As reported here a few months back, SolidWorks 2010 introduced an option for Online Help.  The Online Help has some enhanced search features which includes sorting by subject and links to the Knowledge Base.  In addition to that, because it is web based, it is guaranteed to always be up to date.

Here is something new that you may not know.  SolidWorks Help is available via your favorite Internet Browser! Just go to http://help.solidworks.com and you are off and running.  (Note that you need to Click on “SolidWorks” to access the SolidWorks Help.)  There are no logins or registrations necessary!  Help files for SolidWorks Enterprise PDM, SolidWorks Workgroup PDM, SolidWorks eDrawings, & SolidWorks installation are also available.  Having the help available online all the time and accessible outside of the SolidWorks application will be a great benefit to users around the world.  The online help is currently available in 12 languages.

Something else to look out for is the “Feedback on this topic” link at the top right side of every page.  This is a great way to give instant feedback about the Online Help content to the SolidWorks Documentation team.

Stay tuned…more to come!!

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Today we are going to take a look at perhaps one of the most underrated new features of SolidWorks 2010, the Mouse Gesture Wheel.  While this new tool has gotten some good press in recent weeks, its hard to gauge how useful this command can be until you actually use it.  The Mouse Gesture wheel can be invoked by simply holding down the right mouse button and moving the cursor in any direction.  The wheel is available in two configurations: 4 Position and 8 Position.  Below you’ll find an image that shows off both configurations.

The great news about the Mouse Gesture wheel is that is it FULLY configurable.  You can add virtually any tool that has a toolbar button icon to the wheel.  To access the controls, go to Tools->Customize->Mouse Gestures (Tab).  The Mouse Gesture Wheel can be configured differently for Sketches, Parts, Assemblies, and Drawings.  The user interface to program the buttons is very similar to the interface for programming Keyboard shortcuts.  Below is an image of the Mouse Gesture programming panel.

Using the Mouse Gestures can be a little confusing for some at first, but once you realize the intent of the tool, the behavior makes perfects sense.  The Mouse Gesture wheel is designed to be a quick select tool.  Users will gain the most efficiency in its usage if they memorize the commands at the positions.  When the Mouse Gesture Wheel is invoked, you can move the cursor about the inside of the wheel to highlight the different options in the quadrants.  Once the cursor enters one of the segments, the command is immediately invoked.  The user does not have to release the Right Mouse Button to go to the command.  What this does is it allows you to quickly gesture your cursor in the desired direction to invoke the command.  So basically the most efficient use of this tool is to gesture in the direction of your desired command without looking at the wheel itself.  To better demonstrate this, I have posted a video showing the Mouse Gesture tool in action.  Click on the image to play the video.

Stay tuned…more SolidWorks 2010 Features to come!

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Photo taken Randy Lanning - via Jayski.com

While it was GREAT to see the car on the track…I can’t help but wonder why we didn’t see the DS brands on the car as well.  It would have been REALLY cool to see SolidWorks, 3Dvia, CATIA, Enovia, & Delmia across the decklid or somewhere else on the car.  Oh well…perhaps this is some food for thought in future sponsorship endeavors.

The subject of SolidWorks and NASCAR is VERY interesting indeed.  I have heard rumors for years that SolidWorks is used actively by many engineers across MANY different NASCAR teams.  Because of the sponsorship dollars at stake…we just don’t hear about it much.  The only official record I have seen on this was a 2004 press release detailing the use of COSMOSWorks at Robert Yates Racing.

If you use SolidWorks to design race cars of any type, leave me a comment!  I’d love to hear from you!

Stay tuned…more to come!

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It’s been a while since I have had a chance to post.  I have been working some crazy hours on various projects.  Hopefully some of them I can share with you one day.  Its time to get back on track with introducing some of the new features of SolidWorks 2010.

Today we take a quick peek at one of my favorite enhancements in SolidWorks 2010.  This is probably not one that you will find in many demos or online videos – It is minor yet major.  Simple yet brilliant.  Oh yeah…and probably overdue but HEY, I’m glad to finally have it.

In my previous job I trained new users of SolidWorks.  The most common mistake new users would make is to NOT pre-select a planar face or reference plane before entering the Hole Wizard command.  This would force them to define their hole points in a 3DSketch which meant that extra relations were required to fully define the placement of the points.  Unless you are placing a hole on a curved surface, a 2D Sketch is very much the preferred method!

