SolidWorks User Group - Kansas City

Kansas City SolidWorks User Group

On June 27^th, I attended and presented at the
KCSWUG meeting hosted by MRI Global.  My
topic was presenting some of our findings with regards to making SolidWorks
perform with hardware sized for your SolidWorks models.  Also at this meeting we saw a presentation
from SolidWorks employee, Richard Allen. 
Richard is a Product Portfolio Manager for SolidWorks Corporation.  His role consists of “acting as the voice for
the customer” which means he tries to do the following:

• Work with product enhancements


• Increase performance and quality


• Innovate new products

Richard also spoke of a new 3D Dimensioning standard on part
models to reduce printed or 2D drawings. The US government is already using
this for Military contract suppliers. 
This new methodology is estimated to save 28% of scrap due to better
understanding of dimensions on the 3D Model. 
Did you know that SolidWorks has had 3D Model Dimensions since
SolidWorks 2008 in the form of DimXpert? 
DimXpert for Parts is a set of tools you use to apply dimensions and
tolerances to parts according to the requirements of ASME Y14.41-2003 and ISO
16792:2006.

We also talked about obstacles that the group would face
trying to “do away” with 2D printed drawings. 
Several members agree that this would be strange in that most like to
write on drawings and this would not be possible on a screen image.  How would shops afford monitors, tablets and
other viewing devices for the production floor staff to view your models
on?  Just getting around the fact that we
like to hold and touch a drawing and use pencils or pens to write on them will
be strange.

Richard also mentioned that SolidWorks 2014 will ship
sometime in the October 2013 time frame. 
Beta 2014 is now open for registration. 
We urge all users to sign up for this, and try 2014 BETA on a separate
machine for testing and playing around.

SolidWorks has reached another huge milestone.  Over 2,000,000 users of the product now
worldwide!  Some schools across the globe
are placing SolidWorks educational software on student’s machines as young as 7
or 8 years old!  Can you believe that?  Customer satisfaction for SolidWorks products
has increased 5% since 2007, and is now close to 94% approval based on mailed
out surveys. 

Richard also demonstrated the new eDrawings Pro application
on his iPad.  This has the new Augmented
Reality feature which allows you to display your SolidWorks models using
eDrawings, and the camera function from your tablet to place virtually your
models in the room or environment seen by your camera!  Very cool technology.  These App’s run $2 or $10 from the Apple Store.

Check out this video for more information: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVcIaBAQSE4

For a stormy Thursday night we had a pretty good turnout and
the food is always great.  If you get a
chance to come next time, the meeting will be sometime in September and the
user group web site is http://www.kcswug.com/main/

Hope to see you there!

Thanks,

Brian Reel

CATI

How Stratasys' FDM 3D Printing Technology Works

Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) Technology is a powerful Stratasys-patented additive manufacturing method.

FDM builds concept models, functional prototypes and end-use parts in standard, engineering-grade and high-performance thermoplastics. It’s the only professional 3D printing technology that uses production-grade thermoplastics, so parts are unrivaled in mechanical, thermal and chemical strength.

The Invention of FDM Technology

Stratasys founder Scott Crump invented FDM Technology more than 20 years ago, and Stratasys has continued to lead the 3D printing revolution ever since, developing a range of systems that appeal to large manufacturers, designers, engineers, educators and other professionals.

How FDM Works

3D printers that run on FDM Technology build parts layer-by-layer by heating thermoplastic material to a semi-liquid state and extruding it according to computer-controlled paths.

FDM uses two materials to execute a print job: modeling material, which constitutes the finished piece, and support material, which acts as scaffolding. Material filaments are fed from the 3D printer’s material bays to the print head, which moves in X and Y coordinates, depositing material to complete each layer before the base moves down the Z axis and the next layer begins.

Once the 3D printer is done building, the user breaks the support material away or dissolves it in detergent and water, and the part is ready to use.

FDM Benefits

FDM is a clean, simple-to-use, office-friendly 3D printing process. Thermoplastic parts can endure exposure to heat, chemicals, humid or dry environments, and mechanical stress. Soluble support materials make it possible to produce complex geometries and cavities that would be difficult to build with traditional manufacturing methods.

What happened to my SolidWorks Add-ins?

Premium Add-Ins

We recently had a customer who has a SolidWorks Premium license but did not have any of the Premium add-ins. The customer installed and launched SolidWorks. It even launched as SolidWorks Premium but did not have any of the add-ins. (Picture below is what SolidWorks Premium Add-Ins should look like)

I have seen this issue before and it is fairly common. The most likely cause of this is the add-ins were turned off during the install by accident. To get your add-ins to show up is pretty simple. All you have to do is go and modify the installation.

