Category: SWUGN

Backwards compatibility discussion with SW Dev Team

One thing that seems to come up constantly is the desire to have some sort of backwards compatibility between releases of SolidWorks.  It is mentioned on the various SolidWorks forum message boards at least once month (and sometimes almost daily).  Why does SolidWorks not provide for backwards compatibility.  Well, the cynic will tell you that it is intentional, as part of the overall SolidWorks Corp business model.  Others will say that it is due to new features and tools being added to each release which will not be supported by previous releases.

Right now, I cannot speak to reasons relating to business model.  I can say that the SolidWorks development team, some of which attended the T-VSWUG Sept 10th meeting, seem genuinely interested in users’ desires and ideas regarding backwards compatibility. 

One suggestion at the meeting was to provide a way to simply save models for older releases.  The problem here is that once an unsupported feature is reached in the FeatureManager, it and all subsequent features would have to be dumb anyway.   On the other hand, the advantage is that as least some of the information in the model would useful.

Another suggest that had been on my mind was actually proposed by the SW development team; open, edit and create files native to their release level within a single session of SolidWorks.  Features and functions not supported by the release level of a particular model would either be grayed out or (when selected) display an error message stating that it is not compatible with the release level of the active document.

You know what?  I like this approach best.  I can image there are some technical issues which will need to be over come.  For example, how will SolidWorks handle assemblies with mixed release levels?  Regardless, it seems the SW development team is on top of this issue.  Hopefully, a working solution to this issue will be available sometime soon (2 years?).

Issues presented to SW Developers at T-VSWUG Meeting

At the T-VSWUG Sept 10th meeting, the forum was open to whatever happened to be on the people’s mind regarding SolidWorks.  Being face to face with members of the SolidWorks developers team brought out the inner need to express our frustrations.   Just some of the points brought up included:

  1. On drawings, dimensions and centerpoints to hole wizard holes should not detach when the type of hole is changed in the model.
  2. “Link to BOM” does not appear to be useful; or it is not obvious that this is the option to pick when it is needed.
  3. Make fly-out menus and menu bars more consistent (RMB clicks, LMB clicks, etc).  One problem is that the same function (such as Open Part) appears in so many different locations, depending on what is currently displayed in SolidWorks.  Make common functions appear in a more predictable fashion, relying less on context and more on general user interface consistency.  SolidWorks development team has started improving user interface inconsistencies since 2007.  2009 will further address these issues.
  4. Allow the user to use a logical center of rotation while in sketch mode.
  5. Generally, let the user choose a fixed point center of rotation within a model or assembly.
  6. Limitations preventing cropping and breaking out of detail views continues to annoy users.
  7. Create a weldment-like system for handling sheet metal parts with hardware, so that sheet metal parts can be a single file instead of an assembly.  My addition to this is that there should be a focus on creating a library of features for standard insert hardware (instead of a library of discrete parts for that hardware). 
  8. Support some sort of silkscreen function that will allow users to apply images to a part without jumping through hoops, and will not screw up a model when exported to other formats.  Maybe even develop this so that silkscreen documentation can be produced right from the model.
  9. SolidWorks Corp is attempting to apply ASME and ISO standards accurately for documentation relying of 3D models (instead of drawings), such as DimXpert.  However, the current 3D model standards (such as ASME Y14.4-2003)  are inadequate to address the growing reliance of solid models and the move away from drawings.  SolidWorks Corp should take a more active role in influencing the ASME and ISO bodies to implement useful future 3D modelling standards.  I suggest SW Corp work directly with these groups, and should even gain representation on their decision making boards.

These points, among others, were well received by the developers.  Some other points brought up already had solutions.  Some solutions involved functionality that which some may not have been aware.  Other solutions have been resolved on newer versions of SolidWorks, which some users are not yet using.

One point not received well (though politely) was the tongue-in-cheek suggestion that SolidWorks have a “What’s Lost” section to their manual to alert users to keystroke changes, menu changes, and any functionality that has been “removed” in the new release.  Perhaps, more detail about actual changes can be addressed in the “What’s New” section for each release.

I will address the discussions regarding SolidWorks release cycle, backwards compatibility, and running SolidWorks on Macs in up-coming articles.

T-VSWUG Sept 10th Meeting in Review

The Tri-Valley SolidWorks User Group Sept 10th meeting is one of those inspirational events that (upon reflection) seems bigger than perhaps any of us knew at the moment.  We had a productive face to face discussion with SolidWorks developers that really seemed to humanize the often corporate SolidWorks Corp.  Many topics were covered in this personable exchange.  In the end, I had the impression that these guys understand our needs and seem eager to fulfill our expectations.  Was I snowed?  Well, maybe, but I doubt it.  I will break up the discussion about this meeting in to several articles.  Stay tuned.

Tri-Valley SolidWorks UG Meeting – Sept 10

The next quarterly meeting for the Tri-Valley SolidWorks User Group is on Sept 10, 2008 at 6:30pm, held in the Holiday Inn Express (6275 Dublin Blvd., Dublin CA 94568).  If any SolidWorks users are within any kind of driving distance at all, I recommend they attend this event!  It will start out with Kenneth Barrentine’s presentation on weldments, deconstructing a vacuum cleaner and tube frames.

