SolidWorks:HEARD! - Episode 429 - Woodworking With SolidWorks Revisited

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Woodworking With SolidWorks Revisited:

This podcast is a quick update and replay of episode 266 from March 21, 2010 when I covered how to use SolidWorks as a woodworking tool.  The show covered how to automate aspects of woodworking from trim and molding to complex joining techniques.  

Original Show notes:

- Using Weldments for trim (base, crown, casing, shoe, etc.)

- How to create a profile library for Weldments

- Building Library Features for joints (lap, tongue & groove, mortise & tenon, pockets, rabbets, etc.)

- Creating Smart Components for inserts, biscuits, dowels, hardware, etc..

- Common pitfalls

- Using DriveWorks for design variation

Back in the Midwest, my family's business is carpentry and I grew up building homes and doing finish work for many summers.  I also have used SolidWorks for years to do all types of building and woodworking projects of my own and found it to be very powerful.  SolidWorks has some great tools for building the woodworker's library to assist in complex joint operations, standard millwork libraries, and find assembly problems.

For years I have built tools using the Library Features (even in the old days of the Feature Palette) that would add a dado or cut a biscuit joint but there was still much to be done.  In the past 5 years, SolidWorks has added Weldments and Smart Components which can automate cultists and the insertion of hardware with fasteners and drilled holes in adjacent components.  

Even though much of this is not "out of the box" and requires users to build that library up from scratch, the payoff is huge for those that want the power of CAD behind their designs.  Once a baseline is set, I have found design automation (DriveWorks) to be a more reliable way of varying a design to avoid in-context references and multiple rebuilds to get changes to propagate.

This past week, Digital Dimensions moved our offices across town and with packed, moving and getting all our systems setup I just ran out of time to prep a show and record.  So I apologize for missing my first show in the 7+ years of podcasting.  

In prep for this week I had started digging into the new update to eDrawings for iOS but there was a glitch that was discovered with the camera in the new Augmented Reality (AR) feature.

So as a favor to Rick, I decided to push the show till next week so I can get some hands on time before talking about it on the show.  So since the show must go on, I started looking back through the catalog and looking for a topic that had not had airtime in a while.  I really enjoyed the show on Woodworking so I hope it finds you well.  ~Lou

Check out the SolidWorks:Heard! Blog and follow us on Google+, Twitter, Facebook and THE HEaRD!

SolidWorks:Heard! - Episode 352 - SW2012 What's New - Part Modeling

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SW2012 What's New - Part Modeling:

This podcast dissects the What's New PDF, outlining all the new features in SolidWorks 2012 along with other tips, tricks and tidbits in the new software. Topics covered in this show:

Chapter 12: Sketching

- Dimension enhancements

- Sketch pattern updates

- Shortcut menus

- Sketch rotation

Chapter 18: Sheet Metal

- Cut aross bends (yeah!)

- Edge and swept flange updates

- Flat pattern controls

- Forming tool link/replace

Chapter 23: Weldments

- Cut list properties (parent propagation)

Part Modeling, covering chapters 20, 18, 23 of the What's New PDF, 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 2012 What's New, providing a quick way to evaluate new features that have been changed/added/removed in the SolidWorks product line.  We all fall victim to the "ruts" of using SolidWorks from release to release 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 before FCS (First Customer Ship). Between the podcast, blog and other posts around the web, there will be no shortage of SolidWorks 2012 content to come!

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

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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 266 - Woodworking With SolidWorks

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Woodworking With SolidWorks: 

This podcast covers the tools in SolidWorks that can help automate many aspects of the woodworking industry from trim and molding to complex joining techniques.  Topics covered:

- Using Weldments for trim (base, crown, casing, shoe, etc.)

- How to create a profile library for Weldments

- Building Library Features for joints (lap, tongue & groove, mortise & tenon, pockets, rabbets, etc.)

- Creating Smart Components for inserts, biscuits, dowels, hardware, etc..

- Common pitfalls

- Using DriveWorks for design variation

Back in the Midwest, my family's business is carpentry and I grew up building homes and doing finish work for many summers.  I also have used SolidWorks for years to do all types of building and woodworking projects of my own and found it to be very powerful.  SolidWorks has some great tools for building the woodworker's library to assist in complex joint operations, standard millwork libraries, and find assembly problems.

For years I have built tools using the Library Features (even in the old days of the Feature Palette) that would add a dado or cut a biscuit joint but there was still much to be done.  In the past 5 years, SolidWorks has added Weldments and Smart Components which can automate cultists and the insertion of hardware with fasteners and drilled holes in adjacent components.  

Even though much of this is not "out of the box" and requires users to build that library up from scratch, the payoff is huge for those that want the power of CAD behind their designs.  Once a baseline is set, I have found design automation (DriveWorks) to be a more reliable way of varying a design to avoid in-context references and multiple rebuilds to get changes to propagate.  ~Lou

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