Bolt Connectors are a very efficient way of representing the bolt stiffness, and compression due to pre-load, on the bolted components.

The Bolt Connector account for these effects mathematically in the solver, which spares you from having to build physical models of all the fasteners.., then apply boundary conditions to them.., create local mesh controls on them.., etc.

But because there are so many effects that the Bolt Connector can account for, the creation dialog is a very busy place:

If you have a lot of bolt-holes that are the same size, as pictured above, you had better hope that the plate designer took advantage of the Feature Pattern command.  If so, then once you have created a Bolt Connector on any one hole, all the other holes in the pattern will prompt you if they should automatically get the same connector information. That is very expedient.

But, what if your geometry was imported thru the STEP standard, or IGES, and has no feature information? Or, what if the designer ‘cheated’ his hole pattern by creating it as a single CUT whose sketch was just a lot of  circles? This actually happens pretty often. And unfortunately, this means that a new Bolt Connector will have to be created on every circular edge. This could get to be very tedious.

So, start by filling out the complete dialog for only one Bolt Connector. Hit GO, so that you are returned to the Simulation feature manager.

Then right-mouse-click over your first Bolt Connector feature, and choose COPY. Right-mouse-click again, over the folder for all of the CONNECTORS, and hit PASTE.

Copy/Paste as many new instances of the Bolt Connector, as you have remaining holes to be bolted. Then edit each one of these bolt connectors in turn.

De-select the two prompts a the top of the dialog for the hole edges, and select instead a new pair of edges for a different bolt location.

This will save you  lot of time, because all the other prompts remain unchanged and do not even need to be reviewed. And by avoiding tedious repetition, you reduce the risk of reversed or omitted or otherwise fumbled prompts.

eDrawings for iPad is the only CAD viewer on the iPad that allows you to view native eDrawings^® files, DraftSight^® files, and SolidWorks^® parts, assemblies and drawings files. Since its launch, eDrawings software has become a successful and much loved collaboration product. In the last year alone, more than 2 million customers downloaded the eDrawings Viewer. With multi-touch gestures, eDrawings for iPad lets you pan, zoom and rotate 2D and 3D models; animate and explode your 3D views; and view and animate drawings from:

• SolidWorks 3D design software
• DraftSight free CAD software
• AutoCAD^® software

Download the eDrawings App for iPad for only $1.99!

What are the key features and benefits of eDrawings for iPad?
Capabilities of eDrawings for iPad include:

• Open files from email, Apple® iTunes® File Sharing, or other online file sharing service (e.g. Dropbox, Box, and others)
• Zoom, pan, and rotate 2D or 3D CAD data with the touch of a finger
• View 3D animations, 3D standard views, and 2D drawing views
• Browse assembly components tree, configurations, and drawing sheets
• View designs in full screen – just double tap to expand it on the screen
• Store files on your iPad through iTunes File Sharing
• Intuitive and easy-to-use user interface

Download the eDrawings App for iPad from iTunes!

(Exporting 2D DXF files)
We design in a 3D world, but many parts are manufactured from flat sheet. The flat pattern of a sheet metal part and flat plates used in weldments are examples. Laser and waterjet cutters of flat parts may want to use a DXF file instead of native geometry. Let’s look at several ways to create DXF files.

Option 1 File > Save As > DXF is the most general method. The dialog at the right requires several inputs from the user: Be sure to select a view that is normal to the flat part and deselect the others. The output alignment tools specify the X and Y axes and whether the part is flipped on an axis.	Option 1	Option 2 For an inherently flat part or an unfolded sheet metal part, right click on the face and select Export to DXF/DWG from the context menu. In this case, there’s no dialog to select a view because the face determines the view. This workflow is a little faster.	Option 2
Option 3 You can also right click the Flat Pattern feature in the Feature Manager to see a different dialog. For cutting only, just select Geometry as the entities to export and set Output Alignment as desired.	Option 3

There’s yet another way to do this. One of our customers wanted to make a SolidWorks drawing as an intermediate step, but the title block, dimensions and annotations were exported to the DXF and interpreted by the laser cutter as actual geometry.

There’s a solution: Create a second sheet and edit Sheet Properties so no format is displayed. Set the sheet scale to 1:1. Return to Sheet 1, select the Flat Pattern view and Control-C to copy it. There may be a warning that not all items in the view can be copied, but ignore it. Change to Sheet 2, left click anywhere on the sheet and Control-V to paste a copy of the flat pattern view. Now delete any dimensions and annotations. Right click the bend lines and Hide. There will be a message that bend notes will be hidden as well. Click Yes to continue. The desired result is Sheet2 that contains nothing but the outline geometry of the flat pattern, with no notes, annotations, title block etc.

