Javelin / TriMech Author
Alin Vargatu, CSWE
Since 2009, the SOLIDWORKS SpeedPak has been the perfect tool for simplifying sub-assembly components, by replacing heavy geometry with a graphical representation of the external faces. In SOLIDWORKS 2013 creating and managing SpeedPak configurations became much easier, since it is now done directly from the top level assembly, as shown…
This is the Education SolidWorks Raps performed by a student fan of SolidWorks. Hope you will like it as much as we did.
Imported Bodies Video Series – 3. Repairing an Imported Model (Automatic Selection of Open Edges Using a Macro) [VIDEO]
By Alin Vargatu, CSWE on July 17, 2013In the first episode of this series I deleted a faulty face from an imported model, only to re-create it using the planar surface feature in the second episode. I hope you remember how cumbersome it was to select all those unconnected open loops in order to define the boundary of the new planar surface. Fortunately, any repetitive manual work could easily be performed by macros (the equivalent of industrial robots in SolidWorks). It actually took less than 5 minutes for my colleague Adam Bridgman, who is teaching the SolidWorks Visual Basic and the SolidWorks API courses here at Javelin, to write a macro for selecting all the open edges from a part. As you will see in the third video of this series, re-creating a planar surface with a…
Imported Bodies Video Series – 2. Repairing an Imported Model (Manual Selection of Open Edges) [VIDEO]
By Alin Vargatu, CSWE on July 16, 2013In the first article of this series, I used different troubleshooting tools for finding the culprit that generated the imported body error, i.e. a planar face that was self-intersecting. Deleting the “bad” face created 99 gaps between 101 surface bodies which replaced the original imported solid body. In order to repair the model, I have to re-create the deleted face, which seems simple considering that it was planar (use the “planar surface” feature, right?), but it is complicated by the huge number of unconnected open edges that have to be selected as boundaries of the new planar face. What is the fastest way to manually select all these open edges? What about box selecting them? Watch this video for the whole procedure in order to see the problems I…
Imported Bodies Video Series – 1. Troubleshooting an Imported Model [VIDEO]
By Alin Vargatu, CSWE on July 11, 2013There are lots of reasons why models imported in SolidWorks from IGES, STEP or Parasolid files have topological errors. The simplest analogy I can make is that the various CAD products used for creating geometry speak different languages and, in order to understand each other, they need translators. These translators are the neutral formats mentioned before. That being said, whenever you get a middleman in the communication chain, bits of information could be lost and as a result you get topological errors like: gaps in the body self intersecting faces faces with more than one closed contour faces that are piercing the solid body Once the errors are identified they need to be repaired before using the model for anything else. In this series of articles,…
Solution 2 of 2 for Quick Selection of Faces to Draft (using DraftXpert)
By Alin Vargatu, CSWE on June 6, 2013I 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:
Solution 1 of 2 for Quick Selection of Faces to Draft (Article and Video on The 3DVision Blog)
By Alin Vargatu, CSWE on June 5, 2013
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…
Alin’s SW 2013 Pick of the Day – Fill External Cavities with Discrete Bodies Using the Intersect Tool
By Alin Vargatu, CSWE on April 30, 2013Last week I showed you how to use the new Intersect tool for simplifying your model by filling its internal cavities. Today let’s consider the situation where you need to fill the external cavities from the Mr. Smiley model with discrete solid bodies in order to 3D print the end result with a bi-material printer from the Objet Connex family. This video proposes two different solutions for this challenge. Can you think of more?
SW Productivity: The On/Off Switch for the Shortcut Bar [VIDEO]
By Alin Vargatu, CSWE on April 29, 2013From time to time, when new releases of SolidWorks add extra functionality to the existing tools, existing workflows change, creating some initial confusion for the users. The popular Shortcut Bar is a good example in this regard. Starting with SolidWorks 2012, when the Shortcut Bar is invoked with the “S” hotkey, by default it also turns on the input field of the Command Search. As a consequence, pressing “S” again will not only turn off the Shortcut Bar but will also insert text (the “s” character) in the Command search field. Please watch this video for a demonstration about linking and unlinking the Shortcut Bar to the Command Search and, after that, choose the solution that is right for you.
SOLIDWORKS Coordinate System for CAM (Z-axis defines the “UP” direction)
By Alin Vargatu, CSWE on April 25, 2013
I do not have to tell you that treating customers right is paramount for the success of any business. That is true for individuals also. As a designer using SolidWorks, your very next “customer” is, most of the times, the CNC programmer. He or she will use your SolidWorks model…
Simplify SOLIDWORKS Models with the Intersect Tool [VIDEO]
By Alin Vargatu, CSWE on April 22, 2013
Do you need to simplify SOLIDWORKS models? Imagine that you get this super complex model with a lot of intricate internal details from your customer or supplier. The file size is huge and the rebuild times are long, considering that you only need it for any…
Solving Component Appearance Problems in SolidWorks Display States [VIDEO]
By Alin Vargatu, CSWE on April 18, 2013When changing a component’s display state in the main assembly does not produce any visible changes to the appearance of the model, you might need to clear the appearance override that is sometime created in the main assembly. This video shows both the problem and the solution:
Total Control for Bend Allowance in SOLIDWORKS Multibody Sheet Metal Parts
By Alin Vargatu, CSWE on April 14, 2013
You have to upgrade to SOLIDWORKS 2013 SP3.0 in order to have total control over the bend allowance for multibody sheet metal parts. Note: Many thanks to Anna Wood for making me aware about this new functionality While the ability to control the thickness, default…
Preserve current orientation with the SOLIDWORKS View Selector [VIDEO]
By Alin Vargatu, CSWE on April 3, 2013The new SOLIDWORKS View Selector introduced in SOLIDWORKS 2013 is great for re-orienting your models with ease and precision, but, as I told you in the previous articles on this topic, it has one problem: it will default to the ISO orientation during preview. Until SOLIDWORKS will further improve this tool in order to place the selector cube on top of the existing orientation, the next best thing is keeping the existing orientation on one side of the screen when using theSOLIDWORKS View Selector. Watch this video to see how it is done:
As per Wikipedia, in computer software, Easter eggs are secret responses that occur in response to an undocumented set of commands. The results can vary from a simple printed message or image, to a page of programmer credits or a small videogame hidden inside an otherwise serious piece of software. Looks like SolidWorks programmers are not different from other software developers. I am wondering if the corporate Dassault SolidWorks know that they hid several Easter Eggs in the software!!! Check what is happening if you follow the procedure listed below. Be very careful, you have to follow each step exactly as it was written: Have to start with a part template with dimensions pre-set to inch Angle dimension format should be set to one…