Take pride in your work. You make a difference.  People listen to your designs.

Who needs IT?   Well, in reality we probably all do to some extent.  But let’s be honest.  IT seldom understands what engineering truly requires.  If you and the receptionist have the same computer, you are going to need some help.  Here are several tips and tricks that you can do yourself to improve the performance of your SolidWorks.  Some of them we have been preaching for years.  Some of them may be new to you.  Each one will help you performance at least a little.  Using all of the following tips should make a noticeable difference.

Here we go.

1. Save your files to the most recent version of SolidWorks. 
2. Move/copy all of your files to your local machine while you are working on them. 
3. Turn off Real View Graphics. 
4. Use SpeedPak for your assemblies. 
5. Reduce your image quality.  
6. Turn off verification on rebuild. 
7. Limit external references. 
8. Turn off all of you add-ins.
9. Modify/simplify any parts that you downloaded.
10.   Only make your sub assemblies flexible if needed.
11.   Use lightweight assemblies/drawings.
12.   Use Large Assembly Mode

These are just options inside of SolidWorks that can improve your performance.  In addition, there are settings for your computer and operating system that you can modify without needing to call in IT.

But don’t just take my word for it.  Here is a link to a fantastic video presentation from SolidWorks World 2011.  http://www.solidworks.com/sww/proceedings/proceedings-presentations.htm.  Not only will it give you additional steps to improve your performance, but the presenters from Computer Aided Technology, Inc.  also quantify how much you gain from taking these and other steps.  You will be amazed what a difference it makes.

When you Restart your computer it’s considered a “warm boot”.  Performing a Shut Down is referred to as a “cold boot”.  During a “warm boot” power to the memory chips is not completely lost as it would be on a “cold boot”.  Therefore, if you want to ensure that memory on your system is completely flushed, Shut down your computer and wait approximately 30 seconds before rebooting.  On a system utilizing SolidWorks, it’s recommended that you perform a cold boot daily.

OK, this blog is not a rant or rave – it’s just a gentle push to get you technophobes out there to learn how to be comfortable using your computer. So here goes…

• A pilot knows how to take off and fly but didn’t think he needed to learn how to land. He figures gravity will take care of it.
• A surgeon didn’t bother learning anatomy. He figures he’ll just dig around and eventually find your appendix.

These aren’t going to happen, thankfully, but the idea is no different than if you don’t learn how to do your job completely because you haven’t learned how to use your computer.

I’ve been involved in teaching people how to use software for over twenty years. Back in 1988, the majority o f the people in my class had never used a computer before. That was understandable. But that’s not the case today. Your computer is probably a critical part of your job and it’s as important as a pilot learning how to land or a surgeon learning anatomy. If you can’t use one of the tools of your job you cost the company money.

Fear is usually the main reason for not learning how to be comfortable using your computer. Some important things you need to know if you do something wrong:
1. Your computer will not blow up.
2. You won’t take down your company’s network.
3. You won’t take down the electric grid.
4. You won’t start WW III.

If you’re not comfortable using your computer and getting around in Windows you can:
• Take a class – you should be able to find a free or inexpensive class at your local school or library.
• Read a book – There are lots of books available like the “for Dummies” series or “The Complete Idiot’s Guide” series. These are written for people who aren’t experts but need to learn. Ask at a book store or the library.
• Check out the internet – OK, I know. You can’t use a computer now, so how can you check the internet? Well, there are people to help you –coworkers, family, friends, or a librarian.

Remember you don’t have to learn HOW a computer works; you just need to learn how to USE it.

Have you ever needed to select specific things in your assembly and were not sure of the best way to accomplish this? The selection tool has many options for what to select if you use the pull down.

As you can see from the image above there are a number of choices. The “Volume Select…” is similar to a general window select but in 3 dimensions which makes sense as we design in 3D. The Volume Select allows you to change the size of the box in all directions. When you hit “Enter” it will highlight all the components confined in the box in the Feature Tree.

Next you have “Select Suppressed” and “Select Hidden.” These are fairly self explanatory. They will highlight the suppressed or hidden items in the Feature Tree. This is very useful for an assembly that has a very long Feature Tree.

Then there is the “Select Mated To…” which, when you to select a component(s) in the assembly, will highlight all the components that have a mate.

“Select Internal Components” is useful if you have an assembly that has components inside other components. It will allow selecting them without hiding anything.

The last of the standard selection tools is “Select Toolbox.”  It will select all toolbox components in the assembly so you can possibly suppress or hide for a simplified configuration.

The last one on the list is the “Advanced Select…” This opens a select dialog that allows you to add criteria to what it will search. In the image below you can see the list for category 1. There are quite a few options. If you select certain criteria from category 1 it will also have criteria for category 2. Clicking on the “And/Or” tab can also allow you to define search criteria in more detail.

So once you have done any one of these options, you can always invert the selection to be opposite. Suppose you want to select all components except the toolbox ones. Use the “Select Toolbox” this will select all the toolbox parts. Then use the right mouse button menus and select “Invert Selection.” This will now unselect all toolbox parts and select all other components.

I hope this has provided you with a better understanding of the selection tool. If you have questions on any of this functionality, you can go to the online SolidWorks Help section and search for the specific selection tool you are looking at. And if you are needing additional help, feel free to contact our Technical Support Team at 763-560-8600, option 4.