SolidWorks Activation Wizard

Here is a scenario where using the SolidWorks Activation Wizard utility comes in really handy.  Let's say you have SolidWorks loaded and activated on a PC.  For some reason you decide to remove SolidWorks from this machine, but don't choose to transfer the activation when prompted.  You move to your new machine and proceed to load SolidWorks and activate only to be greeted with the message that your activation count has been exceeded!  What do you do?  You call CATI support or send us an e-mail and ask for our expert guidance to help you solve this dilemma.

Well, I have an alternative to share with you.  As of SolidWorks 2011, a little known utility was created and posted to the SolidWorks web site offering you the same type of tools that the support staff has access to.  This magical utility is called "SolidWorks Activation Wizard" and can be accessed from the software downloads section.  With this utility, you can load this on the older machine and transfer this no longer used activation without having to break a sweat and in as little as 5 minutes!

Go to the SolidWorks Customer Portal login and access your account tools:

Once you click on this link, all you need to do is choose the SolidWorks version and 32 or 64 bit version of this utility:

Upon downloading or running this application and installing it on your old machine, you will have access to do one of three choices:

1. Transfer

2. Activate/Reactivate

3. Show Active Licenses

So choose to transfer and this utility will see activations from the already removed SolidWorks software and allow you to transfer this back to the activation servers.  Then when you go back to your new machine, you will be able to activate with no warnings!

A nice piece of software allowing you to have more control over situations that do come up from time to time. Enjoy!

Brian Reel
CATI 

SolidWorks 2013 Section View Assist

Section View Assist

With the release of SolidWorks 2013, creating section views in drawings has never been easier with the new Section View Assist tool.  There is now one button that will allow you to do anything you need to do in a section view.  It’s an interactive process using the property manager to select the proper orientation and all is required is to snap to a location.  Let’s look at an example of a jogged section view.

Once you snap a location, you have a dialog box that pops up and lets you select what type of section view to select.

Once you select the type of section view, you can then select as many jogs as you need.

Let’s take a look at the aligned section view.

Even with aligned section views you have offset tools built into one command.

The arc offset is a nice compliment to the aligned section view

Through this process, I didn’t have to draw any sketch geometry or create any sketch relations to create the geometry we are looking for.  As you can see, section view assist greatly simplifies the process of creating new section views in your drawings.

3D Print a Ship in a Bottle With Objet 3D Printers

I'm sure just about everyone has seen a ship in a bottle.  Using traditional methods, the ship is built entirely outside of the bottle with collapsible masts/sails and meticulously squeezed through the opening, raising the sails with strings once placed inside. Enter the 21st Century and the advent of Multi-Material 3D Printers from Objet; we can create a full ship(no assembly required) directly inside of the bottle. 

"The ‘Ship in a Bottle’ created here features a solid bottle, 3D printed in Objet’s Clear Transparent material. And suspended within it we have our traditional sailing ship printed in Objet Rubber-like Black material. Both the black and the transparent materials are inseparably bound together.  (The only way to 3D print a ship in a hollow bottle would be to include a wide enough opening to remove the support material from within - which would sort of defeat the point really. But that’s a challenge for another time."

The original article "3D Printing the Impossible: A Ship in a Bottle" appeared on the Objet Blog on 11/21/2012. 

 

Jim TeDesco
Marketing Manager
Computer Aided Technology, Inc. 

SolidWorks Electrical Series, #1

With the release of SolidWorks Electrical, users can now create simple or complex electrical schematics and effortlessly integrate your electrical system into your 3D design. Electrical has several capabilities that enable these tasks, such as the single-line schematic planning tool, multiline schematic creation, symbol libraries, and 3D integration tools. Over the next several weeks, I will explore some of these new tools and show how these capabilities are used. For this blog, we are going to look at one of the integrated drawing tools and show you that a line really isn't just a line anymore.

