Thursday, May 30, 2013

Paint, grease & other consumables in SolidWorks' BOM

Let's take a look at how and why companies are quantifying consumable products in BOM's within SolidWorks.

First off, let's assume that in order to get an account of such products in assemblies, customers are creating actual part models of such things. This might sound strange but when companies are using parametric designs to create complete and accurate BOM's to pass to ERP systems or purchasing folks this becomes a necessary step.

So to keep these folks happy, when should they re-order the grease that keeps the wheel from squeaking? If the standard recorded quantity is "1" each time the consumable was used in an assembly, this could mean that this item is ordered by the truckload. On the other hand, if the consumable product is not within the BOM, how do you quantify it?

Let's have SolidWorks create an accurate BOM. In this example, let's assume we need to quantify grease and we use approximately .005 ounces per application. We have an assembly that uses 4 applications.

Steps involved:

1. Create a custom property for a part named grease.

2. Name the property Amount.

3. Assign the value .005 to this custom property.

4. Select Amount in the BOM Quantity field of the custom or configuration specific tab of the part.

This quantity is also computed and accurately displayed in the BOM should you use this in Enterprise BOM or export this to an Excel file for import into your ERP/MRP program.

So hopefully this will give you some ideas on how to more accurately display and account for your consumable items in your next SolidWorks Assembly BOM.

Thank you,

Brian Reel
CATI

Free SolidWorks from Performance Constraints (FSWPC-13-#20)

(Modeling Methodology - Large Assembly Mode)

The use of Large Assembly Mode and Lightweight is the one setting that made the largest impact in our testing. Large Assembly Mode allow a user to open an extremely large assembly without bringing in all of the computational data that defines it (Lightweight). The user gets the visual of the model without the over head of the math behind it. The user will then have the ability to resolve the portions of the assembly that they would like to work on. The data for just that portion of the assembly is then loaded into RAM and the user has the best of both worlds; the ability to work on a part or sub-assembly within the context of the greater assembly while dealing only with the overhead of the portion they are specifically working on. The testing we did involved very large assemblies where Large Assembly Mode and Lightweight can have its most pronounced effect on performance.

You can by looking at our deltas see that on our Practical machine we gained 58.7% total improvement taking our benchmark run time down to just over 32min. If we look at the Typical machine we can see that the overall improvement is 81% performance gain and took our benchmark run time to just under 54min.

Please
check back to the CATI blog as we will continue posting our
series of articles that goes further into the details of each of our tests. All
of these articles will be stored in the category of Free SolidWorks from Performance
Constraints and links to each with their
release date are listed below:

FSWPC-13-#1 Introduction (3/19/13)

FSWPC-13-#2 RAM (3/21/13)

FSWPC-13-#3 Processor Cores (3/26/13)

FSWPC-13-#4 Processor Cores for Simulation
and PhotoView360 (3/28/13)

FSWPC-13-#5 Processor Clock Speed (4/2/13)

FSWPC-13-#6 Hard Drives (4/4/13)

FSWPC-13-#7a Graphics Cards-SolidWorks
Functionality (4/9/13)

FSWPC-13-#7b Graphics Cards-Hardware
Comparison (4/11/13)

FSWPC-13-#7c Graphics Cards-Model Complexity (4/16/13)

FSWPC-13-#8 Files stored in an older version
(4/18/13)

FSWPC-13-#9 OS Visual and User Settings (4/23/13)

FSWPC-13-#10 SolidWorks Options (4/25/13)

FSWPC-13-#11 SolidWorks Image Quality (4/30/13)

FSWPC-13-#12 SolidWorks RealView Graphics (5/2/13)

FSWPC-13-#13 SolidWorks Level of Detail (5/7/13)

FSWPC-13-#14 SolidWorks Mates and Flexible
Subassemblies (5/9/13)

FSWPC-13-#15 SolidWorks Defeature (5/14/13)

FSWPC-13-#16 SolidWorks Envelope (5/16/13)

FSWPC-13-#17 SolidWorks Large
Design Review (5/21/13)

FSWPC-13-#18 SolidWorks
SpeedPak (5/23/13)

FSWPC-13-#19 SolidWorks Save as Part (5/28/13)

FSWPC-13-#20 SolidWorks Large Assembly Mode (5/30/13)

FSWPC-13-#21
Optimal Configuration and Conclusion (6/4/13)

Thanks,

Josh
Altergott, CATI Support Manager

Adrian
Fanjoy, CATI Technical Services Director

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Custom Toolbox Part

I have seen a few issues pop up recently while working on support. We had a customer create a few custom toolbox parts and place them in the assembly. Assembly looked great so they saved and closed the assembly and went on about their day.

