SW2013 Beta is out
For those of you interested, SolidWorks 2013 Beta hit the shelves today. 5+ gb download. The server was choking a little when I was getting the files. I had to restart the download several times. Having skimmed the table of contents, the most space in the ToC is given to parts, assemblies and drawings. A surprising amount of space goes to configurations, Costing, model display, Routing, Simulation, and Sustainability. Sheet Metal and sketching got surprisingly little. There isn’t any one thing that I’d pick out at this point as being really “huge”, although there are some nice tidbits.
We aren’t supposed to publicly talk about what’s in the new version. But I suppose it doesn’t hurt to talk about what’s not in it. The interface hasn’t been gutted. There is no new renderer. In fact, oddly enough there doesn’t seem to be any new and useless branch being added to the software this year, which is a comfort.
Anyway, download it for yourself and have a look, or I’m sure there’s a copy of the What’s New PDF already floating around on the web somewhere. I’ll be spending some time with this in more detail as I update some new training materials for 2013.
the most annoying thing to me in solidworks are mate errors in assemblies (especially large assemblies). the matexpert is pretty useless when solidworks suddenly out of the blue paints my mates with yellow triangle warnings, although it is clear to me that there are no redundant mates or conflicting mates and it is apparently also clear to one of the multi-personaleties of SW2012 which is the matexpert, which reports that all the mates are o.k. and he doesn’t have the clue why i’m checking with him in the first place. second common mate problem are mates in sub-assemblies which get internal to the subassembly errors while opening that subassembly in a seperate window shows that all mates are o.k. and getting along with each other. but from the main assembly’s view they are yellow triangled. (supprisingly the external referencing mates which relate to the upper level of assembly hirarchy don’t show any problem – not that they should – but the common sense says that if there is an error in an o.k. assembly which was inserted into another assembly, then only the external referncing mates of that subassembly can show errors if at all.) the part where you enter in to an errored mate feature and exit without applying any chage and it fixes itself or you make suppress\unsuppress and it fixes itself is annoying and the guys at DSS addmit it in the help and recommend using such wierd tactics in order to overcome such nuisance which shouldnt be there in the first place. if there is one thing i realy wish then it is improvement to mate behavior in SW2013
Pet Peeves on Solidworks General forum.
I still get good results from Solidworks. I spend about half my time working around geometry bugs.
I have adopted a new form of venting. When I encounter a SW geometry bug that I have not already posted in the Pet Peeves section on the solidworks blog. I post it with pictures. I can induce failures in almost every SW feature. That would be cheap shots. I am posting only bugs that bite me doing actual work where I am trying to avoid trouble. Todays peeve: flipping fillets.
I expect to post a bug a day.
Today I took the step of following the link and unsubscribing from Dassault/SW emails etc.
After very nearly 10 years of being a SW enthusiast I decided my regard had deteriorated to the point where I was no longer interested in hearing about their activities or getting spammed with yet another invitation to the same customer survey …..what can I say…. 🙁
@matt
Perhaps you should link your blog to Wikileaks.com…………………
What’s new ?
If they have been taking notice of the feedback or more likely are sensitive to income while SWv6 languishes in development there will be an attempt to look a little busier than the last few releases but I think the ‘final solution’ is the same…. Will a few more bits and pieces sell me an upgrade? No and I am not going to fill out a customer satisfaction survey no matter how often they spam my inbox with it either.
A closer look at the What’s New shows some nice new stuff. If you ignore the things that should be in some other software package, there have been some pretty nice additions to the CAD tools.
@solidworm
Solidworm, I think the majority of users just want the tools that already exist to work in a robust fashion, rather than having more geometry tools. Seeing as some of the isues with SW have been around for years I doubt SW could anything of value at this point.
Guys, if you need more Geometry creation/editing/analyzing tools, look elsewhere. Solidworks/SolidEdge/Inventor won’t go past the current state in terms of geometry tools. once they have a boundary blend feature and n-sided surface, they have already gone too far. its a done deal for them, geometry wise.
Oooooh, I’m so excited. Can’t wait to install a beta of a program that hasn’t had any significant geometry tools added since the boundary surface.
The best use of trying beta software is to make an investment decision. Investors do not have a clue about CAD functionality but you do. If the release sucks… sell or sell short and wait for the customer and market response. It is gambling. At least you will be investing with real first hand information.
I suggested this to my wife. She skimmed the DSS annual report.
@Michael Hinton
I see and hear more and more stories just like yours.
@Devon Sowell
You made me realize my passion for CAD has not diminished but it seems that SolidWorks has not wet my appetite. I used to install SP 0 on my home machine the day it arrived and I couldn’t wait to install the new version at work just to leverage the new features. 2013 is in Beta and I still haven’t upgrade to 2012 at work or home.
@Anna Wood
Yeah, it’s kind of a dead end post for now, but I thought I’d mention it as being available. I think the lack of additional insanity is probably reportable, and a welcome change in the view of some.
Not that any of us can really talk about Beta… NDA’s and all.
No comments.
Here’s one; interest in SolidWorks could be at an all time low, just sayin’