You go to Start, Control Panel, Programs, Programs and Features. Select SolidWorks and select Change.

Once you select Change, the SolidWorks Installation Manager will launch. Select Modify the Installation.

Click Next. Click Next when you get to the Serial Number screen. SolidWorks will go to the System Check screen and then to the Product Selection screen. When on the Product Selection screen you need to expand SolidWorks and select the Add-ins you want added.

All you need to do is select next through the installation and then launch SolidWorks and you should then have all of the add-ins.

Phil Whitaker
Computer Aided Technology, Inc.

SolidWorks 2014 Beta Now Available

That's right.  SolidWorks 2014 is officially available for Beta Testing.  Visit the SolidWorks Beta Site for complete information and to sign up.

http://www.solidworks.com/beta

About SolidWorks Beta Programs

This is your opportunity to impact the quality, performance, and reliability of DS SolidWorks products. SolidWorks appreciates the valuable time you invest in testing their software.

The R&D staff will be available to listen and react to your feedback in the Beta Forum. Simply said, the development and QA teams of SolidWorks 2014 really want to hear from you!

Our objective is to give you confidence in your migration to SolidWorks 2014.

Testing with Beta releases helps avoid migration problems that are specific to your environment, data and workflows.

As a way of thanking you for your efforts, there are several exciting contests where you can win valuable prizes.

How to Participate

Register for Beta by creating a Customer Portal account or update your existing account settings to join Beta. Select “Notify me of Beta Programs” in your Customer Portal profile.  

Your SolidWorks Subscription Service status must be valid and active in order to participate in Beta Programs.

What is included?

1. Access to Beta Downloads


2. Beta Forum access where you can contribute to public discussions with other participants and SolidWorks staff


3. Problem reporting

 

Login to sign up for Beta.

Happy testing!

 

Jim TeDesco
Marketing Manager
Computer Aided Technology, Inc. 

How Stratasys' Polyjet 3D Printing Technology Works

PolyJet 3D printing is similar to inkjet document printing. But instead of jetting drops of ink onto paper, PolyJet 3D printers jet layers of liquid photopolymer onto a build tray and cure them with UV light. The layers build up one at a time to create a 3D model or prototype. Fully cured models can be handled and used immediately, without additional post-curing. Along with the selected model materials, the 3D printer also jets a gel-like support material specially designed to uphold overhangs and complicated geometries. It is easily removed by hand and with water.

PolyJet 3D printing technology has many advantages for rapid prototyping, including superior quality and speed, high precision, and a very wide variety of materials. Based on PolyJet technology, Objet Connex 3D Printers from Stratasys are the only additive manufacturing systems that can combine different 3D printing materials within the same 3D printed model, in the same print job.

The Only Multi-Material 3D Printing Technology

Objet Connex 3D Printers feature unique technology that can jet multiple materials in a single print run. This means that you can selectively position multiple materials in one printed prototype and even combine two materials to create composite digital materials with distinct, predictable material properties.

With more than 100 materials and digital material combinations to choose from, including rigid to rubber-like, opaque to transparent and ABS-simulating performance, the sky is the limit. More than ever, your prototypes can match the look, feel and function of the most complex end products.

PolyJet 3D Printing Benefits

PolyJet technology creates precision prototypes that set the standard for finished-product realism. Its very thin print layers make complex shapes, fine details and smooth finished surfaces possible. Objet Connex 3D Printers offer more material versatility than any other technology, including the ability to print multiple materials simultaneously.

How Simple is Too Simple??

When doing simulations, time and accuracy are both very
valuable.  Using different configurations
is a good way to balance the two.  As
always though, there are trade-offs from going too far either way.  Too much simplification can mean widely
incorrect results while too little can lead to negligible decrease in time.

 

In this example, a wing was created with three
configurations;

ribbed,

hollow

and solid.

A fixed geometry was added to the wing edges where it would
attach to the airplane body and a force of 25000 N was added coming from the
front at an angle of attack of 5.5°.