The next day, they opened up the assembly to work on it and realized that their custom toolbox parts in their assembly were changed to actual toolbox parts.

There is an easy explanation for why this happens. Just go to Tools, Options, System Options and select Hole Wizard/Toolbox. On the right of that menu, you will see the option "Make this folder the default search location for Toolbox components". By having this option checked, SolidWorks will automatically go to the Toolbox location and try to find those parts. That is why it is replacing the custom part with a toolbox one. By unchecking this option, SolidWorks will use the custom part that is already in the assembly.

Phil Whitaker

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Free SolidWorks from Performance Constraints (FSWPC-13-#19)

(Modeling Methodology - Save As Part)

The next tool that we are going to look at for reducing the level of detail in our parts and subassemblies is Save As Part. The ability to save an assembly as a part file gives us three different options; Exterior Faces, Exterior Components and All Components. Each of these options produces a different result so we chose to test each option and see which one gave us the greatest performance gain.

For our assembly once again due to the overall size we choose to use Save As Part on just the Cab Assembly. The stats on the Cab Assembly and its related files are the assembly file is 30.15mb and had has an overall folder size of 621mb.

Exterior Faces

This was the 2nd best option, our new part file size was 79mb and had 0 Solid Bodies and 8432 Surface Bodies.

Exterior Components

This was the best option, our new part file size was 120mb and had 1080 Solid Bodies and 225 Surface Bodies.

All Components

This was the worst option, our new part file size was 317mb and had 3668 Solid Bodies and 271 Surface Bodies.

You can by looking at our deltas see that paying attention to the options we have for different operations can either help or hinder our performance. On our Practical machine we gained as much as 25.9% total improvement and lost as much as 4.7%. If we look at the Typical machine we can see that the overall improvement is as much as 60% performance gain and took almost 3 hours off of our benchmark time or it cost us much as 95% adding almost 4-1/2 hours to our benchmark.

FSWPC-13-#1 Introduction (3/19/13)

FSWPC-13-#2 RAM (3/21/13)

FSWPC-13-#3 Processor Cores (3/26/13)

FSWPC-13-#4 Processor Cores for Simulation
and PhotoView360 (3/28/13)

FSWPC-13-#5 Processor Clock Speed (4/2/13)

FSWPC-13-#6 Hard Drives (4/4/13)

FSWPC-13-#7a Graphics Cards-SolidWorks
Functionality (4/9/13)

FSWPC-13-#7b Graphics Cards-Hardware
Comparison (4/11/13)

FSWPC-13-#7c Graphics Cards-Model Complexity (4/16/13)

FSWPC-13-#8 Files stored in an older version
(4/18/13)

FSWPC-13-#9 OS Visual and User Settings (4/23/13)

FSWPC-13-#10 SolidWorks Options (4/25/13)

FSWPC-13-#11 SolidWorks Image Quality (4/30/13)

FSWPC-13-#12 SolidWorks RealView Graphics (5/2/13)

FSWPC-13-#13 SolidWorks Level of Detail (5/7/13)

FSWPC-13-#14 SolidWorks Mates and Flexible
Subassemblies (5/9/13)

FSWPC-13-#15 SolidWorks Defeature (5/14/13)

FSWPC-13-#16 SolidWorks Envelope (5/16/13)

FSWPC-13-#17 SolidWorks Large
Design Review (5/21/13)

FSWPC-13-#18 SolidWorks
SpeedPak (5/23/13)

FSWPC-13-#19 SolidWorks Save as Part (5/28/13)

