Computer Aided Technology https://www.cati.com/ Computer Aided Technology Tue, 06 Dec 2022 21:29:23 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 Final Blog Post – Computer Aided Technology https://www.cati.com/blog/cati-blog-update/ https://www.cati.com/blog/cati-blog-update/#respond Tue, 06 Dec 2022 21:29:23 +0000 https://www.cati.com/?p=193667 As I’m sure you know, Computer Aided Technology joined the GoEngineer family. This comes with a lot of excitement about our continued goal to be a trusted partner for our customers and strive to provide best-in-class solutions to those that need them. However, this also means that this is the final update to the CATI blog.

All future blog posts from our fantastic team will be published on the GoEngineer blog. Be sure to check in often to see what crazy ideas we’ve come up with.

Thank you for reading the Computer Aided Technology blog. We’re excited about our future as GoEngineer!

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Tips for Efficiently Creating and Navigating Drawings in SOLIDWORKS https://www.cati.com/blog/creating-and-navigating-drawings-solidworks/ https://www.cati.com/blog/creating-and-navigating-drawings-solidworks/#respond Fri, 02 Dec 2022 20:43:01 +0000 https://www.cati.com/?p=193585 Creating and navigating drawings can feel like a daunting task, especially the larger and more detailed they are. In this blog, we are going to look at a few tips to make creating and navigating drawings a little easier, specifically when working with drawing views in SOLIDWORKS.

Dragging a View

Dragging a view can sometimes be frustrating. You must hover over a view to get the bounding box to show up, then select the border, or select an edge of the model. A more convenient way of doing this is to hold down the ‘Alt’ key. With the ‘Alt’ key selected, selecting anywhere in the view moves it (except for on an annotation or view callouts, like a Detail Circle).

You can hold down the alt key to easily navigate around your drawings with a drag and drop.

Where is a View?

Getting all the information you need on a drawing may require creating multiple view types. This could include Parent/Child views, i.e., detail, section, and auxiliary views. This could also lead to multiple drawing sheets. Determining where an associated view is located can be tricky, especially on multi-sheet drawings. Enter, Location Labels. Location Labels indicate where a child’s parent view (or parent’s child view) is located on the drawing.

Graphical user interface, application Description automatically generated

Located under Insert 🡪 Annotations (or use the handy ‘Search Commands’ tool), simply select the view itself to add a Location Label to a child view.

Diagram, engineering drawing Description automatically generated

To add one to a parent view, choose the detail circle, cutting line, or view arrow.

This is how you add a location label to a drawing, making navigation easier.

By default, the annotation will appear as a split balloon with the sheet number on top and the zone on the bottom. You can modify this in the Property Manager (see the previous 2 images). You can also change it in the Document Properties. Please note that this applies to any newly added Location Labels in the file.  And of course, you can save those changes into your templates for future use, if you want.

Creating new drawings can include a preset group of settings, ensuring you can create accurate drawings every time.

Wrapping Up

Knowing how to efficiently drag a view and create labels to effectively find a view will hopefully help make the creation and navigation of your drawings a little more manageable. These are just a few tips, but I also have a SOLIDWORKS drawings tips webinar you should check out. We also have thousands of videos on our YouTube channel and many more blogs to check out on our blog.

 

Ryan Field
Sr. Application Engineer
Computer Aided Technology

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3DEXPERIENCE 2023x – What You Need to Know https://www.cati.com/blog/3dexperience-2023x-what-you-need-to-know/ https://www.cati.com/blog/3dexperience-2023x-what-you-need-to-know/#respond Tue, 22 Nov 2022 19:51:13 +0000 https://www.cati.com/?p=193452 This past weekend, Dassault Systemes upgraded the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform for all users to the 2023x version. Here, I want to talk about some of the newest features you should be excited about, as well as what to expect now that we have a new major release.

3DEXPERIENCE 2023x Enhancements

The first question you’ll be asking me is “What’s New?” The most important thing to know is that this is the first release of 2023. With that, there aren’t a significant number of functional enhancements. Instead, the focus is mostly on updating the data model and preparing the Platform for future functional deliveries that Dassault will release throughout the year. That said, there are a few points I want to highlight. First, let me introduce you to the Connector for SOLIDWORKS Composer.

Connector for SOLIDWORKS Composer

My technical communication nerds are going to love this one. Now, the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform has a new role, creating an integration directly between SOLIDWORKS Composer and the Platform. The role, Technical Illustrator for Composer creates a 3DEXPERIENCE tab in your composer window. Now, you can open, save, and revise files while working in your native SOLIDWORKS Composer tool.

