Within SOLIDWORKS Electrical 2D, you can add custom lines types that you can apply to wire styles, layers, and Cable Styles to name a few. To create or add line types, within your project template, go to the Project tab>Configurations>Drawing styles… If you do not have a drawing style associated to your project, select the Imperial or metric style, and select Add to project Go to the Properties of your Project configuration drawing style From within the Edit drawing style […]
SOLIDWORKS Electrical is a powerful schematic package that is built on a SQL database. This comes with lots of benefits including real time project collaboration and part organization. As a result of this architecture, we can even create virtually any report and design rule check that we may need for our projects. Although we can create any design rule check to verify the consistency and accuracy of our projects, one specific check of note is verifying that we are using […]
When working in SOLIDWORKS and creating your own symbols for use in Annotations such as Notes, Dimensions and Tables in Drawings, it is important to understand what is controlling these symbols and how to modify those symbols for your own use. Let’s start by taking a look at some common symbols: When adding these symbols in a Dimension, we can see the syntax typed out in the Dimension Text Box. So where is this syntax defined and how do we […]
Which contact interaction should I choose? SOLIDWORKS Simulation is fun and easy to use. But there are times when you may find that it can get confusing on what path to take when setting up the pre-processing stage of an analysis. One area that tends to stand out with SOLIDWORKS Simulation users is when you are setting up contact interactions with either multibody part files or assemblies for linear or non-linear static analysis. Contact interactions can get confusing on what […]
There has been a time or two in SOLIDWORKS when I have inserted an angle dimension in a sketch and found myself instinctively subtracting the initial numerical value from 360 degrees in my head. Sound familiar? Then let’s talk about some right-click options that will easily correct this issue for us. Assuming the sketch is the desired shape and the two lines to be dimensioned have been selected, accept the on-screen dimension. We can change it after adjusting its Display […]
Are you looking for a way to open those large assemblies faster? Everyone should be familiar with Resolved and Lightweight modes and the Large Assembly settings but have you ever used Large Design Review? Large Design Review (LDR) was introduced in SOLIDWORKS 2012 and was useful in opening large assemblies for viewing purposes. Below is a screenshot from 2012 showing the functionality available in LDR. With the recent Edit Assembly enhancements, LDR mode is now more than just a tool […]
Have you ever run into the problem where you need to duplicate a floorplan or a logo onto your cad document and you can only get a screen capture, or a pdf to use? Well, I have discovered a very useful tool in DraftSight called Image Tracer. “The Image Tracer tool lets you convert raster images in .bmp, .png, and .jpg formats to vector format. The images can be architectural plans, floor plans, logos, and curved images” I would like […]
Save yourself time and avoid unnecessary modeling by creating or adding custom appearances to your SOLIDWORKS models. Trying to 3D model something as complex as netting, knurling, or mesh can be very time-consuming to design. These designs also take a lot of SOLIDWORKS computing power and greatly impact rebuild time and performance. So, if netting is something you’re not manufacturing in-house, I strongly recommend using SOLIDWORKS appearances. How To Search Appearances To quickly locate an appearance, I suggest doing a […]
On July 14, CATI is launching our 3DEXPERIENCE focused user group. The user group will meet on the second Wednesday each month, midday, to make it convenient for customers and enthusiasts to attend. You do not need to be a current CATI customer or 3DEXPERIENCE user to attend. All are welcome. Each session will consist of one or two presentations. Our 3DEXPERIENCE team will present topics and best practices related to the roles and applications available, and users are invited […]
Here is a quick trick for dimensioning arcs and circles in SOLIDWORKS. When creating Smart Dimension and clicking on the circles, SOLIDWORKS will attach the dimension to their center points. The SOLIDWORKS setting that controls how the dimension is attached to arcs and circles is called “Arc Condition.” Selecting the dimension, and viewing the property manager, we can easily see our options. By default, the arc conditions will be placed with the “Center” condition. The “First Arc Condition” corresponds to […]