 

Multi-Line Schematic

To begin with, let's take a look at the schematics we can create in Electrical and then be able to dive into their creation using lines and symbols.
These drawings can be used at any stage of the development process for product design and provide detail for our design. Using single-line schematics, we can use images of components or symbols, to create simplified representation of the electrical system design. These schematics are then used for your product definition for project planning, fabrication and reporting.

 

 

Single-Line Schematic

Using the multi-line schematic, we can also quickly create simple yet powerful representations of the electrical wiring and cabling between the various electrical subsystems, equipment and interconnects

 

Now we can move on to how we can create single lines in a schematic. In the picture, we have a bunch of symbols on our schematic and need to create the connections to these symbols. Using the "draw cable icon", we can draw a line or cable, to add a connection between the parts regardless of location within the design.

 

Cable Drawing

One of the most important features to point out, is that these design elements are smart objects: Meaning that if you resize this wire, copy it and connect it to the original one, it will become a unified single wire, eliminated the need to trim and delete joined wire sections

 

In addition cables and wires can be assigned from within the single line schematic, since the line diagram is bi-directionally linked directly to the detailed schematics, meaning that all the information entered at this level will be propagated automatically to the rest of the project.

We can predefine cabling in our design environment to quickly specify certain cables or types of wires that we use at the manufacturing stage. This allows us to quickly add information to our schematic.

For a multiple wire line creation, we can select the appropriate style from wire from the Wire Style Selector and then simply pick the wires desired. To further simplify the design process, the drawing of multiple wires is quite easy and requires only a few clicks.

Wire bends are inserted automatically and additional options are also available to the user. If you want to change between angled multiple phase wires or straight point to point wires, that task is easily accomplished in the tool. In addition the conductors can be inverted to increase design flexibility.

 

Multi-Line Schematic

 

SolidWorks Electrical is powerful 2D schematic software. However, some information like cable and wire lengths can't be calculated in a 2D environment. The lines that we have created are just the begging of our details to our electrical design. Next week we will take a look at the symbols library and how we can connect that information with 3D models and manufacturing information that we can leverage for reports, drawings and other aspects of our design.

Corey Kubichka | Electrical Product Manager

Computer Aided Technology, Inc.

How to Use Annotations in Solidworks

Short 4 1/2 minute video on how to use the annotations folder in your feature manager for some tasks.

 

 

 

Thanks,

Todd Werginz

Computer Aided Technology, Inc.

How to: Add Full Standard Weldment Profiles

3D Printing for Injection Molding and Rapid Tooling Webinar

This presentation will describe how 3D printed tooling can be used
for injection and blow molding of plastic prototypes. Attendees will learn how
rapid tooling via 3D printing offers fast turn-around of real material
prototypes at relatively low cost, eliminating the need for traditional
tooling.

Date and Time
December 13, 2012
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM CST (2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EST)

Injection molded
products are made of thermoplastics that feature properties difficult to
simulate with 3D printed prototypes. Printing the tool, rather than part,
offers an alternative approach to product development. Rapid tooling via 3D
printing allows the part's actual material to be molded in a tool that is
fabricated within several hours at low cost. Attendees of this presentation
will learn how Objet has developed an ABS-like tooling material offering
high-temperature resistance and a good combination of stiffness and toughness.
The presentation provides examples of tools and molded parts of different
geometries and molded materials, demonstrating the range of industries impacted
by this solution. Participants will also learn how the same approach applies to
plastic blow molding process, i.e. using printed tools for the fabrication of
final-material blow-molded prototypes.

Key Take-Aways:

• Learn how printed injection molding tools save time and
  money in the product development phase


• Learn how printed tools allow real material prototypes
  reflecting the inherent characteristics/properties stemming from the
  injection molding process


• Discover how printed tools also apply to blow molding
  processes, allowing for real-material prototypes


• Understand why the molding benefits using printed tools
  must be examined for each material/geometry combination

Jim TeDesco
Marketing Manager
Computer Aided Technology, Inc. 

