I ran across this on the SolidWorks forums. Someone was needing to create a helical blade and then flatten it with sheet metal tools. I thought that this could not be done but they gave an example of how to do this. I will share their instructions and a sample of this as well.
First you need to open a sketch and create a circle of 5″. From this make a helix constant pitch and the pitch being 25″ and 1 revolution. Now create another sketch with a circle of 20″. From this create another helix with the same numbers as the first.
Now create two 3D sketches converting one helix per sketch.
Now you have two profiles that you can use for a Sheet Metal Loft Base. From the Sheet Metal tool bar Lofted Bends or the Insert>Sheet Metal>Lofted Bends. Select to start the feature then select the two 3D Sketches and what thickness you want to use. There you have the helical sheet metal part that will give you a flat pattern.
View a sample part here.
One frequent request that comes across my desk, is how to perform a clean uninstallation of SolidWorks. SolidWorks installs too many locations on a user’s local disk drive. When a user uninstalls SolidWorks, a lot of these folders are retained on the system and you can end up with unnecessary or duplicate folders. Also, at times a SolidWorks installation can become corrupt and it may be necessary to completely wipe SolidWorks from the systems registry and start fresh.
Read more…
If you are experiencing slowness or sluggishness while working on SolidWorks models and you open your files over a network, it is worthwhile to check to see if the network is causing at least some of the problems.
To test whether performance issues are related to opening files over a network, place an assembly and its referenced files on your local hard drive and work on the assembly from there.
Procedure:
- If you have the assembly open, go to File>Pack and Go …
- Alternatively, in Windows Explorer, browse to the assembly, right click, click on SolidWorks, then Pack and Go …
- In the Pack and Go window, in Save to folder – browse to a folder on your C:\ drive and place in a temporary folder. In this example I created a new folder just to test this assembly.
- Add a prefix or a suffix to change the filenames of all of the models so these won’t be confused with your regular models.
- Click Save
Open this assembly and work with it for a while and see if you notice an improvement in performance.
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. Read more…
Rick Chin, Director of Product Innovation, is looking for customer input on his next project. Go here to complete his survey: http://blogs.solidworks.com/solidworksblog/2010/01/what-should-rick-chin-work-on-next.html
National Instruments and SolidWorks Collaborate on a Virtual Prototyping Solution
National Instruments has begun shipping the production release of NI SoftMotion for SolidWorks, a pioneer mechatronics tool that helps mechanical and control engineers work together to lower the cost and risk of motion system design. Seamlessly connecting NI LabVIEW graphical system design software and SolidWorks® 3D CAD software, the new virtual prototyping solution helps engineers and scientists design, optimize, validate and visualize the real-world performance of machines and motion systems before incurring the costs of physical prototypes.
NI SoftMotion for SolidWorks requires SolidWorks Motion Simulation, included with SolidWorks Premium, SolidWorks Simulation Professional and SolidWorks Simulation Premium. Additional LabView modules may also be required.
National Instruments has an extremely information website with webcasts, whitepapers, getting started guides, etc. Check it out: http://www.ni.com/digitalprototyping/
As mentioned in a previous blog posting, Rockwell Automation is collaborating with SolidWorks on a very similar solution that will integrate RA Motion Analyser software with SolidWorks Motion Simulation. This software should be available later this fall. More info can be found at http://www.ab.com/motion/software/analyzer.html and http://www.rockwellautomation.com/partners/dassault.html
SustainabilityXpress Available NOW from SolidWorks Labs
SustainabilityXpress is a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tool for SolidWorks 2009. When determining the environmental impact of a product, LCA looks at everything that happens in the production, use, and final disposal of the product. This even includes all the transportation that occurs between the stages. Decisions on the material used, how it is manufactured, … can result in vastly different effects on the environment. SustainabilityXpress shows you these impacts and helps you to improve your design.
