Have you ever noticed how disorganized all your default SolidWorks files are (document templates, sheet formats, BOM’s, cut lists, custom property templates, etc.)?  After a default installation, they are all randomly crammed into a handful of directories including but not limited to the locations listed below:

• C:\Program Files\SolidWorks\SolidWorks\data\
• C:\Program Files\SolidWorks\SolidWorks\lang\english\
• C:\ProgramData\SolidWorks\SolidWorks\

There’s something extremely dangerous about storing your customized files in directories like the ones listed above.  What happens if you upgrade?  Uninstall?  Reinstall?  Files in your ‘Program Files’ directory are not safe, so why store all your customized templates there?  How are you going to share your customized files with the rest of your co-workers?

SOLUTION:

Download and run:

This executable file will automatically extract a ‘SolidWorks Files’ directory to your C:\ drive with a host of sub-folders that mimic the list of file locations available in your system options (see image below).  I’ve already organized these folders to include all of the default 2012 template file sets.

To finish the setup, a PDF file will automatically open explaining the finishing touches that need to be completed.  Pay attention to the fact that the instructions you need to follow vary depending on whether you’re setting up the files for multiple users or just a single user.

BONUS:

You’ll also notice that I’ve included a handful of bonus files along with the file set:

• Document Templates
• Sheet Formats
• Drafting Standards
• Custom Property Tab Template
• My personal keyboard shortcuts, mouse gestures, and toolbar layout

You can read an explanation of these additional files by clicking here.

If you enjoyed this post, you might also be interested in:

• Default SolidWorks System Options Reviewed
• Mouse Gestures that Save Time

http://www.3dvision.com/video/solidworks2012/WhatsNewSolidWorks2012.html

Enjoy !

This week the youngest had homework and we found ourselves short one computer. The fighting began. So I went to the basement, threw some parts together, installed Ubuntu (Linux) and within an hour had everyone in the house on their own computer.

(This is what the computer looked like when I set it on his desk.)

This homemade machine didn’t have a part on it less than four years old, most parts were significantly older, yet he went to my Google Docs account and put together a rather nice looking report complete with pictures and even a little graph. The performance was pretty good perhaps even as good as your top of the line CAD station works with office documents.

So I got to thinking, in the last few years the need for increasingly faster computers has tapered off. Aside from Great Aunt Eleanor’s PC games, hardware seems to have caught up with software. Except for CAD.

Companies are still buying hardware every few years to get the most out of their CAD systems.

**Special note before I go any further – I don’t have any more of a look into the future of SolidWorks than you do. This is just one guy sitting in his little cubical under the big florescent light wondering and scratching his chin…**

Back two years ago at SolidWorks World, they showed us what SolidWorks may look like on the cloud. (From now on let’s use the correct term “Software as a Service” – SaaS. Please!?) People ran into the streets, screaming the sky was falling. SolidWorks, it seemed, had finally jumped the shark. Hey I was one of them. At the time it was big and scary.

I know SolidWorks as an SaaS application wouldn’t work for everyone. Some people aren’t going to be able to have their files stored off site. (Though these exact same people don’t seem to hesitate to put their files in a public DropBox folder.) However take a minute, and step back and wonder about not having to get a new machine every other year, not downloading new video drivers or searching for hardware compatibility.

What if this crazy hardware race that we have been living with for the past twenty years is finally slowing down?

I hope it happens.

Well, SolidWorks 2012 SP0 (which was officially released earlier this week) has introduced an enhancement that will probably fly under most peoples’ radars, but it will finally get me using mouse gestures on a daily, hourly, minutely, and even secondly basis.  The enhancement is simple – you can now assign the ‘OK’ and ‘Cancel’ commands as mouse gestures (you also now have the ability to assign custom macros to gestures).  The ‘OK’ command as a mouse gestures saves me from stumbling my left hand all the way across my keyboard to the ‘Enter’ key which may or may not have been recognized as the ‘OK’ shortcut.

This enhancement is too great to be overlooked.  If mouse gestures were too much trouble for you to use in the past, try giving my ultra-simplistic mouse gesture mapping a try in 2012.

Save a rotated 3D view

• When you go to View>Modify>3D Drawing View, you can choose any view and rotate it any direction.  When you choose a view that you like, it will stay like that.  That way you can get a great view on the drawing with a short amount of time.

Combine notes

• If you have multiple notes on your drawing but you want to combine them, before you would need to copy and paste the text.  All you really need to do is just drag and drop one note to another.  They get combined.  If the main note is numerically indented, when you drop the other note on it, it will follow the same order.

Edit multiple dimensions at once

• If you select a bunch of dimensions, you can edit them all at once.  You can add tolerance information, text, precision, etc.

