One of the many advantages of any CAD system is the ability to reuse design data in new designs.  Copying an existing design and then making changes has saved companies tremendous amounts of time and money.  Here is an easy way to reuse a design including the drawings and save it with a new file name.

HP is the first workstation vendor to announce support for Intel’s new six core Xeon 3600 and 5600 Series processors. They also announced the Elitebook Pro 8740w Mobile Workstation and a small footprint version of the entry level E200 workstation.

Of most interest to SolidWorks users is the 3.33 GHz six core Intel® Xeon® Processor W3680 which will be available on the HP Z400 in April. Pricing hasn’t been announced, but Intel prices the new six core CPU exaclty the same as the four core w3580 that it replaces. HP has also started shipping Z400 models with six DIMM slots, so they can be configured with up 24 GB RAM.

There are more choices in the Xeon 5600 Series supported on the HP Z600 and Z800 dual socket systems. The 5600 series includes six core CPUs at up to 3.33 GHz and four core CPUs at up to 3.47 GHz. Very few SolidWorks users, will benefit from more than six cores making it hard to justify the MUCh higher pricing for dual socket workstations.

The Elitebook 8740w Mobile Workstation is a powerhouse that will compete directly with the Dell Precision M6500 and Lenovo ThinkPad W701. A range of dual and quad core processors are available, as well as three different professional OpenGL graphic cards. Quad core systems can be configured with up to 16GB RAM, while dual core systems are limited to 8GB. (This is true of ALL Core i notebooks.) Dual core systems start at $1999 and configurations with quad core Core i7 720QM start at $2999.

The HP Z200 SFF Workstation packs workstation-class performance and reliability into a surprisingly small, sleek, and affordable package. A broad range of quad core Xeon 3400 Series and dual core Core i5/13 processors are available. The small form factor does entail some sacrifices: The available Quadro FX 380 LP graphics card is certified by SolidWorks, but it’s not a top performer. On the other hand, advanced thermal management allows you to install up to two 10,000 rpm Velociraptor hard drives in the compact chassis.

If you ever need to send files to a customer or client you have several different options.  The method will depend on how much information you want them to have and whether or not they have SolidWorks.  Do they need just the drawing, a full assembly model and all of the components, the shape and size of an assembly but without any details, or just a picture?

1. eDrawing

You can send an eDrawing (which will allow them to look at the drawing and the model.  They can rotate the model around and hide components.)  Go to File>Publish eDrawing s File which will open up your file in eDrawings.  From eDrawings you can save it as an executable file so the client will be able to open it without having to install eDrawings.  The advantage to this is that they don’t need SolidWorks and the package to send to them is relatively small.

2. Pack and Go

If you want them to be able to look at the models along with the drawings, then you need to send them all of the component models, the assembly model and drawings.  The easiest way to do this is with Pack and Go.

1. In Windows Explorer right click on your main assembly drawing, click on SolidWorks, then select Pack and Go …
2. If the assembly drawing is open, go to File>Pack and Go…
3. You’ll open a window like this:

     4.    SolidWorks will gather up all of the models required for the drawing.  You have the option of saving them into a zip file.  You can even add a prefix or a suffix to each of the file names.

3. Save as Part

If the client just needs the overall shape and size of your model or you don’t want them to have any of the details of the assembly, then you can save your assembly as a part.  You can choose to save the exterior faces, the exterior components, or all of the components.  (You would see the difference if you did a section through the part or checked the weight of the part.)

