The American Heritage dictionary defines a utility as:

(yū-tĭl’ĭ-tē)
n., pl., -ties.

1. The quality or condition of being useful; usefulness:
2. A useful article or device.
3. A public utility.
1. A commodity or service, such as electricity, water, or public transportation, that is provided by a public utility.

In SolidWorks, the utilities add-in available with seats of SolidWorks Professional or Premium can be very useful indeed!

SolidWorks defines Utilities as “a set of tools that lets you examine in detail the geometry of a solid model, and make comparisons to other models”.

With everything from automated tools to simplify your models to geometry comparison between separate files; these tools can give you valuable insight into your designs and give you the information you need to be successful.

Take some time to get familiar with SolidWorks Utilities by checking out this link:  http://help.solidworks.com/2012/English/SolidWorks/swutilities/SolidWorks_Utilities.htm

Everyone knows that .pdf files are a great, simple way to communicate documents electronically. Most SolidWorks users are aware that you can create .pdf documents from SolidWorks. Did you know you can create Adobe PDF documents with embedded 3D models? You can convey complex 3D designs to all of your partners and clients no matter what tools they use. This allows the recipient to do things such as rotate, pan and zoom the SolidWorks model inside the pdf document. They can also do things such as change background colors and display styles as well as several other functions.

Now a simple right click inside of the Adobe Reader with the .pdf open and you are working in 3D.

When Toolbox parts are saved out as separate, unique files, they retain information about their parentage.  It’s called a Toolbox flag.  In the past it usually didn’t cause a problem but in SolidWorks 2011, a setting was added that could potentially cause your saved parts to be replaced with standard Toolbox components.  You can tell if a component has a Toolbox flag by the bolt icon showing in the Assembly tree.

The new setting tells SolidWorks to always look in the Toolbox location for Toolbox components.   Uncheck this setting and SolidWorks should find your parts correctly.

The best solution, though, is to turn off the Toolbox flag on your components and turn them into regular SolidWorks parts.  There is a program that is installed with SolidWorks that will do this.

1. Go to C:\Program Files\SolidWorks Corp 2011\SolidWorks\Toolbox\data utilities and look for sldsetdocprop.exe
2. Double click on the executable file.
3. Make sure the Property State is set to No under Set Document Property.
   Check Part Files.
   Select either Add Files… to select individual files or Add Directories… to select an entire folder.
4. Click Update Status.
5. To verify the status of a file after running the program, select a file and click Show Selected property.

If you have any questions, please give Tech Support a call at 763-560-8600, Option 4.

Mirrors can be your friends and your enemies both on the wall and in SolidWorks. If you’re making a part that’s symmetric, mirroring can save you a lot of time building matching features on both sides of the part. However, if you don’t do things correctly it can lead to lots of nightmares.

The biggest complications can stem from the base sketches of your part. Mirroring in a sketch is handy to create symmetric entities, but why not just mirror the feature instead? As a general rule, the more entities you have in a sketch, the more chances you’re giving your model to go wrong. Everything might be symmetric when you start, but if you go back in and edit something later it could all blow up.

Another headache can be due to how you’re defining your features. Mirroring “Blind” features is usually no problem. If you start using more advanced definitions like Up to Vertex, Up to Surface and the like the mirroring the feature may not work because it can’t find the appropriate geometry or extends to the wrong place to really be a “mirror.”

Some features like fillets and chamfers are really picky about the geometry they’re made with. If you try to mirror them, and the faces they’re being mirrored to aren’t exactly the same, they will likely fail.

There are so many ways to have issues! Why not just skip all of them? The solution: Mirror Body. Skip all the headaches of trying to mirror sketches and features and just model half your part, mirror the body and be done. Less sketch entities, less features and less hassle. If you want to ensure total symmetricity that’s your best way to go.

The SolidWorks Customer Portal is one of your best resources for information and support for the SolidWorks family of software.  From the Portal you’ll have a quick link to:

• Downloads and Updates to update your SolidWorks, Enterprise, and 3DVIA software
• Knowledge Base where you can search for solutions to questions and problems
• Enhancement Requests where you can influence how the software will work in the future
• Fixed SPR list to see what issues have been fixed in the new versions and service packs.
• Forums where you can connect with other SolidWorks users and find solutions to your challenges or help others with theirs
• Certification to find out how to join an elite group of SolidWorks users by becoming certified
• Admin Guides to find the documentation for What’s New, Installation, Administration
• Learning Resources to have access to tutorial files, Administrative Guides, Tech Tips, & other resources

 This is not an exhaustive list of all of the resources but I hope it’s enough to pique your interest.