SolidWorks 2010 now defaults to  a 2D placement plane for all Hole Wizard Holes.  If the user fails to pre-select the plane, then SolidWorks asks the user to define it rather than assuming a 3D placement is needed.  The 3D Sketch placement option is still available….just not the default when you choose not to pre-select.  Follow the video link below to see a quick demo of this simple yet soon to be popular enhancement!

Stay tuned….much more to come!

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Way back in late 2002, SolidWorks users received what I call a “game changing” enhancement in SolidWorks 2003.  This was the version of SolidWorks that first introduced the ability to model multiple solid bodies in a SolidWorks part file.  Looking back now, it is sometimes hard to imagine SolidWorks without it.  The way SolidWorks handles multiple solid bodies today is still in my opinon the BEST solution offered in any MCAD package on the market.  SolidWorks 2010 introduces a key enhancement to multi-body parts by allowing users to assign SolidWorks Materials to each body independently.

The interface is pretty straight forward.  To assign a material to a solid body, you right mouse button select the desired body inside the Solid Bodies folder in the FeatureManager Design Tree.  The process is identical to assigning a Material to an entire part.  Material assignments to a solid body override the Material assigned to the entire part.  Below is a short video that shows how to assign Materials to a Multi-Body file.

Stay tuned….more SolidWorks 2010 enhancements to come!

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As I said in my first post on SolidWorks 2010, Drawings received A LOT of enhancements!  Today we are going to take a look at a few of them that relate to dimensioning.

Rapid Dimension is a new option that allows for quick placement of dimensions in Drawings.  As soon as you select a edge (or two points) you immediately see a divided circle.  For example, if you attempt to place a horizontal dimension, a divided circle appears which has a top and bottom section (each being displayed with different colors).  If you select the “top” of the circle, the dimension is automatically placed at the top of the view.  If you select the “bottom” of the circle, the dimension is automatically placed at the bottom of the view.  SolidWorks intelligently places the dimensions utilizing the dimension spacing settings in the Document Properties.  Rapid Dimension will also MOVE existing dimensions so that spacing settings are not violated.  The dimensions are still completely adjustable so that you have the freedom to position them as you please.

The Dimension Palette is another enhancement that is sure to be a hit with users.  The Dimension Palette is a pop-up dialog that appears near the mouse cursor when a dimension is selected.  It allows the user to change common dimension properties right in the graphics area without having to make the changes through the PropertyManager.  Using this tool will result in less mouse movement and allow the user to focus solely on the graphics area when setting up dimensions in a Drawing.  The following adjustments can be made a dimension using the Dimension Palette tool.

• Tolerance Type
• Unit Precision
• Tolerance Precision
• Apply Styles
• Add text to the Left, Right, Top, & Bottom of the Dimension
• Add Parenthesis
• Center Dimension
• Inspection Dimension
• Offset Text
• Horizontal & Vertical Justification

Also new in relation to Dimensions is improved behavior for Center Marks in Drawings.  You can now place Center Marks on holes or arcs already dimensioned and the extension lines of the dimensions trim back to the Document Property spacing setting in relation to the Center Mark.  Another caveat to this enhancement is that you can now delete the Center Mark and the dimensions will no longer be left in a dangling state.  In previous versions you would commonly place Center Marks first and then dimension to them in order to get the proper spacing to the Center Mark for the dimension extension lines.  The problem was that if you delete the Center Mark, the dimensions were left dangling.  SolidWorks 2010 will allow you to dimension first, and place the Center Marks later with no negative effects.

Click on the image below to watch a short VIDEO demonstrating these new enhancements.

Stay tuned….much more to come on SolidWorks 2010!

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The What’s New Guide (PDF) has been posted to my What’s New Guides page. If you missed the post a few months back this is the page I created that hosts EVERY What’s New guide that SolidWorks has ever produced!  You can even check out some User Guides from the first releases of SolidWorks (Before What’s New Guides existed).

Stay tuned…MUCH more on SolidWorks 2010 is on the way!

