TriMech Blog

Expanding your SOLIDWORKS knowledge to optimize your skills and your resume can be a daunting task when looking at the many certification types. The Certified SOLIDWORKS Associate (CSWA) certification is one of the first steps in expanding your SOLIDWORKS knowledge and is mainly taken by new users and students. There are five variations that allow you to specialize in a specific area. We will cover each one, as well as the basic courses recommended by SOLIDWORKS that should be completed before taking the CSWA.

The set of standards used for drawing and dimensioning your parts in SOLIDWORKS is known as the Drawing Template, similar to Part and Assembly templates. SOLIDWORKS drawings consist of two distinct layers, the sheet and sheet format. These both make up the drawing template. In addition, any changes you’ve made to the Document Properties will also carry over to the drawing template once that template is saved. The drawing template, sheet and sheet format all combine to make up the drawing file (*.slddrw). In this blog article, we show you how to set up your Drawing template.

As a user of SOLIDWORKS PDM, the majority of the functionalities available to you are controlled by permissions set by the system administrator. The Cache Options and User Settings are two PDM controls, that if given the permission, users can self-manage the ways that checked-out, checked-in and reference files are handled on their local computer.

Having spent some time working at a local battery company started from Carnegie Mellon, I saw firsthand as a SOLIDWORKS user how companies in the energy sector utilize the software. It would be very narrow-minded to exclude the totality of this industry. There are many products in the SOLIDWORKS portfolio, if leveraged properly, that can be powerful for those in the industry, from oil/gas, hydroelectric power generation, hydrogen power and many more. During my time at the battery company, I utilized the SOLIDWORKS mechanical design suite of products including the basics with sketching, product and assembly design to the more advanced capabilities and SOLIDWORKS validation products. In this blog, I go through a very high-level overview of the tools most likely to be used by a designer in this field.

As a SOLIDWORKS user, I am always excited when new software features and enhancements are released every year. The more I use the software, the more I realize how valuable these updates are and how much they improve my experience. Features such as customizing mouse buttons or accessing drawing arcs help me save time and add more details to my designs. In this blog post, I share with you my top ten personal favorite SOLIDWORKS features and why I am thankful for them.

Antero 840CN03 (ESD) is a PEKK-based FDM thermoplastic with carbon nanotubes specifically formulated for the flexibility of FDM technology. It combines physical and mechanical qualities with the use of electrostatic dissipative (ESD) properties. The electrostatic dissipative capability makes this material a better fit for prototyping electronics, compared to Antero 800NA. The Antero ESD is chemical and wear-resistant, has ultra-low outgassing properties and is a high-performance ESD. These qualities are critical in space and industrial applications.

SimulationXpress is a built-in, first-pass design verification tool created to quickly and easily put a single-body part through a structural study in SOLIDWORKS. This great tool is included with every license of SOLIDWORKS, after an easy activation and allows the user to do simple stress analysis simulation studies without the need to purchase an additional SOLIDWORKS Simulation package. In this blog post, we take a look at the top five features that make SOLIDWORKS SimulationXpress the tool you should be using with any part that you design.

Electrical and mechanical engineers can collaborate to design printed circuit boards (PCBs) that fit and function in SOLIDWORKS assemblies, bridging the collaboration gap between Electrical Computer Aided Design (ECAD) and Mechanical Computer Aided Design (MCAD). Using add-on tools, such as CircuitWorks, designers and engineers have the ability to read ECAD files in SOLIDWORKS. In this blog, we'll go over what CircuitWorks is and the benefits of using this add-on.

This week's Product Story showcases Ford Motor Company's use of Metal 3D Printing to Produce New Components Rapidly.

Ever since Ford opened in 1903, they’ve been innovation leaders in the auto manufacturing industry. Fast-forward to modern-day, they’re constantly brainstorming new ideas and ways to continue being the leader. Ford’s Research and Advanced Engineering Organization is responsible for developing new technologies and working with partners to bring those technologies to Ford Motor Company. Thanks to the Desktop Metal Studio+, their innovation has greatly improved.  

Desktop Metal has announced an all-new 3D printer and platform, the Fiber series. This series is the first desktop printer to miniaturize automated fiber placement (AFP) technology, found in high-end carbon fiber production processes, and combine it with fused filament 3D printing. The resulting parts created using the patent pending technology are up to 60 times stiffer and 75 times stronger than standard ABS plastic parts.

Past SOLIDWORKS updates are the building blocks for all future improvements and feature additions. However, with all of the changes that are applied every year it can be hard to remember and keep track of everything that has happened. What if there was a new feature you could be using right now, but it flew under your radar? To help with this, during our TriMech 20 for 20 event we provided a little refresher with four on-demand webinars focused on the progress and upgrades of previous SOLIDWORKS enhancements. 

MakerBot Method 3D printers use production-grade thermoplastics to create functional prototypes, manufacturing tools and end-use parts that are durable, detailed and dimensionally accurate, all from a desktop sized printer. Getting industrial-grade jobs from a smaller footprint makes 3D printing real ABS much more convenient. Let's take a look at these new materials and what they mean for desktop 3D printing.