FSWPC-13-#20
SolidWorks Large Assembly Mode (5/30/13)

FSWPC-13-#21
Optimal Configuration and Conclusion (6/4/13)

Thanks,

Josh
Altergott, CATI Support Manager

Adrian
Fanjoy, CATI Technical Services Director

Friday, May 24, 2013

Additive Manufacturing User Group (AMUG) Conference Wrap-Up

It’s hard to believe just over a month ago I was in attendance at the Additive Manufacturing User Group (AMUG) in Jacksonville,Florida. Once again the executive board put a great conference together. For those of you that do not know, the AMUG started out as the North American
Stereolithography Users Group. After twenty five years the group has morphed into AMUG, comprised of users of additive manufacturing technology. The conference kicks off on Sunday evening with a welcoming session combined with a vendor fair. Over 50 OEM manufacturers and suppliers to the
industry display their products. Along with multiple keynote presentations in the morning, every morning, there were over 30 afternoon breakout sessions. A couple of the most impressive presentations I sat in on was a soluble core molding application and a presentation where spray on electrical conductive was dispersed onto the wings of a drone to spin propellers. As for hands on sessions I had the opportunity to try hydro printing and nickel plating. This kind of information is what makes this user group so valuable to anyone involved with additive manufacturing. People share ideas, pass on tips or tricks, or discuss specific projects the attendees did throughout the year.

During the upcoming Rapid show June 10-13, 2013 held in Pittsburgh the executive board members will sit down and begin the task of putting together the 2014 AMUG conference. I have been fortunate enough to be elected to the board in a VP role. All work is on a volunteer basis but when the conference starts it gives you a gratifying feeling to see all the attendees enjoying themselves throughout the week. If you would like to see learn more about AMUG feel free to visit the AMUG website. Here is the address http://www.additivemanufacturingusersgroup.com/. Hopefully you will get a chance to attend next year’s conference. All veteran attendees like to see first time
attendees and watch the organization grow.

Derek Ellis
Digital Prototyping Group
Computer Aided Technology, Inc.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Free SolidWorks from Performance Constraints (FSWPC-13-#18)

(Modeling Methodology - SpeedPak)

The next tool that we are going to look at for reducing the level of detail in our parts and subassemblies is SpeedPak.

The SpeedPak utility allows you to create a simplified configuration of an assembly without losing references. A SpeedPak configuration reduces your large or complex subassemblies into a subset of parts and faces of an assembly that you can use to mate into your top level assembly or reference with dimensions in a drawing.

For our assembly once again due to the overall size we choose to use SpeedPak on just the Cab Assembly, we also chose the option for Remove ghost as it states it, further reduces memory.

You can by looking at our deltas see that on our Practical machine we gained 30.7% total improvement. If we look at the Typical machine we can see that the overall improvement is cut by over 65% performance gain and took over 3 hours off of our benchmark time.

FSWPC-13-#1 Introduction (3/19/13)

FSWPC-13-#2 RAM (3/21/13)

FSWPC-13-#3 Processor Cores (3/26/13)

FSWPC-13-#4 Processor Cores for Simulation
and PhotoView360 (3/28/13)

FSWPC-13-#5 Processor Clock Speed (4/2/13)

FSWPC-13-#6 Hard Drives (4/4/13)

FSWPC-13-#7a Graphics Cards-SolidWorks
Functionality (4/9/13)

FSWPC-13-#7b Graphics Cards-Hardware
Comparison (4/11/13)

FSWPC-13-#7c Graphics Cards-Model Complexity (4/16/13)

FSWPC-13-#8 Files stored in an older version
(4/18/13)

FSWPC-13-#9 OS Visual and User Settings (4/23/13)

FSWPC-13-#10 SolidWorks Options (4/25/13)

FSWPC-13-#11 SolidWorks Image Quality (4/30/13)

FSWPC-13-#12 SolidWorks RealView Graphics (5/2/13)

FSWPC-13-#13 SolidWorks Level of Detail (5/7/13)

FSWPC-13-#14 SolidWorks Mates and Flexible
Subassemblies (5/9/13)

FSWPC-13-#15 SolidWorks Defeature (5/14/13)

