New features in SOLIDWORKS Industrial Designer 2016

With the release of SOLIDWORKS Industrial Designer 2016, our friends at Dassault Systemes have added some new features to help you create more accurate freeform models as quickly as possible.

Scale by Distance

The Scale by Distance tool is very useful when you know the exact size of your freeform object. Before the addition of this feature it was difficult to determine the size of your object. I used to create a few sketch lines and add some dimensions to them, insert my freeform object and make sure that it is within those boundary lines. With the addition of the scale by distance button you don’t have to worry because you can accurately scale your freeform object after it is created. This is especially important when you want to import your object into SOLIDWORKS as you can now quickly ensure your part is the correct size.

Changing the size of the glasses using the Scale by Distance command in SOLIDWORKS Industrial Design

Symmetry

The symmetry feature is going to save a lot of time for many users – for reference, the glasses in the video took a total of 10 minutes to shape. After the video was done I added some touches to the glasses and this is what they look like after a total of 20 minutes of work.

Final version of the glasses made using symmetry in SOLIDWORKS Industrial Design

The most efficient and effective way to use the symmetry command is by simply selecting a plane and the side to mirror as seen in the image below. That being said, there are multiple ways to insert a symmetry line. One method includes selecting 3 vertices in a straight line, this will not work if one of the vertices are slightly off as the reflection plane has to be straight. Another option is selecting a flat face. The advantages of using these more detailed methods include being able to easily mirror along a diagonal line without creating a separate plane.

Glasses being made using symmetry in SOLIDWORKS Industrial Design 2016

With the mirror tool you can create very intricate models that have been much more difficult to create in the past. Previously we would have to drag each mesh point on either side the same the same distance in order to properly create some sort of symmetrical part. This was very frustrating when you accidentally selected two mesh points instead of one and continued to work for a few minutes until realizing you had messed something up.

Isometric view of a Concept car made using symmetry SOLIDWORKS Industrial Design

With the introduction of the symmetry feature there is no need to be careful while creating your object. Over the course of a few days I made this concept car from scratch. The best part of symmetry is seeing the mirrored side updating in real time as you edit the other half. This made creating a car super easy as I was able to picture the car coming to life as I dragged mesh points. I didn’t have plan in advance for creating the car so as I designed on the spot I was able to quickly determine if I liked or didn’t like a change thanks to the symmetry.

Front view of a concept car made using symmetry in SOLIDWORKS Industrial Design

Give SOLIDWORKS Industrial Design 2016 a try

Thanks to the new update, working with SOLIDWORKS Industrial Design became even more simple and the time savings are immense, don’t believe me? Try it out for yourself. Fill out the form on our product page to request a free trial »