SolidWorks:Heard! - Episode 381 - Sunglass

Sunglass:

This podcast covers a browser-based 3D collaboration tool that give you live, 3D interaction, markup and other design review tools. Topics covered:

- Sunglass signup and overview

- Uploading content

- View navigation and object manipulation

- Live collaboration tools

- Markup and save options

- First impressions

I am always looking for the next web-based 3D tool for helping engineers and designers collaborate on ideas.  I heard about this tool a while back from SolidSmack and have been playing with it quite a bit.  This MIT startup based out of the bay area just received $1.7M in funding and is quite impressive in its early stages.

I am unsure, at this point, if Sungless is more beneficial to its users than using screen-sharing tools along with their CAD platforms, however it shows is the promise of browser-based tools that can be run from anywhere for hassle-free collaboration.  Hopefully as it develops they will add more native file formats (currently OBJ, 3DS and STL) and possibly launch simple upload tools directly from the CAD platform in order to remove the export step for collaboration.

The tool does require flash, which rules out many mobile platforms, however performance-wise the service ran pretty well and the collaboration experience was quite good.  Chat, markup, view saving and live 3D collaboration environment make this browser-based tool a service I will keep my eye on for months to come. ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter, Facebook and THE HEaRD! 

SolidWorks:Heard! - Episode 374 - SolidWorks World App

SolidWorks World App:

This podcast covers the features in the SolidWorks World 2012 app that was launched just last week and some of the interesting features this app provides for attendees of this year's SWW conference. Topics covered:

- SWW2012 App is available on iOS and Andriod

- iOS is a universal app, scaled for the iPad

- Navigating sessions, speakers, floorplans, partner pavilion and more

- Adding sessions to your agenda

- Scanning badges from the QR code tool

- Quick links to Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube

- Dassault Systemes aquires Netvibes and launches a landing page for SWW12

Last year SolidWorks released an iPhone app that was especially built for SWW 2011 giving users the ability to browse sessions and get valuable info about speakers, partners, maps etc of the event.  After 10 years of thumbing through the little conference booklet and trying to determine where I was going next, this app made navigating the conference simple.  Having a lot of detail, especially of the partner pavillion, allowed me to get more out of SWW than previous years.

The issue that many had voiced about the app was the fact it was only on iOS (iPhone) at the time. Considering Android is taking the market by storm, it only makes sense that if SolidWorks is to offer such a great tool that it be available on the lion's share of devices. This year they launched a 2012 version of the app but this time it is available on both iOS and Android and the iOS version is a universal app, giving iPad users full use of the screen real estate.

After navigating around in the app I find that browsing sessions is so easy, especially researching and signing up right from within the app. You can log in with your registration account and see what is is coming up next in your agenda and figure out how to get there.  This makes getting around and gaining the most of the conference much easier. ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter, Facebook and THE HEaRD! 

SolidWorks:Heard! - Episode 309 - SolidWorks Xperts

SolidWorks Xperts:

This podcast covers the SolidWorks Intelligent Feature Technology (SWIFT) tools/utilities that have evolved in the product over the past 4 releases.  Topics covered:

- Xpert toolset overview

- AssemblyXpert

- DimXpert for Drawings

- DimXpert for Parts

- DraftXpert

- FeatureXpert

- FilletXpert

- MateXpert

- SketchXpert

Since SolidWorks 2007 there has been a steady introduction of the SWIFT tools in every release, some of which just fade into the background and never get used.  Some of these tools can be used in an "on demand" fassion to evaluate a situation that may arrise like a slow assembly rebuild or an over defined sketch relation to assist in finding a solution.  Other Xperts are baked in and will pop up when a feature fails offering up an "Easy Button" to fix it.

Depending on who you ask, skilled users tend to not use or like utilities that are baked in or offer a closed form solution without sharing the steps to fix the issue.  New users like these tools, if they do use them or even know they exist, since they offer a solution to fill in the skill gap they face.

Personally I like that these tools are there as a last resort when things go wrong and really cut down on the troubleshooting time when SolidWorks doesn't like what you give it.  It is possilbe you have used many of these tools (SketchXpert, MateXpert, DimXpert) but others you might want to try out or give a second chance. ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter, Facebook and THE HEaRD!