FSWPC-13-#16 SolidWorks Envelope (5/16/13)

FSWPC-13-#17 SolidWorks Large
Design Review (5/21/13)

FSWPC-13-#18 SolidWorks
SpeedPak (5/23/13)

FSWPC-13-#19
SolidWorks Save as Part (5/28/13)

FSWPC-13-#20
SolidWorks Large Assembly Mode (5/30/13)

FSWPC-13-#21
Optimal Configuration and Conclusion (6/4/13)

Thanks,

Josh
Altergott, CATI Support Manager

Adrian
Fanjoy, CATI Technical Services Director

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Free SolidWorks from Performance Constraints (FSWPC-13-#17)

(Modeling Methodology - Large Design Review)

The next tool that we are going to look at for reducing the level of detail in our parts and subassemblies is Large Design Review. Large Design Review lets you open very large assemblies quickly, while still retaining capabilities that are useful when conducting design reviews of assemblies.

When you open an assembly in Large Design Review mode, you can:

Navigate the FeatureManager design tree

Measure distances

Create cross sections

Hide and show components

Create, edit, and play back walk-throughs

Large Design Review is primarily intended as an environment for quick design reviews. If you want to ensure that all items are updated properly, you must open your assembly as lightweight or fully resolved.

You can see that our benchmark program failed to complete for Large Design Review. This is because when an assembly is opened with the tool our benchmark is not able to perform the tasks it is programmed to do.

FSWPC-13-#1 Introduction (3/19/13)

FSWPC-13-#2 RAM (3/21/13)

FSWPC-13-#3 Processor Cores (3/26/13)

FSWPC-13-#4 Processor Cores for Simulation
and PhotoView360 (3/28/13)

FSWPC-13-#5 Processor Clock Speed (4/2/13)

FSWPC-13-#6 Hard Drives (4/4/13)

FSWPC-13-#7a Graphics Cards-SolidWorks
Functionality (4/9/13)

FSWPC-13-#7b Graphics Cards-Hardware
Comparison (4/11/13)

FSWPC-13-#7c Graphics Cards-Model Complexity (4/16/13)

FSWPC-13-#8 Files stored in an older version
(4/18/13)

FSWPC-13-#9 OS Visual and User Settings (4/23/13)

FSWPC-13-#10 SolidWorks Options (4/25/13)

FSWPC-13-#11 SolidWorks Image Quality (4/30/13)

FSWPC-13-#12 SolidWorks RealView Graphics (5/2/13)

FSWPC-13-#13 SolidWorks Level of Detail (5/7/13)

FSWPC-13-#14 SolidWorks Mates and Flexible
Subassemblies (5/9/13)

FSWPC-13-#15 SolidWorks Defeature (5/14/13)

FSWPC-13-#16 SolidWorks Envelope (5/16/13)

FSWPC-13-#17 SolidWorks Large
Design Review (5/21/13)

FSWPC-13-#18
SolidWorks
SpeedPak (5/23/13)

FSWPC-13-#19
SolidWorks Save as Part (5/28/13)

FSWPC-13-#20
SolidWorks Large Assembly Mode (5/30/13)

FSWPC-13-#21
Optimal Configuration and Conclusion (6/4/13)

Thanks,

Josh
Altergott, CATI Support Manager

Adrian
Fanjoy, CATI Technical Services Director

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Exploded view alternate directions

When creating an exploded view in SolidWorks it is simple to move your parts in the local coordinate system along X, Y, and Z. What if you want to move a part in a different direction? In order to accomplish this we need to reorient the coordinate system. You will first select the component you want to move, then click in the box called z@(name of your assembly)

You will then select a new reference. In this example I am choosing the outer cylindrical surface of the part.

Notice how the reference triad has repositioned itself so Z is along the central axis of the cylinder. Just drag the blue error how you would normally move a component.

Another method to accomplish this is to use a sketch line instead of a component face. The sketch line can be 2d or 3d.

Thanks,

Jordan Nardick, CSWE
Applications Engineer
Computer Aided Technology, INC.

Friday, May 17, 2013

How do I download just the service pack updates from SolidWorks?

