The feature freeze bar is a great tool in SOLIDWORKS that can be used to help improve model rebuilds. It helps optimize the performance of your models. The tool is especially useful if you’re having long rebuild times or even if you’re experiencing some stability issues whenever you're working on a model.
When you are using sketch commands in SOLIDWORKS you’ll notice that they are persistent. This means that once a command is activated you need to deliberately exit the command by doing something like hitting or double-clicking the escape key. This is the default behavior in SOLIDWORKS. However, sometimes this is not the quickest way to work. So, there’s another way called single command per pick. With this option turned on, along with double-clicking to activate the command, you can have a lot more control over how you use the sketch commands in SOLIDWORKS. To see this functionality in action, check out this week’s Video Tech Tip where we walk you through how to take advantage of this option.
SOLIDWORKS is easy to use. I’m sure you’re not surprised at that statement. At this point, that’s common knowledge. Ease of use has been in its DNA from day one back in 1995. Although it is easy to use, it’s still one of the most powerful CAD applications on the market. To make that possible there are countless commands that enable modeling flexibility that has solidified SOLIDWORKS place as the go-to application for various industries from manufacturing, to medical devices and the Department of Defense. Buried in all that flexibility for modeling are some options that are probably missed even though they have been staring you in the face from day one. In this week’s Video Tech Tip, we share an option in the patterning commands that you might have missed, the geometry pattern command.
As the launch for SOLIDWORKS 2020 approaches, we wanted to remind you of some of the most important features released in SOLIDWORKS 2019. This week, we go over different multi-episode videos that explain how these features will improve your SOLIDWORKS experience. Whether you're looking to improve your design performance, create innovative models or how to use multiple tools at once, these videos will provide you with the details of how to accomplish your design goals across the SOLIDWORKS suite. Watch the series below.
Advanced Functionality of The Rotate Sketch Entities Tool
August 29, 2019
When it comes to modeling in SOLIDWORKS there is nothing more fundamental than navigating around the 3D space. It is probably the first thing you ever looked to do when you used SOLIDWORKS for the first time. Typically, navigating around the modeling environment is done with two tools, pan zoom or rotate. In this week’s Video Tech Tip, we are going take it a step further and share with you some advanced functionalities of the rotate tool that give you more power and control when rotating around 3D space.
The SOLIDWORKS 2019 update included a lot of features that help improve either new or already existing tools, but with so many improvements it can be hard to keep track of them all. In this week’s Video Tech Tip, we’re going to go over some enhancements core to part modeling in SOLIDWORKS.
Weldments are key features in many designs. One of the exciting tools released in SOLIDWORKS 2019 was the new structure system, an innovative and easier way to create weldments. In this week’s Video Tech Tip, we walk through an example of how to create a new large support structure using this new feature.
Customizing The Normal To View Orientation In SOLIDWORKS
August 8, 2019
When working in a 3D space like the SOLIDWORKS modeling environment, the view orientation and model manipulation are two of the key fundamental concepts. It’s the first thing you learn when starting to use the software. One of the most important view orientation tools is Normal To. Normal To is when you’re looking directly at the model and everything is straight and oriented properly. What’s great about this is that it makes it easy for us to visually understand the model. In this week’s Video Tech Tip, we share with you some of the more advanced functionality of this fundamental tool to help you better take advantage of it and easily understand your model.
With every SOLIDWORKS part, there are front, top and right planes. But what do you do if those don’t line up with exactly what you want? In this week’s Video Tech Tip, we'll show you step by step how to change the orientation of your part file to line up exactly how you want.
Within the SOLIDWORKS 2019 updates, there's a hub for everything you might want quick access to and it’s called the Welcome Screen. The Welcome Screen is a window that appears when you first launch SOLIDWORKS. From this interface, you have quick access to links, files, news and other useful items. In this week's Video Tech Tip, we'll show you how to take advantage of the Welcome Screen capabilities.
One of the little-known tools in SOLIDWORKS is the reload command, but we’re trying to get the word out about this powerful command you should be using.
In this week's Video Tech Tip, we'll show you how to use the reload command to undo mistakes in your designs.
As the life cycle of your designs and your company evolve, you’ll find an ever-growing vastness of data created as a byproduct. One way to really get control of your company’s data is to use a data management tool like SOLIDWORKS PDM, the only tool built specifically for SOLIDWORKS. This means it understands the important relationships between files and enables you to work how you want with your data.