Category: Product Review

Review of SolidWorks and SolidWorks related products.

SolidWorks Labs: Watchit Widget

Watchit!Watchit!SolidWorks doesn’t just make CAD software.   They also make Yahoo! Widgets.   One cool widget from SolidWorks Labs is Watchit Widget.   This widget tracks when changes to watched files.   When Watchit detects a change, it populates its window with information about that file.   This is useful in environments where two or three CAD users are sharing files in a single network folder.   I think this is the intended use.   As a bonus, this widget is also good for CAD Administrators who want to make sure network locations for support files are kept intact, as it not only tracks files, but also whole folders.   The admin can track if additions are placed into the Materials Database folder (say from materials downloaded from Matweb.com).   Such notification would allow the admin to then take that file and incorporate it into the company’s material database.   It would also allow the admin to detect if some user has “accidentally” modified the SolidWorks template file.

Note, it might seem that this sort of application works best if placed in a corner in the “second” monitor of a dual monitor computer system.

SolidWorks Labs: Tagger

SolidWorks LabSolidWorks LabThe ability to tag features within a solid model was added with the release of SolidWorks 2008.  This sometimes under-utilized capability may go unnoticed by many.  After all, the function to add tags is a tiny little icon in the far right corner of the status bar.  SolidWorks Labs has developed an improved user interface for tagging in the form of an add-in called Tagger.   Within its own task pane, it allows the user to see all of the tags used within the open SolidWorks document.  Users can even select specific tags as favorites that can be easily applied to a feature at any time.  To use the tags, simply click on the term in the Tagger task pane.  This will highlight the the associated features within the FeatureManager.  This add-in from SoildWorks Labs adds new functionality that makes tags all the more useful.

SolidWorks 2010: Minor tweaks III

Quality is a word that is often confused when it refers to products.  It isn’t just reliability or a degree of excellence or fitness for use.

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing puts it this way,

The totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs.

ISO-9000 says,

Degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfills requirements.

ISO-9000 then defines requirements as a need or expectation.

Does a product have the features I need and work in an excepted manner?  In ISO 9000 terms, quality is determined by the comparison of requirements with the inherent characteristics of a product or system. Well, SolidWorks’ march to quality continues with SoildWorks 2010, as previously noted on this blog and other sites.  Along with more major changes, there are a ton of minor tweaks to take into account.  Here is a short list of more of those items:

  1. When using the Custom Properties of the Task Pane within an assembly, the custom properties belonging to lightweight components are now viewable.  As one might expect, changes to those custom properties cannot be made while the component is lightweighted.  Even here, SolidWorks 2010 doesn’t stop the user.  If the user edits a value, SolidWorks prompts to resolve the component.
  2. Normal To command now orients to the nearest global XYZ coordinates if nothing is pre-selected.  When applied to a 2D sketch, Normal To aligns the model view to the sketch.
  3. SolidWorks now lets the user see decals on SolidWorks models without activating PhotoWorks.  (Applying decals still requires PhotoWorks.) Use View pulldown>Decals, or Hide/Show Items inthe Heads-up View toolbar then View Decals.  There is also a View Decals icon in the View toolbar itself.

3DVia on iPhone!

Now any 3D model can be viewed and inserted into a photo with the new 3DVia iPhone app. Check out the video:




The SolidWorks Blog states:

…you can use 3DVIA Mobile to get your SolidWorks models on your iPhone.

This is big news, as it directly impacts when and where 3D models can be shown.  Check out the instructions for using the 3DVia iPhone app to view SolidWorks models: Get your SolidWorks models on your iPhone with 3Dvia.  One limitation is that 3DVia save functionality requires SolidWorks 2009 SP2 or later.  This is a great idea that is past due!  Now, only if they’d develop something for Palm and Crackberry.

SolidWorks 2010 Multiple Materials in Multibody parts

In the SolidWorks 2010 Beta 2, there was only one entry in the What’s New file under Parts.  It is a rather modest statement regarding the fact that each body within a multibody part can now be assigned its own material.

You can assign different materials to individual bodies in a multibody part. The material assignments are used by mass properties, drawing section views, and SolidWorks Simulation.

That’s it!  That’s all the Beta 2 What’s New file said.  It didn’t even say how to add material to different bodies!  (Beta 3 did add some information, but not a lot.)  Even the embellishment regarding where the material information is used doesn’t do this new capability any justice.  Think about it!  Are you kidding me?!  SolidWorks now allows us to give a different material to each body within a multibody part!  Composites can now have material information included in the part file! No more guessing, estimating, averaging out properties!  No more funky assemblies to try to get around the previous limitation!  For example, the user can now model a part and its coating in one file to accurately run FEA simulations!

OK, so how does one add material to each of the bodies within a multibody part?  A general material can still be specified in the same way as before.  RMB click on the Material heading within the FeatureManager of the part, then choose Edit Material.  This will assign a material to the overall part.  The steps are just a little different to assign material to a specific body. LMB click on the Solid Bodies folder.  RMB click on the body which will have the different material, then pick the material for that body.  When complete, the Solid Body will have its material listed underneath within the Solid Bodies folder.

External Threads in SolidWorks (where are they?)

One of the unexpected weaknesses in SolidWorks is that there is no External Thread feature.  For years, SolidWorks has had the Hole Wizard and related functionality for various types of holes, including threads.  But there is [was] no feature for creating external threads.  I’ve always been baffled by this.

[All this has changed as of SOLIDWORKS 2022 with the release of the new Stud Wizard tool!  The remainder of this article will be about my impressions before Stud Wizard tool from the original publish date.  I will italicize outdated statements below.  A new article will be posted at some point to review the new tool.]

Examples of Stud Wizard
From SOLIDWORKS 2022 Help File

So, when I saw that SolidWorks 2010 was improving the Cosmetic Thread annotation to allow the user to quickly choose a thread size from one of the thread standards (ANSI, ISO, etc), I had a brief glimmer of hope.  I found out, this is one of those enhancements that is just too little, too late.  All this new enhancement does is pull values from the Hole Wizard to add a Cosmetic Thread annotation.  If an external thread is desired, the user is still left with having to create the OD of the thread as a separate feature.

Sure, one may not expect an annotation to make a feature.  It just seems like an opportunity was missed.  Instead of just having the Cosmetic Thread annotation read from the standards, SolidWorks should have included an External Thread feature.

In my view, this feature should work in several ways.

  1. Allow the user to select an OD upon which the External Thread will be cut.
  2. Or, allow the user to select a flat face from which the External Thread will extend.
  3. Don’t require a precondition.  Allow the user to select their method within the workflow of External Thread command.
  4. Have the External Thread feature work the same way as Hole Wizard.  The helix of the thread is not modelled, but have several modelling and annotation options available (model to the ID or OD, and choice to use cosmetic thread).

Although the addition of the standards lookup within the Cosmetic Thread annotation is welcome, SolidWorks should fully support External Threads as an actual feature.  I created an ER for this topic this week, and invite others to do so as well.

[To see information about the new Stud Wizard (that works pretty much as I laid out above), see the What’s New for SOLIDWORKS 2022.  For more information, you can check out the SOLIDWORKS 2022 Help File articles about Stud Wizard.]