Catching up from a 4 Year Sabbatical
While overall I fully intend to avoid detailed partisan CAD politics, I still have the need to engage the CAD community on several levels. For whatever reason, although there are a lot of qualified people out there, no one took the opportunity to pick up where I left off with the SolidWorks Bible series. This would have been a gift, because most of the big work has been done, all you would have had to do would be to update it, and you’d get paid for the work. Granted, writing books really doesn’t pay much, especially if you’re considering the time you put into it, but again, the heavy lifting was done.
In any case, I now have the opportunity to pick up where I left off with the added benefit of 4 years of perspective, and learning that there are other ways of doing things. During this time, I’ve spent a lot of time learning a new approach for editing CAD data using Solid Edge, and haven’t even opened my license of SolidWorks 2013. The first thing I’ve been doing is going through 4 years of SolidWorks What’s New documents. And this is where I need some of your help. I’ve got a list of changed topics, some of which might result in a couple words or an image changing, and some of which might require recapture of dozens of interface images and rewriting the better part of a chapter or two. I need some help prioritizing some of these topics.
Assuming I’ve got the comments functions back up and running again, I invite SolidWorks users to weigh in on which of the enhancements from the last four years deserve the most attention, and which don’t.
INTERFACE
1. Applying standard mates from context toolbar 2014
2. Selecting items by lasso or by size 2014
3. Sticky settings 2014
4. History folder in FM
5. Text and button sizes 2014
6. Configurations toolbar 2015
7. Customizing context sensitive toolbars 2015
8. Favorites features folders 2015
9. Magnifying glass access 2015
10. Modify dimensions 2015
11. Saving and restoring settings 2015
12. Selection enhancements 2015
13. Multiple dimensions to driven 2015
14. Shortcut menu enhancements 2015
15. Status bar display of cylinder diameter 2015
16. Switching from models to drawings 2015
17. Tools menu 2015
18. Visualization tool for references 2015
19. Hiding new components in display states 2015
20. Isolate 2015
21. Link display states to configurations 2015
22. Lighting 2015
23. Decals 2015
24. Previewing hidden bodies or components 2015
25. Interface redesign 2016
FUNDAMENTALS
26. 2d emulator removed 2015
27. No more support for 32 bit 2015
28. Identify file version 2015
29. Intersection zones in section views 2015
30. Open model in position 2015
31. Surface curvature combs 2015
32. Task pane improvements 2015
33. View selector preview 2015
34. Browse recent documents 2014
35. Selecting bodies or components for section views 2014
36. Solar access studies 2014
37. CAD Admin Dashboard 2015
38. Printing enhancements 2016
39. Import Creo 3.0 and stl 2016
40. Import/export 3mf 2017
41. Selection breadcrumbs 2017
ASSEMBLIES
42. Chain pattern 2015
43. Deleting subassemblies 2015
44. Editing limit mates 2015
45. Equations in assemblies 2015
46. Exploded views 2015
47. Forming and dissolving subassemblies 2015
48. Interference detection 2015
49. Isolate components 2015
50. Mates 2015
51. Move face in assembly 2015
52. Temporarily fix components 2015
53. Rotating inserted components in assembly 2015
54. Saving instances as new files 2015
55. Treehouse 2015
56. Slot mates2014
57. Rotations in exploded views 2014
58. Spherical and curvilinear mates 2014
59. Accurate environment lighting 2014
60. Graphics only section view 2014
61. Select bodies or components for section views 2014
62. Updating assembly graphics 2014
63. Curve and sketch driven patterns for assemblies 2014
64. Purging unused features 2016
65. Remove all appearances 2016
66. Rename components in the FM 2016
67. Treehouse 2017
68. Toggling visibility 2016
69. Facility layout 2017
70. Sort parts by open time 2017
CONFIGURATIONS
71. Additional properties for toolbox components 2014
72. Applying configurations to equations (sketch view) 2014
73. Selecting configurations from the context toolbar
74. Choose config while adding component 2016
75. Improved shortcut menu 2017
DOC MGT
76. Opening document copies 2014
77. Pack and go toolbox option 2014
78. Recent documents 2014
79. Feature manager structure for large design review 2014
80. Mirroring asymmetric components 2014
DRAWINGS
81. Balloons 2014
82. BOM 2014
83. Splitting tables at a row 2014
84. Slot callouts 2014
85. Symbol library 2014
86. Angular running dimensions in drawings 2014
87. Out of date drawing views 2014
88. Replace model for drawing views 2014
89. Section view of a surface 2014
90. Sheet formats2014
91. High quality drawings views of thin features 2014
92. Drawing zones 2015
93. Center marks 2015
94. Centerlines 2015
95. Dimensions 2015
96. Drawing views 2015
97. Layers 2015
98. Model detailing 2015
99. Mates and balloons 2015
100. Tables 2015
PARTS AND FEATURES
101. Conic fillets 2014
