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

The help file leads you to believe it is a simple issue -basically saying when this option is off, EPDM will remember and use the rights from previous states. In reality, it is much more complex.

What makes it hard is that some workflow rights from previous states are used, some are not. To compound the confusion, you can have different behaviors depending on the rights in the current state!

So get out your crib sheets, here is how to calculate what rights you will have in a state when the “Ignore permissions in previous states”option is off.

• “Delete“ and “Increment Revision” rights are what I call negatives. If you have ever lost this right, you will not have it in this state even if this state specifically grants it to you.
• “Read file contents“, “Permit or deny group-level access to files” and “Share files to another folder” are positives, if you ever have had this right, you will have it in this state even if this state specifically does not grant it to you.
• The ”Checkout file” and “Rename” rights are not affected by this option. You will have this right if the current state permits it.

A state where the “Ignore permissions in previous states” flag is turned on, provides a temporary override of the above rules…kind of like “base” when playing tag. Once that file moves back into a state with the ignore option off, the above rules come right back into play.

Crazy powerful, and if you stop to think about it, this is the way most companies work. Thus the default is correct, most of the time this option should be off.

Dynamic Balancing of Machinery
When: February 7, 2-3pm EST
What: Webinar
Rotating imbalance is a common source of vibration. In this webinar you will learn how to simulate this imbalance on rotating components using SolidWorks Motion. This imbalance can be graphed out over time or cycles. Design changes can be implemented using SolidWorks configurations, and the effect of these changes can be studied by duplicating studies.
To register for this free event, Click Here.

An Introduction to the Simulation Suite in SolidWorksWhen: February 17, 10 – 11am EST
What: Webinar
Do you constantly face engineering challenges and product quality issues? Are you fighting a lot of ECOs and warrenty battles? If so, come join us on a one hour introductory presentation on how to leverage functionality within SolidWorks that have helped a lot of companies score in these areas. Learn how much traditional analysis has progressed, and how it is no longer a specialist’s forte, but a tool that every engineer should have and use.
To register for this free event, Click Here.

Surfacing – Advanced Modeling TechniquesWhen: February 21, 9 – 10am
What: Webinar
Have you already mastered the basic SolidWorks modeling tools? Are you looking to take your modeling skills to the next level? Sign up for this webinar to break down the mysterious wall of surfacing modeling and learn practical tricks that you’ll be able to utilize on a daily basis.
To register for this free event, Click Here.

Solving Valve Problems using CFDWhen: February 28, 10 – 11am EST
What: Webinar
Join us for a webinar where we explore how to build a virtual flow bench to monitor the above parameters right inside SolidWorks. Leveraging the power of configurations and easy flow setups, the audience will learn how to determine these critical values in hours without building a single prototype.
To register for this free event, Click Here.

3DVision Technologies is committed to providing engineers, designers and their design teams with the products and solutions needed to design some of the world’s greatest products. For more information on 3DVision Technologies full suite of products and solutions visit us at www.3dvision.com or call us at 1-800-745-3136.

Carrie Patrick
Marketing Manager
3DVision Technologies ]]> http://www.3dvision.com/wordpress/index.php/2012/01/26/3dvision-technologies-february-webinar-series/feed/ 0 http://www.3dvision.com/wordpress/index.php/2012/01/20/free-driveworks-solo-online-training/ http://www.3dvision.com/wordpress/index.php/2012/01/20/free-driveworks-solo-online-training/#comments Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:36:40 +0000 cpatrick http://www.3dvision.com/wordpress/?p=4330 Not often is free training offered but DriveWorks Solo is offering a live online class being presented by a DriveWorks Solo Applications Engineer next week.

What is DriveWorks Solo?
DriveWorks Solo allows you to create custom products quickly and easily AND generate all the detailed manufacturing information automatically in SolidWorks.

What are the benefits of DriveWorks Solo?
- You can create customizable forms to aid selections
- Preview Results – 3D Models, Drawings and Document
- Re-use Existing Company Data
- Template Documents for Responding to Sales Inquiries
- New Files Created Automatically

Session Schedule:
Session 1 Covers: Model Capture, Creating Forms, Building Rules, Running your Project, New File Names and Locations
January 24 11am – Noon EST

Session 2 Covers: Replacing Files, Tables, Form Navigation, Improving your Forms, Driving Replacement Files, Controlling Custom Properties
January 25 11am – Noon EST

Session 3 Covers: Documents, Controlling Drawings
January 26 11am – Noon EST

Sign up for all three sessions to get the full training course. Register today!

