The SolidWorks Geek

Over the past few years my career has evolved from 3D design to full-on CAD systems management. In fact a couple of months ago I started a brand new position as the Product Structure and CAD Systems Manager for a Southern California solar power company. Unfortunately this new position has required my full attention since I started and honestly it has kept me away from one of the things I love most…. connecting with my readers. Luckily on Friday, with the help of one of the most dedicated group of SolidWorks designers I have had the privilege to work with, a major milestone was met. That means that, starting next week, I should begin to have time again to begin writing more often.

So to kick off my rebirth, I want to continue what I started and share with you more tips for companies that do not have a CAD Manger on hand. Just like the first five tips, these tips are some solutions I have developed personally over the past 15 years. Throughout most of my career I have worked for start-up businesses. Since most start-ups are often cautious with their funds, I was often fortunate enough to be able to play many roles within each organization. This meant, that in addition to my primary role of mechanical designer, I would also need to be a Drafter, Design Engineer, IT specialist, Web Designer, Graphic Artist, System Administrator and even Travel Agent. Wearing that many hats within an organization has allowed me to develop a strong sense of what works in most business environments. The ideas and practices I am sharing with you have made huge impacts in nearly every company I have worked for. Companies that I have implemented these practices in have experienced gains in productivity, quality and have even seen some financial benefits. Granted some of these tips might be touchy-feely philosophies and not every tip will work for you but giving even a few of them a shot could make it easier to track changes, share design information with all sources, reduce manufacturing errors or even just make your day a little bit easier. So without future a due, let’s jump back in with today’s five tips.

Do not used mapped drives for building assemblies. Use UNC paths instead.

Mapped drives are my biggest pet peeves. They may seem like a nice convenience when working in a networked environment but I have seen many problems that could have been avoided simply by limiting the use of mapped drives. It can be nice to simply switch drives to quickly jump to a shared location on the companies network. But there is a hidden danger. The mapped drives you have on your system may not necessarily be the same mapped drives on another designers PC. This may seem like no problem at all but SolidWorks does remember paths and that includes the drive letters used. If you insert a part into an assembly by switching drives to drive “M” and locating the model. SolidWorks will remember that the part is located on the “M” drive. Now when you send that assembly over to one of your coworkers, if they do not have the same drive “M” mapped on their system, the assembly will not find the model. I cannot describe how many times I have encountered this in all the companies I have worked in and I must say it is extremely frustrating.To avoid this issue, I always use the UNC path whenever possible. The UNC path refers to the “Universal Naming Convention” used for network locations. A UNC path will be the same regardless of the computer used to access it. An example would be a path that looks like this: \\servername\folder\file.sldprt. Using this path will eliminate many reference errors I run across in many organizations.

Do not use revision letters or descriptions in models and drawings that represent released data.

If you use a PDM system, your organization may have already adopted this practice but for those who are not using a PDM system you may feel that it is easier to track revision history by adding the revision level to the file name. Adding the revision to the file is a common practice that I have encountered throughout the years. The problem with adding the revision level to the file name is updating references after a revision level of a child part has be changed. As you may have encountered, the process for updating references for files outside of PDM can be a major pain in the rear.My suggestion, for those who do not use PDM, is to keep all the models and drawings saved as the part number minus the revision level. In the same folders that contain the models create another folder named “Archive”. When changes are made to a document, save the old copy in the archive folder with the revision. In the referenced models that are used in the active structure, update the revision level in the Custom Properties. As changes are made to models in the active structure, all of the referenced assemblies and drawings will update automatically.

Create Sub-Assemblies and parts to reflect the manufacturing process.

SolidWorks has a great feature that allows you to create and dissolve sub-assemblies from within an assembly.  It is extremely helpful to adjust your document structure on the fly but restraint must be practiced. In my experience, it is best to create a document structure that closely follows the manufacturing process. Having a keen sense of the manufacturing process and creating parts and assemblies that capture the design intent has many benefits. Only when parts are modeled to capture the process by which they are machined, molded, stamped, extruded or casted and how they are then assembled, can design issues can truly be addressed digitally. In addition to the actual models and assemblies, having the drawings follow the manufacturing steps will reduce the number of manufacturing errors. Unfortunately I have joined many companies that did not follow this advice and they encountered manufacturing errors but the drawings were basically left up to interpretation. Not every individual in the manufacturing process interpreted that process that should be followed the same and sometimes mistakes would cost the company hundreds or even thousands of dollars attributed to scrap and lost time.

Use drawing standards that will be clear to anybody that may encounter the drawings.

If you have been a reader for sometime you may know exactly how I feel about drawing standards. In my opinion drawing standards, such as ASME or ISO standards, are extremely important to ensure that the information delineated in a drawing is easily understood by all potential readers of the drawing without any interpretation. Unfortunately, I have seen a growing trend in many companies to adopt a buffet style approach to drawing standards. Many people tend to pick and choose which areas of a drawing standard they wish to adopt. The most amazing part to me is most of these organizations that adopt only portions of the drawing standards also have a statement on their drawings that say something like “Interpret all dimensions per ASME Y14.5”

Why are these organizations adopting bastardized versions of drawing standards? I have heard many excuses including “Our machinist don’t understand the standards.” or “we want to make things easier for our inspectors” or my favorite “It doesn’t matter that our drawings don’t follow any standards since we never send our drawings outside of the organization.” Talk about setting yourself up for failure. But seriously what are the benefits of following drawing standards? Here are a few reasons why I feel that ALL organizations should always follow the most recent version of a nationally recognized drawing standard:

1. Creating drawings to a set standards known worldwide will help to eliminate confusion when drawings are sent to outside vendors.
2. Training new designers, drafters, engineers, machinist, inspectors and other new employees will be easier since they will not have to learn a new “flavor” of drawing standards. If every company followed ASME or ISO standards, everybody will fully understand the information being conveyed.
3. Drawings sent to outside vendors will be understood without having to be trained on drawing standards used by different companies.
4. Standards such as ASME and ISO have been around longer than your organization. This is not to say that ASME or ISO know better than your organization…no wait…that is exactly what I am saying. These standards have been around longer than most people alive. They have evolved throughout the years as the industry ahs changed. Millions of engineers, designers, drafters have collaborated to create a very robust standard that works for nearly every type of organization. Why ignore years of expert advice. I am sorry to say that the writers of the standards more than likely know more than you. Why not take there advice?
5. Why spend countless hours and money to create a new standard that will more than likely not even come close to the completeness of ASME or ISO standards. Instead of spending money to pay one of your engineers or CAD managers to create standards, it would be more beneficial to just adopt one that is already written. It is better to concentrate your time and money one training your design team to understand existing standards better.