1. Your customer may need your file in a different format than SolidWorks such as IGES, STEP, ProE, or one of the other available types.  With the assembly or part open, go to File>Save As and in the Save as type: drop down select the correct type.  Click on the Options button to modify any of the optional settings for the particular file type you have selected.
2. 
3. Sometime you may just need a “picture” of your model or the drawing.  In this case you can save your file as a pdf, jpeg, or tif.  Again, just select the appropriate type from the Save as type: drop down list.
4. If you just want them to look at just the drawing and not the model, you can save a detached drawing.  It’s like creating a “snapshot” of the drawing.  You do not need to send the models along with drawing for the client to view the drawing.  Just do a Save As and select detached drawing as the type.  The client must have SolidWorks to open the drawing.
5. You can export the sheet metal flat pattern from the model file.  Right click on the flat pattern in the Feature Manager Tree and select Export to DXF/DWG.  You will be able to choose what to include and also have a chance to clean up extraneous entities.  You can also save a drawing as a DWG or DXF file with a Save As.  Click on the Options button to set the version.
   

We all know and love SolidWorks for its modeling capabilities, but I’m often surprised by how many users are not aware of all the other functionality that comes along with the SolidWorks package.   Not only do you have the suite of SolidWorks, eDrawings, DWGeditor, and PhotoWorks, there’s also a variety of additional tools that can help make life a lot easier.   If you go into your Windows Start menu in the lower left corner of your desktop, go into All Programs, SolidWorks 20XX, (SolidWorks 20XX SPXX), SolidWorks Tools, you’ll find a few of these valuable resources.

Here’s a summary of how they can help you work more effectivly with SolidWorks…

Copy Settings Wizard:  Allows you to save out all your custom settings in SolidWorks including System Options, Toolbars, Keyboard shortcuts, and Menu customizations.  That way if you create a new installation, get a new machine, or need to work on a different system, you can easily apply all the settings that you’ve grown accustomed to.  This wizard will save out a *.sldreg file that you simply double-click to restore your settings to any installation.  This also comes in handy to standardize several SolidWorks installations to all have the same settings, such as file locations.

Property Tab Builder:  If you add custom properties to your SolidWorks files and feel like this process gets a little redundant, this tool is for you.  The Property Tab builder allows you to build a custom designed user interface to help automate creating that property information.  You build a template that can consist of text boxes, pulldown lists, number fields, checkboxes , and radio buttons.  Then users can access this template in the task pane at the right side of the SolidWorks interface.  You can predefine values or have fields dependent on user input. After filling out the form, SolidWorks writes to values to the custom or configuration-specific properties of the file. Here’s an example…

SolidNetwork License Manager:  This tool comes into play if you have network licensing at your location.  It can tell you what licenses are available and who currently has licenses in use.  This is also where you define the server location where the licenses are deployed from.

SolidWorks Network Monitor:  You can use this tool to share the task of converting all of your SolidWorks files to the latest version.  You schedule the task to convert files on a coordinator computer and allow several node computers on the network to perform the task as well so you can complete it in a fraction of the time.

SolidWorks Rx:  A very valuable resource for troubleshooting.  We use this tool in tech support quite often to have users complete one of the Rx functions: Problem Capture.  This allows you to “capture” an issue you may be experiencing in SolidWorks and even record a video if appropriate, and then send us a zip file package that will include information about your settings, system configuration, and event logs.  But this tool is also an important resource for users to take advantage of.  Some other functions of the Rx include a System Maintenance tool that will clean out all your temporary directories that Windows and SolidWorks might write to.  These directories can build in size over time and significantly slow your system.  You can use the Rx to schedule this maintenance to run on a regular basis to keep everything running smoothly, or periodically you can manually go in and run the maintenance yourself.  There’s also a Diagnostics page where you can take a look and make sure your system is configured correctly for using SolidWorks.   The most valuable information you’ll find here concerns the video card and driver information.  Using a graphics card driver that is certified for your system configuration is vital to get optimal performance in SolidWorks.

SolidWorks Task Scheduler:  This tool can be used to schedule tasks to be automatically run on your system.  Some of the things that are available include converting files to the latest version, printing multiple files, exporting or importing multiple files, tasks associated with Workgroup PDM, if in use, and much more!  Check it out!

Toolbox Settings:  This is the same configuration tool that you can access through SolidWorks to make any changes to your toolbox settings.

