Articles by: Joe Medeiros, CSWE
There are two methods that can be used to install the SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional components. One is the SOLIDWORKS Installation Manager, the other is the purpose-built installer, located in the SWPDMServer sub-folder, of the installation file-set. In this article, we will look at the using the SOLIDWORKS Installation Manager. We have also created an Installation Guide for the purpose built installer. Installation Requirements Before the SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional 2019 components can be installed, the following should be completed or considered: Ensure that the systems where SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional will be installed are compatible. Install the SOLIDWORKS License Manager. Install SQL Server. SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional 2019, ships with Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Standard, which can be found on media disks, that ships with SOLIDWORKS. If you will be using your own instance of SQL, it should be dedicated to PDM. Poor performance can occur, if other applications are using the same…
Information about a file can be added and accessed through metadata. In SOLIDWORKS this metadata is referred to as Properties. In SOLIDWORKS PDM, this metadata is contained within Variables. By the use of PDM Attributes, we can map a Variable value to a File Property. This attribute acts as a conduit, allowing information entered in a PDM Data Card, to populate a SOLIDWORKS File Properties. Information can also be entered into a SOLIDWORKS File Properties and through the Attribute, pushed into PDM. To prevent accidentally overwriting of this metadata, the Data Card should be the default location where information is entered manually. There are some exceptions though. In the case of SOLIDWORKS, some Properties (metadata) is generated internally. Examples of this would be Mass and Material. Applying a Material to SOLIDWORKS Component Material can be applied to a SOLIDWORKS component, from the SOLIDWORKS Feature Manager. Based on the material selected,…
The SOLIDWORKS Design Checker is one of the most underutilized utilities in SOLIDWORKS and this is unfortunate, as this utility can help eliminate costly mistakes due to errors in a SOLIDWORKS document. Design Checker can also reduce the amount of time to check documents, by running user defined checks. The SOLIDWORKS Design Checker ensures accuracy, completeness, and standards compliance for design elements such as: Title blocks Custom properties Layers Annotation and dimension fonts Standard units Materials Overridden dimensions In SOLIDWORKS PDM, a Task can configured to run the SOLIDWORKS Design Checker. Depending on the options that were used when Installing SOLIDWORKS PDM, this Task may not have been added. To add this Task, right-click on the Vault and select Import. The Task to be imported will be located in the PDM installation directory, under Default Data. Once completed, a message will be indicate that the imported was successful. The imported…
The stated Bend Direction in a SOLIDWORKS Sheet Metal drawing is based on the defined fixed face of the model. Editing the Flat Pattern feature, in the Flat-Pattern folder, will display the currently defined “Fixed face”. To change the Bend Direction, select a face that is on the other side of the material. Once complete, the stated Bend Direction in the drawing, will also change.
Every time I startup my Windows 10 laptop, I would be prompted to log into all my SOLIDWORKS PDM Vaults. Since I typically have 3+ Vaults this was one of those little annoyances that I finally decided to do something about. After some searching, I found what I believe was the culprit. At some point some of my PDM folders made their way into my Quick Access favorites. Not because I pinned these folders to Quick access, but because they were frequently used. In my case, these were the SOLIDWORKS Design Library and/or the SOLIDWORKS Routing library folders. To Disable SOLIDWORKS PDM Vault Launch In order to disable SOLIDWORKS PDM Vault Launch at startup, I accessed the Windows Quick Access options by right-clicking on the Quick Access icon and selection Options from the shortcut menu: In the Privacy section of the Quick Access Options, I deselected Show frequently used folders…
If there is a mismatch in the Back-up settings of the SOLIDWORKS PDM Archive Server Configuration application, the message ‘Failed to Make Backup!’, will appear in the Archive Server log. If the error message is opened from the Archive Server log, the below description will be displayed. Date: 2018-05-18 09:07:02.000 Module: ArchiveServerService Function: MainClass::muiBackupProc Code: E_INVALIDARG Code Description: An invalid argument was given to the method. Failed to make backup! The Back-up that is failing is that of the PDM settings. These are the settings found in SOLIDWORKS PDM Administration. To correct this issue, launch the Archive Server application and choose Back-up Settings from the Tools pull-down. Then reset the password and make sure that the backup location is a valid. Read our article on using the SOLIDWORKS PDM Archive Server Configuration application for more information
New to SOLIDWORKS 2019, is the ability to add Coverings of a Fixed Length. This works with routes that use splines, such as tube and electrical routes. To use this tool, edit a route and select a spline route segment. The Fixed Length Covering command, can be launched from the Tools menu in SOLIDWORKS, as shown below. The command can also be added to the appropriate Command Manager tab, by Customizing the Command Manager. The length of of the covering can be defined by a linear value, offset values or an offset and a linear value. Other then defining the length of the Fixed Length Covering, the remaining options remain the same as the standard Covering tool.
When viewing the SOLIDWORKS PDM User Log, clearing the log is straight forward. You simply left-click, on the ‘Empty the log’ icon. This is available from the User Log menu bar, located at the top-left of the Log. But how do you accomplish this for the SOLIDWORKS PDM Archie Server Log? There is no ‘Empty the log’ option in the menu bar! NOTE: The Archive log contains a history of occurrences on the server, which can be useful when it comes to troubleshooting. Generally it is good practice not to empty the archive log, but if the log contains errors that have been addressed, clearing the log may prevent confusion, when troubleshooting new issues. Emptying the SOLIDWORKS PDM Archive Log The Archive Log is populated by the Windows Event Viewer and can be cleared from there. To do this, access the ConisioArchiverServerLog and select ‘Clear log’ When clearing the SOLIDWORKS PDM Archive Server…