Routing Library Manager

Up to this point, the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform hasn’t really given you a great way to work with your routing library. Now, the SOLIDWORKS Routing Library Manager includes an option to Batch Save to 3DEXPERIENCE with your SOLIDWORKS connector. Now you can work in SOLIDWORKS Routing while ensuring your entire library is saved to the Platform.

SOLIDWORKS Design Library on 3DEXPERIENCE 2023x

Another enhancement that makes it easier to manage your data is the SOLIDWORKS Design Library in the Platform. Now, instead of just storing files loosely in 3DSpace, you can store your design library on the Platform and mark them as library items. This makes it easier to find later and ensures that everyone is working from the same set of files.

3DEXPERIENCE 2023x now includes an option to save your SOLIDWORKS Design Library on the Platform.

Is My SOLIDWORKS Still Compatible with 3DEXPERIENCE 2023x?

Maybe, but it depends. This is a major release (i.e. we’re bumping the year). Whenever we get a major release, the requirements for SOLIDWORKS change as well. What you need to remember is that SOLIDWORKS needs to be within 3 releases of the latest version. In this case, that means at least SOLIDWORKS 2021.

It is worth mentioning that this only applies to those SOLIDWORKS users with the Connector (UES). If your SOLIDWORKS is the Connected version and has the Platform built-in, you’ll see SOLIDWORKS update to 2023x as well.

Wrap Up

This being a major release means we don’t have as many functional upgrades as you might expect in a SOLIDWORKS major release. But you should think of this as setting the stage for future functional deliveries throughout 2023. Overall, this upgrade is primarily about data and making sure everything is compatible with 2023. There are still some features to get excited about, like Routing Library Manager, the connector for SOLIDWORKS Composer, and the design library integration.

Nick Sweeney
Applications Engineer
Computer Aided Technology

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SOLIDWORKS Failed to Obtain a Computer Identifier https://www.cati.com/blog/solidworks-failed-to-obtain-a-computer-identifier/ https://www.cati.com/blog/solidworks-failed-to-obtain-a-computer-identifier/#respond Wed, 16 Nov 2022 22:09:01 +0000 https://www.cati.com/?p=193429 I had a customer receive an error that SOLIDWORKS failed to obtain a computer identifier when launching the tool.

SOLIDWORKS failed to obtain a computer identifier.

This message will appear because SOLIDWORKS License Service (Flexnet) cannot resolve the unique computer ID that is generated. It also may have just stopped running. This is a problem when you’re getting a license but it’s not the end of the world. In fact, it’s an easy fix. So, let’s get started.

How to Fix SOLIDWORKS Failing to Identify a Computer Identifier

The first thing you’ll need to do is to navigate to your Windows Services. Click the Microsoft Start button (lower lefthand corner), type “services” and click Services App.

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Scroll down to FlexNet Licensing Service and FlexNet Licensing Service 64. You should notice under Status that neither is listed as running. FlexNet Licensing Service and FlexNet Licensing Service 64 are the tools SOLIDWORKS uses to handle all licensing tied to the product. If the services aren’t running, then we can see issues like “SOLIDWORKS failed to obtain a computer identifier”.

SOLIDWORKS failed to obtain a computer Identifier is caused when the FlexNet licensing services aren't running.

Right-click FlexNet Licensing Service and click start.

Right-click on the FlexNet Licensing Services and start them. This should resolve the SOLIDWORKS Failed to obtain a computer Identifier error.

Do the same for FlexNet Licensing Service 64. Now, both should be running.

Graphical user interface, application Description automatically generated

At this point, SOLIDWORKS should start without any issues. If you are still receiving errors, be sure to contact technical support so that we can get you sorted out.

I hope you find this helpful. Thanks for reading.

Have a safe and blessed Thanksgiving.

Roger Ruffin
Sr. Application Engineer
Computer Aided Technology

 

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How To Install SOLIDWORKS Electrical 2023 https://www.cati.com/blog/how-to-install-solidworks-electrical-2023/ https://www.cati.com/blog/how-to-install-solidworks-electrical-2023/#respond Tue, 29 Nov 2022 16:35:06 +0000 https://www.cati.com/?p=193402 You can install SOLIDWORKS Electrical for individuals or on a network. The setup you choose depends on your needs. Below is a brief description of each setup and how to install SOLIDWORKS Electrical 2023.

Individual: For those who will be using SOLIDWORKS Electrical and will not be sharing their electrical data between users.