SustainabilityXpress is the first fruit of a technology partnership between SolidWorks and PE International, a global expert in sustainability and materials science. The Xpress version if free and is limited to evaluating single parts. A full-fledged assembly analysis tool will be introduced along with SolidWorks 2010 later this month.
SustainabilityXpress prompts the user for information about materials used, manufacturing method, where it will be manufactured and where it will be used. Once the information has been gathered, SustainabilityXpress interrogates PE’s huge database and provides four to five pages of data on teh environmental impace of sourcing the material, processing it, shipping it, using it and then disposing it at the end of its life. Finally, the system will help you evaluate alternative materials that may have a lesser environmental impact.
SustainabilityXpress requires SolidWorks 2009. Both 32-bit and 64-bit versions are available. For more information and to download the software, please visit http://labs.solidworks.com/
Intel Quietly Ships Faster Xeon 3500 Series Processors
Without much fanfare, Intel has begun shipping new and faster Xeon 3500 Series processors. The new W3580 and W3550 CPUs run at 3.33 and 3.06 GHz, marginally faster than the 3.2/2.93 GHz W3570 and W3540 chips introduced earlier this year. So far, Lenovo is the only major workstation manufacturer listing these chips as options and they are priced exactly the older and slower parts.
Intel has also been releasing more details on the forthcoming “Lynnfield” processors, which will be the Nehalem architecture for mainstream and consumer markets. The consumer versions of the processors will be dubbed the Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7 and will require different (and much less expensive) motherboards from the current Core i7 and Xeon 3500 Series. The Core i5 and new Core i7 look particularly interesting. They will have only dual channel memory, which will reduce bandwidth somewhat, but will make up for it with faster turbo modes (important for SolidWorks performance) and lower power consumption. It’s unknown whether Intel will come out with Xeon-branded versions with ECC memory support, but I hope they do. This would be the optimal platform for entry and mainstream SolidWorks users.
While the “Everything Goes Green” bandwagon rolls, it is important to distinguish the environmental impact of specific industries. Going green is often overused these days, however what could be better for the manufacturing industry than a tool that predicts environmental impact PRIOR to production?
SolidWorks Project Sage refers to the development of a new add-on product for the SolidWorks software that will allow designers to quantify in real time the projected environmental impacts of the parts and assemblies that they create.
Here are links to various press releases, articles, etc:
http://www.tenlinks.com/NEWS/PR/solidworks/021209_sage.htm
http://www.pe-international.com/gabi/gabi-inside-tools/solidworks-sage/
http://www.fcsuper.com/swblog/?p=165
http://www.designnews.com/blog/CAD_CAM_Corner/11141-SolidWorks_Gets_Sage_About_Environmental_Impact.php
A preview of Sage will be made available through SolidWorks Labs this summer.
Mechatronics – The next big thing?
Mechatronics is the synergistic combination of precision mechanical engineering, electronic control and systems thinking in the design of products and manufacturing processes. It relates to the design of systems, devices and products aimed at achieving an optimal balance between basic mechanical structure and its overall control. While not new, mechatronics is still in the emerging technology stage and early adopters are still struggling with the widely disparate nature of the development tools used by mechanical and electronic controls engineers. That is about to change…
At SolidWorks World 2009, both National Instruments and Rockwell Automation previewed motion control simulation software that is integrated with SolidWorks Motion Simulation software to provide a unified simulation environment. This will enable mechanical engineers and electronic controls engineers to build digital prototypes of complex machinery and collaborate on optimizing designs early in the product development process.
I confess that much of this went over my head, but when two of the leading motion control and simulation vendors are involved in a multi-year collaborative development projects with SolidWorks, I sit up and take notice.
Desktop Engineering has published an excellent two part article on mechatronics in general and the NI LabView/SolidWorks solution in particular. See http://www.deskeng.com/articles/aaapmg.htm.
The presentation by John Pritchard of Rockwell Automation is included in the SolidWorks World 2009 Proceedings on the SolidWorks Customer Portal.