Carrie Patrick
Marketing Manager
3DVision Technologies ]]> http://www.3dvision.com/wordpress/index.php/2012/01/20/free-driveworks-solo-online-training/feed/ 0 http://www.3dvision.com/wordpress/index.php/2012/01/19/sql-convert-to-hex/ http://www.3dvision.com/wordpress/index.php/2012/01/19/sql-convert-to-hex/#comments Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:32:19 +0000 Jeff Sweeney http://www.3dvision.com/wordpress/?p=4322 Often times when getting really down and dirty with SolidWorks Enterprise PDM, I need to know a document’s ID value in hex format. Back in the old days [yesterday] I would do a SQL query on the document’s table and then manually calculate the hexadecimal value.

However I found a SQL function that will do the conversion for me:
CONVERT(varbinary,<value>)

Cool eh? Thus a SQL statement like this:

SELECT DocumentID, CONVERT(varbinary,DocumentID) as IDHex, Filename FROM Documents where Filename like 'Big Tuna%'

Returns:

Yeah, SQL rocks.

As we all know, looking through a large assembly, checking file properties can be a tedious task. (At least that is the excuse I always use.) I’ve found Assembly Visualization can be a great tool to quickly skim through your assembly’s components looking for missing information.

Here’s how I could use it to find any parts in my assembly without material specified:

1. Start the Visualization tool (it is either on your assembly or evaluate toolbar by default)

2. Right mouse button click on any of the headers (except “File Name”) and choose “Add Column”, or find any column with a little black arrow pointing to the right.

3. Click on that arrow and choose “More…”

4. Choose the property you want to examine. (Check it out, you could work with formula too!)

5. Now you can sort by this property by clicking on its heading and your parts with missing information will come to the top. You can quickly see I haven’t assigned a material to my “crank-knob”

Thank you for attending “Jeff Sweeney’s SolidWorks tip of the randomly selected interval” please tune in next time, at a time to be determined when I feel like it, to learn more cool SolidWorks tips and tricks.

Most web searches are going to point you to use Microsoft’s DSOFile. It’s a good solution, but using it means you need to install it on your client machines (and watch out there is a 32 and 64 bit version out there!) or create a release package. Neither option is very fun if you are just writing a quick SolidWorks macro.

Luckily, the SolidWorks Document Manager is a great option. It gives you write access to many properties inside of a SolidWorks file.

Add “SwDocumentMgr 20XX Type Library” to the list of your macro’s references and your wish is the Document Manager’s command.

IMHO, the documentation is a very “tedious” so here is a little VBA snippet showing how easy this COM object is. This snippet will add the custom property “Material” to the file and assign it the value “Adamantium”:

Dim swDoc As SwDMDocument12
Dim swDM As SwDMApplication
Dim mOpenErrors As SwDmDocumentOpenError
Dim objClassfac As SwDMClassFactory
Set objClassfac = CreateObject("SwDocumentMgr.SwDMClassFactory")
Set swDM = objClassfac.GetApplication(<This is a string/key that you need to request from SolidWorks>)
Set swDoc = swDM.GetDocument(strDocFileName, SwDmDocumentType.swDmDocumentPart, False, mOpenErrors)
swDoc.AddCustomProperty "Material", SwDmCustomInfoType.swDmCustomInfoText, "Adamantium"
swDoc.Save
swDoc.CloseDoc

Just as easy as DSOFile, and more powerful -if you are wanting to update configuration specific properties, DSOFile is going to let you down.

DSOFile is still the best tool for working with file properties of other OLE type (read: Office) documents but when it comes to SolidWorks documents, all the cool kids are using the SolidWorks Document Manager.

By the way, if you are looking for a way to impress your date, read more about the Document Manager. It gives you more control over your SolidWorks files than just messing with file properties. With it you can write applications that emulate file management tools to perform such tasks as renaming, replacing, and copying SolidWorks documents -you don’t even have to have SolidWorks installed!

uPrint SE 3D Printers build accurate, stable 3D models in ABSplus plastic. They’re ideal for determining form, fit and function in everything from ergonomics to manufacturing processes. These aren’t fragile lab beauties either. ABSplus is stronger than materials typically used by competitive 3D printers.