Network: For those who will be sharing their electrical data between users over a network connection. This installation involves a server and client installation.

I’ve broken up the installation instructions into two parts; one for individual installations or upgrades and another for network installations or upgrades. You just need to find the appropriate section and follow the instructions in that section.

In order to access the installation media, please refer to the first part of our installation guide for SOLIDWORKS 2023.

Note: Prior to any upgrade or changes to existing SOLIDWORKS Electrical software or networks, have all users create an environment archive to ensure that you do not lose your data in the case of a failed upgrade.

Install SOLIDWORKS Electrical for Individuals

There are two scenarios for installing SOLIDWORKS Electrical 2023 for a single-user local installation. You can start with a new installation or upgrade, found in section 1a, or add it to an existing installation of SOLIDWORKS. You’ll find those instructions in section 1b. Once you finish either of these sections, continue to section 1c, as all the remaining steps are the same for both.

1a. New Install/Upgrade:

Select the Install on this computer option and click Next.

When you want to install SOLIDWORKS Electrical 2023, launch the installation manager as normal. For a fresh installation, select the top option.

1b. Adding to an Existing Installation:

Select the Modify your installation option and click Next.

If you're adding SOLIDWORKS Electrical 2023 to an existing SOLIDWORKS installation, select the modify option shown here.

1c. Remaining steps

On the next page, you can add the serial number for SOLIDWORKS Electrical. After you’ve entered your serial number(s), click Next.

When you either add or install SOLIDWORKS Electrical 2023, you'll need to enter the serial number for the electrical product.

The following screen is the Product Selection page. Here, you have the option to install any additional products. If you’re not taken to the Product Selection page and find yourself on the Summary page, you may select the Change link in the Products section to return to the Product Selection page. The below image shows the appropriate settings for an Individual Install with the end user machine being the SQL Server host.

Select all additional SOLIDWORKS Electrical components that you want to install on the product selection page.

  • Note that SOLIDWORKS Electrical 3D requires SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD and is only included with purchases of SOLIDWORKS Electrical 3D or SOLIDWORKS Electrical Professional. It is not included in SOLIDWORKS Schematic Standard or Professional.

Click Next to get to the SOLIDWORKS Electrical Options menu, or Back to Summary followed by Change in the Electrical Options portion of the Summary page.

On the Electrical Options page, you will specify the desired folder of your Data Location and specify the SQL Server Name. See the image below for the default entries.

Here are the default entries for SQL Server when installing SOLIDWORKS Electrical.

A Note About SQL Server and SOLIDWORKS Electrical 2023

If you’re using an existing SQL instance, enter your existing login and password. By default, the SQL Server Authentication login password for the “sa” user is blank.

You may wonder if you could use an existing SQL instance that’s shared with another program. We really don’t recommend this option and strongly suggest that SOLIDWORKS Electrical has a dedicated instance of SQL Server.

If you have not set up a SQL Server instance before, you can install a new one as shown in the image below. You can specify the name of the new instance and give it a password below. The password must meet Windows security requirements, which you can find more information on in the “Potential Errors” section at the bottom of this article.

Click Back to Summary or Next to return to the Summary page and click Install Now (or Modify Now if adding to an existing installation of SOLIDWORKS).

Network Server Installation or Upgrade

If you intend to have a collaborative environment for the SOLIDWORKS Electrical software, you can follow the steps below to install or upgrade the SOLIDWORKS Electrical Server components on your server host system. This must be done on the server host system and should not be installed from the client system unless your system is set up as the SQL Server host and sole user.

It is extremely important to upgrade the server components prior to the clients. If you upgrade and connect a client to the server prior to upgrading the server components, you could run into mass data corruption and loss of information.

Prior to moving forward, it is recommended to use SQL Standard rather than SQL Express if you expect to have more than 5 users accessing the server at one time. In addition, the server and client machines will need to be on the same subnet.

  • One thing I want to make note of is the version of SQL Server. As of SOLIDWORKS 2021, you cannot use SQL Server 2014. So, if you’re upgrading from 2021 or older, make sure you check your SQL Server version.

Upon starting the installation manager, select the Install on this machine option. On the Product Selection page, your selections should be as shown in the image below.

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The reason for including the client install on the server is that it provides the ability to make environment archives from the server machine where your information is stored locally rather than connecting to it over your network.