Finally File > Save As > DXF, click the Options button and select “Export active sheet only” > OK > Save

The drawing now serves two purposes: Sheet1 is fully dimensioned and annotated as a design document, while Sheet2 is never printed but used only for DXF export.

By planting the seeds from your CAD system in the rich soils of your 3DVIA Composer garden, you can grow things too!  Today, we’re going to “grow” a wire from its seed.  There is a special video at the bottom of the page to show you how it’s done.

We’ll start by bringing in your CAD-generated seedlings (AKA actors).   In today’s article, our 3DVIA Composer gardens are planted from the finest finished seedlings available….SolidWorks brand seeds, although other seeds (such as Pro-E, Catia, 3D PDF, STP, and others) will work just as well.  Some of the tools we’ll utilize inside of Composer include cutting plane (to define the growth pattern), transform and rotate (to control the position and location of the cutting plane), create/update views (to stage the growing process), and finally the Video Workshop (to produce the final output).

The simplest approach I’ve found is to create various views of growing stages to allow better control over the cutting plane.  After importing our CAD geometry and saving a neutral view, we’ll add a cutting plane to the mix.  From the Ribbon, choose the Author tab, and Create (Cutting Planes), select a face to place your cutting plane.

Next we filter the cutting plane to only cut the actor(s) we wish to “grow,” in this case we will filter for the cable actor.  Select the actor to “grow” and choose Apply to Selection (near Create).  The other actors will return to their neutral states.  Now create the next view (which will later blossom into the first set of keys in your animation).

The ‘transition’ portion of the process will require a bit of T&E (trial & error) to orient the cutting plane to allow for smooth transitions, but patience is the key for all of life’s best rewards.  The next few steps involve moving the cutting plane into different positions and locations and creating views from them.  We may use either the direct drag/rotate method or use the Translate and Rotate tools from the Transform tab to position and locate the cutting plane.  After placing the cutting plane in the desired location, create a view.
Now that we’ve germinated of our seeds (generated views), it’s time to sew them into the soil and watch them grow!!  We’ll activate Animation Mode and begin dragging the views into the Timeline.  This is another point where we may need to take a few artistic liberties and make a few adjustments to control timing and smoothness.

With the sewing process complete, we’ll now fertilize and enjoy!!  ***CAUTION*** Avoid using water on our 3DVIA Composer garden as there could be lots of sparks and dangers of electric shock!  Choose the Workshops tab and select the Video Workshop.  We’re not going to uproot the Video Workshop today, so just click Save Video As…, name it, choose your desired compression format…..Sit back and enjoy your final product!!

Remove the guesswork from your designs

We know you are smart enough to set up a physical test, now see how with SolidWorks Simulation you can use the same knowledge to reduce the time and costs of physical testing and get to the best design faster.

We’ll prove it by breaking handcuffs and you can break free from the tedium and stress of your daily design challenges.

>> Watch now to see how strong is strong enough …

Data recovery when local files are lost before the first check in.

It was a typical scene, curbside to the local cafe.  Boy meets Girl. They introduce themselves, shake hands, and exchange glances with a smile. Boy begins to think about all the things he wants to say to Girl, rehearsing all of it in his mind.

And then Boy gets hit by a bus.

Girl is left standing with no clue of all the things Boy was thinking before the bus crashed into him. Only that first impression is locked in her mind. Well, that and the image of the crash itself, but this isn’t about that crash. It’s about yours.

It’s about those (hopefully rare) times when your computer hardware decides to fail, a laptop gets stolen, or Murphy’s law cruelly strikes in some other fashion, and leaves you with files that were added to the Enterprise PDM vault, but were never checked in for the first time. Is all lost? No… but that first impression is all you get.

Some groundwork… before and after the meeting at the curb

Before we continue our saga, it would be useful to define a few things about our couple: the file and the vault. There are two “states of being” that a file can be in before it enters a workflow.

• A file can be tagged as a “local file”. You may see this from time to time, depending on your windows and vault permissions.  Its state is <local file>. Sometimes it is a temporary file, a file you don’t want to be in the vault anyway, which is good, because the vault doesn’t really know about it.

Similar to our couple standing by the curb before the introductions were made, the file is in the same space, but they (the file and the vault) are still complete strangers.

Other times you do want the local file. And if this is the case, a simple right-click “Add To File Vault” will push it to the next step.

