Struggling with getting your designs out on a deadline? Getting tired of using the same time-consuming 3D CAD tool workarounds to get the results you need? In this blog article, we go over the most important points you need to know about changing your 3D CAD platform, how to make the case for the switch, and why we believe SOLIDWORKS is the best choice on the market.

Summer is coming to an end, the smell of pumpkin spice floats through the air, glints of orange and gold dance in the trees. Only one thing could make this fall more perfect, a new version of SOLIDWORKS to play with! That’s right folks it’s update season and there are a few things you should check to make sure your transition to SOLIDWORKS 2020 is smooth and easy. Let’s go over the key points to help you have the best experience when upgrading to SOLIDWORKS 2020.

SOLIDWORKS 2020 is upon us! We tuned into the live streaming event this year and got additional insight into of all the changes, capabilities and performance updates the upgrade is going to bring. We've compiled a complete list of Launch Day links and resources in one place to make it easier for you to find all the highlights and details. 

Artificial computer-simulated environments give users the feeling of being in a different dimension instead of the one they’re actually in. The idea is to trick the brain into thinking that that’s your new reality. In the new extended reality (XR) file type in SOLIDWORKS 2019, you’ll have an amazing new way to experience your designs. SOLIDWORKS XR describes the process of viewing and interacting with your models in augmented reality, virtual reality or mixed reality experiences.

Although we love SOLIDWORKS and think everyone should be using the software, there are occasions where you may need to import non-native SOLIDWORKS files. That poses the question, what file formats will work with SOLIDWORKS? There are a couple of ways to handle this situation. In recent years, you have had the choice of converting these files to imported bodies, or leaving them in their native format. Let's dive into what files will work with standard SOLIDWORKS and how to import them.

When you are designing a product, it is important to accurately analyze the varied temperatures to ensure the stability of your model. Thermal stress analysis refers to a static analysis that measures the strains, stresses and deformations that occur with changes in temperature. SOLIDWORKS Simulation enables you to test multiple conditions from static and dynamic response to heat transfer. In this blog article, we use a stainless-steel instant pot to illustrate how to properly utilize the thermal stress analysis feature for improved temperature resistance.

TriMech offers many training classes located throughout the eastern United States. Although many of our users are able to learn the intuitive SOLIDWORKS software on their own, we recommend taking a class in order to learn techniques that improve efficiency and to acquire tips and tricks that our certified instructors have developed over the years. 

In every major release of SOLIDWORKS you will find hundreds of enhancements that will help boost your productivity and performance. Some of these performance gains happen behind the scenes without you even noticing, while others may require you know a trick or two to take full advantage of their capabilities. Some of the most talked-about performance enhancements came in 2013 and 2017 with the addition of network solver capabilities for PhotoView 360 and SOLIDWORKS Simulation respectively. In this blog post, we show you a great trick to take full advantage of these performance solver engines.

In our previous blog post, our software team shared with you some of the most useful tips they wished they knew when they started using SOLIDWORKS. In this continuation, we’ll take a look at what TriMech’s hardware team wished they knew when they started using SOLIDWORKS, and how some software updates have helped them in their pre-printing process.

A very powerful tool in SOLIDWORKS which can easily be customized is Mouse Gestures. Mouse Gestures provide shortcuts for up to 12 customizable commands using only a single right-click and drag motion. The gesture can be accessed by right-clicking anywhere in your workspace and then dragging the mouse towards a command on the wheel that pops up. Whether you are in a sketch, part, assembly or drawing, the wheel can be customized for each of the four workspaces.

Learn SOLIDWORKS in 5 Minutes!, Ultimate SOLIDWORKS Tutorial for Absolute Beginners, SOLIDWORKS Tutorial #80 – Simple and Effective. These are just a few of the titles of thousands of YouTube SOLIDWORKS tutorials. Nowadays, there is so much information available to us on the Internet and thousands of hours of videos about SOLIDWORKS specifically, but how helpful are they really? How do they compare with an officially licensed SOLIDWORKS training course? How do you choose the right video? In this blog article, we talk about self-learning on YouTube for free versus attending a live SOLIDWORKS training class.

We all remember the days when we first started using SOLIDWORKS. Many of us didn’t know a sketch from a sweep! There are so many useful tools within SOLIDWORKS and it can be daunting for new users to keep track of them. Whenever I teach our SOLIDWORKS Essentials class, at least one student will inevitably exclaim, “I wish I had known that months ago!” In this blog article, we’ll go over some of those essential tools you might not know about yet.