SolidWorks:Heard! - Episode 298 - 2011 What's New - Utilities, Toolbox & Weldments

2011 What's New - Utilities, Toolbox & Weldments:

This podcast is an audio version of the What's New PDF included with every major release of SolidWorks. Topics covered:

Utilities:

- Symmetry Check utility

- Find/Modify/Suppress feature selection

Toolbox:

- Opening models with referenced Toolbox components

- Gears in GB standard

Weldments:

- Cut lists

- Weld beads

- Weld support in drawings

2011 Release Notes Highlights:

- MS Office patch (Hotfix KB 983396) addressing embedding problems

- SolidWorks Workgroup PDM 2011 add-in changes

- Compatibility for SolidWorks Enterprise PDM 2011

- Retirement announcements

This covers chapters 25-27 of the What's New PDF which outlines changes/enhancements to the SolidWorks product line since the previous release.  If you have not done so, please download this PDF and walk through the areas that are most important to you.

The goal of this series is to provide a portable, audio version of the 2011 What's New so users can have a quick way to evaluate the features that have been changed/added/removed in SolidWorks' product line.  We all fall victim to the "ruts" of using SolidWorks and knowing what's to come brings awareness early.

I will be releasing an additional show a week as well as the usual monthly Tech News shows (up to 3 a week) in order to cover the entire What's New PDF in September before FCS (First Customer Ship). Between the podcast, blog and other posts around the web, there will be no shortage of SolidWorks 2011 content to come! ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter, Facebook and THE HEaRD!

SolidWorks:Heard! - Episode 288 - SolidWorks PDM Integrations

SolidWorks PDM Integrations:

This podcast covers the "out of the box" integration with some of the core features and gold partner add-ins with both SolidWorks Workgroup and Enterprise PDM. Topics covered:

- Compare Utilities (Drawings, Documents, Geometry, Features, BOM)

- Workgroup PDM issues with Compare tools in Windows 7 and Vista. (SPR 419281 & 335748)

- SolidWorks Revision Tables

- SolidWorks Toolbox

- SolidWorks Design Library

- CircuitWorks Libraries

- DriveWorks Pro 6 & 7

Over the years I have talked about PDM and the various tools in SolidWorks that can talk to PDM but I wanted to highlight some of the tight integration attributes for the SolidWorks user.  Many of the compare tools have been able to take advantage of the version/revisions within the PDM environment.  Workgroup PDM has always been the highly integrated option for SolidWorks users but Enterprise has really taken the lead in the past couple of releases.

Despite the advances, Enterprise PDM still lacks some of the tool-specific integaration like Workgroup into the compare tools, revision tables and the design library.  With the adoption of Windows 7 (starting with Vista), almost all the compare tools are no longer available to Workgroup PDM due to the lack of the vault browser (located on the left side of Windows Explorer in the File Open dialog).  This has been missing now since SolidWorks 2007 Pre release, when Vista was in testing, and officially was supported with SolidWorks 2008.  I am surprised this has not been remedied to date since the only workaround is to check out one version, save a copy, and repeat for another version to compare.  This approach side steps PDM and adds a substantial amount of work and manual file management to the user.  

To many users' surprise, both CircuitWorks and DriveWorks Pro have integrations into both PDM products from SolidWorks.  Out-of-the-box integration to PDM helps the adoption of add-in products like CW and DW! As PDM becomes more mainstream with the SolidWorks user, tight integration will become an important evaluation criteria! ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter, Facebook and THE HEaRD!

SolidWorks:Heard! - Episode 267 - SolidWorks Utility Belt

SolidWorks Utility Belt:

This podcast covers the expanded toolset in SolidWorks Utilities including power tools for compairson, bulk modification and downstream evaluation.  Topics covered:

- Compare tools (documents, features, geometry and BOM)

- Modification tools (annotations, features, simplification, feature paint)

- Evaluation tools (geometry & thickness analysis, symmetry check)

- Report Manager

- SolidWorks Utilities integration with Enterprise and Workgroup PDM

SolidWorks Utilities is probably one of the most under utilized (sorry for the pun) add-ins in the SolidWorks line up next to 3D Instant Website.  SolidWorks 2010 expanded a few of the features and since I have not covered this topic for a few years, I thought I could refresh the topic.  

Many of these tools are probably not going to be used on a daily basis but when the need surfaces, they can save a ton of time. The compare tools are very powerful not only on files locally but can be performed on the different versions of the same file within a Workgroup or Enterprise PDM vault.  

Whether it is comparison, modification or ensuring the geometry is ready for downstream FEA or CAM in the design process, there is a tool in the SolidWorks Utility belt! ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter, Facebook and THE HEaRD!