My Top 5 Enhancements in SolidWorks 2009

Posted on November 28th, 2008 in Assemblies, Configurations, Dimensions, Models, Productivity, Sketches, SolidWorks by The SW Geek

Hey Geeks! I hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving. Let me start off by apologizing to all of my readers for my most recent absence. I have been knee deep in a project that will be extremely important to the future of the SolidWorks Geek. When the right time comes, I will tell you more about it in detail. So on to the fun stuff… Last week I installed SolidWorks 2009, so as of today The SolidWorks Geek blog has gone to the new version. I wanted to start the transition off with telling you about some of my favorite new additions to SolidWorks 2009. I can spend hours telling you about all of my favorite additions, so to keep you from falling asleep on your keyboard I decided to narrow it down to 5 features.

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Splitting Parts Revisted Pt2

Posted on October 16th, 2008 in Models, Multi Bodies, Productivity, SolidWorks by The SW Geek

Earlier this week, I revisited the techniques I discussed in my video Splitting a Part in SolidWorks. I left off at splitting the part into two solid bodies and that is where will be picking up from today. If you missed the first part of this article, I would strongly suggest you go back and read it here.

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Using Insert Part to Create Derived Parts

Posted on October 13th, 2008 in Models, Productivity, SolidWorks by The SW Geek

Last week, I introduced you to making derived sketches to save time in duplicating features on your part. Today is all about using the Insert Part command to create a derived part. A derived part is an extremely useful technique for adding features to a part without affecting the original part.  When the original part is updated the derived part is updated as well. There a many reasons you may need to use this technique in your usage of SolidWorks. I have seen it used by molders to prepare a model by adding drafts, splits and modifying faces for making the mold tool. I use this technique when I have a purchased part in my design library that I need to make modifications without actually affecting the geometry of the original part.

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Using Derived Sketches in Parts

Posted on October 8th, 2008 in Models, Productivity, Sketches, SolidWorks by The SW Geek

I know last week I mentioned that we were finished with sketch tools, for the time being, but I figured one more couldn’t hurt. I was working on a model for work earlier this week that I had created a few features using Derived Sketches and I thought it would be a great topic to discuss. Unlike when using Convert Entities, Derived Sketches can be moved anywhere on your part and they will still maintain their reference to the parent sketch. As the parent sketch is updated, each derived sketch is updated regardless of it’s location.

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The Modify Sketch Tool

Posted on September 22nd, 2008 in Productivity, Sketches, SolidWorks by The SW Geek

♫ It’s just another manic Monday. I wish it were Sunday ’cause that’s my funday ♫♪. Since it has to be Monday, let’s make the best of it with another look at some more sketch tools. Last week, we started looking at some sketch tools in the world famous article,The Right Sketch Tool for the Job. This week we will look at a another sketch tool that is sure to make your job easier, the Modify Sketch tool.

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The Right Sketch Tool for the Job

Posted on September 15th, 2008 in Productivity, Sketches, SolidWorks by The SW Geek

Sketches are such an  important aspect of SolidWorks. Virtually everything that is modeled in SolidWorks is controlled by a sketch. Yet, It still amazes me how even though everybody creates sketches daily, a lot of users aren’t aware of all the cool sketch tools available. Over the next couple of weeks we will look at some the the lesser known sketch tools available that will ultimately help you creating better sketches.

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Adding a Library Feature to a Part

Posted on August 25th, 2008 in Design Library, Models, Productivity, SolidWorks by The SW Geek

Now that we added a feature to the Design Library, we can now add it to a new part. Adding features from the Design Library are as easy as drag-and-drop, so easy even an AutoCAD user can do it ( I Kid).  There are two types of features you will drop into a part; features with references and without references. Today we are going to concentrate on inserting features without references.

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Add Features to the Design Library

Posted on August 25th, 2008 in Customize, Design Library, Productivity, SolidWorks by The SW Geek

Here we are at the beginning of another fine week in the blogosphere. I hope each and every one of you had a great weekend. I also hope you got some rest because I have tons of tips and tricks to throw your way this week. Today we will start with our continuing exploration of the benefits of using the Design Library. In the past we explored such topics as creating a notes library, adding forming tools and adding components to the library with Mate references. If you missed any of these post you can go here to find them all: http://www.theswgeek.com/tag/design-library/. Today we are going to cover adding your most commonly used features to the design library to speed up your design process.

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Design Faster with Design Library and Mate References Pt2

Posted on August 18th, 2008 in Assemblies, Design Library, Mates, Productivity, SolidWorks by The SW Geek

In Design Faster with Design Library and Mate References Pt1, I described the process for creating components with Mate References to be used in the Design Library. The Design Library is a great place to store assembly components you use most often in order to streamline the assembly process for new assemblies. This example will illustrate the process for creating a new assembly quickly and easily from Design Library components.

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What is PDMWorks Enterprise?

Posted on July 28th, 2008 in Misc, PDM, Productivity by The SW Geek

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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