Register for an Upcoming DriveWorks Design Automation Webinar

Have you been using DriveWorksXpress to automate your SolidWorks designs? Are you ready to take the next step and increase your design automation functionality with DriveWorks Solo? Or, are you just starting out with DriveWorksXpress.  Either way, DriveWorks is offering the following FREE informational webinars to get you started down the path of automating your designs. 

Join us for the following webinars to see how automating can:

• Reduce the cost of custom designs


• Respond quickly to sales enquiries


• Enhance product quality


• Reduce repetitive tasks

Be sure to list CATI as your SolidWorks Reseller when filling out the registration form.

DriveWorksXpress Headstart Webinar
Tuesday July 3, 2012 
10am-11am Central Time
>>Register 

Driveworks Solo Headstart Webinar
Wednesday July 4, 2012
10am-11am Central Time
>>Register 

DriveWorks Solo Headstart Webinar
Wednesday July, 18, 2012
10am-11am Central Time
>>Register 

 

Jim TeDesco
Marketing
Computer Aided Technology, Inc. 

How do you know if all of your components are ballooned in a SolidWorks Drawing?

How do you know if a component on your drawing is ballooned or not?  Obviously, if you use the Auto Balloon command it will automatically grab all of the components but what if you are just adding the balloons individually?  The only way to tell if a component has a balloon or not is to look at the BOM table on your drawing.  Let’s take a look at a simple example.  You can see in the diagram below that item 3 is missing.

The only way to check and see which items are ballooned is to select the BOM table.  There will three arrows on the left side of your table.

 

Once you select the three arrows you will then see which items have balloons and which items do not.  This is a really valuable tool when working with larger assemblies.

As you can see, Item No. 3 (row 4) does not have a balloon next to it letting me know that this item still needs to be ballooned.

Phil Whitaker

Technical Analyst

Rapidly dimension multiple radial dimensions in sketches

2012 has added many shortcuts that allow us to get our jobs done faster and more efficiently.  Here is a new function that you may find useful if you create a lot of revolved features.   2012 now gives us the function to add multiple radial or diametric dimensions at one time without having to select the centerline every time.   There is nothing special to activiate this function.  Dimenison between a centerline and a line or point.  Place your dimension to create either a radial dimension or a diametric dimension.  Now just select the next line or point you want to dimension.   Solidworks will automatically use the same centerline as the previous dimension.  Your pointer will also change to  for a radial dimension  and   for a diameter dimension.

 

Autodimension via the Smart Dimenion

There is a little known "driven" dimension shortcut that in my opinion dosen't gett used enough. It's been around for quite some time, works well and is pretty underutilized in my book. Lets start a drawing. and dimension a block with a myriad of features on it, holes, a pocket and 2 slots.

 

Hit the smart dimension shortcut, mouse gesture, from the command manager, "S" Key, what ever your preferred method is. The "Smart" dimension tab actually has  2 tabs one of them being the "Autodimension" tab.   

 

Hit that tab and look at the interface. Pretty simple. You get the ability to choose from baseline or ordinate dimensioning schemes. Ill choose ordinate because it's something that I am used to and like it.

 

 

 

You be the judge of the results for just hitting one button.....

As always, I hope this helps improve your process.

 

Todd Werginz

CATI

 

Delete Pattern Instance in SolidWorks

Removing Pattern Instances

In SolidWorks, you can create a pattern of features using commands like Linear Pattern and Circular Pattern to name a few.  With both of these types of patterns, you can also choose to "Skip" instances of these patterns by selecting them during the creation of the pattern itself.  But a little known fact is that you can also remove these instances without ever having to re-open or edit this pattern feature again.  Allow me to explain with this example.  Take an ordinary part with a linear pattern of features.  Select on a face of this feature or pick multiple feature surfaces at the same time by holding down the CTRL key:

Next, press the Delete key on your keyboard.  You will see this message box appear with some choices:

Choose to delete the pattern instance, and you will see the item selected remove from the pattern as an instance being skipped!

So with SolidWorks you have yet another way to accomplish a failry common task without having to edit the feature with extra mouse clicks and steps!

Brian Reel
CATI Technical Analyst 

 

DriveWorks Solo 3 For the Price of 2 Special

For a limited time only, you can get 3 seats of DriveWorks Solo for the price of 2. Don’t miss out on this exclusive offer! With this offer you not only get 1 seat of DriveWorks Solo entirely free, subscription support is included on all 3 seats for the first year!