If you’d like any more information on using these tools, feel free to contact Symmetry Solutions Technical Support Team at 763.560.8600 option 4 or email us at support@symsolutions.com.

Were you unable to attend SWW this year? While nothing truly substitutes for attending the conference and networking with 5000 SolidWorks users, resellers and employees, you CAN view the presentations online.

Videos and PowerPoints from most of the presentations given at SolidWorks World 2010 are now available online to anyone with current subscription service. You must have a Customer Portal login to download/view the presentations.

http://www.solidworks.com/swworld/proceedings/proceedings_presentations.htm

HP and Lenovo have begun shipping new mobile workstations that offer exceptional performance and mobility at affordable prices. Lenovo has also announced, but is not yet shipping, a new high-end ThinkPad for power users. Finally, Dell has also introduced new lower cost Intel Dual Core Processor i5/i7 options for their top end Precision 6500M.

HP Elitebooks

The HP Elitebook 8540w delivers a superb balance of performance and portability. Featuring a 15.6″ widescreen display and nVidia Quadro FX 880M graphics, the 8540w supports processors ranging from the dual core 2.4 GHz Core i5 520M to the quad core 1.73 GHz Core i7-820QM and can be configured with up to 16 GB RAM. They’ve even managed to fit a dedicated numeric keypad into the motherboard – very unusual for a 15″ notebook. HP is currently offering a nicely configured system with a 2.66 GHz dual core CPU (with a maximum Turbo Boost speed of 3.33 GHz!), 4GB RAM, and 320 GB hard drive for $1,679. Higher end configurations can easily top the $3,000 mark, but that is a fair price to pay for such a thoughtfully designed system.

For global engineers requiring even greater mobility, HP has introduced their thinnest and lightest mobile workstation ever, the HP Elitebook 8440w. With a starting weight of under 5 lbs, the 8440w sports a 14″ widescreen display, nVidia Quadro FX 380M graphics, and the same range of Core i5 and Core i7 processors as the larger 8540w, but the smaller system is limited to 8GB RAM.

Lenovo ThinkPads

The ThinkPad w510 may not be as sexy as the Elitebook 8540w (no dedicated numeric keypad) but it offers great performance, up to 16GB RAM, and a 15.6″ widescreen display at an aggressive price point. Lenovo forgoes the cheaper dual core CPUs and offers only industrial strength Intel Quad Core Processor i7 CPUs – up to the 2.0 GHz Intel Quad Core Extreme Processor i7-920XM. I put together a very nice system with a 1.7 GHz Intel Quad Core Processor i7 820QM CPU, 8GB RAM, Quadro FX 880M graphics and 320GB hard drive for under $2,100 – more than $1k less than comparably configured Elitebook 8540w.

Lenovo has announced, but is not yet shipping the high-end ThinkPak w701. With a 17″ display, nVidia Quadro FX 2800M/3800M graphics and choice of Intel Quad Core Processor i7 CPUs the ThinkPad w701 will offer exceptional performance. If money is no object, Lenovo offers a dual screen version and the option of an integrated Wacom digitizer for creative artists.

Dell Precision M6500

Introduced in December, Dell’s Precision M6500 was the first Core i7 based mobile workstation and still tops the wish list of many engineers. Unfortunately, pricing of Dell’s flagship mobile workstation put it out of reach for most. Dell is now offering lower cost Intel Dual Core Processor i5/i7 options for the M6500, but “lower” is a relative term. A Precision M6500 with a 2.66 GHz Intel Dual Core Processor i7-620M CPU, 4GB RAM, 320 GB hard drive and nVidia Quadro FX 2800M graphics still adds up to over $2,800 and the dual core models are limited to a maximum 8GB RAM.

Who wins this round?

The Lenovo ThinkPad w510 delivers the best peformance for the price, while the HP Elitebook w8540w gets kudos for incorporating a dedicated numeric keypad in a 15″ notebook. The Dell Precision M6500 is a true powerhouse for those who can afford it.