I hope these tips help keep you productive.  If you have any questions about these, please contact 3DVision.

The article caught my attention specifically due to the “flow” diagrams drawn in the article explaining airflow over the wing section and aileron control surface. In the below diagram, taken from the article, Dean explains three cases of air flow relative to a control surface.

1. Clean airflow at the neutral control surface desired for level flight.
2. When up or down direction is applied to the control surface the air opposite the control surface direction of travel redirects the flow to reattach. This case shows a tight fit between control surface and main structure.
3. Hinge gaps allow high-pressure air to leak from one side to the other. This weakens airflow on top of control surface partially destroying the bottom airflows ability to rejoin it. The result is poor control surface response during slow speeds.

AMA Article Diagram

According to the article ”The high pressure on top, as shown would leak through, given a chance. That chance would be a gap in the elevator and control surface. The result is a flat sheet of air that squirts through the gap and distorts the outside of the hinge line. This reduces the effectiveness of the elevator and creates extra drag.”

This section piqued my interest as the hinge gap shown is very large, probably for demonstration purposes. Being an avid RC aircraft modeler I suspected that the small gaps I have in my personal aircraft’s control surfaces may not cause this affect. My hypothesis is that a very large unrealistic gap will cause this affect however using standard hinge techniques this affect will not be as dramatic as the article states. According to the article large hinge gaps can be sealed with strips of MonoKote covering resolving the problem. MonoKote is a heat shrink Mylar covering that is a standard in RC Aircraft construction.

This blogs purpose is to investigate the hinge gap spacing required to cause an airflow disturbance and air leak through the gap area.

Before we get into the model specifics let’s talk a little about aircraft wing terminology. Below is a diagram explaining common wing dimensions and terminology. The chord length is the distance from the leading edge of the wing or elevator to the trailing edge. The model used in this Flow Analysis is a 5.5″ main wing chord. 0.5″ of the chord is the control surface . The airfoil is symmetrical so the upper and lower camber are equal. The model consists of an extruded wing section with one hinge placed in the middle of the wing.

Three hinge types are standard in the RC modeling community. All hinges are typically spaced evenly across the control surface.

• Standard plastic barrel hinge comprised of two halves held together with a pin. The hinge is typically screwed or glued into place with the barrel tight against both mating sections. Hinges are typically 0.25″-0.5″ wide by 0.5-1″ total length. The barrel typically ranges from 0.0625″-0.125″ in diameter.
• CA hinges are flat woven wicking material that is inserted into a slot cut in the components. No or little gap is present with this style hinge. CA or Cyanoacrylate glue is used to wick through the hinge and bond with the hinged components.
• MonoKote hinges are seldom used in modeling except for small aircraft. The MonoKote hinge is typically a strip of MonoKote that is applied to the top and bottom of the hinge area.

SolidWorks Flow simulation was used to investigate the control surface configurations of four models.

1. A base line neutral control surface position using a no gap CA hinge Type.
2. Upward deflected control surface using a no gap CA hinge type.
3. Upward deflected control surface using a Standard plastic hinge with an 0.0625″ barrel diameter.
4. Upward deflected control surface using a CA Hinge and gap of 0.25″

All configurations have a 10 ft/second flow rate and a 0 degree angle of attack. The flow analysis was an external flow problem. A localized mesh control was used for each run to capture refined accurate results across the model boundary. All other default conditions were used for the flow setup.

Note All plots show a Pressure cut plot and Velocity Flow Trajectories.

Results:

• The base line model showed a symmetrical pressure on either side of the wing at 14.6 psi and a hinge crossing velocity of 16.45 ft/sec. This is expected results for the area section, hinge, and aileron placement.

• Flow Run Two shows a higher pressure on top of the aileron of 14.696 psi and a lower pressure on the bottom of 14.694 psi. The flow velocity across the top of the control surface drops to 5.9 ft/sec while the bottom speeds up to 11.2 ft/sec. As the article states the air “bends” to re attach to the flow at the trailing edge. This results in a turbulence on the bottom of the control surface aiding in the force of the air on the top of the control surface to push the trailing edge down.

Click here to view the embedded video.

• Flow Run Three demonstrates the 0.0625″ barrel hinge gap and the resulting air flow. The run does show airflow across the gap boundary, however probing the area the velocity in this gap is zero. The flow does extend past the wing trailing edge longer than the non-gap position, however the flow does fully rejoin. The same recirculation under the control surface is seen . The pressure on the end of control surface is however higher at 14.699 psi and lower on the bottom at 14.692 psi. The results show negligible flow through the gap and under most circumstances(slow flight) should not cause loss of control due to bleed through.

Click here to view the embedded video.