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Well folks, it’s now officially August 24, 2009 and the NDA on SolidWorks 2010 has been lifted!  With this post, I’m going to just quickly highlight what I consider to be the most notable enhancements of SolidWorks 2010.  This post will be followed up with more detailed posts that will include information on the enhancements along with links to videos that show off the new features.  So without further ado, here are the highlights.

User Interface

For the most part, the main structure of the User Interface is the same, but with that said, there are some improvements.  Mouse Gestures have been introduced.  A simple Right Mouse Button click and drag will bring up the Mouse Gesture Wheel.  You can program virtually any feature to any location on the wheel.  My follow up post will share more insight into the use of the feature along with details on Customization.  Below is an example of the Mouse Gesture interface inside a Sketch.

Below is an example of the Mouse Gesture Wheel while in Edit Part mode.

Other enhancements to the User Interface include a completely customizable Heads-Up View Toolbar.  In previous versions there was only a specific set of features available in this toolbar area but now you can put virtually any feature there as long as it is available in Tools->Customize->Commands (tab).  A Context Toolbar has been implemented into the Drawing environment.  In SolidWorks 2009, it was only available in Part & Assembly documents. There is also support now for Touch & Multi-touch interfaces.  Since I don’t have a device to test with, I can’t comment on this functionality.  I am very glad to see this though as I believe we will see more interfaces like this in the very near future.

Documentation

Here is a big one folks.  Starting with SolidWorks 2010, the Help system will be available ONLINE!  Key advantages to this include always up-to-date Help information and a completely enhanced search system which sorts results by subject.  (The search results sorting is very similar to the Knowledge Base system available at the Customer Portal.)  For those that do not have online access a standard CHM type help file is included with the software.  Testing on this is still in the early stages but it has performed VERY WELL on my system thus far.  Here is a screenshot of the new online help system performing a search.

Drawings

So why am I mentioning Drawings before Parts or Assemblies?  That’s because there are A LOT of enhancements to Drawings in SolidWorks 2010.  Adding Dimensions and changing their properties have been enhanced with the addition of the Rapid Dimension tool and the Dimension Palette.  Rapid Dimension is a quick select “circular” icon which appears during the Smart Dimension process.  It allows the user to quickly place the dimension on one side of the part or the other using the dimension spacing settings in the Document Properties.  Below is a screenshot of the Rapid Dimension tool.

The Dimension Palette behaves similarly to the Context Toolbar in that it appears in via a “heads-up” style in the graphics area when a dimension is selected.  Inside of the Palette you can set the dimension text on the left, right, top, or bottom along with tolerance type, decimal places, and other text justification tools.  This will allow the user to concentrate more on the graphics area without having to mouse over the PropertyManager to change settings.  Below is a screenshot of the Dimension Palette in action.

Another popular enhancement in the Drawings package is Excel-Like Behavior for all tables!  Gone are the days where you have to double-click each cell individually to enter data.  The Tab and arrow keys now work just like Microsoft Excel when entering data into ANY of the Tables in Drawings.  Below is a quick video demonstrating how quickly you can enter data in Tables.

Another enhancement which I personally think will get rave reviews is the ability to Insert Individual Note Annotations into an existing Note in a Drawing.  Picture it this way – You can save the most common notes as individual line items in your Design Library.  You can then “build” your Notes by dragging and dropping the line items you need from the Design Library.  Below is a link to a short video that demonstrates this new feature.

Other notable enhancements in Drawings include a Parametric Quantity Annotation option for Balloons, Custom Balloon Sizes, automated Gap adjustment when adding Center Marks to holes already dimensioned, Configuration Selection in the PropertyManager (instead of the View->Properties), & the display of Sketch Pictures (inserted in Parts or Assemblies) in the Drawing Views.

Parts

In Multi-body Parts you now have the ability to add individual Materials to each body.  The interface is located in the Solid Bodies folder in the FeatureManager DesignTree.  Below is a screenshot of a part with different Materials applied to Multiple Solid Bodies. (Click the image to see a larger version.)

Parts now have Display States!  This allows you to store Body Visibility (Hide/Show), Body Display Mode, Appearance, & Transparency.  This capability (much like Display States in Assemblies) will allow for the use of Display States in place of Configurations on for the items previously referenced.  Below is a screenshot of the Display State interface in Parts.  (Click the image to see a larger version.)