But we’re not going to talk any further about local files. We’re interested in what happens after the first introductions.

• A file can be introduced, or “added”, to the vault, but not yet checked in for the first time.  This is the state our tragic couple was in before the bus entered the scene. Files in this state will show as being checked out, but their state will be blank.

At this point, all we have is that first impression. So now the question is, exactly what is that first impression?

The First Impression… from all angles

In our example, Gary creates a file called “Boy.txt”.  The text file has one line. He drags and drops the file into the vault. Note that from Gary’s view, the file is Checked Out by him, the state is blank, and he can see the contents of the file in the preview window.

Now when Tom looks in the same directory, he still sees nothing.

However, the EPDM admin account, at this stage, can see what Gary sees. So far, so good. In our story hands have been shaken, smiles exchanged, and while only Gary and the vault admin account has access to it, the vault is now aware of the file’s contents and some basic database information. However, this is where the first impression ends.

Daydreaming at the curb…

In our tragic tale, our fair hero “Boy” begins to think of all the nice things he wants to say to Girl. Likewise, Gary decides his document needs some more content. He begins to add more lines to the file. He then saves the file, but does not check it in!

Gary’s Explorer window now looks like this:

Note how EPDM now tells you the local file has been modified. The date of the file has changed from 11:46 to 12:16 (an appropriate time to snag some lunch), and the preview window clearly shows the changes Gary has made.

Tom still has no clue what is happening behind the scenes, but when we check in with the Admin account, we find something that might be unexpected:

The admin account still sees the original file. Until Gary checks his file in, the vault is only aware of that First Impression… what the file was when it was first added to the vault.

If the bus hits… (or the computer crashes… or the laptop gets stolen…)

Should Gary’s computer fail, and his local files cease to exist, if the bus hits, is all lost? No… but that first impression is all you get.

In the event of such a loss, the admin account can be used to make that first impression of the file available to all. The admin simply right-clicks on the file and selects “Undo Check Out” to get the process started.

You’ll get a warning that the file is checked out by another user. Be sure to check the “Undo Check Out” box before proceeding.

EPDM will give you one final warning…

And once you say click “Yes” the original file will be checked into the vault, available to everyone with the permissions to see it.

That first impression might not be much, but when Murphy’s Law strikes, at least it’s something.

Better yet – don’t leave all that daydreaming on your local drive. If possible, check in your files after any substantial amount of work. Get them secured safely in your vault. That’s what it’s there for.

For more information, or to talk with an EPDM consultant, please contact us!

Let’s start with a model of a Miter Saw. Take a look at Video 1 below. You will notice lots of detailed features as well as a maintained motion.

Video 1

This assembly is relatively small compared to normal large assemblies. In Figure 1 you can see that there are only 309 components. In most cases we will not consider it a large assembly until there are at least 500. However, I choose this example since it was very detailed and had lots of movement.

Figure 1

Using AssemblyXpert I was able to see the full rebuild time for this assembly (Figure 2). Let’s see if we can use Defeature to create a model with a faster rebuild time.

Figure 2

You can find the Defeature tool under Tools > Defeature.  See Figure 3.

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 4 shows the first screen of the Defeature tool. Let’s break it down each of the checkboxes and options.

1. Internal Components: This check box will allow Defeature to remove any component that is completely encapsulated inside your assembly.

2. Small Components: This box will allow you to specify a percentage and any component that is smaller than that percentage will be removed.

3. Display: This option will allow you to see all the components, which components are being removed, or which components are left behind.

4. Exceptions: You can place components in this box to make sure they are not removed.

5. Section View:  Sometime it can be hard to see and choose components. So, we can temporally section the assembly to help see the inside of our assembly.

6. Next: Moves to the next screen of the Defeature tool.

Figure 5

Figure 5 shows the choices I made for our Miter Saw. You will notice that I added one part to the “Exceptions”. This part can be seen in Figure 6.

Figure 6

Figure 7 shows the second screen of the Defeature tool. Let’s go over its options:

Figure 7

1. Create Group:  This will allow you to create groups of components that have no movement between them. IF you want movement between components they would be in separate groups.

2. Delete Group: Will allow you to remove groups.

3. Mates:  This box will list out an mates that Defeature assumes you will want to maintain between your groups.

4. Section View:  Once again you can create section views to help you choose components.

5. Next: Takes you to the third screen of the Defeature tool.

Figure 8 shows the creation of my 6 groups for the Miter Saw.

