We often get asked “What can I do to make my models open up faster”? One of our answers is to ask if everything is saved into your current version? There is a performance hit when SOLIDWORKS must translate a previous version into the current version, but how much? I was able to get a hold of a big assembly model from 2019 and ran a few tests with it. Things to note first was that I loaded everything fully […]
One of my favorite features in SOLIDWORKS Sheet Metal is Tab and Slot. When it was introduced in SOLIDWORKS 2018 (https://www.cati.com/blog/2017/10/solidworks-2018-whats-new-creating-a-tab-and-slot-sw2018/). I was like man, I could have used this back in the day. It reminds me when my mom and dad would buy me model cars for Christmas. You may remember the cement glue that you had to use, and it would get all over the carpet. Well, mom and dad didn’t appreciate that. So, they started buying the […]
What do these things have in common? Answer: They tend to occur right after upgrading, and these aren’t the only things that can occur after an upgrade. The first one can occur when creating a hole or hole callout because the system can’t find the hole callout information. The second one happens when SOLIDWORKS can’t find the symbol library file. The reasons for this are due to the way that SOLIDWORKS stores information and upgrades. SOLIDWORKS has 2 main file […]
What do I need to know to install my Composer, Plastics, Inspection, MBD, or Simulation package? First, all these products are installed thru the SOLIDWORKS installation manager. To download the installation manager, you will need to click the SOLIDWORKS download link. Run the installation manager and enter the serial number for your products. If you have all your licenses set up to be renewed at the same time you may have only one SOLIDWORKS serial number for all your assets. […]
Installing a new product can seem like a daunting task. With each new release of SOLIDWORKS, the process has become simpler and better. At Computer Aided Technology (CATI) Technical Support, we still have many customers that ask the question, “How do I install SOLIDWORKS 2020?” In this blog article, we will cover the best practices so that you can get up and running with the least amount of down time. If you do not want to worry about the upgrade […]
Reference Geometry includes reference planes, axes, coordinate systems, and points. In this blog, we will discuss the many ways of creating and defining Reference Planes if you need to use planes other than the default Top, Right, and Front Planes. The Reference Geometry command lives on the Features toolbar, but you can also access it from Insert > Reference Geometry. When the Reference Plane PropertyManager comes up, you will notice that there is a lot of freedom for defining references […]
Sometimes there is the need to insert a hole on a non-planar/curved surface – so how is this accomplished? When positioning a hole with the Hole Wizard feature, you need to select to insert the hole with a 2D Sketch Plane or a 3D Sketch Plane. I’ll go through both the 2D Sketch Plane and 3D Sketch Plane methods. Inserting a Hole Wizard on a Curved Surface using a 2D Sketch 1. Create a reference plane (Insert > Reference Geometry […]
Text and balloons with leader lines are a common method to convey design notes. SOLIDWORKS Schematic 2020 introduces leader lines for text and balloons. Creating a balloon layout or annotating a layout to better call out information has been something users have been looking for quite some time! Now you can create leader lines with blocks and notes in 2D panel layouts and harness drawings. Users can add in these annotations with dedicated commands and a leader style manager. You […]
In SOLIDWORKS Weldments, users have the ability to support curved members. Now, in SOLIDWORKS 2020, users can create curved beams from primary and secondary members in a structure system. Curved members behave the same way as linear members where you can add secondary members between them. If you select a 3D curve or spline as a reference, the member can only pierce through the center of the profile. Also, in some scenarios, you cannot sweep members with 2d or 3D […]
Duplicate Pad Designators Traditionally, PCB designers would make their PCB footprints with mounting holes and label those holes as pad 0. Multiple mounting holes would all be labeled pad 0. And pretty much every PCB design software doesn’t have an issue with that. SOLIDWORKS PCB hasn’t had an issue with that either, except for when it comes to the collaboration with SOLIDWORKS CAD. We couldn’t handle it on the mechanical end and required people to label every pad with a […]