There’s been a whole lotta shakin’ going on here in SoCal but it’s going to take more then a little rumbling to keep me from bringing you some ASME goodness. This week we finally get to finish up on dimensioning features per Section 1.8 of ASME Y14.5M-1994. Make sure you go back and read the previous post, if you missed any of them. Let’s go ahead and jump right into the fun before we get hit with an aftershock.

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Earlier this week I I took part in training, offered by our VAR, on PDMWorks Enterprise (PDMWE) 2008. For the past 5 years, or so, I have been involved in a few PDMWorks Workgroup (PDMWW) implementations and I continue to have nothing but praise for the software. I am not afraid to admit it’s shortcomings but it does do an awesome job when used within it’s limits. In my current position, I administer a PDMWW vault that has been customized so much that most PDMWW administrators would not be able to recognize it. Using custom scripts, we have been able to add extra functionality that allows us to use the system in accordance with our Document Control requirements. After this weeks training, I have learned that all the extra functionality that we added to PDMW is available in PDMWE right out of the box. In lieu of  the SolidWorks tips I normally offer on Mondays, I am going to offer you a brief introduction to what PDMWorks Enterprise offers and how it differs from PDMWorks Workgroup.

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As promised, we are back with part two of creating the base for our stapler. If you miss the first half of this post make sure you go back and read it since it introduces you to Dynamic Mirrors, Instant3D and a different approach to modeling. So with out further a due, one to the stapler base.

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For weeks now I have been staring at the stapler on my desk thinking “This would be so much fun to model.” A stapler has everything; formed parts, machined parts, sheet metal parts, springs, rivets and injection molded parts. What better way to put to use some of the tools and concepts we have explored together? Every week we will build another component of the stapler until we have all the components that make the assembly. After the stapler is built, maybe can use it to try out some other functions of SolidWorks. Today we are going to begin with the base of the stapler since this is the foundation of the whole assembly.

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For the past couple of weeks for Standards Tuesday…ummm…Wednesday…No it was Standards Tuesday, now it’s Standards Wednesday. Anyway, for the past couple of weeks I have been covering the Dimensioning of Features per Section 1.8 of ASME Y14.5M-1994. Today we are going to continue this section and it looks like this section will take us until next week to finish, but it’s worth it. Almost every aspect of dimensioning drawings uses the rules described in this section.

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Here we are at the start of another fine week. On Friday, I announced a schedule change and today being Monday means that we will be discussing various tools, tips and tricks. One new tool in SolidWorks 2008 that I have been wanting to cover some time now is the FilletXpert. Since I am using FilletXpert in my model on this coming Friday, I figured this is the best time to introduce you to it. The are a few things you can do with FilletXpert but we will concentrate on creating multiple fillets and managing corners.

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Hey Kids! I know…I know… It’s been way too long since I posted anything and believe me, I feel bad about it. Too many projects and not enough time in the day but it will get better. I have decided to make a change to the scheduling of my post to free up some time and still provide great SolidWorks information for my readers. Starting next week some things are going to change.

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Woo-Hoo! Another Standards Tuesday and I am so excited. I hope you have been looking forward to this week’s installment as much as I have been. Last week we began looking into Section 1.8, Dimensioning Features, of ASME Y14.5M-1994 and judging by the traffic it seems to be the most popular Standards Tuesday yet. If you missed it, make sure you go back and read Standards Tuesday - Dimensioning Features Pt1.Today we will continue discussing dimensioning features per ASME such as irregular outlines, spotfaces & knurling. So without any further a due, let us jump right in.

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Hey Kids! Here we are at a start of another fun filled week. To start things off this week we are going to continue our tour of the DimXpert command. Last week we began exploring the DimXpert tool with with the now famous posts: Introduction to the DimXpertManager and DimXpert Datums, Sizes and Locations. This week I decided to do something different for this subject only. Since the DimXpert has soooo many topics that need to be covered, I will break up the post to make room for other topics. I would hate for you to get burnt out on such a great tool.

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Earlier this week I introduced the DimXpert Manager and auto dimensioning simple parts. Using the DimXpert to auto dimension simple parts is a great simple tool but as your part becomes more complex it may become necessary to dimension the part manually. Before we can jump right into dimensioning your part we first should make sure we are familiar with the available tools offered by the DimXpert. Today we are going to go over the datum, size dimensions and location dimension tools before moving on to more tools in the coming days. I know it seems like a lot that will be covered but it will all tie together nicely in the very end.

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