The Split Line command will now work with multiple contours in a single sketch.  It will also split curves on multiple bodies within a single command.  Below is an example of using multiple contours with the Split Line command.

Direct Editing has been a hot topic of late and there are a few enhancements to that area of the software.  The Move Face tool has a few additions.  You can now Copy faces while moving them (I’m still trying to formulate an example where you would need this) and the Select Connected Faces command has been added to the interface to allow easier selection of face sets.  A triad tool can be moved which directly effects the way faces are moved.  The triad can also be snapped to certain entity types.  Below is an example of this.  I’ll have much more on this tool later in a more detailed post.

Personally, I would have liked to see more work done in the area of Direct Editing in this release.  I do like the way SolidWorks is proceeding in that the Direct Editing tools still leave a feature in the History Tree.  Also enhanced in the Direct Editing area is the Delete Face command.  The performance of this tool has been enhanced which results in smaller rebuild times.  In a future post, I will compare some examples that reveal more detail in this area.

Hole Wizard Holes no longer require the user to pre-select planar entities prior to entering the feature.  The default Hole Wizard type is now based on 2D Sketches and if no plane is preselected, the interface asks for one in the Position Tab.  3DSketch based Hole Wizards are still possible, just not the default type anymore.  The screenshot below shows the new interface. (Click the image to see a larger version.)

The FeatureWorks tools are now integrated directly into the menu system.  With FeatureWorks (still an add-in but now dynamically activated) you can now recognize child features of feature sets that have already been recognized.   You also have better options for combining holes during feature recognition.  There are many more enhancements to FeatureWorks, so look for a future post with more details.

Assemblies

The Assembly Visualization tool heads up the list of enhancements to the Assembly Environment.  This tool allows you to sort the components of an assembly dynamically in both the graphics area and the Assembly Visualization tab of the FeatureManager area based on a number of different criteria.  The default setup sorts components by Mass.  You can export the results of this tool to an Excel (.XLS), .CSV or .TXT file.  I’ll have much more on this tool later, but below is a screenshot of the tool in use.

The Mirror Component feature in Assemblies has gotten a complete overhaul.  The mirrored set of components are now stored as a feature in the FeatureManager which can be edited again after creation.  If there is motion in any of the components being mirrored, that motion is mirrored as well.  Below is a screenshot of the new Mirror Component feature in action.

The View Mates command is now included in a separate window.  At the top section of the window all mates that have a “path to ground” are displayed.  This will help you understand which mates need to be modified in order to relocate the component.

The Replace Component tool also now includes a separate window which helps the user correspond faces in “failed mates” to the new component by showing the previously mated faces of the component being replaced.  Also included is a popup toolbar which allows the user to navigate through the mates as you replace them.  Below is an example of the new toolset in the Replace Component command.

There is a very nice Instant3D enhancement in Assemblies which allows the user to more precisely move components.  The Move With Triad option is available from the Right Mouse Button menu and displays a ruler so that you can move components a specified distance “on the fly”.  Below is an example showing this new feature.

The next Assembly Enhancement I want to share is to me significant, especially to those using SolidWorks Routing.  You can now add a unique Component Reference to each instance of a component in an assembly.  This will be big in Electrical Routing because you no longer have to turn off  the “Update component names when documents are replaced” option in the System Options when using Routing.  Previously, this option was automatically turned off because Routing renamed the component with the Reference Designator name listed in the From/To list.  I’ve created a much simpler example of how this can be used by using unique Component References to describe the Front Tires of the Assembly below.  The option is set in the Component Properties window.  The Component Reference can be display in the FeatureManager as shown below.

Virtual Components received quite a few enhancements.  You can now make an external component virtual, copy virtual components, and move virtual component amongst the hierarchy of the assembly structure.  Also new is the naming convention for virtual components.  Much more on this in a later post.

Configurations

There are two key enhancements to the Configurations area of the software.  The Configuration Publisher has a SLEW of options that allow you to specify & create model data in the creation of new configurations.  The Configuration Publisher has an interface VERY similar to the Property Tab Builder in SolidWorks 2009.  There is too much detail in this feature to cover here, so I’ll save that for a future post.