>>>Learn More about this offer.

If you’ve been using DriveWorksXpress to automate your SolidWorks designs, why not try DriveWorks Solo for FREE and see the benefits and extra functionality it can offer you and your business.

For more information and to try the DriveWorks Solo 30 day FREE trial just visit www.driveworkssolo.com or contact us for more information.

 

Jim TeDesco
Marketing
Computer AIded Technology, Inc. 

SolidWorks 2013 Beta #1 Available for download

Well Ladies and Gents,

SolidWorks 2013 Beta #1 is live for download. Lets go check out the new features and check on out the lovely prizes you can win in the beta program. My suggestion, Go through the Tutorials!

Cheers,

Bob McGaughey, CSWE

CATI

SolidWorks Defeature How to Increase the Performance of Imported Parts

CATI's monthly contribution to the SolidWorks Blog was posted yesterday. This month I chose to write about the SolidWorks Defeature tool and how it can be used to clean up and increase the performance of customer and downloaded files.

To view the article use the link below.

http://blogs.solidworks.com/solidworksblog/YYYY/MM/solidworks-defeature-how-to-increase-the-performance-of-imported-parts.html

Included in the article step by step instructions on how to use Defeature and the overall benefits displayed on a motor assembly that was downloaded from 3D Content Central.

Before Defeature:

After Defeature:

Thanks for viewing

Josh Altergott

CATI Support Manager

3DVia Composer V62013 SP0 LIVE

FYI...3DVia Composer V62013 SP0 is live for all current subscription customers and Solidworks SP4.0 is right around the corner.

Here are the highlights for the new release of Composer.

• Image Library


• Quick Magnetic Line Alignment


• Prevent Actor Deletion


• New Advanced Application Settings


• Disable Document Property and Application Preference Modifications


• DisableMatchingProperties Precedence Change

And a PDF for a complete list of all of the enhancements and data facts..

 

Todd Werginz

CATI

Split Lines are not just for Projections

    The typical use of the split line is for the projection of a sketch onto a surface/face to split the face up for various reasons. Draft lines, hold lines, forming tools, simulation setups and the like. The one other one (of the 3 types) that you might not know is the intersection as shown here is the intersection of 2 surfaces. It could very well be bodies, faces, or planes.

In this case what really have here is a projected curve onto the face with out the curve part sucking up resources. Plus the fact that we do not have to do another feature to split the face or whatever our next move may be such as an edge treatment with a swept cut or what have you. In my case I needed flexibility to control the height of the surfaces quickly to make the asthetics of the part eye pleasing and easily updated to show various edge treatments for a final outcome.

Just another tool in the arsenal for you to experiment with...

 

Todd Werginz

CATI

How do you insert symbols into a SolidWorks sketch?

For those of you that need to put symbols into a sketch text its easy to do.  Since there isn’t a symbols button while in the sketch text property manager, you have to open up MS Word and copy the symbols from there into the text box of the sketch text property manager.  Then you can perform any Solidworks function you wish.

Ketul Patel
Computer Aided Technology, inc. 

 

Instant3D for SolidWorks Assembly

Instant3D for SolidWorks Assembly

Instant3D was first introduced to SolidWorks users in 2008.  This allowed you to dynamically change dimensions from sketch based dimensions to feature based dimensions by simply selecting a face of a certain feature in the model.  Originally this was introduced to the part modeling section of the software, but later added to the assembly environment as well.  As you will see from my example, not only can you dynamically change dimensions of parts, but you can also use this to edit dimension mates in an assembly as well.

As you can see, the Instant3D command is a button found on the assembly toolbar in the command manager.

Next, I select on a face of this part to see what mates are associated with this item:

I choose the Distance mate and you will see the familiar mate options as well as the dimension for the mate.  The distance mate also contains a small blue sphere at one end of the dimension.  This is the Instant3D manipulator:

By holding down the left mouse button and dragging this up or down, you can dynamically change this dimension value to be a new size.

You can also obtain the familiar Modify Dimension box by double clicking on this same blue sphere:

So you can still use the familiar modify box for changing dimensions as well as embracing the new functionality with Instant3D.