• Run Four had the largest gap similar to the gap in the article’s diagram. The flow results show airflow across the gap boundary and a velocity of the airflow in the gap of 3 ft/sec. The flow does extend past the wing trailing edge longer than the non-gap position and does not rejoin. The recirculation does cause a pressure equalization under and over the control surface. Loss of control surface effectiveness would occur in this scenario.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Conclusions: The article is correct to a point. The gap shown in his diagram would cause a control surface loss of effectiveness, however the gap is way too large to be considered realistic. Most experienced modelers know common practice is to get as tight of a fit between control surface and structure be it a wing, elevator, or rudder. A large gap is not only detrimental but is also unsightly and most modelers avoid them for the aesthetic reasons alone. If a modeler sticks to the new CA hinge or follows correct installation practice for a plastic hinge they will be alright in their flying endeavors.

eDrawings is a very effective product from Dassault Systemes SolidWorks that allows you to communicate your designs with customers, without having to transfer heavy files via email or even FTP sites. So, it seems perfectly suited to have an eDrawings App for tablets.

Ever since the first iPad hit the market I have been getting calls requesting that Dassault Systemes SolidWorks comes out with an eDrawings app for the iPad. So far, there have been no official announcements that this is being developed. However, this does not mean that all hope is lost. There are other Apps out there that will allow you to leverage your iPad/Android Tablet into an eDrawings wielding powerhouse. Citrix Receiver is one such App. The way it works is simple, you install eDrawings on your server at work, and then through Citrix Receiver you choose eDrawings from your “company catalog” and boom you are using eDrawings over the air on your tablet! Technology is AWESOME!!!

To learn more about Citrix Receiver you can visit the following link.
http://www.citrix.com/English/ps2/products/product.asp?contentID=1689163

What I found interesting is that a Toolbox part is identified by an internal flag in the file that makes it just that – a Toolbox part.  Even better is that the flag can be turned off!  This is accomplished by using a utility called ‘Set Document Property’.  You can find this tool in your SolidWorks installation folder under the “\Toolbox\data utilities” subfolder – named “sldsetdocprop.exe”.  Browse to this folder location, double-click on the file to run it. Once the ‘Set Document Property’ utility is running, the process is simple.

1.  The Toolbox file(s) should be saved in a location outside of the Toolbox folder on your hard drive. Then close your assembly and related SolidWorks part files. This is to allow the utility write access to the file(s).
2.  Click on the ‘Add Files…’ button and browse to the location of the Toolbox part(s).
3.  Change the ‘Property State: Yes’ radio button to ‘Property state: No’.
4.  Click on ‘Update Status’.
5.  Click ‘Close’.

Now when you re-open the assembly, your Toolbox icon in the Assembly Feature Tree has changed to a normal part icon.  Also, after a bit more research, I discovered that turning off this flag is one method of allowing a PDM system, like WorkGroup PDM, to check in your part into the vault when the WPDM options are set to not check in Toolbox parts.

Let’s start with the first part of that, “What is Instant3D”.  It lets you quickly create and modify geometry by using drag handles and scales.  You can use Instant3D in parts and assemblies.  To turn it on, select the “Features” toolbar and select “Instant3D” which is on the far right end of the toolbar.

The second part of the question, “Why would you want to use it” is a little more subjective.  If you need to change a dimension, you have the ability to just select the model face which will show the dimensions making it very quick to modify the model.

 This option is great when you are not “sure” of the design and you have some dimensions on the model.  The dimensions have a small blue dot at the end of the extension line which is what you left click and hold on.  Then a scale will show up that you can “drag-n-drop” on for your new dimensional value.

Another great way that you can use Instant3D is when you want to create an Extrude.  When you are done sketching and exit, select a segment of the sketch which will activate an arrow. 

This arrow will allow you to drag it away from the model, creating a boss extrude, or into the model creating an extrude cut.

This is just the basics of Instant3D.  I suggest you try it out and see how it can help you be more productive.

Ideal for budget-minded buyers, the new Fortus 250mc 3D Production System is the most affordable Fortus machine. This hybrid machine combines the efficiency of Dimension 3D Printers with the versatility of Fortus 3D Production Systems.

Powered by Insight software, customers can access more file processing options to customize build speed, part accuracy, and surface finish. In addition you are able to build parts with three slice options: .178 mm (.007), .254 mm (.010in) or .330 mm (.013in).

The Fortus 250mc allows users to produce parts in a variety of ABSplus colors and easily remove supports with SR-30 support material. The build envelope of the Fortus 250mc is 254 x 254 x 305 mm (10 x 10 x 12 in), allowing adequate space to produce most parts.

For more information, contact Shannon Morgan, 3DVision Technologies 3D Printing expert at 1-800-745-3136 or at smorgan@3dvision.com

Carrie Patrick
Marketing Manager
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