A good read…

A link I shared a while back.

Design tips

Missed SWW16

I really wanted to go this year, and I was approved to go.

But, I had a fairly bad bicycle crash the week before.

Next year it’s in my home town here in LA, I will see y’all there next year!

CSWP

After three tries I passed the Certified SolidWorks Professional test. It’s a three part test, the first part being the most difficult. I had to build a model from dimensions shown and change them several times using equations, then find the weights (mass). The numbers don’t seem to always match, but there is a small percentage tolerance allowed to pass. I finished with a 100% passing. Next, the CSWE test.

SWW16 event

  

Change part orientation

Most of us import other file types into SolidWorks, but most of the time they are oriented in views that we don’t like.

One under-used command that has been around for a while is “Set Current View as…”. Use this option before the part is used in an assy or drawing or you may have errors later.

Orient the model to the view you want, right-click, select “Set Current View As…”, then select the view you want.

Rename the main views in the Feature Tree to match the new view orientations.

 

 

 

CSWP test

This week is our holiday shutdown, the perfect time to attempt the CSWP test. This is my second attempt, the first almost two years ago. I came in early and started shortly after I turned on my PC.

The test is in 3 parts, I started with part 1. I failed this portion I think due to the mass properties match. I double checked the units, dimensions, and features, but I can’t ever get it exactly what the test asks for.

I was interrupted once, causing me to run to the last second. I don’t know if it accepted my last answer.

I received 50 out of 115! This stuff is easy, but the numbers don’t match.

Part 2 was easy, switching between configurations while changing some features, piece of cake, 135 out of 155. I missed one answer.

Part 3 was also easy; building assemblies, adding coordinate system, mating, running mass properties. But, for some reason, I got 90 out of 190.

Later, I went back and studied the assy, I missed the material on one part that was download!! UGH!!

I will try again in another month…

 

SW 2015 to 2016 transition

Over the past month I have been bouncing between 2015 and 2016 to see the differences between them. As most users know, the biggest difference is the color pallet. Transitioning from various colors within the icons and toolbars to shades of white, can be cumbersome for a lot of user that resist change.
I admit, the first time I opened SW 2016, I hated the new colors. I quickly got used to it. My biggest challenge is finding where icons were moved to, especially under the View menu, and the icon picture.
We have not moved to 2016 for production yet, I’m going to wait until SP2.0 is released. The only reasons: Need to schedule server time with IT, and I need time to learn new commands so I can train other users.
I will post more about 2016 as I learn more.

SW 2016, 5 new features from GoEngineer

Some good features!

GoE Blog

New UI for 2016

I have to say, I’m not fond of the new colors. I showed SW 2016 to my coworkers, nobody liked the new ‘lack’ of color.

We will get used to it, but I hope there will be future changes to help make them visually better.

SolidWorks 2016 icons