 

Configuration	Time	Stress	Displacement
Ribbed	33 sec	6.2 Mpa	8.93 mm
Hollow	5 sec	6.6 Mpa	10.1 mm
Solid	2 sec	2.9 Mpa	3.78 mm

As shown by the results above, while the differences in
stress and displacement between the ribbed and hollow configurations are small,
the gains in time spent in calculations are large.  Conversely between the hollow and solid
configurations, the time gained by this simplification is small and the
differences in stress and displacement are large.  While the times in these simulations are all
small, more complex parts and assemblies will take longer and simplified
configurations will help to decrease the time spent and memory used.  As long as they are not oversimplified,
simplified configurations become very useful.

 

Chad Whitbeck

CATI-Application Engineer

 

Additive Manufacturing Trends in Aerospace

Aerospace Industry Launches into the Future with Additive Manufacturing Trends 

The aerospace industry has long been looked to as a leader in predicting manufacturing trends. Learn how organizations, such as NASA & Leptron, are using additive manufacturing in all cycles of production, from design concept to near-end-of-life repairs.

In this white paper you will learn:

• 
  

  How the aerospace industry leverages additive manufacturing throughout its processes and functions

  
  


• 
  

  Benefits of design flexibility, cost reductions, and improved lead times

  
  


• 
  

  How the leading aerospace organizations use additive manufacturing to bring products to the market faster

  
  

Jim TeDesco
Marketing Manager
Computer Aided Technology, Inc. 

SolidWorks Modeling Methodology - Part 1

CATI's monthly contribution to the SolidWorks Blog was posted this week. This month I chose to write about proper modeling methodology for SolidWorks, this is part one of a two part set of articles. The reason for writing this article is because after working with so many customer files we have learned the one item that is not taught in any training class is proper modeling methodology. This first article talks about all of the different items we need to look at and evaluate before we create a model in SolidWorks. The second article is going to look into reverse engineering the part show below and finding what features and sketch options will allow us to build the most efficient model. If you have any ideas or suggestions please post those as comments to this article and I will try to use as many of those ideas that I can.

To view the article use the link below.

http://blogs.solidworks.com/solidworksblog/2013/06/solidworks-modeling-methodology-part-1.html

Josh Altergott

Support Manager

Computer Aided Technology, Inc.

Stratasys to Acquire MakerBot, Merging Two Global 3D Printing Industry Leaders

Rumors about the aquisition have been swirling around the internet for the last few weeks.  Yesterday, it became official. Stratasys, Ltd. will aquire Makerbot in a deal worth over $400 Million.  

According to yesterday's Press Release , "Stratasys intends for MakerBot to operate as a separate subsidiary, preserving its existing brand, management, as well as the spirit of collaboration it has built with its users and partners. Together with Stratasys, MakerBot will continue to innovate, expand its product offering, provide attentive service to its users and make more 3D printing content available through Thingiverse.com." 

The merger is set to be completed during the 3rd quarter of 2013.  

Read the full press statement here.

 

Jim TeDesco
Marketing Manager
Computer Aided Technology, Inc. 

Hockey puck key chain

You may have heard the local hockey team has advanced to the finals. As a tribute I decided to print out a keychain using a Stratasys Objet30. I modeled the hockey puck in SolidWorks. The final dimensions used were 1.5inch diameter by .33inch height. I started with a cylindrical extrusion with some fillets on the top and bottom.

The next challenge was the knurl pattern around the side. I created a helix feature between the fillets to use as a path for my cut sweep. Then a triangle sketch was swept cut along the helix.

To create the final knurl pattern the cut sweep was circular patterned so the edges would come as close to touching as possible but not overlap. This gave me a pattern in one direction. It just needed a mirror for the other direction.

Finally i removed material from the top to show the logo and cut a hole through the part to make it into a keychain.

The fine level of detail on the 3d printer did a great job on the logo and knurl pattern.

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

Stratasys Digital ABS: Your New Multi-Purpose Material

Digital ABS by Stratasys is the 3D printing material of choice when you need toughness with smooth surfaces and fine details.

Digital ABS Material features:

• Simulation of ABS engineering plastics performance


• Superior finish with smooth, glossy surfaces


• Excellent impact resistance & shock absorption


• High heat resistance – up to 100°C (212°F)


• Ideal for snap-fit parts and movable parts


• Suitable for short-run injection molds

See Digital ABS in action:

 

Jim TeDesco
Marketing Manager
Computer AIded Technology, Inc.

Customizing QR codes

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned I'd be posting a video of how to take QR martix codes to the next level by customizing them with GIMP. Gimp is a free open source image editing software similar to Photoshop.

