Frustrated with SW

People get a little defensive when the truth hurts.

 

I know that change is hard, I have been thru it before. This goes far
beyond "I don't know what to do, I'm new."

I hate how the software tells you, this operation will cause geometry
to be absorbed and can not complet. I don't care if something gets
absorbed! If I don't like it I will go back and cjange something in
the feature. Go ahead and do it!!! These are just excuses for lazy
programming.

Complex geometry is all I do. That is what I get in responce from
support, "solidworks does not handle complex geometry very well".
Support tells me that a loft or a sweep with more than one or two
guide curves complicates things. WHAT?!?! Why have a feature if it is
going to complicate the part so much that it is practically
unworkable?

 

It is vey obvious that I have a bad VAR for support. I know this. Some
of the responses that I have received from support are not very
professional, nor are they very helpfull.
What is normal responce time for a case? Even if it is just an e-mail
conformation.

 

Thanks, I needed that. I wanted to like this software, it allways
looks good on a resume to have experience in multible CAD packages.
Now I don't know if I will even list it.

 

Great! Good for you. I am glad it is the solution for you. In the line
of business that I am in, it is not.

Dan

 

You hit the nail on the head "bang for the buck". You get what you pay
for...
How does the price of the license "soften the hatred". I didn't pay
for it, the company did.

Dan

 

I am not asking for help in this posting. I am just venting. I have
talked about my problems until I am blue in the face. Thanks for
trying to help, but I really don't want to talk about it any more.

 

never used email to contact my var.
i usually get immediate help by phone when i call because i need
something. if i'm not in a hurry, i ask on the newsgroup and usually
in less than an hour i get an answer.
what is more, a few times i also got a part made by somebody else =)
i was asking something about lofts and a friend on the newsgroup
emailed me 8 different parts using the loft i was trying to build.

cheers.

 

Have you looked at SolidEdge? AutoCAD LT!?!? Are you serious?

Dan

 

Dan, my experience with my VAR is that I get an email response within
the day, sometimes within the hour. That is TriMech Solutions, and they
are the largest VAR (I believe) in the mid-Atlantic region, which
probably explains why they have very good tech support. If you are
anywhere from South Carolina to Pennsylvania they may be the best choice
for you (perhaps by far). If you work elsewhere do a little research
with the SolidWorks User Group in your area.

For complex geometry, surfacing, "swoopy stuff" and the like, try Ed
Eaton's tutorials on the Dimonte Group's web site. That's
www.dimontegroup.com -- and right now the site doesn't seem to be
responding for some reason. Contact me directly if you can't get on the
site and I can send you the tutorials directly. There are quite a few
of them and they're not small (some are tens of megabytes each), so if
your company maintains an FTP site that would be better than direct
email.

To email me you've got to unMUNGE my email address, remove the most
obvious extraneous (capitalized) text, and REPLACE some things (like
replace UNDERLINE with an underline _ ).

'Spork'

 

Well, at least they're honest. This really is a weak point for SW. They
haven't been able to figure out how to make a good user interface for lofts
and sweeps that works for beginners and experts. The interface they came up
with doesn't work well for anyone.

Even one guide curve can cause big problems, depending on how things are
defined. Go to
http://www.dimontegroup.com/
then to the Tutorials page. Download both of Ed Eaton's Curvy Stuff
tutorials and watch the slide shows. Do that a couple of times, practicing
the stuff that you learn. It will help a lot. It won't stop you from
swearing, but it will lessen the frequency.

Because it looks good in sales presentations.


Jerry Steiger
Tripod Data Systems

 

"They haven't been able to figure out how to make a good user interface for
lofts and sweeps that works for beginners and experts. The interface they
came up with doesn't work well for anyone."

How do you turn on the U, V surface points of imported geometry so they can
be manipulated in SolidWorks 2004 ?

How do you turn on the control points for imported NURB splines so the can
be manipulated in SolidWorks 2004 ?

Not to someone who understands how limited the current SolidWorks
2004 approach is and why.

jon

 

Solidworks "bang for the buck" is hard to beat. The only better value

Brand new offering. VX Basic... $995.

Might even be cheaper from a VAR.

http://www.vx.com/vx_basic.cfm

"Features and benefits

Hybrid solid and surfaces modeling kernel.

Affordable entry level solid and surface modeling.

Binary compatibility with all the VX product family.

Powerful layout, drafting and detailing."

jon

 

Would you like me to send you a list of things that support has told
me that SW will not do? I am not an idiot, I know how to work with,
and learn new packages. I learned and was modeling very complex
automotive models in 3 to 4 months with UG.
Do you work for Solidworks, because you sound like my salesman, "You
just need more training, let me sign you up for....".

Dan

 

Thanks,
Yea, my VAR's responce is usually within 2 to 3 days. I have one case
that I turned in 12 working days ago. I have not received anything. It
is a good thing it is not important.

Dan

 

Thanks,
I have bookmarked the site. I will check back in a day or so.

Dan

 

Dan,
I would like to see this list.

Richard