Whenever multiple installations of SOLIDWORKS need to happen, an admin image is a good idea. It can be a huge timesaver. It evens allows you to customize which software is installed, as well as specify certain settings per group or per machine. Read on for step-by-step instructions on creating an admin image before deployment.
Step 1: Launch the Installation Manager by running Setup.exe. Find setup.exe by downloading the latest service pack from the Customer Portal.
Engineers and designers from Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin joined us on September 23rd for a car-themed simulation event + classic car show at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds.
For those of you who weren’t there, here are the highlights!
One of the big changes for SOLIDWORKS 2016 is a facelift of the user interface.
One of the first things you will notice about the software when you open it for the first time is a new look and feel. One of the primary reasons for the UI redesign is to fully support ultra-high resolution large format (4K) displays.
Most icons are similar to previous icons, but with crisper lines that improve readability and recognition. The new LARGE ICON size is very easy on the eyes with an ultra-high resolution display.
At Alignex, we strive to help our customers to learn how SOLIDWORKS can give them a different perspective on designing content to fit their needs. My opportunity presented itself when I was recently teaching the SOLIDWORKS Essentials course.
Spending a few days in the classroom is always a rewarding experience especially when you are instructing the basic fundamentals. It’s all about giving learners an opportunity to experience more of what SOLIDWORKS has to offer.
Here are some of my favorite skills students get to experience in the class:
Say you have a team of 4 designers. The team has a total of 3 licenses (2 Standard, 1 Premium). Two of the designers require the standard features, and two utilize the features within the premium license. They are all on the same network domain.
In order to leverage the full extent of the premium license, the license manager can be setup so only those who require the additional functionality have access to it. The process for setting up a system for license allocation uses a feature of the SolidNetWork License Manager (SNL) called the 'Options File'. If an administrator wants to structure how licenses get distributed, this is where to go.
Designers seem to accumulate an abundance of parts – a trend of the trade. When these are parts you can hold in your hand, the situation appears differently. Just like a digital design project, real projects have parts, tools and assemblies. During the course of a team tearing down an engine, for example, these parts and tools may end up scattered throughout the shop or garage without a trace of who, what when and where.
Command Tooling Systems, along with their parent company EWS out of Germany, designs and manufactures precision CNC toolholding products for a variety of industries. Utilizing advanced technologies, like SOLIDWORKS solutions, allows them to continually produce new and innovative tooling options for the industries they serve.
I’ve personally used sheet metal to design fixtures, shield electronics and enclose assemblies. After kicking and screaming, I would usually revisit these designs after the other side said it needs to look “pretty.”
There are lots of reasons that designs get delayed, pushed back or redesigned. To make sure you’re not the bottleneck, let’s review how we can utilize SOLIDWORKS’ full potential and not just the sheet metal functionality. Depending on the difficulty of the design, it may be simpler to start with solid or surface bodies. We would then continue with a process referred to as converting to sheet metal. It is a simple tool to help us work smarter not harder!
Working with CAD models created in other systems is always a challenge. Any time you transfer a model from CAD system “A” to CAD system “B” there can be issues. Think of it like trying to translate a complex poem from one language to another. Sometimes there will be a loss of meaning in translation.
Similarly, when we read in a model from another CAD system into SOLIDWORKS, there can be issues as well. This post will show you how to:
3D design offers clear engineering advantages over 2D. Here's 8 things Alignex customers say they couldn't live without.