Cheers

Bob McGaughey, CSWE

CATI

How to Insert Dowel Pin Holes in SolidWorks

Many SolidWorks users, especially woodworkers, have asked for this enhancement for awhile: Have the ability to define a hole as a dowel pin hole in the part and have it automatically insert a dowel pin symbol in the drawing.

Starting in SolidWorks 2013, users now have the ability to add dowel pin holes. (Applause!) Dowel holes are used to align components in assemblies. Standard dowel holes have been added to SolidWorks in the Hole Wizard. So, all you need to do now is to click on Hole Wizard.  In the Hole Specification PropertyManager, on the Type tab, click the Hole button under Hole Type. In Type, select Dowels. SolidWorks gives you standard diameters to choose from or you can assign custom diameters appropriate to your industry. Fit options are also available. Set options as needed. That’s it!

Now that we have added dowel holes to the SolidWorks part document, let’s take a look at the drawing. There is a new document option for the automatic creation of all dowel pin symbols on view creation. Go to Tools > Options. On the Document Properties tab, click Detailing. Under Auto insert on view creation, you can select either Dowel symbols -part or Dowel symbols -assembly. Then, click OK.

Additionally, you can automatically insert all dowel pin symbols in a SolidWorks drawing view after view creation. You can automatically insert dowel pin symbols for dowel holes created with the Hole Wizard. To automatically insert dowel pin symbols into a drawing, pull down the Insert menu and pick Annotations > Dowel Pin Symbol. Under Auto Insert, select For all dowel holes.

As you select the drawing views, the dowel pin symbols are inserted in the view. Note that you have the ability to flip a dowel pin symbol after it has been inserted (right-click the symbol and click Flip Symbol.)

Lastly, to manually insert dowel pin symbols into a SolidWorks drawing, pull down the Insert menu and pick Annotations > Dowel Pin Symbol. Select a circular edge, a sketched circle, or an arc. Note that you can pre-select your circular edges, sketched circles, or arcs and then click Insert > Annotations > Dowel Pin Symbol. Dowel pin symbols appear in the selected holes.

Although this Dowel pin feature in SolidWorks is great, there are some improvements already requested like:

The ability to define a dowel pin hole tolerance by either the hole or the pin.
Add functionality to insert dowel pins
Ability to add Dowel Pin symbol to a point, not just circular edge or arc

Neil Bucalo
Certified SolidWorks Support
Technician 2013 Computer Aided Technology, Inc.

What's new in Solidworks 2013 - Center of Mass

Display Center of
Mass in a drawing 

New in Solidworks 2103, you can now display and dimension to
the Center of Mass in a drawing.

To do this, you must first insert the Center of Mass into
your model/assy.

Select Insert reference geometry/Center of mass. The center
of mass will now be displayed on in your part.

This can now be used in your drawing to dimension to;
however you must first display it in the drawing view: - Insert/Model Items/Reference
Items –select Center of Mass.

Mirror, Mirror, Where's my sheet metal notes?

So many of us have had the opportunity to make mirrored sheet metal parts. Over the years the process has changed and we are pretty close to having it all. However we still see a snag here and there with the drawings for these neat tools.

On the mirrored sheet metal part, if you choose to keep the link in the model you can't get your notes on the drawing. If you break the link you can get all your features and then create a new flat blank, but then it's not updating on it's own. So what can we do?

I have created a workaround mirrored sheet metal part to make both updating and sheet metal notes work on the drawings.

Since the sheet metal notes are created with the flat pattern view we need to have 2 of them. A good way to do this is to duplicate the sheet metal bodies and not the whole part.

Here we see the whole tree, let's break it down.

 

First we have rolled it back to look at our steps.

 

I created a mirror feature and chose the bodies to mirror option.

 

Then I deleted the initial body. (don't worry we get that back later)

 

I then created a derived configuration of the initial sheet metal part, this way the mirror will update when the initial body does. In the initial confiugration the mirror and the delete body are suppress. In the mirroed configuration the mirror and delete body are unsuppress. Then I used a drawing to insert a flat pattern of each configuration so that those flat patter configurations were created. The flats are important to get the sheet metal notes.

 

On the drawing you can now see all of the bent and flattened states of the part.

This may be a little on the long side but it works until the SPR is finished and we have the new controls to work with.

John Van Engen
CATI Tech Support

 

Where's the center of mass?

Recently I have had customers asking for a way to add a center of mass point to their drawing so they can dimension to this point.   This is now possible in SolidWorks 2013 using the Center of Mass function.

To use this function, you must turn on this function in your part or assembly.  To do so, go into the
mass properties window and check the option “Create Center of Mass Feature”.

