New in SOLIDWORKS 2015: Spline Leaders

This entry is part 1 of 9 in the series New in SOLIDWORKS 2015

Spline leaders are fun. They’re not fun in the sort of playground, video game, action flick kinda way. They are fun because if you need them, you can now make them with the freedom to shape them in many ways. Contrast that with dimensions. The most fun you have with dimensions is deciding how far to offset them from the model edge. I’ve been doing that for years, and the word “fun” doesn’t really come to mind. With spline leaders, you can actually take a moment of your day to draw without strict conformity. It’s not a big moment, but it is a nice one.

Spline leaders are avaiable for notes and balloons. They work the same way for either.

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To add spline leader to an existing balloon, select that annotation, then click on More Properties button in the PropertyManager. Find the swiggly lined icon and click it.  Then, use the control points to manipulate the spline leader as desired.

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To make spline leaders your default, goto Tools>Options…>Document Properties>Annotations>Balloons (or Notes) in the Leader display area, and choose Spline.  Have fun!

 

 

SOLIDWORKS World 2015 Top Ten ideas – a time for voting

There is still time to vote for your favorite ideas on this year’s SOLIDWORKS World 2015 Top Ten list.  There are a lot of ideas this year.  In fact, with nearly 10K submissions, this year’s list of ideas has broken all previous records.  That means, there are a lot more ideas for which to vote!

To vote for your favorite ideas, first sign in to SOLIDWORKS Forum.  Then, go to the SOLIDWORKS World 2015 Top Ten ideas areas (this link will only work once you sign in).  Or, you can navigate to the voting area by logging on to the forum and going to General>SOLIDWORKS World 2015 Top List>Content>Ideas.  Voting will close on Friday, January 23, 2015.  The final top ten vote-getters will be announced at SOLIDWORKS World.

Drawings Top Ten list from years past: SWW2013

This entry is part 3 of 4 in the series Past Years Drawings Top Ten

The top ten Drawings specific ideas submitted to SolidWorks World 2013 Top Ten list were heavily focused on dimensions and drawing views.

SolidWorks World 2013 Top Ten Drawings Ideas

  1. Create auxiliary line for dimensioning angles – Implemented in SW2015
  2. Perimeter Dimension or Total Length Dimension
  3. Allow mirroring of drawing views in the drawing
  4. Isometric view break
  5. Ability to create half dimensions (Option to change any dimension line to foreshortened)
  6. On drawings, zoom to fit should ignore view bounding boxes – Implemented in SW2015
  7. Don’t re-size center marks with scale of drawing view or sheet
  8. Ability to create Alternate position view on sectioned/broken-out section view
  9. Make an easy interface to modify format of hole callouts (without having to edit calloutformat.txt)
  10. Projected view of a break view should have option ‘align breaks with parent’ enabled by default

As of SOLIDWORKS 2015, the implementation for the SWW13 list is 20%.  Create auxiliary line for dimensioning angles was the only Drawings idea to get onto the official SolidWorks World 2013 Top Ten list.

Voting is now open on the current SOLIDWORKS World 2015 Top Ten list.  Vote on as many ideas as you wish!  Just remember, you have to logon to see the ideas and vote for them.

SOLIDWORKS Certification – CSWP to CSWE

This entry is part 5 of 5 in the series SOLIDWORKS Certification

I first earned my SolidWorks Professional certificate (CSWP) at SolidWorks World 2011.  Attendees of SolidWorks World are able take the CSWP exam if they specify such when they register for the conference.

Between SolidWorks World 2011 and 2012, I joined the DS SolidWorks Corp on the Product Definition team.  This is a busy job.  There was quite a stretch before I attempted any of the advanced certification exams.  There are several advanced exams, covering various areas of SolidWorks functionality.  You need to pass any four of the five CSWP advanced certificates in order to qualify to take the Certified SolidWorks Expert exam.

Chart of my certifications leading up to the CSWE

My path to earning my CSWE

As shown in the above chart, I took most of my advanced exams this year: Mold Tools, Surfacing and Weldment, after having the Drawings Tool certification for awhile.  I’m excited that I just earned my CSWE this week; a Christmas present to myself.  Just in time for SOLIDWORKS World 2015 and its secret CSWE event.  Jeff Mirisola wrote about his first CSWE event a couple years ago.  This year will be my first, having missing out for two years.

Here’s my badges of honor:

CSWE_MD_smallCSWP_MDsmall CSWP_Drawing_smallCSWP_Mold_small CSWP_Surfacing_small CSWP_Weldmentssmall

 

 

 

Even though I’ve earned my CSWE, I may still attempt the final advanced exam for Sheet Metal at some point, plus any new exams that may come out eventually.

The number of CSWE’s worldwide is still less than 1950 as of today (December 22, 2014), according to the Certificate Virtual Tester database.  Being a CSWE makes you stand out.  As an employee of SOLIDWORKS, it shows that I have a thorough understanding of how to use the software that I help design.  For users, it is a clear demonstration that you have excellent understanding of SOLIDWORKS and its various tools.