Upgrading
software can be a daunting task. I say daunting because the majority of the time
that you put into upgrading is set aside for downloading the upgrade.
When time is short and you just need to get SolidWorks up and running
with the newest service pack, the download shouldn't take more than a few
minutes. The upgrade files should only be a few hundred megabytes, just
for the core installation of SolidWorks, so you don't need to download a 5 Gig
file.

Here is the process on how to download just the service pack.

-Log into your customer portal.

-Click on Downloads and Updates

-Once you get to the page that allows you to select the version and
64/32bit, please make sure you select the correct one.

-Accept the agreement

-Now do not click on download there is another option towards the
bottom that allows you to individually select upgrades you prefer.

-The next screen asks for which service pack you are currently at.
Not the one you want to get to.

Capture3

SolidWorks will now show you several steps and a list of downloads
that you may need. The items are listed out in 7 steps. You really
only need Step 3 for the core install of Solidworks, which as you can see going
from SP0.0 to SP3.0 is only 150 MB. The other steps are optional but when
you do get time please look at steps 4 and 5 and upgrade the appropriate items.

Ketul

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Free SolidWorks from Performance Constraints (FSWPC-13-#16)

(Modeling Methodology - Envelope)

The next tool that we are going to look at for reducing the level of detail in our parts and subassemblies is Envelope. Both parts and assemblies can be set as an Envelope when inserted into and assembly or it can be set in the component properties. Envelopes have two main functions, can use them as a reference component or as a selection tool. Envelopes are ignored in global assembly operations such as bills of materials and mass properties.

For our assembly once again due to the overall size we choose to use Envelope on just the Cab Assembly.

You can by looking at our deltas see that on our Practical machine we gained 0.4% total improvement. If we look at the Typical machine we can see that the overall improvement is cut by a respectably 36% performance gain and took over 1hour and 42min off of our benchmark time.

FSWPC-13-#1 Introduction (3/19/13)

FSWPC-13-#2 RAM (3/21/13)

FSWPC-13-#3 Processor Cores (3/26/13)

FSWPC-13-#4 Processor Cores for Simulation
and PhotoView360 (3/28/13)

FSWPC-13-#5 Processor Clock Speed (4/2/13)

FSWPC-13-#6 Hard Drives (4/4/13)

FSWPC-13-#7a Graphics Cards-SolidWorks
Functionality (4/9/13)

FSWPC-13-#7b Graphics Cards-Hardware
Comparison (4/11/13)

FSWPC-13-#7c Graphics Cards-Model Complexity (4/16/13)

FSWPC-13-#8 Files stored in an older version
(4/18/13)

FSWPC-13-#9 OS Visual and User Settings (4/23/13)

FSWPC-13-#10 SolidWorks Options (4/25/13)

FSWPC-13-#11 SolidWorks Image Quality (4/30/13)

FSWPC-13-#12 SolidWorks RealView Graphics (5/2/13)

FSWPC-13-#13 SolidWorks Level of Detail (5/7/13)

FSWPC-13-#14 SolidWorks Mates and Flexible
Subassemblies (5/9/13)

FSWPC-13-#15 SolidWorks Defeature (5/14/13)

FSWPC-13-#16 SolidWorks Envelope (5/16/13)

FSWPC-13-#17
SolidWorks
Large Design Review (5/21/13)

FSWPC-13-#18
SolidWorks
SpeedPak (5/23/13)

FSWPC-13-#19
SolidWorks Save as Part (5/28/13)

FSWPC-13-#20
SolidWorks Large Assembly Mode (5/30/13)

FSWPC-13-#21
Optimal Configuration and Conclusion (6/4/13)

Thanks,

Josh
Altergott, CATI Support Manager

Adrian
Fanjoy, CATI Technical Services Director

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Creating Section Views in SolidWorks 2013

CATI's monthly contribution to the SolidWorks Blog was posted this week. This month I chose to write about how section views have changed with SolidWorks 2013. The article is based upon some common questions that we get into our tech support group from customers. The article details the new and old ways to create section views and the repercussions from telling SolidWorks Don't show again.