Brian Reel
CATI Technical Analyst 

SolidWorks Plastics Professional : What can it do?

Injection molding is a complex technology with possible production problems. They can be caused either by defects in the molds, or more often by the molding process itself. I want to go over some issues that SolidWorks Plastics Professional can help prevent.

Knit line / Weld Lines : Caused by the melt-front flowing around an object standing in a plastic part as well as at the end of fill where the melt-front comes together. Can be minimized or eliminated with a mold-flow study when the model is in design phase. Once the mold is made and the gates is placed, one can minimize this flaw only by changing the melt and the mold temperature.

Sink marks or localized depression (in thicker zones)  is caused by Holding time/pressure too low, cooling time too short, with spruless hot runners this can also be caused by the gate temperature being set too high. Excessive material or walls too thick.

Short Shot (or Partial part) is caused by Lack of material, injection speed or pressure too low, mold too cold, lack of gas vents.

Rajat Trehan

Product Manager

Computer Aided Technology Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

How to draw a spline on a curved surface in Solidworks

There are several reasons to get a sketch curve on a wavy surface.  One of the biggest is to get a swept cut.  The other is to alter feature less geometry.  This would be to trim a curved surface to create a nice blended fillet. 

Insert a 3D sketch and then use Spline on Surface.  When you start to draw on that surface the rest of the spline will follow the curvature of the surface.  

Ketul Patel
Computer Aided Technology, Inc. 

 

Old SolidWorks Dog Gets A New Trick

Experienced Users: Missed Item #1 in 2012 What's New

Experienced users tend to dive into a new version (like 2012) and not take any time to review what's new. Taking time to go to a What's New Event / Roll-out might seem like a lot of time to loose. Reading the What's New Document(PDF/HTML) from the Help Menu in SolidWorks seems like work (that the boss isn't interested in) and thus people miss out on some really nice enhancements. Sometimes enhancements are new ways of doing the same old thing, so one might think, I already have a way of doing that, why do I need a new one? Well, sometimes, your way is in need of new trick.

Here's one you might have missed that came out in 2012

- Hide and Show Components using Tab/Shift+Tab.

In an assembly file, put the cursor over a part, press the Tab key and it'll disappear. Put the cursor over a spot where a hidden part should be and press Shift+Tab and it'll reappear. For added flare, hold the key(s) and move the cursor and it'll keep on working!

In case you're wondering where you could find new tricks like this one, check out the What's New Document under SolidWorks' Help, What's New menu....

Wrapping a decal on sheet metal

Placing a decal on a sheet metal part is similar to any type of part file. The steps are as follows. Drag a stock decal from the Appearance task pane to a face. To do this click on the beach ball from the task pane on the right. Then browse to the decals folder. From here simply drag it onto a face. 

Change the image file to your decal. Under the image tab there is an button to browse. Select your decal image file to replace it.

The final step is to choose additional faces for the decal to wrap around. When the mapping tab is selected click in the selected geometry box. Then choose the bent face as well as the 90 degree face.

The decal can be moved to any location with a numeric value or dragging the red and green arrows, sized up or down, flipped, and rotated.

Parts disappear when rotating

I think we have a case of mistaken identity.   I have seen several issues where a customer has a part that disappears when they rotate.   When this happens, the first thing you think of is the graphics card and or driver.  Usually this is the culprit when parts disappear or become choppy.  This has the look and feel of a graphics issue but in reality it is something much simpler. 

After several minutes of beating your head against the desk, there really is a simple solution.  In most cases like this, you have a part or a sketch way out in space and may not realize it.  This can especially happen in an assembly when you go to mate parts together.  When putting on a mate, sometimes the part can move far away from the other parts appearing as if it has disappeared.  To see if this is indeed the issue, what you want to try is to hit the f key.  This is the zoom to fit command.  This will immediately let you know if that is the problem.  Although this is a simple solution, it can be very frustrating if it happens to you.