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To learn more about the new uPrint SE Print Pack, click here for more information.

Carrie Patrick
Marketing Manager
3DVision Technologies ]]> http://www.3dvision.com/wordpress/index.php/2012/01/06/3dvision-technologies-is-pleased-to-annouce-the-new-uprint-se-3d-print-pack/feed/ 0 http://www.3dvision.com/wordpress/index.php/2011/12/30/tips-for-your-configure-my-product-web-site/ http://www.3dvision.com/wordpress/index.php/2011/12/30/tips-for-your-configure-my-product-web-site/#comments Fri, 30 Dec 2011 14:53:06 +0000 Jeff Sweeney http://www.3dvision.com/wordpress/?p=4242 I’ll never admit this publicly, but when I’m specifying a component for my design, it’s a pretty big deal if a supplier has a nice 3D model for me to drop into my design. If other variable are pretty close, the company with the easiest to use CAD models often gets my specification.

I’ve noticed since the release of the newer versions of DriveWorks Live, more and more companies are allowing us to download their models directly from their web sites. (Bonus: No programs to install on my end!)

The less time I have to spend modeling your product, the happier I am.

If you have just purchased DriveWorks and are looking for some usability tips…

• I want a single part. An assembly only if I need to see the motion of your product. Even then, the fewer the parts the better. I don’t want to have to spend a lot of time managing your files.
• Don’t make me learn your part numbering schema to specify your product. Let me pick on pictures of options or worst case drop downs and radio buttons. I do want to know what the final part number is, after my specification is complete. (I like sites that allow me to watch the price change as I modify options.)
• I like meta data being put in the file’s properties, however let me choose the file properties names. I don’t want additional file properties that have no meaning to me that I have to manually delete. Your name, part number and description is pretty much all I need.
• A quote included with the part’s download is nice, so is a nice cut sheet; I don’t want the entire catalog.
• I want a simple configuration of your part. Most of the time I want your models for space claiming. I don’t need the helical threads, air fins or other crazy detail -it slows down my assemblies. You can put your company’s logo on the part if it is a decal. If you want the details in the part because it makes the models look cool, give them to me in a separate configuration.

Pretty tough list? Nah, not really. Most of this is out of the box stuff for DriveWorks. Don’t forget, I am your customer, you help me, I’ll help you by buying your product.

Here is a simple example where two standard c-channel structural members come together at what could become a welded joint (left side). Notice how Simulation has automatically meshed the structural member with beam elements (right side)! In Simulation 2012, you now have the option to render the beam mesh on the structural member geometry – a welcomed enhancement!

In Simulation, the purple spheres represent the ‘joint’ where the two or more beams are connected. There are also options for each beam’s end condition –rigid connection, hinged connection, etc.

How should you handle the automated power of Simulation with weldments? I say ‘handle with care’! Let’s assume that you have one of these c-channels as a simply supported beam – fixed at one end with a load applied at the other. The standard, cantilever beam that we all know and love from our Engineering studies! Recall that the deflection of the end of the beam is calculated by the following equation:
Deflection = (F * L^3) / (3 * E * I)
Where F is the force acting at the end of the beam, L is the length of the beam, E is Young’s Modulus for the beam material and I is the Moment of Inertia for the cross section of the beam.

This is valid, assuming the beam has a uniform cross section throughout its length. What if there are holes cut through the beam? In this scenario, the cross section of the beam is not uniform throughout the length – which is a critical assumption for the deflection of a simply supported beam. In this scenario, Simulation does not recognize the holes and still meshes the structural member with a Beam element.

In my opinion, you have two options for proceeding with the analysis. The first option is to recognize that using a Bea for the structural member is not an accurate representation of the model, but proceed with the analysis to obtain a baseline result. If this particular structural member does not significantly contribute to the overall strength of the model, you may choose to proceed based on these results. The second option would be to treat the structural member as a solid body. With this method you will obtain more accurate results with your analysis, especially if the structural member contributes to the overall strength of the model.

So the next time you’re reviewing your analysis results, be sure to review the assumptions made by both you and by Simulation. Once you’ve verified that all of the assumptions are valid, or at least that you can accept them, you will be well on your way to making sound decisions based upon your Simulation results. Now go make your products better with SolidWorks Simulation!