The second key enhancement is the Modify Configuration interface.  Several Options have been added to this interface which will allow users to create configurations in a tabulated format quickly without having to use Design Tables.  In this interface you can now Save Table views, configure materials, & create-edit-delete custom properties.  (Just to name a few.)  Much more detail on this later.  Below is a screenshot showing some of the new options.

Other Notable Enhancements

• Multi-Body support in Sheet Metal Parts
• Ability to Split Sheet Metal Parts
• Ability to insert Sheet Metal Parts into Weldments
• Enhanced Cut List support in Weldments
• PhotoWorks Decals AND Sketch Picture are now viewable in E-Drawings
• Enhanced Toolbox integration with SolidWorks Enterprise PDM

Well…those are the highlights.  The Sheet Metal enhancements are BIG and present the user with MANY new possibilities in the creation of Sheet Metal parts.  Those enhancements will be better demonstrated in a detailed post in the very near future.

I should be able to post the What’s New in SolidWorks 2010 to the What’s New Guides page in the next day or so.

Detailed posts and videos on some of the SolidWorks 2010 enhancements will follow soon.

Stay tuned….MUCH MORE to come!

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If the curiosity has gotten the best of you, then check out SolidWorks 2010 for yourself. The Beta 2 build is currently available to all subscription customers. This POST will give you some background info on how to get started.

Not all of the trip was spent looking at SolidWorks 2010 though. We were given a presentation highlighting SolidWorks SustainabilityXpress which is already posted for testing over at SolidWorks Labs. I must admit that I have somewhat overlooked this product partly due to my busy schedule lately, but after seeing more details and witnessing first hand the passion that the folks at SolidWorks are putting into this product, I’ll be taking a much closer look at it for sure. Look for an article soon here at the site.

Things might be a bit slow here for the next few weeks as I will be preparing my SolidWorks 2010 posts. My hope is to have lots of information available once the NDA is lifted. Hopefully, that time will come towards the end of August.

You can read more about the Blogger visit to SolidWorks from Josh Mings, Devon Sowell, Gabi Jack, & Matt Lorano.

A BIG thanks to all the folks at SolidWorks for their efforts in making this trip a very productive and FUN event.

Stay tuned….lots of great stuff coming soon!

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Users of the SolidWorks Forums were treated to a NICE upgrade today with the launch of the revamped forum which has been renamed to “SolidWorks Community”.  With the new features of the forum, I feel like the new name fits nicely.  Just about everything in the forum has been enhanced.  I’ve listed my top enhancements below:

• MANY Enhanced posting options which include posting YouTube and Vimeo videos directly in thread replies
• Document posting
• Additional Profile options
• Bookmarks
• Ability to add Friends (Ok..yeah…a little “Facebookish” but cool.)
• History
• A multitude of browsing options
• Customizable “Your View” start page
• Implementation of Tags
• Blogs!  (This one really got Matt excited.)
• Better organization of subjects (communities)
• Enhanced Search and sorting options

I’ve probably forgot a few, but these were the my highlights anyway.  The speed of the forum has been a little sticky for some, but most of the browsing I have done tonight has resulted in pages loading at what I consider an acceptable speed.  There were some concerns raised that only subscription service customers could use the new forums (since the login is now tied to the Customer Portal).  SolidWorks has assured that folks off subscription can still participate.  (After perusing a few other blogs tonight it looks like there are a few non-subscription customers having trouble accessing the new site, but I’m sure with the policy statement made by SolidWorks, those issues will be corrected.)

Signatures that many users are accustomed to (appears at the bottom of a thread post) are gone but the information that was normally contained in a signature can be easily found on the user profile page.  The nice thing about this is that it cuts down on some of the “vertical real estate” which results in a little less scrolling on those long winded discussion topics.

I was pondering doing some videos showing off the new features but it looks like Greg Jankowski has already done it!  In fact, he has created the Getting Started Docs page in the forum that guides you through the enhancements along with some YouTube video posts.

I have taken the liberty to embed the videos below.  If you are a forum user I recommend you check out the Getting Started Docs page as it contains some additional information that is not included in the raw video feeds I am showing below.

(NOTE:  I normally don’t embed YouTube videos but thought this was pretty cool.  My apologies to the folks behind the corporate Websense firewall that can’t see them)

A BIG thanks to Greg for creating these!

Stay tuned….more to come!

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