To view the article use the link below.

http://blogs.solidworks.com/solidworksblog/2013/05/creating-section-views-in-solidworks-2013.html

Josh Altergott

Support Manager

Computer Aided Technology, Inc.

QR codes 101

What is this? How does it help me?

Scan Me - CATI Home page.

What you see there is a
QR™ code (or Quick Response
Code), which is a type of matrix barcode. Starting in Japan in the automobile
industry it was used by machinery to quickly access information about parts,
assembly process and other such information. Having for more information space
than standard UPC barcodes and consistency of reads make QR codes a great way
to access information fast.

Above is an example of
how the QR code is laid out. The
position keys help set the extents of the matrix. The version information helps
your QR reader know how to read that version of the matrix. Next time we’ll
talk about how incorporate your company logo into a QR code use different
versions of the QR standard.

There are a lot of free
QR code generators out there. I typically use a web based one at www.goqr.me, you get a lot of options from
creation and output. On the creation side you can create QRs that go to a
webpage, automatically dial your phone, send a text message, or enter your information
into a phone as contact.

SCAN ME for Bob's contact information

So what if….. You could
scan a QR code on your phone have an assembly process or a detailed print come
up on your Android, Iphone, or Ipad. Try these.

SCAN ME for an interactive parts list on your android or IOS device. (Browser must support html5)

SCAN ME for an disassembly instructions and interactive parts list on your android or IOS device. (Browser must support html5)

More next time.

Bob McGaughey, CSWE

CATI

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Free SolidWorks from Performance Constraints (FSWPC-13-#15)

(Modeling Methodology - Defeature)

In one of our previous articles we talked about reducing the level of detail in our parts and subassemblies and one of the questions we have been asked is what features and tools that SolidWorks provides gives us the best benefit when working with large assemblies. We looked at all the different tools available to us and we are starting with the Defeature tool.

Defeature can be used on parts or assemblies and has a wizard style interface that walks you through several different steps to remove features from you file. The Defeature tool has many different options and while faster than manually defeaturing the your files you do have less control over the final results.

For our assembly once again due to the overall size we choose to use Defeature on just the Cab Assembly and used the options for removing the internal components and ended up with a single part file that was 401mb had 271 Surface Bodies and 1316 Solid Bodies.

Note: These changes can have a larger or smaller effect on each users performance depending on how many over detailed parts are defeatured and what options are used.

You can by looking at our deltas see that on both our Practical and Typical machine defeatureing our model added just above or below 20% to our benchmark. Where on our Typical machine that same 20% increase adds almost 1 hour to our benchmark vs. the 14 min it adds to our Practical machine benchmark. We figure that reason for the increase in our benchmark time is that this not being an assembly we created and have intimate knowledge of the assembly we took the default settings and thus costing us time vs. saving us time as we would expect.

FSWPC-13-#1 Introduction (3/19/13)

FSWPC-13-#2 RAM (3/21/13)

FSWPC-13-#3 Processor Cores (3/26/13)

FSWPC-13-#4 Processor Cores for Simulation
and PhotoView360 (3/28/13)

FSWPC-13-#5 Processor Clock Speed (4/2/13)

FSWPC-13-#6 Hard Drives (4/4/13)

FSWPC-13-#7a Graphics Cards-SolidWorks
Functionality (4/9/13)

FSWPC-13-#7b Graphics Cards-Hardware
Comparison (4/11/13)

FSWPC-13-#7c Graphics Cards-Model Complexity (4/16/13)

FSWPC-13-#8 Files stored in an older version
(4/18/13)

FSWPC-13-#9 OS Visual and User Settings (4/23/13)

FSWPC-13-#10 SolidWorks Options (4/25/13)

FSWPC-13-#11 SolidWorks Image Quality (4/30/13)

FSWPC-13-#12 SolidWorks RealView Graphics (5/2/13)

FSWPC-13-#13 SolidWorks Level of Detail (5/7/13)

FSWPC-13-#14 SolidWorks Mates and Flexible
Subassemblies (5/9/13)

FSWPC-13-#15 SolidWorks Defeature (5/14/13)