SOLIDWORKS Electrical Additional Options

You can continue following the steps we provided above for the Individual Install/Upgrade process until you reach the SOLIDWORKS Electrical Options page. You will want to install all features for the server and specify the following:

  • Data Location
    • Please work with your IT department to determine a suitable location for the Data Location.
    • You can put this on the C:\ drive of the server or set it elsewhere on another drive local to the server host.
    • You need to make sure this is a shared location for all SOLIDWORKS Electrical users.
  • Collaborative Server
    • Name
      • You can leave this as “localhost”
    • Port Number
      • By default this is “26666” but you can reconfigure it as needed for your network firewall
  • SQL Server
    • Name (formatted as [Name]\[SQL Instance Name], by default this is “localhost\TEW_SQLEXPRESS”)
    • Password for ‘tew’ user (by default this is “SQLpwd4ew”)

To install SOLIDWORKS Electrical 2023, you may need to set up a new SQL instance. This is an example for you to use as a guide.

Following the installation, you will also need to set up both inbound and outbound firewall TCP and UDP port rules for ports 1433-1434 and 26666-266##. The later series of ports will start with 26666 (or what port you specified) and increment up to the number of users expected to be on the server at one time. (If you expect to have a max of 5 users, you would set up rules for 26666-26671). When setting any of these rules, we will want to select Allow the connection and have all boxes checked when prompted When does this rule apply.

Network Client Installation or Upgrade

The instructions to upgrade a Network Client are nearly identical to the Individual installation. The main difference is that you can uncheck the Collaborative Server and Data options on the Product Selection page, since these will be provided by the network server.

Once you get to the Summary page, select Change in the Electrical Options section. Fill in each section of this page as follows.

  • Data Location: should be formatted as \\[Server IP address]\[Folder specified in server installation]. It is important to use the format referenced above. Using a mapped drive location will cause issues.
  • Collaborative Server Name: Server IP address
  • Port Number: 26666 is the default
  • SQL Server Name: formatted as [Server IP Address]\[SQL Instance Name]

Potential Issues When Installing SOLIDWORKS Electrical 2023

C:\Users\l6q\Desktop\Electrical_upgrade_error.png

Causes

Invalid permissions

  • Machine
  • SQL

Connection

  • Firewalls
  • Anti-virus
  • Network connection
  • Install settings

Password

  • Incorrect password
  • TEW password length (also seen as 27506)
  • You may see this error come up as 27502 (if they have SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional). Or you may see it as 27506 (if there is no SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional but you’ve enabled password restrictions)

Install settings

C:\Users\l6q\Desktop\27552.jpg

C:\Users\l6q\Desktop\ISSQL.jpg

Causes:

Invalid permissions

  • Upgrade from major version
  • SQL database owner

Installation settings

  • Incorrect options chosen
  • Admin image

C:\Users\l6q\Desktop\LicenseTerms.jpg

Causes:

SQL cannot create an instance

  • Permissions
  • System restart

If you need help with any errors please don’t hesitate to contact us for support.

Curran Kneebone
Support Engineer
Computer Aided Technology

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How To Install SOLIDWORKS 2023 – Individual Installation https://www.cati.com/blog/how-to-install-solidworks-2023/ https://www.cati.com/blog/how-to-install-solidworks-2023/#respond Tue, 08 Nov 2022 21:24:39 +0000 https://www.cati.com/?p=193143 Installing a new product can seem like a daunting task. With each new release of SOLIDWORKS, the process has become faster, simpler, and better. In Technical Support, we still have many customers that ask the question, “How do I install SOLIDWORKS 2023?” In this blog article, we will cover the best practices so that you can get up and running with the least amount of downtime.

If you do not want to worry about the upgrade your process yourself, we offer SOLIDWORKS Implementation Services. Built on our 30+year experience implementing CAD and engineering solutions, we have developed a set of proprietary implementation packages designed to help you get the most out of your investment in SOLIDWORKS.

Download SOLIDWORKS 2023

Go to www.solidworks.com. At the top right of the page is the Login icon. Click SW Customer Portal from the pull-down menu.

To download SOLIDWORKS 2023, navigate to the customer portal on the home page, as shown here.

Sign into your account using your email address and password. If you do not have an account, click the Create a SOLIDWORKS ID button.

Login to your SOLIDWORKS customer portal using your credentials.

Once you are logged in, click on Downloads and Updates under the Download section.

On the Downloads page, make sure that 2023 is the Selected Version. Then, click on the SOLIDWORKS Products link.

