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SolidWorks Video Tip: Using Mates for Animation
Recently I have had a few questions about ways to create animations with assembly motion. These questions brought to mind this great tip on using Mates to generate assembly motion. Using Mates to create motion in Assemblies is often overlooked so I have prepared this video that includes a simple example of how to do…
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SolidWorks 2009 SP2!
Well, Friday night just happened to be the perfect time for me to upgrade our seats at work to SolidWorks 2009 SP2. Overall things went smoothly and I was on my way home in time for some awesome pot roast served up by my multi-talented wife. So what’s new in SolidWorks 2009 SP2? Well, thanks…
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The S Key Experiment – Part 3
The S Key Experiment continues for me and in this post we dive into Part 3 which covers using the S Key shortcut menu in the Drawing environment of SolidWorks 2009. In case you missed it, I covered the Part Environment in Part 1 and the Assembly Environment in Part 2. I have found the…
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The S Key Experiment – Part 2
It has been a little over a week since I turned off ALL my Toolbars AND the CommandManager and so far I can say with certainty I have not DECREASED my efficiency by just using the S Key command. It still takes a little getting used to but so far I REALLY like it. Over…
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The “S” Key Experiment Part 1
Ever since the “S” key shortcut command was added in SolidWorks 2008, I’ve heard some users comment that they use it quite often. This lead me to question whether or not you could function inside of SolidWorks in an efficient manner by JUST using the “S” key shortcut menu. NO CommandManager. NO Toolbars. Just in…
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SolidWorks Video Tip: Layout Sketches and Planes
This SolidWorks Video Tip shows off a few tricks in the utilization of layout sketches in parts and how to create planes that can change with the sketch. As I talk to different users from across the world, one of the options that seems to be forgotten in the Plane creation dialog box is the…
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SolidWorks Video Tip: Surface Extraction with ScanTo3D
Today’s SolidWorks Video Tip shows an example of how you can use ScanTo3D to extract surface data from mesh files. This example was inspired by a file I recently helped fellow Blogger Mike Puckett with. ScanTo3D is part of SolidWorks Premium. It allows users to open Point Cloud and Mesh data in various formats with…
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SolidWorks Video Tip: Using Multiple Split Features
This SolidWorks Video Tip shows the use of multiple trim tool features in the Split command. The example shows the creation of a simplified polyurethane tool using the Combine and Split commands found inside the SolidWorks Part environment. I have finally solved the audio lag issue that you might have noticed in previous videos that…
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SolidWorks Video Tip: 2009 Missing Reference Ghosting
When working with any parametric modeling package references are something a user constantly has to be aware of. Often times when you make modifications to a model, child features based off of entities changed can fail to regenerate properly due to the nature of the changes made. SolidWorks 2009 introduces some time saving enhancements that…
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SolidWorks Video Tip: 2009 BOM Restructure
SolidWorks 2009 has been out long enough now that most of the “major” enhancements have probably been talked about on quite a few sites across the web. Here’s an enhancement that I have noticed hasn’t gotten much press. That enhancement is the ability to restructure Bills of Materials (BOM) in Drawings. This video tip will…
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SolidWorks Video Tip: 2009 Convert to Sheet Metal
The Convert to Sheet Metal feature is a new tool available in SolidWorks 2009 that allows you to quickly create Sheet Metal parts from an existing solid model. Click on the link below to see this new tool in action. The voice over is getting better….still some room for improvement though! Stay tuned….more to come!
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SolidWorks Video Tip: Flippin Tangencies
This SolidWorks Video Tip shows off an option that is easy to miss when applying Tangent Relations between Splines and Lines. If you right click on a Tangent Relation between a line and a spline, you have the option to flip the direction of Tangency via the “Flip Relation” option. As the video will show,…
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SolidWorks Video Tip: 2009 Numeric Sketch Input
Here’s a great little video tip showing off the Numeric Sketch Input function that is brand new inside SolidWorks 2009. By changing a couple of settings, some sketch entities can automatically create dimensions as you sketch and you have the ability to input your desired dimensions as part of this process. The Numeric Sketch Input…
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SolidWorks Video Tip: 2009 Materials Database
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…