 Creating an Account

To access the Customer Portal, select the Login link on the top of the SolidWorks home page http://www.solidworks.com then select SolidWorks Customer Portal.

 Login using your existing account information.  If you do not have an account yet you will have to create one.

 To create a member account:

1. Select the Click here to create an account short cut beneath Not a member?
2. Select Customer and enter the serial number.
3. Enter a valid email address, click Next.  As with most forms the * fields are required, the rest are optional.
4. Fill in your first name and your last name, click Next.
5. Enter the account information, click Next.  The account name is the company name.
6. Enter a password and fill in some profile questions, click Next.
7. Then you will be required to accept the “Export Eligibility Requirements” agreement.
8. Once you accept the agreement you will be brought to the SolidWorks Customer Portal.

NOTE: Many of the links in the Self Service area are not available () unless you have entered a serial number that has an active subscription service contract.  You must Register My Products under the My Support section to unlock the links.

Once you’re in, take some time and explore all of the resources.  You’ll probably be surprised at all of the information available to you.

As always, if you have any questions, please give us a call.

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.

So you’re working on an assembly. Everything is inserted and all of your mates are set. You’re just about done and looking things over when *poof* the entire asssembly disappears. You zoom to fit: nothing. You try zooming to a component: nothing. You do a Ctrl-Q: Still nothing. You close the part and re-open it: Nope, still gone. You’ve checked in the AssemblyXpert to make sure parts aren’t too far from the origin: everything is fine. All the parts are still there and you can edit the components and mates, but nothing but the background is in the graphics area.

The problem might be a glitch in the file that reset the bounding box of the assembly to be outside of the model space. How did it glitch? Well, not even SolidWorks knows yet. They do, however, know how to fix it!

To reset your bounding box and hopefully be able to view your assembly, do the following:

• Move your cursor to the graphics area.
• Hit space to bring up the “View Palatte.”
• Double click “Isometric.”
• Type CTRL-Q.
• Then save the assembly.

After that, you either rejoice that your assembly is back and viewable, or call your Tech Support Team!

As a member of the Technical Support Team at Symmetry Solutions, each year we are required to be recertified by SolidWorks.  Part of the recertification test is focused on new functionality and features for the latest release of SolidWorks.  As you may or may not know, there is a “What’s New” file for every new release of the software that documents these changes.  You can access this file from your help menu in SolidWorks.  Like many, I am one of those people that scan the document for some highlights when I install each new release.  However, since my recertification test was approaching, I thought I would give it a more thorough read.  You know what I discovered (again)?  There is a lot of good information in that document.  I won’t try and summarize the entire thing, but here is one tip that I think may be useful if you are in the process of updating hardware:

“You can transfer a license from a computer even if SolidWorks is no longer installed on that computer. You can download and run SolidWorks Activation Wizard from the SolidWorks customer portal to transfer the license.”

So now when you get that annoying message about “Activation Count Exceeded” because you forgot to transfer the license off of your old computer, you no longer need to call technical support to resolve the problem.

Note, the tool is new and currently only applies to SW2011 installations.

Take some time and read through the “What’s New” document (again).  It may not be the most fun reading material available, but I recommend it for all SolidWorks users, as it can help you get the most from your software.

P.S.  You will be happy to know that all the members of your SolidWorks Technical Support Team here at Symmetry Solutions passed their recertification test.

SolidWorks 2011 has included a new utility to help with download problems: the SolidWorks Background Downloader. The Background Downloader uses processes behind the scenes to download the installation package for service packs.  In previous versions, it was required that  SolidWorks be closed before downloading files.  Starting in 2011, this utility will allow the user to continue to use SolidWorks while it downloads the files. After the download is complete, the user will be prompted as to what they want to do with the download.  The options are: “Install Now”, “Delay the Installation”, or “Delete the Download”.  You can disable the Background Downloader and still run “Check for Updates” as in previous versions.

There are two ways to turn this function off. The first is during the install on the Download Options page. You can unselect the Background Downloader options (there are two of them). The other is if you installed SolidWorks and this is on, you can disable it from the icon in the taskbar. I have included a screen shot of the message from the taskbar above.

Even though the Background Downloader is selected to install by default for individual installs, it is not installed when using the SolidWorks administrative image.

Below is a link to Lou Gallo’s post about the SolidWorks Background Downloader and his take on the utility:

http://solidworksheard.com/blog/2010/12/24/solidworks-background-disabler.html