Did you know that there is a free, entry-level design automation included in every seat of SOLIDWORKS? Read further to learn how and why you should active your DriveWorksXpress and start automating.
Why activate DriveWorksXpress?
If you already have a SOLIDWORKS license, why not take advantage of the automation capabilities of DriveWorksXpress?
Quickly generate new versions of your SOLIDWORKS parts, assemblies and drawings:
- One Time Setup – Set up once and run again and again. No need for complex macros, design tables or configurations.
- Save Time & Innovate More – Automate repetitive SOLIDWORKS tasks and free up time to focus on product innovation and development.
- Eliminate Errors – DriveWorksXpress uses rules to eliminate errors and expensive, time-consuming design changes.
- Upscale to DriveWorks Solo or DriveWorks Pro anytime.
Now that you know why you should activate DriveWorksXpress, let's dive into some of the tools you can use to start automating.
Automate SOLIDWORKS
Easily capture and control the parameters you manually change in your SOLIDWORKS models and assemblies in DriveWorksXpress.
With DriveWorksXpress, you can control dimensions, features, custom properties and switch configurations automatically through rules. Use the powerful automation engine to not only drive models, but also update drawings. You can add and update captured parameters easily directly from SOLIDWORKS. Below are some of the key technologies used by DriveWorksXpress to make automation easy!
Input Forms
You can create input forms to enter product requirements and add validation to controls to ensure inputs are always suitable.
DriveWorksXpress forms let you control the information entered. You can use the built-in form tool to show requirements and add validation to inputs ensuring anyone knows what information can be added. Even better, any information that does not meet the input requirements is “blocked” meaning you can’t have wrong information specified! Not only do the forms provide feedback for numerical data, but you can also add text boxes, numeric text boxes, drop-down lists, spin buttons and check boxes for different methods of capturing and driving data. Default values can be set to suggest initial inputs.
Rules Builder
You can build rules to link input controls with captured parameters using the intelligent DriveWorks Rules Builder.
The DriveWorksXpress rules builder is a great tool for any engineer. The rules builder allows you to define your design knowledge using mathematical formulas and logical statements. Don’t worry if you’re not a programming wizard, the rules builder was built with the typical engineer in mind. It uses standard Excel functions to create engineering logic. The rules builder also lets you use intelligent file naming methods to build a library of components. Since DriveWorksXpress is based on your rules, you’ll save time, reduce repetitive tasks and minimize errors and costly mistakes.
If you have SOLIDWORKS, you already have DriveWorksXpress. You just need to activate it, free inside the SOLIDWORKS tools menu. Configuring and automating your designs with DriveWorksXpress is so simple, it can be done in just four steps:
- Set up your project to capture your design knowledge.
- Fill out your input form.
- Create new SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD parts, assemblies and drawings automatically.
- Fill out your form to configure, again and again, re-using your valuable design knowledge.
As DriveWorksXpress is based on your rules, you’ll save time, reduce repetitive tasks and minimize errors and costly mistakes.
How to Activate DriveWorksXpress in SOLIDWORKS
Follow these easy steps below to activate DriveWorksXpress inside SOLIDWORKS and start automating your designs:
Step 1 - Open up your SOLIDWORKS license.
Step 2 - Go to Tools, Xpress Products, and select DriveWorksXpress
Step 3 - Click on the link for My.SolidWorks.com/xpress to get your free activation code for DriveWorksXpress.
Step 4 - Copy the DriveWorksXpress activation code.
Step 5 - Go back to SOLIDWORKS, paste the activation code into the product code box, and click OK.
Step 6 - Start automating – try out the DriveWorksXpress Tutorials!
To learn more about getting most out of DriveWorks, watch the full webinar. 