102. More options for deleting features 2014
103. Extruded cut through all both directions 2014
104. Hole wizard slot 2014
105. Deleting absorbed and child features 2014
106. Patterns and multibodies 2014
107. Asymmetric fillets 2015
108. Flattening surfaces 2015
109. Holes 2015
110. Move face 2015
111. Patterns 2015
112. Splitting surfaces2015
113. Adv holes 2017
114. Bidirectional circular patterns 2017
115. Derived part references retained 2017
116. Wrap creates geometry on any face 2017
REFERENCE GEOMETRY
117. Flip plane normal 2014
118. Plane normal to view 2015
SHEET METAL
119. Bent lofted bends (sheet metal) 2014
120. Gussets 2014 2015
121. Corner reliefs and bend transitions
122. Swept flanges for conical and cylindrical bodies
123. Lofted bends 2015
124. Mitered parts 2015
125. Sketched bends 2015
126. Cuts in swept flanges 2016
127. Edge flanges 2016
128. using flattened mass 2016
129. 3 bend corner relief 2017
SKETCHING
130. Replace sketch entities 2014
131. Setting a fixed length2014
132. Style splines 2014
133. Tangency for conics 2014
134. Maintaining proportions 2014
135. Path length dimensions 2014
136. sketch equations 2014
137. Sketch picture scale tool 2014
138. Splines 2014
139. Stick fonts 2014
140. Rectangle centerlines 2015
141. Blocks and sketch relations 2015
142. Continuity, tangency, and equal curvature2015
143. Converting spline types 2015
144. Equidistant points and segments 2015
145. Hor and vert sketch relations 2015
146. Midpoint 2015
147. Cap ends for offset entities 2016
148. Converting entities with internal loops
149. Equal curve length relation 2016
150. Instant2d for changing sketch dimensions 2016
151. Reversing sketch offsets 2016
152. Show/hide sketch dimensions 2016
153. Style splines 2016
154. Unmerge/detach segment on drag 2016
155. Prevention of micro sketches 2017
WELDMENTS
156. Corner treatment 2015
157. Creating assemblies from mbp 2015
158. Cutlist folder from description 2015
159. Gusset 2015
160. Internal end caps 2015
161. Weld beads on single and mbp 2015
SOLIDWORKS MBD 2015
162. 3D views
163. Dynamic annotation views
164. Model break views
165. Publish to 3d pdf
Thanks to everyone. It’s good to be back.
Alin, great list. Thanks. info like that will help me know where to focus. Thanks again.
Matt, I hope that you will start directly with the SW 2018 Bible. The enhancements in Large Assemblies are so important, that would make many old paradigms obsolete.
I cannot talk more about them, as SW 2018 BETA NDA is still on. But, if you have a chance, go and see what I am talking about.
Welcome back Matt. I purchased your Surfacing Bible about 6 years ago and very pleased when you responded to my questions on the SW Forum. I have found that you have a wealth of knowledge and from experience I suspect that your venture into Solid Edge has given you an even greater insight into how to figure out how things work.
Welcome back, Matt. You can write a complete new volume about the new functionality.
My favorites are:
1. Sketch enhancements: new constraints, new entities and dimension types available, better streamlining.
2. User interface: customizable context toolbars, breadcrumbs, calling confirmation icons to the mouse cursor
3. Patterns are no longer just copying features, but allow for new features generation (vary pattern, variable pattern). Plus the Up to reference patterns.
4. Huge improvements in Large Assemblies Management (read the What’s New in 2017 and 2018).
5. Mates enhancements (I can deliver a 1 day presentation just on that)
6. Enhancements to the section view tool and measurement tool.
7. Many add-ins available now in the Standard and Professional versions
8. New surfacing tools.
9. Enhancements of the Intersect tool.
10. Drawings enhancements
Welcome back Matt. I have always enjoyed your writing.
John
Good to see you back at it. I purchased the Solidworks Bible in ’14 and it remains the best written resource I’ve seen. I will review the list and provide some recommended suggestions.
That is one seriously big list, Matt. I hope to find time next week to review it in detail (Saturday morning here in Australia).
Having not had a sabbatical I’ve kinda forgotten the changes, some, like isolate components, I use constantly others not so much, like recent history or saving instances as new files..
Being a user since 2000, I’ve formed usage habits probably not all good. I do review all the what’s new doc’s when they appear but don’t always make a habit of trying to use them all on real projects. Project deadlines mean I don’t always get the time.
I’m pleased you posted this list. I’ll go back and review the what’s new doc’s and maybe try a few that I’ve not used, and maybe remind myself why I don’t.
John
Welcome back Matt. Good to see you free to use your considerable abilities as you see fit to do once again. I look forward to your posts and seeing what direction you end up going in. Good luck and remember that when you work for someone the ceiling of achievement is what they say it is. In the real world it is determined by your ability and desires.