Javelin / TriMech Author
Shawn McEachern
SOLIDWORKS CAM is a Computer Aided Manufacturing add-in for SOLIDWORKS that allows us to create G/M code for CNC machining our parts. What is special about SOLIDWORKS CAM is that it uses Knowledge Based Machining with Automatic Feature Recognition (AFR). Our part features can be…
SOLIDWORKS not responding? Enable Status Feedback (in 2018 SP3 and above)
By Shawn McEachern on November 23, 2018
Ahh! The nasty white glaze screen of SOLIDWORKS not responding. This condition is triggered by a Windows application timeout. Where it thinks the application has stopped responding due to the length time the application is working in the background. Don’t be fooled! SOLIDWORKS could still…
How to fix “Encountered invalid record index” error when importing a STEP file
By Shawn McEachern on November 21, 2018
Have you “Encountered invalid record index” when importing a STEP file into SOLIDWORKS? To fix the file try the following: Deactivate “3D Interconnect” in SOLIDWORKS Options > System Options > Import Open the STEP file using text editor such as Notepad. The file will open…
Three SOLIDWORKS Video Issues and how to solve them
By Shawn McEachern on October 23, 2018
Experiencing SOLIDWORKS Video issues? Here are three common issues and how to solve them: Assembly or part disappears You are working away on your model and POW it disappears completely. You zoom to fit, nothing. You zoom extents, nothing. You zoom to a component, nothing….
How to convert a SOLIDWORKS Sheet Metal Thickness to a Gauge Value
By Shawn McEachern on October 17, 2018
A common practice in industry when working with SOLIDWORKS sheet metal is to show thickness as gauge value. For example, 20 gauge equals 0.0359 in. We will accomplish this using an equation, and IF statements to convert the values. Here is an example. This condition indicates that if the value is 0.0359, it is desired…
Why does Windows have to configure SOLIDWORKS every time it is launched?
By Shawn McEachern on September 29, 2018
If you see this annoying Windows configure message with every SOLIDWORKS launch — you can try the following solutions to solve the issue. Solution #1 It is possible that you do not have permissions to the following registry keys: HKEY_Local_ MACHINE\SOFTWARE\SolidWorks\Licenses\Serial Numbers HKEY_Local_ MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\SolidWorks\Licenses\Serial Numbers To resolve…
“Unable to recover from a kernel exception.” Why is SOLIDWORKS Crashing?
By Shawn McEachern on September 28, 2018
The Unable to recover from a kernal exception error happens when the graphics card is selected for processing, but the GPU performance is much lower than the CPU performance. The workload sent from the CPU to the GPU is overloading the GPU. Remove the use…
How to show SOLIDWORKS Equations and Custom Properties as fractions with your model in decimals
By Shawn McEachern on September 27, 2018
Having to work in decimals and show SOLIDWORKS fractions in your drawing can be frustrating when you require the use of equations and custom properties. This issue is mostly overcome by using the weldment functionality. However, you may still face some issues with getting your values…
Creating frameworks using a SOLIDWORKS Grid System
By Shawn McEachern on August 14, 2018
If you ever had to design furniture, racking or framework for more complex forms there is a reference geometry command that will save you time and effort called a SOLIDWORKS Grid System. When you launch the SOLIDWORKS Grid System command, it puts you in sketch…