How Has SWks Helped We Users?

After 40 years of 2D drawings & then 2D CAD, 3D CAD has changed the way
I work. 3D doesn't necessarily mean fewer "documents", nor does it
solve "design problems", or stop "faulty concepts".

My top 5 most valuable features brought by SolidWorks 3D are:

1. Easy product versions, mass properties and changes in evaluating
new concepts
2. Mating part constraints, ,measurements and interference checking
3. Sections anywhere, anytime in std views or blowups
4. Auto 2D views (if and when needed, which is less and less)
5. Trivially easy product brochure images for parts and assemblies

Lots of complaining has ocurred in the SWks newsgroup in a few threads
recently, but I don't buy that unresolved issues would ever lead me to
abandon SWks or stop upgrading. The benefits are too great.

My 5 most valuable features are not detail related and indeed are not
exclusive to SolidWorks. SolidWorks just happens to be far easier to
learn than other 3D packages I tried.

What has been most valuable to you? I expect I might find things or
uses I didn't know exist.

Bo

 

Bo,

I agree, and I've used most of the 3D packages out there (except Inventor
and SE)

I just wish they'd stop looking over their shoulder and get their act
together.

All of your points are good ones, but my favorite is CAM. I haven't
programmed a part from a paper drawing in so long, I can't even remember.

Regards

Mark

 

Bo, no one is running down the benefits of 3D CAD however that doesn't mean
that there are no reasonable stds to be reached or that SW will always be
the bees knees.
Just this last week I was embarrassed and let down by the software when I
was showing a potential client some accurate concepts and SW crashed 3 times
in different ways while trying to give them a screen capture to take
away.....print window bam!...ok, save as tiff bam! ...ok, save as jpeg bam!
this is 04sp5 by the way....ended up using PrtScn and using MS photo editor
to crop it after they had gone.. ( ...did that create a good impression on
them ? highly unlikely...(its a realview/texture problem BTW)
Absolutely I will stop 'upgrading' because it just doesn't make sense to me
to sponsor what ends up being software that is only ever mostly finished or
rebroken.The best thing I can do is to stop wasting time administering
Spanish sp and trying to keep track of new problems.
I suspect that the more work you do as an independent the more attuned to
these deficiencies you become.I am sure that Paul S.will be the first to
tell you that he needs no nonsense tools that deliver or his wallet directly
suffers.
Would I abandon SW? you bet and any CAD company out there committed to
delivering things that work well is in the running.

 

Neil, I am not attempting to defend SolidWorks per se. As I said, my 5
points apply not just to SolidWorks. SolidWorks has "issues" and so do
other packages, and I hope SolidWorks works harder on getting solid
code. Unfortunately, Windows has probably 10-100 times as many
problems as SolidWorks, and I suspect (do not know and could not know
for sure) that Windows is responsible for many SolidWorks stability
problems.

If SWks stops improving, I might eventually give up on it or stop
upgrading and look for an alternative, but that is a future guessing
game.

What I am primarily remarking is how superior the overall 3D
environment is compared to any prior 2D medium.

SCREEN SHOTS: I use Quickeys from CESoftware to do my jpeg screen
shots, just because I like Quickeys. Never bombed, but then SolidWorks
has never bombed on me saving out to another format of any of the ones
I've tried. www.cesoft.com

To keep SWks "clean", I try to keep a "clean machine" by staying off
the Internet with my Dell M60. I use my Mac for email & www, and it
just works without hassle or extra effort. I do all SolidWorks SP
updates by downloading to my Mac and then transferring to my Dell. No
hassle, no bombs.

Bo

 

I don't think so. I don't live in fear of Windows crashing multiple times
in the middle of my work session. Considering how massively Windows gets
attacked by hackers world-wide it is amazing that it runs so well (as long
as you do your part to keep it clean).

No, SW problems are not Windows problems. I run a half-dozen high-dollar,
sophisticated engineering applications on W2K and WinXP. I can't say that
any of them is as crash-prone as SW is, by far.

Sure, progress is good. The 3D modelling approach is far more flexible and
should be far more productive.

I've learned quite a bit about SW over the last few weeks. Under fire, to
be sure, but it's been an eye opener. There certainly are techniques that
make SW run faster and better. There are also a number of ways that you can
get wrapped around a post (I think I've tried them all!). At the moment I'm
not too sure what to think. The biggest problem is getting to a point where
you truly make a transition to a new level of abstraction: thinking about
the design rather than how to execute it. Perhaps SW could do better if
they authored material to guide users towards more SW-friendly approaches.
Then, if they could fix some of the bugs...

That's a good idea, considering that these days you can be into a Mac for
$400.

How do you run Windows Update? Just major service packs done by hand?


-Martin

 

''What I am primarily remarking is how superior the overall 3D
environment is compared to any prior 2D medium.''

well I agree with that totally - no argument about parametrics.
recently I looked at working for someone else...hey times are tough...until
I found they were using 2d AutoCAD...and I can quite honestly say that I
thought they were nuts.
I am old enough to have sat at a drawing board using ink pens and propelling
pencils... I did highways and civil structures then...last century actually
) ...kind of miss the artistry of that era though....different
skills..anyways...yeah 3D CAD is great but it has to get a lot better in
reliability.If SW ran with as few problems as Word or Excel I would be one
very happy chappy,,,goodness knows I might even write a glowing
recommendation for the customer experience group!...

thanks for the hints AFAIK the pc I have is clean and healthy...I eventually
did get the output I wanted but I had to disable realview with the textures
I had ..it seems this is a bug not unlike a known Wildcat issue however
this is with a Quadro.

 

NEVER NEVER run a program in front of the client! Ouch! I have had
that too, and no matter what, it will crash, or you will look like you
have no idea what you are doing, or even worse, they get the impression
it is easy to do! I feel for you!

I see Bo made a suggestion for screen capture, and I have another: SPX
Instant Screen Capture from www.moodysoft.com. Really easy and reliable
tool. I like the ability to watermark the captures with my company
name, date or other info automatically. Also, they have a tool for
annotating the captures which is simply and works well.

Daniel

 

NEVER NEVER run a program in front of the client! Ouch!

Isn't this one of Murphy's corollaries? Maybe it should be?

 

Yes, XP SP2 was by CD.

No updates since.

Bo

 

Daniel,
yes sad tale..unfortunately they just arrived at my house-I work from
home-when I was in the middle of using SW....I actually wasn't about to
demonstrate using SW to them...I just opened the concept parts,
rotated/zoomed a bit while talking about them and then tried to get a
print....never experienced CTD like that before or even thought that it
could be an issue... I suppose there is a lesson there but honestly if you
have to hide SW from people because you are afraid of a crash or a bug
surfacing then that has to say something about what you and I have ended up
putting up with as normal.

I will install an 'early warning system' and push the sleep button at the
first sign of a client in the future ....may also be useful for Jehovah's
Witnesses too....bless them. ;o)

 

You've been whining about this for 4 years, just fricking get on with it
already!

 

no I haven't sir, only been here about 2, get your facts sorted.

 

Yes, client early warning detectors are important to install around the
house. Big dogs work well, but well placed ball-bearings work even
better. ;-)

 

Okay, it only seems like 4 years, feel better?

 

just fine thanks
BTW you the same Freedom Elz who posts 'colourful' opinion about Canadian
politics and ice hockey?

 

And occasionally SW too.

 

Seriously though, if SW isn't giving you what you need and causing you that
much trouble, why stick with it?

 

....that's why I have canned my subs this year...

 

What are you planning on switching to?