Note: The SOLIDWORKS Media zip files are a convenient way to download the full contents of the DVD’s if you have multiple installations to do and want to just download the files once. For the installation guide, we will not be using the Media files. If you would like to use them, simply download ‘SOLIDWORKS Media (1 of 2)’ and ‘SOLIDWORKS Media (2 of 2)’ and extract both zips to the same folder. Click Yes to overwrite duplicate files when prompted. Save the combined folder to a local disk, external drive, or network drive. Run setup.exe from the combined folder to start the installation when needed.

Select the version of SOLIDWORKS to install and select the SOLIDWORKS Products to begin downloading.

After clicking on the SOLIDWORKS Products link, read the SOLIDWORKS Download End User License Agreement and then click the Accept Agreement & Continue button.

On the Download and Install page, click Download.

Install SOLIDWORKS 2023

In Windows Explorer, browse to the downloaded SolidWorksSetup.exe file. To run the file, I prefer to right-click on the file in Windows Explorer and select Run as administrator. This makes sure that Windows has full permission to change any file it needs to. If you double-click on the file, it may work just fine, but a lot of installation failures are due to a lack of proper permissions. The file is a self-extracting zip file. So, when prompted, choose a location and Unzip the file.

This will launch the SOLIDWORKS Installation Manager.

Note: SOLIDWORKS recommends that you restart your system before beginning a SOLIDWORKS installation. You will be prompted if a pending reboot is detected. This dialog box often shows up even after a reboot at that time. If it does, just click OK to continue the installation.

For an individual installation, keep Install on this computer selected, and click Next.

Note: There is an option to Download and Share all files. If you have more than one seat of SOLIDWORKS to install, this is a great time-saving option.

When you start installing SOLIDWORKS 2023, the installation manager is very similar to what it was before.

Add Your Serial Numbers

If you have had SOLIDWORKS installed before, your serial number will already be inserted. If not, type it in now. Notice that there are a few more options here if you have other serial numbers. Note: If your serial number starts 0010 or 9010, you have a network serial number. Please be sure to upgrade the license server prior to launching the SOLIDWORKS 2023 client.

Note: If you Log in with your SOLIDWORKS One Account, your administrator can assign your serial number to your account from the SOLIDWORKS Admin Portal.

For this Installation Guide, manually enter your serial number. Once your serial number(s) is entered, click Next.

On the second screen, add your serial numbers for any products you want to install.

The Installation Manager first performs a system check. SOLIDWORKS is checking to see if previous versions are detected. If you receive a warning, please review the warning before continuing by clicking Next.

In the following images, we will proceed as if we are installing a new installation or next to a previous install. Select Create a new installation of SOLIDWORKS 2023 and click Next. The steps are the same for a computer that has not had SOLIDWORKS installed on it before.

You can run multiple versions of SOLIDWORKS on the same machine. Here, select if you want to upgrade a previous version or just add a new installation.

The first item on the Summary page is the option to select which Products you want to install. Use the Change link to select what pro­ducts you want to install.

By clicking Change next to Download Options, you can choose to download and install in the same operation or download separately then install. We will just keep the default Download and install option selected.

Installation Location

Click Change next to Installation Location. I recommend changing the Installation Location. If the Installation Manager finds a folder already created with the same name, a new folder will automatically be created. Everything will still work, but over time this can get confusing when you have SOLIDWORKS Corp (2) or SOLIDWORKS Corp (3) etc. So, I always recommend naming the folder according to the version number. To change the location, simply click next to Install selected products to and type in the new folder name, SOLIDWORKS 2023. To go back to the Summary page, click Back to Summary.

Next, select the location for where SOLIDWORKS is going to be installed. Generally, this is under your program files, as shown here.

Toolbox Installation

I also recommend changing the Toolbox installation location. If the Installation Manager finds a folder already created with the same name, a new folder will automatically be created. Everything will still work, but over time this can get confusing when you have SOLIDWORKS Data (2) or SOLIDWORKS Data (3), etc. So, I always recommend naming the folder according to the version number. To change the location, simply click next to Toolbox/Hole Wizard Options and type in the new folder name, SOLIDWORKS 2023 Data. To go back to the Summary page, click Back to Summary.

Note: If you are sharing a toolbox or upgrading an existing toolbox you should choose to Use an existing SOLIDWORKS Toolbox and not lose your custom part numbers or settings. WARNING: Make sure that all users are out of Toolbox when this is being done. PDM users will have to check out the entire toolbox. An upgraded Toolbox will not work for previous versions. Before updating Toolbox, I strongly suggest making a copy of Toolbox somewhere safe in case you need to go back for any reason.

The last step is to check I accept the terms of the SOLIDWORKS License Agreement.