FSWPC-13-#16
SolidWorks Envelope (5/16/13)

FSWPC-13-#17
SolidWorks
Large Design Review (5/21/13)

FSWPC-13-#18
SolidWorks
SpeedPak (5/23/13)

FSWPC-13-#19
SolidWorks Save as Part (5/28/13)

FSWPC-13-#20
SolidWorks Large Assembly Mode (5/30/13)

FSWPC-13-#21 Optimal Configuration and Conclusion (6/4/13)

Thanks,

Josh
Altergott, CATI Support Manager

Adrian
Fanjoy, CATI Technical Services Director

Sunday, May 12, 2013

How Do I Delete the SolidWorks Registry Without Losing All of My Settings?

Some issues that come into support are not very easily resolved. To help isolate where to start looking for a solution, there is a program called SolidWorks RX. According to the Home tab of SolidWorks RX, this program can be used to help diagnose issues with your computer, perform SolidWorks aware system maintenance, or capture and review problems.
We refer customers to these preliminary troubleshooting steps. So, I thought I should make it available to everyone.

Make sure that SolidWorks is not running

Start SolidWorks Rx

1. START->All Programs->SolidWorks->SolidWorks 20XX->SolidWorks Tools->SolidWorks Rx

On the Home tab, the Safe Modes can be used to identify video, options, or add-in issues.

2. Starting SolidWorks in Software OpenGL mode can pinpoint an issue with the graphic card or its driver. If the issue is not reproducible in this safe mode, then we can look at the Diagnostics tab and check that the graphics card driver is supported and up to date. (Time to check you graphics card driver)

Under SolidWorks Safe Modes, click the link Click here to launch SolidWorks while bypassing the Tools/Options settings. This is pretty self explanatory, but it basically opens SolidWorks with all the settings back to the defaults.

If this eliminates the issue, then we know that the issue is related to a setting or corruption in the registry. The downside of making this safe mode permanent to fix the issue at hand is that the user’s personal settings are lost. To make this fix a little less painful, we can at least save their keyboard shortcuts, menu customization, toolbar layout, and saved views using the Copy Settings Wizard. (CATI had a blog about it a couple of years ago: Save SolidWorks Settings)

Make sure that SolidWorks and SolidWorks RX are not running

Start Copy Settings Wizard

1. START->All Programs->SolidWorks->SolidWorks 20XX->SolidWorks Tools->Copy Settings Wizard

2. Click Save Settings and then click the Next button.

3. Choose a name and file location to save to (IE: Desktop).

4. Check Keyboard shortcuts, Menu customization, Toolbar layout, and Saved Views.

5. Click the Finish button.

Open the Registry Editor

1. Click the Windows Start button. (Windows XP: click Run)

2. Type “regedit” and click the OK button.
The Registry Editor Window should appear.

3. Browse to: My Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SolidWorks

4. Right click on the SolidWorks folder and pick Rename.

5. Rename it to something like: SolidWorks-Original

6. Close the Registry Editor window

Restore Settings

1. Locate the Copy Settings file on your desktop (or where you saved it)

2. Double click on the file.

Launch SolidWorks
and verify that the issue is still eliminated.
Let the CATI Support Team know if this resolved your issue or if you need additional assistance.

Neil Bucalo

Certified SolidWorks Support Technician 2013

Computer Aided Technology, Inc.

Friday, May 10, 2013

eDrawings translators

eDrawings – Invalid file type

I ran across this recently with a customer. On 1 machine,
they could not open Pro/E files. An error occurred – “File type not supported.”

It took us a while to get to the answer. It came down to the initial
download of eDrawings.

By Default, the download will not include the 3D XML or
PRO/E translators. You must specify this during the download.

To start the download, go to http://edrawingsviewer.com/ed/download.htm
and select the viewer download, then select next.

At this point, you will now see the option for the 3D XML
and PRO/E translator. Make sure to check this option.

