tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588457313080338510Tue, 24 Sep 2024 16:25:44 +0000driveworksxpressadviceNamingsolidworksdatabaseideassharingdesign automation for engineershttp://driveworksxpress.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Ian)Blogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588457313080338510.post-807502816985203571Wed, 17 Jun 2009 08:41:00 +00002009-06-17T10:32:48.655+01:00Calculating the parameters of Component and Feature Patterns can cause some confusion.Typical parameters used to drive patterns include Pitch, Quantity and End Distance.The problem being that each of these parameters rely on the other to be calculated before it can be satisfied.The solution is simple. Use the equation for each of the parameters within the calculation for the other parameters.We http://driveworksxpress.blogspot.com/2009/06/pitch-and-quantity.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588457313080338510.post-5595700350554173423Wed, 29 Apr 2009 12:09:00 +00002009-06-05T11:17:04.455+01:00Warm upThis is essential for any workout. 3 simple and quick exercises that will make the main workout flow without any pulled muscles!The first thing to do is to create a folder where the workout files will be stored. I have just created the following folder structure on my C drive: -C:\DriveWorksXpress\10 Minute WorkoutNext, in SolidWorks, model a very simple part. A circle for example, and http://driveworksxpress.blogspot.com/2009/04/10-minute-workout-day-1.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588457313080338510.post-5171315760978140820Thu, 16 Apr 2009 10:47:00 +00002009-04-20T09:12:07.133+01:00There is nothing like a good workout to clear the mind and see things in a different light. And as much as your body needs that workout sometimes you can benefit from giving your designs a little exercise. I'm talking about automation. Flexing the processing power of your computer and letting it take some of the workload away from you.The first problem is to understand the tools available to you.http://driveworksxpress.blogspot.com/2009/04/10-minute-workout.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588457313080338510.post-2237178607200850904Fri, 06 Feb 2009 11:34:00 +00002009-02-06T11:38:19.421+00:00For those that are attending SolidWorks World next week there are an unprecedented number of breakouts tailored towards design automation.The interesting point about this is that these are topics that people who use DriveWorksXpress or DriveWorks have chosen to present. It gives us great satisfaction that DriveWorks is making such an impact that end users and resellers are compelled to talk abouthttp://driveworksxpress.blogspot.com/2009/02/driveworks-at-solidworks-world.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588457313080338510.post-8656209321596538836Wed, 21 Jan 2009 14:28:00 +00002009-01-21T14:30:27.569+00:00New DriveWorksXpress example now available.Another example on the DriveWorksXpress website is of automating the design of custom chairs. This is a big industry, but one historically associated with mass production. Customer driven demands and the development of the industry into sports and recreational activities mean this product now involves a lot of design time. Time that can be saved by http://driveworksxpress.blogspot.com/2009/01/custom-wheelchair-design-automated.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588457313080338510.post-7190806701876233828Sun, 11 Jan 2009 21:35:00 +00002009-01-11T21:40:52.118+00:00I am asked quite often how a date, entered on a user form, can be driven into a captured custom property.When a date is entered into a text box, DriveWorksXpress will report the date:time code used by excel. You must let DriveWorksXpress know how the date is to be formatted. To do this we can make use of the Excel TEXT function. The TEXT function needs to know 2 things: -The item to be formatted http://driveworksxpress.blogspot.com/2009/01/date.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588457313080338510.post-5408863130050984419Wed, 17 Dec 2008 12:57:00 +00002008-12-17T13:03:11.986+00:00The Little Book of Rules has just turned 1.The book has proved to be a valuable source of information for everyone who is using DriveWorksXpress. It is packed with examples of common functions used in building rules. One reviewer has even wrote:A Must Read...It is clear, concise and easy to read. Ifyou are interested in Design Automation this is the book to have.Over the past 12 months the Littlehttp://driveworksxpress.blogspot.com/2008/12/happy-birthday.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588457313080338510.post-1381546340434815808Mon, 15 Dec 2008 21:55:00 +00002008-12-16T12:08:05.815+00:00advicedriveworksxpressNamingsolidworksDid you know that you can replace components with DriveWorksXpress? No?So if your assembly has components within it that can be replaced with components of different geometry you can get DriveWorksXpress to swap them in. This saves you the trouble of overloading your assembly with everything that could exist and building rules to delete the stuff that is not required.Here's how: -The first thing http://driveworksxpress.blogspot.com/2008/12/component-replace.