That’s it! You are now ready to click Download and Install.

The install of SOLIDWORKS 2023 can take some time, so just be patient as every component gets set up.

Once the installation is completed, please join the SOLIDWORKS Customer Experience Improvement Program. Click Yes, I want to join, and then click Finish.

NOTE: Please remember that the CAD Admin Dashboard and SOLIDWORKS tracking only works if you join the Customer Experience Improvement Program. Participating will not slow down your system! SOLIDWORKS automatically creates the performance log files in the background whether you participate or not. Please make sure to opt in!! This program helps SOLIDWORKS improve product quality and determine product usage trends.

After you finish installing SOLIDWORKS 2023, be sure to join the customer experience program!

John Van Engen

Support Manager West

CATI

 

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Installing or Upgrading the SolidNetWork License Manager for SOLIDWORKS 2023 https://www.cati.com/blog/solidnetwork-license-manager-for-solidworks-2023/ https://www.cati.com/blog/solidnetwork-license-manager-for-solidworks-2023/#respond Thu, 10 Nov 2022 17:00:50 +0000 https://www.cati.com/?p=193221 If you are running the network version of SOLIDWORKS, every new version requires you to upgrade the SolidNetWork license manager. In fact, the latest version of SOLIDWORKS your users work with must match the version of the SolidNetWork License Manager. The license manager is backward compatible with all older versions of SOLIDWORKS along with PDM licenses.

The update is straightforward and doesn’t take long. That said, there are a few things to watch out for.

Before You Start

The first step making sure no users are actively borrowing licenses. If you upgrade the server while someone has a license, that client will run into errors when they try to return the license with the new license manager.

https://www.cati.com/wp-content/uploads/SOLIDWORKS-1510602009544.png

Now, with all borrowed licenses returned, you need to deactivate the license. If you don’t do this, you may have problems re-activating the license even though it is on the same computer.

Select the “Server Administration” tab, then select the “Modify” button.

https://www.cati.com/wp-content/uploads/SOLIDWORKS-1510602020633.png

Next, check the option to “Move your product licenses to a new/upgrade computer”.

Before upgrading your SolidNetWork License Manager, be sure to move the license to ensure you don't receive any errors.

If you have more than one serial number, select the “Select All” option.

Select which serial numbers to deactivate on this screen. This is essential before upgrading your solidnetwork license manager.

Once you’ve deactivated the license, you can then proceed to the upgrade.

You can use the same media/download as you would use for the clients, however, you will want to select “Server Products” from the menu. With the license manager being previously installed. It should default to this option. You will get a notice about a pending reboot, but you will see this always by default even if you have rebooted. It’s recommended to reboot before the installation, but it’s not required.

Upgrading a SolidNetwork License Manager

For upgrading a SolidNetWork License manager follow these instructions:

Start the installation manager and select the option to upgrade the license server.

If upgrading the SolidNetWork license manager, you'll see an upgrade option on the first installation manager screen.

You should not be required to re-enter your serial number since this stored in the registry and does not get removed by default.

Once the installation has been completed, there is still one major step to finish. You are still required to re-activate.

Launch the license manager. It may prompt you to re-activate as seen in the message below. If not, you will need to click on Modify.

After you finish upgrading your solidnetwork license manager, you'll need to reactivate your network licenses.

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Run through the process of activating. Once this is complete, you are good to go!

Select which serial numbers to reactivate after you finish upgrading your SolidNetWork license manager. You can choose all or just individual licenses.

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Installing a New SolidNetwork License Manager

For a NEW installation of the SolidNetWork License Manager follow these instructions:

For installing a new instance of the SolidNetWork license manager, select the option to install server components on the introductory screen.

Fill in your serial number and click next. Check the terms acceptance box and then download and install.

Launch the SNL manager from the Windows Start menu, it will be located under SOLIDWORKS 2023 Tools, SolidNetwork License Manager Server. Then you may see the message below. Go ahead and click yes. If not continue to the Modify button.

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Verify the information on the next screen and click next.

Select your serial number(s), verify the information on this last page, click next and you’re done!

John Van Engen
Support Manager West
Computer Aided Technology

 

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How To Install SOLIDWORKS CAM 2023 https://www.cati.com/blog/how-to-install-solidworks-cam-2023/ https://www.cati.com/blog/how-to-install-solidworks-cam-2023/#respond Mon, 14 Nov 2022 15:00:01 +0000 https://www.cati.com/?p=193078 We talked all about What’s New in SOLIDWORKS CAM last month. So now that you know what’s new, let’s talk about how to install SOLIDWORKS CAM 2023. The SOLIDWORKS CAM installation can be broken down into 2 sections (CAM Standard, CAM Standard TBM) and (CAM Professional).

