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Have you ever had to edit a SolidWorks Model that you received from someone else?
Many of you have been in this situation. Wouldn’t it be nice if you had a tool that would help you to quickly understand the dependencies that have been created in this model? How many times have you had to just scrap a model from someone else and rebuild it? Or, how many times have you had to export the model to a generic 3D solid format and then import that generic solid (without its parameters) back into SolidWorks so that you can easily complete the edit that you need to complete?
Have you ever had a rebuild problem in an assembly, or a part that took you hours to solve?
Many of you have been in this situation too. Wouldn’t it be nice if you had a tool that could help you to pinpoint rebuild errors and mate errors so that you can quickly fix the problem and move on?
These are common problems associated with any parametric 3D modeling application. Associativity between features in a part; between components in an assembly; and between files in a project is what makes 3D modeling so valuable … and so complex! Being SolidWorks users yourselves, you already know that SolidWorks does the best job in making these complex relationships understandable, but even in SolidWorks, it is time consuming to sort out these relationships.
There is a new SolidWorks add-in product that is aimed squarely at solving this problem. The product is called SolidMap and is developed by a company called KollabNet which has been addressing productivity improvements in the product development workflow since it was founded in 2004. KollabNet developed an enterprise design management solution that enables organizations to identify, track and manage interdependencies that exist between information that is created in all areas of the enterprise related to product development including marketing, R&D, engineering, manufacturing, sales, etc …..
SolidMap is derived from this enterprise suite of tools that was developed approximately 5 years ago. SolidMap was released at SolidWorks World in February of 2007 and it received a significant amount of attention at the show. Many users were so anxious to begin using it that they bought licenses of SolidMap right at the SolidMap booth at the show.
So …. What does it do? SolidMap enables you visualize relationships that are created between features, parts, and files within SolidWorks. Visualization of the feature, part, and file interdependencies dramatically reduces time required to understand how a model is built which, in turn, enables users to much more efficiently edit models (their own, or models from other users) and completely eliminates the need for users to rebuild models prior to being able to edit them.
There are five types of relationships that are read and displayed by SolidMap. SolidMap reads and displays relationships between:
1. SolidWorks files that reference each other
SolidMap enables users to view an assembly model in the context of an interactive block diagram. The user can view “where used” and “reference” relationships that already exist between parts and subassemblies within an assembly file.
- “Where used” – common query into a repository of solid models to determine what other files are “using” or referring to the file under investigation
Example - a selected part is used by which assemblies?
- “Reference” - common query into a repository of solid models to determine what other files are “used” by the file under investigation
In other words – what files are used by this file?
Example – A selected assembly uses which parts?
In addition, users can navigate to and open any of the files associated with the file under investigation directly through the block diagram.
File relationships in an assembly
2. SolidWorks models that reference each other
SolidMap enables users to view "in-context" relationships that exist between SolidWorks models. The user can view “external references" that have been created intentionally, or unintentionally by the user. In addition to enabling users to view external references through a unique block diagram, SolidMap identifies any "circular references" that exist within the external references.
Circular references are sometimes created inadvertently when there are several external references between models in an assembly. When circular references are created, the models involved in the circular reference will have rebuild problems. Today, there is no tool within SolidWorks which identifies circular references. If a user suspects that there is a circular reference, he is forced to spend a significant amount of time investigating the external references to confirm if there is a circular reference within those relationships. SolidMap immediately identifies circular references and displays which models within the assembly participate in the circular reference AND how they affect each other.
External references (including automatic identification of circular references)
3. Assembly components (mate relationships)
SolidMap enables users to view mates between components in an assembly through a unique block diagram. Each block in the diagram represents a component in the assembly. The blocks are linked together with links that represent the mate type that link the components together in SolidWorks.
Users are able to see all mates within an assembly as well as all entities (i.e, face, edge, vertex, etc ...) that the mates are applied to. The user also has the ability to filter out mates so that a subset of the mates can be investigated.
Mate relationships in an assembly
4. Part features (Parent/Child relationships)
SolidMap enables users to view existing parent/child relationships that exist within SolidWorks part and assembly files in the context of a block diagram.
This block diagram shows existing relationships to the entity under investigation as well as relationships between the parents and/or children of the entity under investigation.
The SolidMap diagram also interacts with the SolidWorks feature manager by enabling users to select nodes on the feature tree by selecting the corresponding block in the diagram.
Parent/Child relationships in a part
5. Feature/Sketch dependencies
SolidMap enables users to understand existing dependencies between features and/or sketches within a part through a unique block diagram.
The block diagram shows which features and/or sketches are “driving” the geometry of the entity under investigation. In addition, the diagram also shows which features and/or sketches are “driven” by the entity under investigation.
“Driving” vs. “Driven” entities – An entity whose geometry is parametrically linked to the geometry of another entity can be a "driving" entity or a "driven" entity. A driving entity is the independent entity in the relationship. A driven entity is the dependent entity in the relationship.
Feature/Sketch relationships in a part
Would this type of information help to save you time? Would it help you to more efficiently design and edit parts and assemblies? Would it help you to diagnose and repair rebuild problems in parts and assemblies? Many SolidWorks users say “Yes” to these questions.
It’s all about time! How much time does SolidMap save? A survey conducted among SolidMap users indicated an average time savings of 21%. So, if you use SolidWorks 6 hours per day (or 30 hours per week), then on average, SolidMap users say that you can accomplish the same amount of work in 24 hours with SolidMap. Think about how that sort of time savings can improve innovation, or enable you to explore more cost saving ideas in your design, or speed your time to market ….
It does not cost anything to try it for yourself. How much time will you save? Go to http://www.solidmap.com/downloadtrial.htm to download a free trial version of SolidMap. You can’t afford not to at least give it a try.
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