Video Tech Tips

Creating multiple fillets in a single feature is something I’m asked about often. Typically, the user has seen it in a different 3D CAD software other than SOLIDWORKS or would like to unclutter their feature tree. This is also a very useful skill to quickly simplify your parts for assembly performance or simulation by allowing you to only suppress one feature. In this Video Tech Tip, we’ll show you how to create multiple fillets in one feature.

Have you just finished your 3D CAD model and want to show it off in an awesome 3D walk-through animation? The best tool for the job is SOLIDWORKS Composer. You can use it to create static 2D snapshots of your model or complicated 3D animations quickly and easily. It’s great for clearly conveying steps for assembly instructions or to help show off your model for marketing or sales purposes. SOLIDWORKS Composer is the go-to tool for creating the technical content you need to go along with your SOLIDWORKS models. In this Video Tech Tip, Application Engineer Mike Souders shows off the power of animations in Composer, specifically focusing on how to modify camera paths.

We are very excited to share with you the new features in SOLIDWORKS 2019. One of the most important tools for avoiding potential manufacturing defects and mishaps is the interference detection tool. In this Video Tech Tip, we will show you how this tool is great for most modeling workflows.

When it comes to modeling in SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD, using reference planes is very important. In some ways, reference planes are the building blocks of your models because they’re a key part in creating more complicated shapes. Sometimes, it even takes multiple reference planes to get that one feature just right. In this Video Tech Tip, we share with you what we think are the two most useful ways to quickly add reference planes with offset planes and mid-planes.

The SOLIDWORKS 2019 update includes the ability to create fillets that don’t run the entire length of the edge and you may be asking yourself, "Why would I need that?" If you’re not producing awesome injection molded enclosures with crenelations for curb appeal, you might not care, but your machinist does. In this week's Video Tech Tip, we'll walk you through creating a partial fillet.

Creating designs in SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD can sometimes be complex and nothing is too easy. Many of the shapes have intricate designs and details, which makes them complicated. With the diverse set of tools at your fingertips available in SOLIDWORKS, creating shapes is pretty straightforward. But creating the CAD model is just step one.

Conveying your design intent and then ultimately getting the product manufactured finishes the process. The surface flatten tool introduced a few years ago can help you share your design with various stakeholders. Check out this week’s Video Tech Tip to see how you can use the surface flatten tool in SOLIDWORKS.

When designing in SOLIDWORKS details matter, but it's especially important when it comes to creating weldments. When working on a weldment model the structural members make up most of the design but the modeling efforts don’t stop there. A lot of the work comes from trimming members and adding things like gussets, end caps and weld beads.

In this week’s Video Tech Tip, we will walk you through the steps needed to add weld beads to your designs to help you create a complete and accurate SOLIDWORKS model.

Are you as excited as we are about the new features in SOLIDWORKS 2019? The addition of 3D textures is one of our favorites. This new feature allows you to add complex and intricate geometry to your 3D CAD models in a few simple steps. In this Video Tech Tip, you'll see how 3D textures can add repeating geometric features to models in one simple step.

How many times have you been working in SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation and gotten a pop-up message about your model not being watertight? This week's Video Tech Tip shows you how to overcome this pop-up error in SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation by teaching you how to deal with a non-watertight volume.

Split Line, Project Curve, and Wrap: what's the difference between these SOLIDWORKS features? Some users might've used them interchangeably without noticing any differences. In this Video Tech Tip, we will examine how these three features are different from each other and help you decide when to use each.

Meet SOLIDWORKS Split Line tool: a helpful, time-saving option that can be used to create additional faces and reference. It achieves this through three different methods: silhouette, projection and intersection. In this Video Tech Tip, we’ll examine the application of those three types of split lines and the required steps to create them.

SOLIDWORKS Treehouse is an editing tool for visualizing the project structure of an assembly. You can use it to create a hierarchy for a project before you start it in SOLIDWORKS by mapping the consisting parts and assemblies. You can also use it to quickly track the components of an existing assembly and make changes through file properties, configurations, suppression, and file creation. This week’s Video Tech Tip will walk you through the process of using Treehouse.