CAM Standard & CAM Standard TBM

The installation process is simple with CAM. All you have to do is run the 2023 SOLIDWORKS installation manager and CAM is one of the features you can automatically include by default.

When installing SOLIDWORKS CAM in a new installation, just check the box for SOLIDWORKS CAM.

After the installation is complete, open SOLIDWORKS and activate the SOLIDWORK CAM add-in. Make sure you note that you can activate it for either the current session (left check) or to automatically load at startup (right check).

After you install SOLIDWORKS CAM, you will need to go into SOLIDWORKS and activate the add-in.

Once you activate the add-in, right-click on the Command Manager, then go to Tabs, and select SOLIDWORKS CAM and SOLIDWORKS CAM TBM to them to the Command Manager.

Current SOLIDWORKS CAM Users

To set up an existing Machine Post and Tech  DB, you can copy the database to C:\ProgramData\SolidWorks\SOLIDWORKS CAM 2023. If you don’t have the database stored in the default location, you can link it from within the Tech DB

Note: You may have the ProgramData folder set to hidden. To show hidden files and folders, open Windows Explorer, select the View tab, and check the box for Hidden Items.

To manage your database(s) and Tech DB, open SOLIDWORKS and go to the SOLIDWORKS CAM tab. Next, click on the Technology Database button.

Once the Technology Database loads, please close SOLIDWORKS.

In the Tech DB, select Settings from the tabs on the left.

  • If you have a current database select the Import Database tab and click Browse to link it.
  • To manage or add additional databases, select the Manage Database tab.

When you need to upgrade a tech db in SOLIDWORKS CAM, make sure you stop SOLIDWORKS after opening the database.

Update your tech db settings in SOLIDWORKS CAM when going through the upgrade or installation.

SOLIDWORKS CAM Professional

The installation process for SOLIDWORKS CAM Professional is similar to SOLIDWORKS CAM. The big difference, however, is that it needs the product serial. If you do not know your serial or would like to purchase SOLIDWORKS CAM Professional, contact your VAR (Computer Aided Technology).

Run the SOLIDWORKS 2023 installation manager (or modify an existing installation) and when prompted for the serial information, expand the SOLIDWORKS CAM item and add the SOLIDWORKS CAM Professional serial number.

To install SOLIDWORKS CAM professional, you'll need to provide the serial number in the installation manager.

Click next through the remaining installation windows to complete the installation of SOLIDWORKS CAM Professional.

We hope this series has helped you successfully install SOLIDWORKS 2023.  Please check back to the CATI Blog as the dedicated support team will continue posting new series of articles every month that go further into the details of many of the SOLIDWORKS tools. All of these articles will be stored in the category of Daily Dose of SolidWorks Support.

Chris Villeneuve
Technical Support Engineer II
Computer Aided Technology, LLC

 

Related Content

You may also be interested in how to install SOLIDWORKS 2023.

If you have network licenses of SOLIDWORKS, you might need help with upgrading your SolidNetWork License Manager.

There were several great enhancements in SOLIDWORKS CAM 2023, which one is your favorite?

Did you know that SOLIDWORKS is sunsetting the MasterCAM and GibbsCAM add-ins?

If you aren’t a SOLIDWORKS CAM user, you should check out this SOLIDWORKS CAM Overview.

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SOLIDWORKS 2023 Blog Series – What’s New Review https://www.cati.com/blog/solidworks-2023-blog-series-whats-new-review/ https://www.cati.com/blog/solidworks-2023-blog-series-whats-new-review/#respond Thu, 03 Nov 2022 16:10:19 +0000 https://www.cati.com/?p=192662 The release of SOLIDWORKS 2023 is almost here and we’re excited about this release and all of its new features. In October, we started a blog series documenting the top enhancements of SOLIDWORKS 2023 from Part, Assembly, and Drawing tools to the new features in the SOLIDWORKS family of tools like SOLIDWORKS SimulationSOLIDWORKS PDM, and SOLIDWORKS Visualize, to name a few.

We have been sharing them with you and the SOLIDWORKS community through our Blog (as well as accompanying videos on our YouTube channel).  For your convenience, below is a complete list and links to the articles (with links to videos in them).