This will create a Center of Mass feature in the Feature Tree just below the origin.

To access this point inside of your drawing file you will need to go to Insert, Model items and check the option for
Center of Mass under the Reference Geometry section.

You will now see the center of mass point on the drawing.  This can be dimension to, and will update as the model changes.

Hope this helps you out.

 

- Bryan Pawlak, CSWE

 CATI

Free SolidWorks from Performance Constraints (FSWPC-13-#21)

Optimal Configuration & Conclusion

In looking back at the past 20 articles we have posted about Free SolidWorks from Performance Constrains one of the items we promised in our first article was to give you the two optimal configurations that gave us the best overall performance.

Before we get to the results lets recap what we tested in our previous articles:

• RAM
  


• Processor Clock Speed
  


• Number of Cores and SolidWorks
  


• Hard Drive Speed
  


• Graphics Cards
  


• SolidWorks files stored in an older version
  


• Windows Visual Settings
  


• SolidWorks Options Set to Optimal
  


• SolidWorks Image Quality
  


• SolidWorks RealView Graphics
  


• Level of Detail in Parts and Assemblies
  


• Reducing Top Level Mates and Solving Subassemblies as Rigid
  


• Defeature
  


• Envelope
  


• Large Design Review
  


• SpeedPak
  


• Save Assembly as Part (3 options)
  


• Large Assembly Mode & Lightweight
  

In the list above you want to take note that of the 18 items we tested 13 of them are FREE.

The first scenario that we tested included all of the performance improvements explained above except Large Assembly Mode and Lightweight options. The environment looked like this:

Typical and Practical Hardware configurations

Configuration

• SolidWorks Options Optimized
  


• OS visuals set to best performance
  

Modeling methods

• Level of detail reduced
  


• Image quality reduced
  


• Realview Graphics off
  


• Top level mates reduced
  

In our first test the combination of the enhancements to our SolidWorks environment yielded some impressive performance results.

If we take all of the settings and hardware listed above and add in Large Assembly Mode and Lightweight we can see that it has even more of an impact in our results.

You can by looking at our deltas see that on our Practical machine we gained over 76% total improvement taking our benchmark run time down to just over 18min. If we look at the Typical machine we can see that the overall improvement is almost a 90% performance gain and our benchmark run time has gone from 4:43:44 to 0:28:50.

Conclusion

What we have found in our efforts conducting these tests is that improvement of a modeling environment must be approached at a system level rather than a specific component level. All of the hardware, configuration, and modeling methodology options work in concert to establish the performance capabilities of a workstation whether it's good or bad. Adding more processor power to a workstation that is short on RAM will help. But the improvement that the stronger processor yields will be much greater if RAM is added as well.

Understanding these several aspects of a SolidWorks modeling environment and how they work together can make all the difference in ensuring that you get the full value from your hardware and software purchase.

Adrian and I plan on continuing our testing for the next SolidWorks World in 2014 so please keep checking back for updates. We are planning on creating some new tests and new ways to display the results. If you have any suggestions please add a comment to this or any of our other articles.

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

 

 

FeatureManager Design Tree "Flat Tree" option - New for SolidWorks 2013

SolidWorks 2013 has 2 new FeatureManager Design Tree features. In my May Blog, I highlighted the Feature Manager Design Tree "Favorites" option. The second new feature is the Feature Manager Design Flat Tree option.

The FeatureManager Design Tree View allows
the user to show a "Flat Tree" option. a Flat Tree is where the
features are shown in the order they were created, instead of hierarchically.
In a flat view, curves, 2D sketches, 3D sketches are not absorbed into the
features that reference them.

Note: the Flat Tree View is only for parts and the following items
are unabsorbed in Flat Tree View:

• Simple
  hole


• Hole
  Wizard holes


• Mounting
  boss


• Lip/Groove


• Snap
  hook groove


• Vent


• Snap
  hook


• Vent


• Snap
  hook


• Sheet
  metal feature


• Library
  feature


• Weldment
  structural member


• Sketch
  block

Here's how it works:

Right mouse click on the part name in the FeatureManager DesignTree. In the pull down menu, go to Tree Display and click on Show Flat Tree View.

Below is the FeatureManager Design tree using the Flat Tree option:

Notice that the sketches are not absorbed under their associated feature; sketches and features are now in the order in which the model was built. This tree option can be toggled on and off at any time. 

Thanks!

Judy Marlo

Application Engineer

CATI St. Louis