The Javelin Technologies Blog

Specification flow in DriveWorks can be a tricky beast to understand because there are a lot of interacting elements to it. However broken down each element is very simple. To help our customers better take advantage of this functionality I am going to do a multipart series on the topic. The first step is to understand the flow, what are the elements and what do the arrows mean, and what are the differences between the titles and the names.

The default specification flow looks like this:

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The SQL server will use up memory based on available system resources. Once the memory is allocated it may not be released until the service is restarted. This is normal behavior for SQL and is not a memory leak. The maximum memory used can be controlled through SQL management studio. Generally this option does not need to changed, unless memory usage is proving to be an issue for other applications running on the server.

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Mike Puckett

What is so special about these meetings, other than the fact that we get a delicious free dinner, free training, door prizes and get to talk to other SolidWorks users?This time, the keynote speaker comes directly from SolidWorks. Mike Puckett is the head of the Certification Group at SolidWorks and he will deliver very interesting presentations on Surface Modeling Tools and/or Advanced Mates (we expect tons of tech tips!!!). I am also sure that he will answer any questions you might have on passing the certification exams.

The first meeting is on Tuesday, June 11th in Mississauga. To register, please write a short email to Chris White, the leader of the Ontario SWUG at c.white@nexicom.net. Be aware that after Mike’s presentation, we will also have a brainstorming session on the latest enhancements and techniques introduced by SolidWorks 2013.

For more information on the Mississauga meeting CLICK HERE.

The next day, Wednesday, June 12th, Malay Desai will host the Western Ontario SWUG meeting in Waterloo. You can write Malay at swusergroup@gmail.com in order to register for this meeting. I suggest you do not wait too long, because there is a lot of interest in the area for this meeting. CLICK HERE for all the details about this meeting.

Thursday, June 13th, our good friends Michael Fernando and Kelvin Lamport host the Simcoe SWUG meeting in Barrie. You can contact them at swug.simcoe@gmail.com. Their meeting will be absolutely amazing because they succeeded in convincing Mike to deliver both his presentations!!! So we will learn about Surfaces AND Advanced Mates in the same evening!!! CLICK HERE for more information.

I am looking forward to meeting you next week in Mississauga, Waterloo and Barrie!

When you index a vault archive, the search tool can use the content search option to search a document’s contents or properties.

The first step is to set-up the Enterprise PDM index server, on the SQL Server hosting the vault database. The SolidWorks Enterprise PDM Installation Guide (found in the \Support\Guides\<lang>

directory on the installation media) outlines how this is done.

The keys steps include:

• Verifying the Microsoft Indexing Service installation
• Updating the vault database with the index server name
•  Changing the database server login account
• Changing the SQL Server login account
• Adding index server filters
• Rescanning the index catalog
• Managing vault index catalogs.

Once this is done, the SolidWorks Enterprise PDM Administration Guide (available from the Help pull-down in SolidWorks Enterprise PDM Administration, or it can be found in the \Support\Guides\<lang>directory on the installation media). Describes how to Index Vault Archives on a SQL Server. It also describes how to Configure the Index Service on a Non-SQL Server and how to Remove a Vault Index.

Have you ever tried imposing symmetry for shell elements in SolidWorks Simulation 2012 or older? If you have then you would probably know it is a very tedious process and requires exact knowledge of what the symmetry condition actually does to impose it for shells. The built-in symmetry condition does not work because it requires the symmetry to be applied on a face (which is also the cutting plane), whereas the shells are cut along an edge and not a face. The actual process of imposing this boundary condition was actually published in a previous blog post, “Use of Symmetry in Shell Elements“.

If you tried imposing symmetry boundary condition in SolidWorks 2013, pay close attention to the icon for symmetry plane selection. Did you notice any different between Simulation 2012 and 2013?

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I hope you liked the solution presented yesterday for quickly selecting all the faces that need to have draft applied on. That procedure could be used when appling any type of draft: neutral plane, parting line or step.

Can I do the face selection any faster? The answer is YES for Neutral Plane Draft! Just use the DraftXpert and take advantage of the Draft Analysis Tool that runs directly inside this command.

Watch this video for a demonstration of this technique:

A new sister company of Javelin, Cinema Suite Inc. has been working on developing tools for Indie game developers and film professionals. A software extension of the game software engine, Unity3D, Cinema Director will allow game developers to create awesome, cinematic cut scenes for their games quickly and easily, as well as sequence events during game run-time.  Film professionals and hobbyists will be able to pre-visualize their movie projects utilizing Cinema Suite’s technology, leveraging the power of the Unity3D game engine.  All this can be done without the need for scripting or programming inside the Unity3D environment.

We have been in Alpha for our product, Cinema Director, for the past month, and are now moving into Beta development.  As part of our beta testing process, we are happy to announce that we are partnering with Every1Games, for a Beta testing event on June 29th!

Every1Games  is a personal and professional development service company dedicated to increasing the accessibility of creative industries to young adults (14-25 Years) with mental health disorders and autism.  They provide a 5 day game design course integrating social skills strategies in a low-anxiety environment. They also provide social events and opportunities for youth and adults with Autism and Aspergers.

The Cinema Suite Inc. team, as well as Javelin as our main sponsor, are excited to host a UX testing event here at the Javelin Oakville office.  We will be working with Every1Games to provide critical feedback and testing of our Cinema Director product.  They will get to make a short movie with our tools, have some fun, and enjoy a catered lunch.

For more information, or to register for this event, please visit the Every1Games blog here.  If you or someone you know loves games and movies, and would like to try the beta of our software, please sign up by visiting our website at www.cinema-suite.com. You can also contact us directly, at support@cinema-suite.com.

Cheers!

Dan

dan@cinema-suite.com

We are looking for game designers at all levels of experience to beta test the newest technology in videogame development.
Cinema Director allows designers to easily create cut-scenes cinematics and run-time sequences.

Sometimes you have to draft tens or even hundreds of faces at the same time. Don’t you get tired of selecting them one by one?

Fortunately, SolidWorks offers two very elegant solutions for selecting these faces in bulk. The first solution is using the Draft Analysis Tool for painting the faces to draft in a specific color. Once they are “painted” you can use the Appearance Based Selection technique described in an earlier article posted on our blog.

Please click on the image below to access the full article and video demonstrating this procedure that our friend Jeff Sweeney hosted on the 3DVision Blog last month.

Visit our blog tomorrow to see a second solution for addressing this challenge involving the DraftXpert.

SolidWorks Composer 2013x has some really nice enhancements. Now you can tell Composer you are opening a SolidWorks file and it will choose the import profile for you.

Watch this video for a demonstration of this functionality:

Fatigue Analysis

Fatigue is the most common cause of catastrophic failure in metals and can occur in other materials as well. SolidWorks® software provides a fast, reliable, and cost-effective way to predict and resolve fatigue-related problems before they happen. Download the guide to learn how you can strike a balance between saving materials and preserving design life along with an overview of the SolidWorks Simulation tools available for you to account for fatigue.