dimensions and input entity sizes as we created different lines segments. But you would always have to go out of your way to turn it on or even find the options. But now, its at your finger tips in the RMB menu of your SolidWorks 2012 sketch environment, check out the video and see for yourself.

Cheers,

 Bob McGaughey, Certified SolidWorsk Expert

CATI

SolidWorks 2012 Enhancement - Large Design Review

Large Design Review is the fastest way to open and interrogate a large assembly. Capabilities include walkthrough, sectioning, and measuring, as well as the ability to open any assembly component.

Benefits:

Instantly open and review massive assemblies for any purpose without the need for a high-powered computer or any special file preparation.

Undo while in the power trim.

Afternoon everyone,

I learn something new everyday when it comes to SolidWorks, even after ten years of teach and demoing SolidWorks. Check out this one. Have you ever noticed when you do the power trim in the sketcher you get red boxes? Have you ever placed our cursor on the box and just kept trimming. Most of us just keep going. Well here is what are can do if you.... Whoops!!

Have a Great Day

Bob McGaughey, Certified SolidWorks Expert

CATI

SolidWorks 2012 Enhancement - Costing Tool

SolidWorks® Costing automates manufacturing cost calculations for sheet metal and machined parts. Modify your design or switch part configurations and instantly see the new, updated manufacturing estimate. Default templates are customizable to simulate your specific manufacturing environment.

Benefits:
Designers can make more informed decisions based on cost throughout the design process, continually modeling different scenarios. Automate your quoting process to increase manufacturing sales opportunities.

CATI Presenting at the Upcoming Rockford Area SolidWorks Users Group Meeting

Join the Rockford Area SolidWorks Users Group on November 16th, 2011 for their next meeting.  CATI's own Ketul Patel will be giving a great presentation on Weldments.

Event Information:
Date:11-16-2011
Time:5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Location:WTC Building @ Rock Valley College
Agenda:
5:00-5:30PM Sign-in and networking.
5:30PM Food served. Pizza & soft drinks.
5:30-6:00PM Business meeting during pizza time.
6:00-7:00PM Ketul Patel, CATI Presentation – “Weldments"
7:00-7:45PM Users helping Users Q&A, Adjourn to 16 Seat Lab (OR stay in presentation room)
7:45-8:00PM General Q&A, Door Prize Drawing.
8:00PM Meeting adjourned.

Click here to RSVP

Hope to see you there!

Jim TeDesco
Marketing
CATI

Manually Updating Toolbox

From time to time we get the occasional request on how to update your Toolbox manually. So here are the instructions....

 

From time to time we get the occasional request on how to update your toolbox manually. Here are the instructions.

•  Turn off Toolbox and Toolbox Browser addins in SolidWorks for all users

•  Go to your SolidWorks install directory to the toolbox install folder

            1.     C:\Program Files\SolidWorks Corp\SolidWorks\Toolbox\data                             utilities\UpdateBrowserData.exe

            2.   NOTE: If you have a 64 bit machine go to Program Files not Program Files (x86)

•  Run the UpdateBrowserData.exe file

•  Click the (…) button and browse for the database file

            1.     Should be located at <C>:\Solidworks Data\Toolbox\lang\english\swbrowser.mdb

 

Todd Werginz

Applications Engineer

Computer Aided Technology

What the Font?!

Ooo a crazy new font you want in SolidWorks, but where does it go? Solidworks doesn't have it's own font directory so it borrows them from the C:\Windows\Font directory. Easy enough, but wait it still doesn't show up, now what?

SolidWorks supports Only True Type font. OpenType fonts resemble TrueType fonts but they can contain either TrueType or PostScript Type 1 font data. OpenType fonts containing TrueType outlines use the same .TTF filename extension as TrueType fonts, these fonts will work in SolidWorks where as PostScript OpenType file names use .OTF as extension that will not work in SolidWorks.

So in other words SolidWorks only uses .ttf font files. Even then there are some fonts that have been held back from use in sketch text, and others due to a small fix needed for Windows 7 machines.

John Van Engen
Technical Analyst
CATI Tech Support