After that, Kenneth offers us a rare treat in the form of a SolidWorks Developer Round Table (hosted by Richard Doyle), where users will be face to face with SolidWorks developers.  Topics to be addressed include discussion about surfacing and free-form consumer product modelling, geometric editing, SolidWorks functionality that is nice but just not good enough, and areas where SolidWorks seems to be of lower quality and reliability.  I’m sure they will be open to other discussions as well, time allowing.  This is your time (as the user) to rant at them to let them know what bugs you the most about SolidWorks.  Of course, I’m also sure they will respond well to any raves you might have about SolidWorks as well. 

This is one of those events you’ll not want to miss.  Even if you don’t have any rants or raves, you’ll get a chance to rub elbows with SolidWorks developers and Richard Doyle.  My thanks goes to Kenneth Barrentine, who selflessly puts these User Group meetings together.

SolidWorks Resources Availability

There was a time when online SolidWorks resources were far and few between.  When I started using SolidWorks back in 1998, I found nothing.  As time progressed, sporadic sites popped up and vanished.  This or that VAR would occasionally put up a page with macros or examples of models.  Many of these sites were never updated or were simply taken down later.  After a time, I stopped looking online for SolidWorks resources.

Then in 2005, I started looking again.  To my surprize, I found several useful sites.  Most of the sites were still limited to one or two pages of content, but they provided real resources.  Some had a page or two of macros, some How-to articles, career info, etc, such as Matt Lombard’s old site and Lenny’s site. A couple of sites where commercial in nature, selling macros, add-ins or educational services, such as Bitwright or SWTools .  Of course, some promote the individual’s consulting business while providing free content, such as Roland’s site Esox Republic and also Joseph Jones’ site NHCAD.  The most ambitious site was likely Mike J. Wilson’s Web Site, which used to have tons of models and the infamous SolidWorks based debunking video which proved the 9/11 Pentagon attack was by an airliner and not a missile (still available on YouTube here).

However, the one thing I missed was a comprehensive site with tons of files, FAQ’s and other SolidWorks items in one place.   My particular interest was macros.  I remember back in the AutoCAD days when I could go searching out LISP routines, blocks and customized menus in databases (even before the days of the modern internet).  CADalyst provided invaluable resources, some of which is still available in various forms such as books and their home website.  Nothing similar existed for SolidWorks. 

To answer this need, I created the independent site Lorono’s SolidWorks Resources.  My intent was to create a site for new, intermediate and experienced users looking to expand their knowledge and SolidWorks skills in a way that I wished was available when I started using SolidWorks.  It includes over 100 files, mostly focused on macros, data content, utilities.  It has tons of weblinks in a collection so big, I’ve not been able to find any others like it.  In this collection are links to SolidWorks related forums, resource links (such as the above sites), tutorials, online inquiries, general engineering and SolidWorks blogs.  

This brings me to the next point.  SolidWorks related blogs have exploded in the past year and a half.  I’ve been a participant in the online blogging community since 2001 and maintained my personal blog since the beginning of 2002.  However, I never thought about blogging on SolidWorks until Matt Lombard started up his blog in early 2007 mid-2006.  Then Lenny started up a great blog site in July of 2007.  These are not the earliest SolidWorks related blogs, but they are the first ones I noticed.  Mike Puckett’s blog goes back to Feb 2007.  Devon Sowell’s Blog goes back to June 2006.  He now has another blog as well which is specifically geared for PDMWorks and other similar software.   SolidWorks User Group Network (SWUGN) now lists 16 major SW blogs, and more are out there.  I attribute a lot of this growth directly and indirectly to the SWUGN and its leadership.  The blog has proven to be a very valuable tool. 

Another valuable tool is the new incarnation of 3D ContentCentral (3DCC), available as a link from within SolidWorks software.  When I first saw the new site, I started thinking that I would no longer need my own resources site.  However, they serve different purposes and have little overlap.  Many types of downloads on Lorono’s SolidWorks Resources are not available on 3DCC, and visa verse.  SolidWorks has done what it needs to do to keep 3DCC relevant and useful.  3DCC maintains its focus on 3D models from manufacturers and users.  There’s a new request line in which users can put in requests for models.  Another user can fulfill the request by uploading that model.  

I think the SolidWorks online community is finally providing the breathe needed to support its supposed 600000 users.  I have noticed that a slim percentage of those individuals are online finding what is available.  It seems the next step would be for SolidWorks to promote its online community aggressively to make the average user aware that free, comprehensive resources are available.  They started doing this at SolidWorks World 2008 by upping the profile of SWUGN.  More has to be done to get the word out.

I’m just a blogger who is blogging about blogging. 🙂 I’m doing what I can to help the effort.  I know others are giving demonstrations at user groups about what is available.  Hopefully everyone can get the word out, even if it is just to person in the next cube over.  I suspect that more people being aware of what’s out there will result in even more resources becoming available online.

Survey on new Customer Portal for SolidWorks

In an effort for continuous improvement, SolidWorks is conducting two surveys regarding the Customer Portal, and unification of such areas as 3D ContentCenter, Knowledge Base, etc.

The survey is like 10 minutes long, so it goes by quick. 😉  There will be a second survey in a couple of weeks.

http://www.solidworks.com/swx050608_cust_commsurvey

(Originally posted by Richard Doyle here.)