Ricky Jordan's Blog » COSMOSWorks

SolidWorks Video Tip: 2009 Materials Database

Ricky Jordan — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 07:12:09 +0000

As I mentioned in my SolidWorks 2009 Enhancement Highlights, the Materials Database has been overhauled. Today we are going to take a closer look at the enhancements to the Database AND Interface along with some other tidbits. Let’s get started!

Many users in the past have defined materials using custom properties. In SolidWorks 2008 the ability to link the SolidWorks Material to custom properties was added which allowed for some efficient uses when it came to drawing production. At the beginning of this video tip you see how to set that property. Since the material library is much more complete now, I believe the importance of knowing about this option is greater than ever. The image below shows a preview of the property linking.

The Materials database now opens in a separate window. The SolidWorks Materials in the database are read-only. You can create Custom Materials which are fully customizable. One of the enhancements to the interface is how easy it is to use a SolidWorks Material to create Custom Materials with simple Copy/Paste operations. Creating Categories and folder structure is now much easier as well. If you use SolidWorks Simulation (formally called COSMOS) you probably are very familiar with the fact that the SolidWorks based Material list was not NEAR as extensive as the materials library found in the Simulation products. That is no longer the case. The SolidWorks based Materials have now been TRULY unified with the Simulation library which results in a MUCH larger material selection straight out of the box for SolidWorks Users. Those materials of course can be used in Simulations as it has in the past. The point is that there is no longer a need in the Simulation interface to look for a more expanded set of materials. The Favorites tab in the Materials database allows you to now control the items listed in the SolidWorks FeatureManager for quick selection (without having to open the database window). Previously this list was based on recent materials used. Below is a screenshot of the Materials interface.

Click on the image below to view the Video Tip.

Stay tuned….more to come!

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COSMOSWorks 2008 Arrives in Huntsville

Ricky Jordan — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 01:03:34 +0000

An impressive turnout of 38 NASWUG members were treated to a special event tonight as Dana Parrish of SolidWorks Corporation made his second trip of the year to Huntsville to present at our user group meeting. Any successful SolidWorks User Group has topics that are member driven. The topic of this meeting was a result of several inquiries by NASWUG members to learn more about the COSMOS line of products and how the tools offered can improve their designs. After giving a great presentation on COSMOSFloWorks earlier this year, Dana was nice enough to make another trip up to help our users learn more about COSMOSWorks.

The meeting started out tonight with an exciting announcement for NASWUG members. SolidWorks is launching a Beta Program for the newly created Certified SolidWorks Associate (CSWA) exam. Attendees tonight earned an opportunity to take the CSWA exam as part of the Beta experience for FREE! This test is less strenuous as compared to the Certified SolidWorks Professional (CSWP) and will provide many members the opportunity to begin their journey towards certification in SolidWorks. To learn more about the CSWA, click on the link provided above. After some other announcements, Dana was set to begin his presentation. To me, demonstrations of analysis products are most effective when given using “real-world” examples. This is exactly where the presentation started. Dana presented several design scenarios in which the audience was asked which design would yield the best results. After all the “guesses” were made, the results were shown to the crowd along with descriptions and images showing just how those results were attained. This really was a hit with the crowd! Also as part of the presentation, Dana showed off some of the enhancements to the COSMOS line of products in the 2008 release. This was the first time that the new SolidWorks 2008 interface was shown publicly in Huntsville. My favorite COSMOSWorks 2008 features shown were the new alternate mesher (This REALLY could save some time!), Design Insight Plots (Helps you remove materials without effecting structural integrity), and the improvements to Bolt Connectors! You can read more about the enhancements by checking out the SolidWorks 2008 What’s New Guide or the COSMOSWorks What’s New rundown. Dana did a great job with the presentation and answered many questions from the attendees in the Q&A session. Thanks Dana!

I’m really proud of the turnout tonight, especially due to the fact that it was 106 degrees (F) in Huntsville today! The long hot summer will be hopefully drawing to a close soon. Next up for NASWUG members will be What’s New in SolidWorks 2008 presentations. Thanks to all in attendance tonight!

Stay tuned…..MORE to come!

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COSMOS Companion

Ricky Jordan — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 01:25:02 +0000

I’ve got my hands in MANY different areas of SolidWorks on a daily basis. One of the areas that I have been trying to gain more knowledge in over the past couple of years is COSMOSWorks. Every so often I use COSMOSWorks to refine designs and validate expected results of parts & assemblies under load. You could probably classify me as a casual user at best. Last week I had some design features that needed validation on the project I am currently working on. COSMOSWorks as usual was up to the task.

For the first time, I was working with studies mainly involving plastic parts. I was in search of some basic information on how to deal with plastics in FEA and found “the motherload” at the COSMOS Companion website. I had heard about the COSMOS Companion series of webcasts from the Analyzing Design Blog hosted by Vince Adams in the past but have never taken the time to truly check it out. Not only did I find useful information pertaining to running analysis on plastic parts, but there were a host of other useful topics displayed as well. My only problem now is finding the time to view them all!

If you haven’t had a chance to check it out, the COSMOS Companion site offers a series of webcasts that provide tips and tricks in COSMOSWorks. It is not meant to be a replacement of instructor lead COSMOS courses, but rather a supplement that provides detailed information in many specialized areas. I’ve only had the chance to watch a few of them so far, but it appears that Vince Adams narrates most if not all of them. For those of you that don’t know Vince, he is the Product Manager of SolidWorks Analysis Products for SolidWorks Corp. The wealth of information shared and his enthusiasm for the product is VERY much appreciated! Thanks Vince! I know how much work it is to put something like this together. Keep em coming!

If you are a COSMOS user (or even if you are not) check out the COSMOS Companion today.

Stay tuned…..much more to come! (SolidWorks 2008 is just around the corner!)

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