This is straight forward, however does get overlooked.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Free SolidWorks from Performance Constraints (FSWPC-13-#14)

(Modeling Methodology - Top Level Mates and Flexible Subassemblies)

When an assembly is opened, all of the mates at the top level of the assembly are calculated as well as any mates that are involved in flexible sub-assemblies, you can see this in the AssemblyXpert screen shots below. Solving Subassemblies as Flexible adds a tremendous amount of extra calculations that would not be required if the flexible subs were turned off. In our tests setting our Flexible sub-assemblies to Rigid dropped the number of mates being evaluated at the top level from 1292 to 139.

Also when building your assembly you want to make sure that you structured it in a manner to minimize the need for top level mates. To accomplish having less mate in your top level assembly it involves utilizing more sub-assemblies than individual parts and taking advantage of other assembly features such as patterning components like bolts and screws.

You can by looking at our deltas see that on our Practical machine we gained almost 3.5% total improvement. If we look at the Typical machine we can see that the overall improvement is cut by just over 13% performance gain and took over 37min off of our benchmark time.

FSWPC-13-#1 Introduction (3/19/13)

FSWPC-13-#2 RAM (3/21/13)

FSWPC-13-#3 Processor Cores (3/26/13)

FSWPC-13-#4 Processor Cores for Simulation
and PhotoView360 (3/28/13)

FSWPC-13-#5 Processor Clock Speed (4/2/13)

FSWPC-13-#6 Hard Drives (4/4/13)

FSWPC-13-#7a Graphics Cards-SolidWorks
Functionality (4/9/13)

FSWPC-13-#7b Graphics Cards-Hardware
Comparison (4/11/13)

FSWPC-13-#7c Graphics Cards-Model Complexity (4/16/13)

FSWPC-13-#8 Files stored in an older version
(4/18/13)

FSWPC-13-#9 OS Visual and User Settings (4/23/13)

FSWPC-13-#10 SolidWorks Options (4/25/13)

FSWPC-13-#11 SolidWorks Image Quality (4/30/13)

FSWPC-13-#12 SolidWorks RealView Graphics (5/2/13)

FSWPC-13-#13 SolidWorks Level of Detail (5/7/13)

FSWPC-13-#14 SolidWorks Mates and Flexible
Subassemblies (5/9/13)

FSWPC-13-#15
SolidWorks Defeature (5/14/13)

FSWPC-13-#16
SolidWorks Envelope (5/16/13)

FSWPC-13-#17
SolidWorks
Large Design Review (5/21/13)

FSWPC-13-#18
SolidWorks
SpeedPak (5/23/13)

FSWPC-13-#19
SolidWorks Save as Part (5/28/13)

FSWPC-13-#20
SolidWorks Large Assembly Mode (5/30/13)

FSWPC-13-#21
Optimal Configuration and Conclusion (6/4/13)

Thanks,

Josh
Altergott, CATI Support Manager

Adrian
Fanjoy, CATI Technical Services Director

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Thumbnails: A picture is worth a 1,000 words

Are you getting these..

Instead of these??

Then you have some settings to pay attention to. Mostly this issue shows up in your SolidWorks file
open menu or even in Windows explorer. There are a few things to check, by default your options
inside of SolidWorks should be set like this:

Then you also want to check your open pane as well.

According to SolidWorks documentation you should use medium or large as the small setting can
affect your icons. This property can be given to all of your folders by going in and changing them in
the organize menu. **Note the Organize menu inside of the SolidWorks open menu can't do this
function**

For this we are going to need to open a Windows Explorer window.

While browsing folders in the Computer folder, you can apply the
current view setting to all folders on your computer that are optimized for the
same content as the folder you have open. For instance, the My Pictures folder
is optimized for picture files. If you open this folder and change the view to
Large Icons, you can apply the Large Icons view to every folder that's optimized
for pictures. (This setting does not apply when viewing files and folders using
libraries.)

Open a folder, click the arrow next to the Views button
on the toolbar, and choose a view setting.

On the toolbar, click Organize, and then
click Folder and search options.

In the Folder Options dialog box, click the
View tab, click Apply to Folders,
click Yes, and then click OK.

For further information about the cause of this and registry settings to copy please see SolidWorks
Solution S-055085 and S-042805.

John Van Engen
CATI Tech Support
Computer Aided Technology, Inc.