What’s New in SOLIDWORKS 2023 Blogs

SOLIDWORKS 2023 What’s New – Licensing Enhancements
SOLIDWORKS 2023 What’s New – New Options in SOLIDWORKS 2023 Fundamentals
SOLIDWORKS 2023 What’s New – Top Enhancements in User Interface
SOLIDWORKS 2023 What’s New – Top Enhancements in Part Design
SOLIDWORKS 2023 Top Enhancements in Sheet Metal
SOLIDWORKS 2023 Weldments What’s New – Top Enhancements in Structure Systems
SOLIDWORKS 2023 Assemblies – Top Enhancements in Assembly Modeling
SOLIDWORKS 2023 Top Enhancements in Drawings
SOLIDWORKS 2023 STEP Files – Top Enhancements
SOLIDWORKS PDM 2023 – Top Enhancements
SOLIDWORKS Manage 2023 – Top Enhancements
SOLIDWORKS Electrical 2023 – Top Enhancements
SOLIDWORKS 2023 Visualize Top Enhancements
SOLIDWORKS 2023 CAM – Top Enhancements
SOLIDWORKS Composer 2023 – Top Enhancements
SOLIDWORKS Simulation 2023 – Top Enhancements
SOLIDWORKS Inspection 2023 – Top Enhancements
SOLIDWORKS MBD 2023 – Top Enhancements
SOLIDWORKS eDrawings 2023 – Top Enhancements
SOLIDWORKS Plastics 2023 – Top Enhancements
SOLIDWORKS Routing 2023 – Top Enhancements

I hope this blog series of the Top Enhancements in SOLIDWORKS 2023 gives you a better understanding of the new features and functions! As we wrap up this series of blogs, be sure to stay up to date with our upcoming events and webinars. Additionally, keep an eye out for the official release of SOLIDWORKS 2023, coming later this year.

 

Ryan Field
Senior Application Engineer
Computer Aided Technology

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HandySCAN 3D Scanner – Intuitive | Powerful | Accessible https://www.cati.com/blog/handyscan-3d-scanner-introduction/ https://www.cati.com/blog/handyscan-3d-scanner-introduction/#respond Wed, 09 Nov 2022 15:00:00 +0000 https://www.cati.com/?p=192603 As scanning technology becomes more commonly used in today’s manufacturing industries, I am more than excited to dive into the new 2023 Creaform 3D scanner portfolio. Please take a moment to visit the Creaform website to learn more about other scanner technology offerings. But for now, let’s dive into one of the new scanner products that I’m really excited about this year.

Introducing the HandySCAN 3D Scanner (Silver Elite Series Edition)

Today, I am going to explore the new HandySCAN 3D scanner from the Silver Elite series. This powerful scanner comes packed with proven, patented optic technology that makes it an all-in-one device for scanning parts of all shapes and sizes. You will immediately notice the quick plug-and-play setup time. The moment you hold the scanner, you’ll recognize the well-balanced, ergonomic design, making it easy to operate comfortably. The buttons are thoughtfully placed and it seems just as intuitive as VXelements, Creaform’s proprietary software. This makes it easy to wield without fumbling.

But it isn’t just comfort and ease of use that make the HandySCAN 3D scanner a revolution. By capturing 480,000 measurements a second, this scanner is the fast path to quickly go from a physical part to ready-to-use files.

Creaform launches the HandySCAN Silver Series 3D scanner - technical specifications and pricing - 3D Printing Industry Creaform Adds Two High-Performance Scanners to the HandySCAN 3D | SILVER Series

Additionally, the HandySCAN 3D scanner uses seven blue (grid-formed) lasers. This lets it easily capture what are typically difficult-to-get surfaces.  The triangulation of the reflective targets provides self-positioning. This lets the scanner and the part to move, while the scanner maintains its orientation. The benefit here is that now we can capture details of the part from various angles. Possibly even more notable is the single-laser line that is useful for capturing the small details in hard-to-reach places. Having all this versatility while holding accuracies up to .0012” (.030mm) makes this scanner one of the most useful tools in both Reverse Engineering and Quality Control inspection workflows.

How Do You Get One?

I hope you are excited as I am about getting a professional-grade scanner at a truly accessible price—starting in the low $20K range. Get ready to join over 5,000 and growing users worldwide that are benefiting from this multifaceted tool in the rapidly growing industry 4.0. Please check with your local sales representative to get the best pricing including limited and introductory offers. Let’s Grow Together! Learn more about us at GoEngineer.com

 

Ryck Hoopes
Applications Engineer, Manufacturing Solutions
Computer Aided Technology

 

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