Free DriveWorks Solo Online Training

Don't Miss Out On The Last Available DriveWorks Solo
Online Training Date in 2012!

Become an Expert, Free DriveWorks Solo Online Training

Learn from the experts - become an expert!

The free DriveWorks Solo Online Training sessions are
run by DriveWorks Solo Certified Application Engineers

You will be taken through a sample project within
DriveWorks Solo to really get to grips with how easy the software is to use!

Training includes:

• Session 1: Model Capture,
  Creating Forms, Building Rules, Running your Project, New File Names and
  Locations


• Session 2: Replacing Files,
  Table, Form Navigation, Improving Your Forms, Driving Replacement Files,
  Controlling Custom Properties.


• Session 3: Documents,
  Controlling Drawings

To register, just click on the links below:

Session 1: Mon 26th Nov - 10am (Central Time)

Session 2: Tues 27th Nov - 10am (Central Time)

Session 3: Weds 28th Nov - 10am (Central Time)

Jim TeDesco   
Marketing Manager
Computer Aided Technology, Inc. 

Overlapping patterns with filets.

When creating a circular patterns in SolidWorks there is a limitation that the resulting pattern of extrusions and filets cannot overlap on to itself.

However there is a trick we can use to get around this. Instead of patterning the feature we can pattern the body.

This will give us a set of individual solid bodies that can overlap. Then the combine command can be used to turn that set into a single solid model.

Thanks,

Jordan Nardick, CSWE
Technical Analyst
Computer Aided Technology, Inc.

 

How to copy files using Solidworks Pack and Go

When you
don't use a file management system, keeping files organized can be a hassle.
 So, what happens is users put all their part, drawing, and assembly files
into the same folder.  This will cause issues when creating new revisions.
 

Once the deed is done and all files are in the same location there
will be a hefty price to pay to move files into the correct folder locations.
 Pack and Go will help to keep the references from getting lost but you
will still pay with time. 

To do this correctly, first have your file structure created on a
server or anywhere you like.  Keep in mind that you will need to keep
track of your revisions and not just separate your parts, drawings, and
assemblies.  Then starting with the main assembly drawing, whether it is being
opened from Solidworks explorer or Solidworks, go to Pack and Go.  The
first thing I like to do is put a check next to Include Drawings.  This will make sure you move/rename all the
drawings as well.  Although you only have one option for a folder location
or zip file location, you can bypass this and change the file name and folder
location for each referenced file.  Just
double click on the file name and location in the Save to Name and Save to
Folder respectively. The only down turn to this is that it will take some time
depending on how many files you have to move. 

 

 

You will also have to do this for all the past revisions and
make sure they are properly located in the folder structure you create.

 

Super SolidWorks Brothers Mobius Strip

The other day I was on a website called Shapeways where you can upload, 3dprint and sell your 3d models. There I shall something that was a blast from 1985 someone a designer named Joaquin Baldwin design a couple of Modius strips. For those who don’t know, Modius strip has several curious properties. A line drawn starting from the seam down the middle will meet back at the seam but at the "other side". If continued the line will meet the starting point and will be double the length of the original strip. This single continuous curve demonstrates that the Modius strip has only one boundary.

Well the blast from 85 was Super Mario Brothers level 1-1 as a Modius strip. Maybe, I could make a Modius strip in SolidWorks? So I went my SolidWorks utility belt and started digging around with feature ideas. That’s when I came across the video below. When you watch the video, it’s not SolidWorks, but if you know your features you’ll realize that FLEX is your tool for this one.

So I modeled a small part of this level, not to Joaquin’s detail and gave it to you.

 

Click to View the Full Resolution of the level 1-1

 

Download MARIO PART 1-1 This is modeled in 2013 sp 0.0

Enjoy,

Bob McGaughey, Certified Mario Expert

CATI

Discussion - The role of the CIO

CATI aims to provide solutions that reduce cost and provide time and material savings for our customers.  Often times, our solutions are pretty easy to justify:  If it takes someone a week to design and document a product using SolidWorks versus 4 weeks in traditional 2D tools...well, it's easy to see how this will pay for itself in time.