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588457313080338510.post-8962071479608472332Thu, 04 Dec 2008 22:50:00 +00002008-12-16T12:06:52.551+00:00advicedriveworksxpresssolidworksSolidWorks 2009 allows you to enter negative and zero values for sketch dimensions. This is fantastic news for DriveWorksXpress users because these values can also be driven. Imagine a cut out on a face centred about a plane. This cut out could cut through the edge of the face, or be positioned anywhere on the face. To achieve this In SolidWorks 2008 some reference geometry was needed to be http://driveworksxpress.blogspot.com/2008/12/negative-numbers-in-solidworks-2009.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588457313080338510.post-3064882048478157683Thu, 04 Dec 2008 00:29:00 +00002008-12-16T12:06:16.769+00:00advicedriveworksxpressNamingI briefly mentioned the use of the asterisk or wild card symbol in my last post, but I thought this was worthy of a post all of its own.DriveWorksXpress makes use of the asterisk on the File Name parameter only. DriveWorks (the full version) makes use of it in many other areas.The asterisk must appear at the very start of any result the rule equates to. What comes after the asterisk will be used http://driveworksxpress.blogspot.com/2008/12/overriding-master-name.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588457313080338510.post-5874775967092684671Fri, 28 Nov 2008 12:19:00 +00002008-11-28T12:26:00.168+00:00advicedriveworksxpressNamingYour assembly may consist of many parts. And some of those parts may exist in that assembly as the same file (an instance). Now this scenario is totally acceptable as long as the parts which are the same file remain the same file in each clone produced automatically.However, you may want those same files to behave individually, i.e. not have the same results for the rules put in place.Take the http://driveworksxpress.blogspot.com/2008/11/independent-control-of-same-model.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588457313080338510.post-3317737456591704602Sat, 22 Nov 2008 00:13:00 +00002008-11-22T00:18:07.362+00:00advicedriveworksxpressNamingIn my Naming the Master Models post I advised that master models can be shared across different assemblies.The information captured from the models will be identical in each assembly it is used in. Whatever is captured from the model in one assembly, will appear in the model from the other assembly.Although the captured information remains the same the rules will not. This is because there is a http://driveworksxpress.blogspot.com/2008/11/sharing-master-models.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588457313080338510.post-6171079356948552312Wed, 19 Nov 2008 23:43:00 +00002008-11-19T23:48:37.388+00:00driveworksxpressideasDo your customers use your products within their own designs? Do they use SolidWorks? Would they be more inclined to use your products if they could design them? Using DriveWorksXpress to automate your designs internally has great time saving benefits. But if your customers could specify your products themselves, and instantly get a good representation to use within their design; would that http://driveworksxpress.blogspot.com/2008/11/here-is-idea.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588457313080338510.post-2431294719602074656Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:44:00 +00002008-11-19T23:48:09.316+00:00advicedriveworksxpressNamingThe name you give the master models will allow you or anyone else to easily identify rules that need to be applied or maintained going forward.There are a few points to keep in mind: -The name you give the top level assembly is used to identify the rule set. Sub-assemblies and parts can be shared across multiple assemblies. Models that need to be controlled independently must have different nameshttp://driveworksxpress.blogspot.com/2008/11/naming-master-models.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588457313080338510.post-8191752007277598345Wed, 12 Nov 2008 22:13:00 +00002008-11-13T14:56:14.141+00:00advicedriveworksxpresssharing So, you have automated your product and are pleased with your results. What about letting some of your colleagues in on the secret of your newly acquired ability to get work into production at lightning speed? You have a couple of options available. Work from a common location using the same files. Distribute the files amongst your colleagues. The first option is not straightforward. The main http://driveworksxpress.blogspot.com/2008/11/sharing.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588457313080338510.post-4467661741736952430Fri, 07 Nov 2008 14:49:00 +00002008-11-07T17:09:39.650+00:00databasedriveworksxpressI think the best place to start this journey into design automation is at the beginning.I want to explain what is happening behind the scenes in DriveWorksXpress as you capture parameters, construct the user form and apply the rules that automate your designs.When DriveWorksXpress is launched for the very first time a Microsoft Access database is created. By default this is stored in your My http://driveworksxpress.blogspot.com/2008/11/under-hood.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588457313080338510.post-5334815982716393935Mon, 03 Nov 2008 22:00:00 +00002008-11-07T17:09:39.650+00:00driveworksxpressMore engineers each day are discovering the benefits design automation can bring through DriveWorksXpress.The community site at http://www.driveworksxpress.com/ provides valuable examples, tutorials and forums for learning how to get the most from this tool.What I want to do here, is give you help, advice and a good insight into just what can be accomplished with this powerful tool.Stay tuned...http://driveworksxpress.blogspot.com/2008/11/here-we-go.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ian)0