SolidWorks 2014 - new features

Get ready, SolidWorks 2014 SP 0 should be available on Monday for download.  CATI is in the middle of the rollout presentations, and it may not be too late for you to attend.  

One of the enhancements that I think you will all enjoy is not found in the What's New document.  Most people will probably miss it.  When you do download your installation you will see that the download size is now 2GB smaller!!!  You no longer have to download every language as part of the installer.  You now have the option to select only the languages that you need.

This is a big step in the right direction as everyone begins their 2014 downloads.

 

Happy downloading!

Bryan Pawlak, CSWE

Download WhatsNew2014

 

SolidWorks- Copy drawing sheet into another file

What do you do when you need to copy a drawing sheet from one drawing file and paste it into another drawing file? It is actually a very simple process and you would expect that from SolidWorks.

First, let's take a look at how to copy the sheet. All you have to do is right click on the sheet that you want and select copy.

Once you copy the sheet, you can open the destination drawing and do a control-v in the property manager or Edit, Paste from the drop down menu.

After you paste the sheet, you will then get an option as to where you want to place the sheet. Before the sheet, after the sheet or move to the end.

As you would expect, SolidWorks makes copying sheets from one file to another as easy as it can be.
 

Phil Whitaker
Computer Aided Technology, Inc.

SolidWorks 2014 Enhancement - Contact Pair Visualization in SolidWorks Simulation

SolidWorks 2014 - Contact Pair Visualization in SolidWorks Simulation

New in SolidWorks 2014 - Naturally visualize all contacts and connections defined in a SolidWorks Simulation analysis to clearly understand contact relations between the different components of an assembly.

• Gain a clear understanding of what contacts are defined and how parts interact


• Increase understanding of simulation model setup


• Quickly identify any necessary changes

>>Visit CATI's SolidWorks 2014 page for more information and videos. Or, see What's New in SolidWorks 2014 live at one of our Design Innovation Summit Events.

 

Jim TeDesco
Marketing Manager
Computer Aided Technology, Inc.

 

 

SolidWorks 2014 Enhancement - Solar Access Study

SolidWorks 2014 - Solar Access Study

Set a defined date, time, and geographic location to create high-fidelity renderings that accurately simulate lighting from the sun in SolidWorks 2014.

• Easily account for real-world shadow and light position at any given date and time


• Use the wizard to quickly create a Solar Access Study for a high-resolution lifelike animation


• Maximize (or minimize) sun exposure or avoid shadow using important positioning data

>>Visit CATI's SolidWorks 2014 page for more information and videos. Or, see What's New in SolidWorks 2014 live at one of our Design Innovation Summit Events.

 

Jim TeDesco
Marketing Manager
Computer Aided Technology, Inc.

 

SolidWorks 2014 Enhancement - Selective Part Section View in Assemblies

SolidWorks 2014 - Selective Part Section View in Assemblies

SolidWorks 2014 allows you to select the components you want to include (or exclude) when creating a section view, and quickly develop multiple ways to investigate assemblies.

• Faster sectioning with greater flexibility


• Create focused views of external designs and internal mechanisms


• Easily gain insight into the internal components of a design

>>Visit CATI's SolidWorks 2014 page for more information and videos. Or, see What's New in SolidWorks 2014 live at one of our Design Innovation Summit Events.

 

Jim TeDesco
Marketing Manager
Computer Aided Technology, Inc.

 

How to change part quantity in a Bill of Material without editing the Drawing BOM

During a support call, this question came up. The customer stated, "My assembly has a total of 75 wire ties. I only have 1 part file inserted in my assembly but I want to show 75 as a quantity in my Bill of Material. How can I do this?" 

There are 3 ways that I can think of off the top of my head. Pick and choose which one is the best solution for you unless you have one of your own:

One way is to edit the quantity cell for that part in the drawing Bill of Material and overwrite the value. Another solution would be to pattern the part 75 times and suppress the pattern in the Feature Manager Tree. This would also show 75 as a quantity for the wire ties.  A third way is to use the File > Properties portion of the part itself. 

In this illustration, I am using a part file called Basic. I opened up the File>Properties of this part. The following property window appears.   I added a Property Name called "Quantity". I also made the TYPE a Number.  Once the Property named "Quantity" was added, I was able to link that property to the BOM quantity box. I updated the "Value/Text Expression" box to show the desired quantity of 75. 

Once the property box is completed, click OK.

Next, I created a Bill of Material for my Basic part. The quantity entered as a property is now visible in the QTY column of the Bill of Material. Mission Accomplished!

 

I hope any of these 3 solutions is useful to you.  Feel free to share some of your own ideas!

 

Judy Marlo

Application Engineer

Computer Aided Technology Inc.

 

SolidWorks 2014 Enhancement - Residual Stress Analysis With SolidWorks Simulation and SolidWorks Plastics

SolidWorks 2014 - Residual Stress Analysis With SolidWorks Simulation and SolidWorks Plastics

Accurately analyze stress in injection-molded plastic parts under other structural loads, accounting for in-mold stresses and temperature changes with SolidWorks 2014.

• Account for the residual stress from injection molding


• Show part deformation from cooling to room temperature


• Include built-in stresses in the part while under load

>>Visit CATI's SolidWorks 2014 page for more information and videos. Or, see What's New in SolidWorks 2014 live at one of our Design Innovation Summit Events.

 

Jim TeDesco
Marketing Manager
Computer Aided Technology, Inc.