Register for the SolidWorks Webcast Series - June

The Equinox - Shorten your day with SolidWorks DATE: FRIDAY, JUNE 15TH Please join our local technical experts for our monthly complimentary Webcasts as we introduce our family of solutions, and outline benefits of our products for your business needs. When registering, be sure to list Computer Aided Technology, Inc. (CATI) as your SolidWorks Reseller.   Friday, June 15th - 12 PM ET/11 AM CT Premium Ideas to Shorten your Work day Presented by: Jeff Osman Area Technical Manager Get the most out of a short workday with these easy to implement solutions in SolidWorks Premium.   Friday, June 15th - 1 PM ET/12 PM CT Breeze through Flow Simulation Presented by: Matt Derov Simulation Technical Manager See how SolidWorks Flow Simulation can easily model complicated flow behavior of Liquid and Gas. Solving complex engineering fluid dynamic problems has never been easier.   Friday, June 15th - 2 PM ET/1 PM CT Shape up your Process Presented by: Kurt Anliker Area Technical Manager SolidWorks Enterprise PDM can help you take control of your engineering design data and gain valuable insight into your company's processes.   Friday, June 15th - 3 PM ET/2 PM CT 3D Documentation Saves the Day Presented by: Elton Smith Territory Technical Manager See how 3DVIA Composer can help your customers enjoy the long summer days, by giving them better documentation to keep their products working properly.

CATI Exhibiting at the Design2Part Show in St. Charles, MO

Stop by booth 326, to see Objet 3D Printing in action.  The Objet30 Desktop 3D Printer will be printing parts on the show floor both days and our 3D printing experts will be on hand to answer your questions.

Show Information:

Design2Part Show
St. Charles Convention Center
One Convention Center Plaza
St. Charles, MO 63303

Booth 326 - Look for the Objet Display! 

About Objet Desktop 3D Printers:
High resolution 3D printing with 28 micron layer thickness isn’t just for big-budget enterprises. With Objet’s family of low-cost desktop 3D printers, designers and engineers can build true-to-life models and prototypes featuring ultra-precision details straight from the office desk.

Don’t let your ideas go to waste. With Objet’s family of desktop 3D printers you don’t have to compromise on quality or speed. Instead, print your ideas into accurate and testable prototypes. Demonstrate them. Improve them. Then get your product to market before your competitors. And all at an affordable price!

Jim TeDesco
Marketing
Computer Aided Technology, Inc. 

Why don’t I get the SolidWorks warning messages anymore?

I don’t have patience when it comes to seeing the same error/warning messages over and over again.  My normal tendencies are to put a check where they ask “don’t show this again”.  However this can because some issues in the future.  Solidworks can start opening assemblies and drawings with everything suppressed.  At times it could start freezing. 

If you want to see the messages again just simply go to Options>Messages/Error/Warning.  Deselect all the boxes (if you have issues with Solidworks and not the individual files) and click ok.  

Ketul Patel
Computer Aided Technology, Inc. 

SolidWorks Simulation Static study

A lot of times, a static study is exactly what is needed to find responses in designs. Static studies address a wide range of situations but there are times when it is just not appropriate at all and your results will reflect this quite obviously. Therefore, understanding when to use a static study is very important. So let's begin by understanding what a SolidWorks Simulation static study really means.  Essentially, we are making 3 main assumptions:

1. Material is linear

2. Constant boundary conditions

3. Stiffness constant stays the same.

A linear material basically means that we are keeping the loading low enough that the material stays under the yield strenght region in stress vs strain curve, where the relationship is linear.

If the material yields, we can no longer use a static study. The second assumption is a bit more straight forward: The contacts, loading and loading direction must stay constant. If these change, then our material will respond very differently than in the static case. The third assumption comes from Hook's law:

F = k(x)  or  k = F/x

Where F is the applied force, k is the stiffness constant and x is the displacement.  If the stiffness constant changes, the material will no longer fit in that linear section of the stress/strain curve and once again, we can no longer use the static study. So now that you have a better understanding of what the static option is for, happy analysing

Brian Adika

Technical Anaylyst, CATI

 

How to create a custom section view in SolidWorks

The usual section view options do a great job cutting away portions of parts and assemblies.  However they do lack functionality when it comes to cutting away just some of the geometry.  For instance we could not achieve the cut away view with a standard section view.  

To create this type of section view one must use Extrude Cut.  First create a separate configuration and call it whatever you want.  Then create a rectangle on a plane that intersects or is off of the geometry.  Use Extrude Cut with Feature Scope.

Only select the items that you want to cut away.  This will produce the image in the first picture.

 

Ketul Patel
Computer Aided Technology, Inc.