One of the more difficult items on which to put a price tag is risk...how does one assess risk?  A customer of ours in St. Louis recently told me this when asked why they planned to implement PDM:  "It's one of these things that just feels like the right thing to do to protect our data."  As hard as it is to come to terms with that statement, it is often true.  Sometimes, it is critical to wrap your arms around your intellectual property before something goes wrong.  Murphy's Law doesn't bat 1.000, but it certainly frequents the All Star Game.

In that spirit, I wanted to share an interesting article regarding the role of the CIO in today's organization.  While I don't agree with every point, it certainly lends some insight as to why CIO's should care about solutions such as Enterprise PDM:

1. Reduce of risk


2. Improve cycle times


3. Reduce Cost

One would be hard pressed to find a VP of Engineering, a key customer of any IT department, that isn't challenged to improve in all 3 of those key areas.  Our solutions are simple to use and to deploy, improve SolidWorks performance (this is an older article, but still relevant today), and certainly automate the process of finding and re-using product development files/data...and by managing the data in a secure vault with configured revision control, we can certainly reduce the risk of manufacturing to the wrong revision or losing one's data.

I am curious to know your impressions of the article:  http://www.zdnet.com/why-cio-success-comes-down-to-just-three-things-7000006850/

How To Import Your DriveWorks Solo Project to DriveWorks Pro

Before you import a DriveWorks Solo project, you need
to:

1. Create or open a
   DriveWorks group into which you want to migrate the DriveWorks Solo project.


2. Launch the New Project
   Wizard 

Next:

Step 1: Select the option to "Import DriveWorks
Solo Project". In the Location field Browse to an empty directory in which
to create the new migrated project. In the Name filed enter a name for the
project to be imported. Click "Finish".

Step 2: Browse for the DriveWorks Solo project to
import.

Step 3: Because the new imported project will be in a
different location than the original project, you may have pictures and other
files you want copied across to the new project. Select the directories to copy
across by checking them in the tree. Click "Finish" to start the import
and open the imported project.

For more information about upgrading from DriveWorks
Solo to DriveWorks Pro - just visit the DriveWorks Pro Helpfile

Jim TeDesco
Marketing Manager
Computer Aided Technology, Inc. 

How to Use the New Orientation Dialog Box in SolidWorks 2013

Do you find yourself constantly changing views until you finally find the correct view that you wanted? Well, the Orientation dialog box received a nice new face lift for SolidWorks 2013 that you will find very useful. Simply press the spacebar or to bring up the Orientation dialog box, (or click the View Orientation button in the Heads-up View toolbar and click More Options, or pull down the View menu and pick Modify - Orientation.)

    

The new Orientation dialog box for SolidWorks 2013 now shares the same buttons for standard views as the Heads-up View toolbar. Another cool new feature in the Orientation dialog box is the View Selector.

The View Selector gives a very nice visual way to see the model views. If you have trouble visualizing what the right, left, front, back, top, or isometric views of your model will look like, this tool is a great enhancement for you. Click the View Selector button or press Ctrl + Spacebar to bring it up.

It is very simple to use. Simply highlight what view you want, either from the View Selector 3D box or even from the Orientation dialog box. If you hover over the button in the dialog box, a preview of that view appears and the corresponding faces dynamically highlight in the View Selector. When you select o view, the Orientation dialog box closes (unless it is pinned) and the model rotates to that view.

Another enhancement to the Orientation dialog box has to do with saving custom views. You can now create custom views and save them to SolidWorks, which allows you to reuse these saved views in different documents. after rotating you model to the desired view, click New View. Give the view a name and click OK.