Figure 8

Figure 9

On Figure 9 you will see the Third screen of the Defeature Tool. It’s options are:

1. Features to Keep: This box will allow you to keep features that are important to your model. For example, you might want to keep mounting holes.

2. Select All Holes:  Will allow you to make sure that none of the holes are removed.

3. Select holes between: Gives you a size range to determine which holes are removed.

4. Section View: Same as before

5. Next: Takes you to the Forth Screen of the Defeature Tool.

Figure 10 shows the selections for the features I wanted to keep for the Miter Saw.

Figure 10

One example is in Figure 11. I wanted to keep the slot feature.

Figure 11

SolidWorks will then remove the un-needed feature from the parts as seen in Figure 12.

Figure 12

Figure 13

The forth screen is found in Figures 13 and 14. Many of the features have been removed at this point but there may be some you would like to add. You can see in Figure 14 that is shows to version of the assembly. The left screen is the original model and the right screen is the new Defeature version. You can use the options in Figure 13 to choose which features still need to be removed.

1. Items to remove:  This will allow you to select additional features to remove.

2. Section View: Same as before.

3. Next: will take you to the final Defeature screen

In Figure 14 you can see that I selected to remove the hash marks and numbers.

Figure 14

Figure 15 will show you the final comparison between the original model and the Defeature version.

Figure 15

Figure 16 is the last screen of the Defeature tool. Here you can choose what you want to do with the new model. I chose to save the model as a separate file.

Figure 16

In Figure 17 you can see both versions of the Miter Saw and compare the differences.

Figure 17

Take a look at Video 2 an you can see that the mates that allow movement are still intact.

Video 2

Now it is time for the true test. Figure 18 shows we are down to just 10 components.

Figure 18

Figure 19 shows that the rebuild time is now 95 milliseconds compared to the original time of 386 milliseconds.

Figure 19

What you do with your streamlined Defeature model is up to you. You could send on to a customer or use it as a sub assembly or place it on 3DContent central for others to download.

SolidWorks Campus - Waltham, MA

SolidWorks 2013 will be here before you know it, but in order to make this release even better than 2012, DS SolidWorks needs your feedback.

Alpha testing begins on May 2nd, so you must register soon in order to participate. This will be held at their new Waltham campus, where you will be meeting one-on-one with representatives from the SolidWorks Product Definition team to review new features in SolidWorks 2013.

You will be asked to provide your feedback and requests for future versions. You can even try the latest release using your own models.

There will be 4 sessions of alpha testing, so depending on your area of interest, you’re invited to join us for all or part of an alpha testing session. There will be a morning session (9am to 12pm) and an afternoon session (1:30pm to 4:30pm) on May 2nd, 2012 and May 3rd, 2012. If you are interested in participating in this opportunity please indicate your availability and functional areas of interest by taking the following survey:

www.solidworks.com/solidworks2013alphatesting

Participants will be provided with breakfast and lunch. Since this is a hands-on session, seating is limited.

When an analysis is started, a process separate from the SLDWORKS.exe process will start.  The process which starts depends upon the study type specified.  To determine which processes are running, start Windows Task Scheduler (CTRL+ALT+DEL > Task Scheduler), select the ‘Processes’ tab, and search the processes under the ‘Image Name’ column as highlighted below.

Each analysis type has its own solver.  The following list outlines the process names associated to each solver:

The most obvious way to enforce proportionality between any two dimensions in SolidWorks, is to write an equation. Equations are powerful and useful, and they have their place. But we also teach that Geometric logic is more robust and more automatic than Numeric logic. There are plenty of times that you want to enforce a design aesthetic, or capture a proportional relation, that would benefit from solving dynamically inside the sketch restraints, instead of through an equation. And this is usually done in SolidWorks by way of dimensioning an ANGLE somewhere in the sketch.

The Tangent of an angle is the proportion of the Rise divided by the Run, so a fixed angle implies a fixed proportionality between the two legs.  The only trick to this method is deciding where in your sketch, the ‘legs’ of the triangle are, waiting to be used.

Consider the sketch below – we have a half-ellipse, with a desired proportion that the height should always be 1/3 the width.

If we set the Height to be the desired value, (1.3333 currently), then we add a construction line that documents that rise/run angle.

Dimension the angle as a DRIVING relation, and you can now set the H dimension to DRIVEN.

Now as you change the Width dimension W, the height will always respond proportionately.  This is especially useful when creating sketches that will used in either a SWEEP or LOFT feature, as this will allow the sketch a degree of elasticity so that it can respond to Guide Curve controls.

More SolidWorks sketching tips & tricks are available on the CAPINC website.