    

The new named view now appears in the Orientation dialog box. This allows you to toggle between any of the standard views and this new custom view. This is not new to SolidWorks 2013. What is new is that next to this new named view is a Save View to SolidWorks button.

When you click Save View to SolidWorks, a globe icon appears in front of your named view. This indicates that it is now a global view that is now available in other SolidWorks documents. Simply open a different document. Click Saved Views in the Orientation dialog box and click the saved view(s) of your choice. One thing to note is that if you only click the check box, and not the view name itself, the named view is added to to the list of saved views, but the model does not actually rotate to the selected view.

Try it out yourself and see if the new Orientation dialog box, the View Selector, and Save View to SolidWorks will help improve your workflow. SolidWorks 2013 has many great enhancements that will continue to help improve the productivity of SolidWorks users around the world.

Neil Bucalo
Technical Analyst

Computer Aided Technology, Inc.

How to choose the right tool for your technical communications

Join us on Friday November 9, 2012 from 8:30am-9:30am Central Time for a Webinar to show you how.  Register HERE.

Whether you are creating screen captures from your CAD system or taking digital pictures of prototypes. The process requires that you wait for the engineering work to be completed before work begins on the renderings or pictures for the technical communication.

We will compare these processes and have a look at how 3DVIA Composer can help you get started while engineering work continues and help you to finish your technical communication projects with time to spare.

Event Information:

Topic - Choosing The Right Tool For Your Technical Communications
Date - Friday, November 9, 2012
Time - 8:30am-9:30am Central Time(9:30am-10:30am Eastern Time)
Register HERE 

Jim TeDesco
Marketing Manager
Computer Aided Technology, Inc. 

Join CATI in the Fight Against Prostate Cancer

During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of mustaches on thousands of men’s faces, in the US and around the world. With their Mo's, these men raise vital awareness and funds for men's health issues, specifically prostate and testicular cancer initiatives.

"Let's face it...there are a ton of male engineers. CATI wants to help raise awareness and money for a cause that all men face (pun intended)." Eric Gold, Computer Aided Technology, Inc.

This year Computer Aided Technology, Inc. (CATI) is on board to help raise awareness of men's health issues by participating in Movember. We are asking our friends in the community to join us and help raise aware

Here's How You Can Participate (Lady's too)

1. Join the Computer Aided Technology Team and grow your own Mo and get donations for the cause.

2. Make a donation through the Computer Aided Technology, Inc. Team.

3. Become a Mo Sista (women who love the Mo and want to support the efforts of the Mo Bros in their lives).

So, what is a Mo?

Mo is Australian slang for Mustache. Mo’s can grow in all shapes, sizes and colors. The Mo-growing journey is undertaken by Mo Bros together across the world who all abide by these grooming guidelines:

1. There is to be no joining of the Mo to side burns – That’s a beard.

2. There is to be no joining of the handlebars – That’s a goatee.

3. A small complimentary growth under the bottom lip is allowed.

Thank you for your support

 

Jim TeDesco
Marketing Manager
Computer Aided Technology, Inc. 

SolidWorks 2013 on a Windows 8 Surface Tablet... will it run?

Good afternoon everyone just wanted to take a moment to share some info with you about SolidWorks and Windows 8. First stay tuned to this blog over the next couple of weeks to see hands on SolidWorks in Windows 8. Outside of seeing campaign ads every 22.5 seconds you’ve probably seen SURFACE commercial with Windows 8 RT. It looks really cool, but will it run SolidWorks.

That answer is no, not those tablets, not right now, but in the future. The reason for this is Surface tablets you see in the commercial are based on ARM chipset, which is much different than AMD or Intel. Windows RT is what is installed on these types of devices and standard Windows programs will not install on them. They will only accept apps from the Windows App Store. With that said later this year Microsoft will be releasing the Windows Surface Pro tablets that are base on the normal chipsets required for our applications to install and run. So never fear your SolidWorks will run on a tablet faster than you think.

Bob McGaughey, CSWE

CATI

Happy Movember