SolidWorks 2000

Citation

(2000), "SolidWorks 2000", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 72 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2000.12772dab.009

SolidWorks 2000

SolidWorks 2000

Keywords: SolidWorks Corporation, Software

SolidWorks Corporation reports the introduction of SolidWorks 2000, the newest release of the company's Windows-native 3D mechanical design software. SolidWorks 2000 claims more than 150 major customer-driven enhancements and innovations, unprecedented ease-of-use, and a simple, comprehensive migration path from a 2D to 3D design environment. SolidWorks 2000 is said to offer major enhancements in the areas of file management, large drawing performance, large assembly development, ease-of-use, modeling, surfacing, and drawing productivity.

"Customers tell me that this is the most significant release of SolidWorks software since SolidWorks 96", notes Jon K. Hirschtick, CEO of SolidWorks Corporation. "There's something for everyone in this latest release - from the new SolidWorks Explorer file manager to real-time dynamic clearance capabilities. SolidWorks 2000 also contains innovations like RapidDraft Drawings that allow users to work on drawings and assemblies separately and then synchronize the changes later with dramatic increases in performance. This is also the first time that our eDrawings Publisher will be included on the SolidWorks CD. Both new and current users will benefit as SolidWorks continues to set the standard for 3D ease-of-use and powerful performance."

SolidWorks Explorer is a free file management tool similar to Windows Explorer, and is included with each license of SolidWorks 2000. SolidWorks Explorer automates typical operations such as copying, renaming, and managing custom properties for SolidWorks files. SolidWorks Explorer also allows users to view file dependencies for drawings, parts, and assemblies using a tree structure. Key features claimed include:

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  Where used tool - allows users to locate assemblies, drawings, or parts that reference a designated SolidWorks file.

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  Edit configurations tool - users can now list, re-name, or delete configurations in an assembly or part file.

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  Preview tool - this tool is similar to using Windows Explorer Quick View. Using the Preview Tool, SolidWorks files can be easily viewed on an engineer's system.

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  Properties tool - users can now view and edit custom or configuration-specific properties. This tool also displays system data, such as when the file was created and when it was last saved.

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  Edit references tool - enables users to list and edit all external references of SolidWorks files.

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  Properties search tool - with one mouse click, users can search for SolidWorks files that meet a specified criteria, such as a custom property value.

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  Edit hyperlinks tool - enables users to list, edit, and open any existing hyperlink associated with a SolidWorks file.

With more than 40 enhancements in drawing capabilities, SolidWorks 2000 continues to add even more powerful tools to generate complete, production-ready engineering drawings. Key claimed features include:

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  RapidDraft drawings - this unique approach to drawings enables users to open large assembly drawings in record time and then edit them without having the assembly present. Changes can be made to the assembly and drawing separately. The changes can then be synchronized with 100 per cent accuracy at any time. Drawings typically open two to ten times faster in RapidDraft format. For very large assembly drawings, opening times can be 50 to 100 times faster.

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  New productivity tools - editing and creating drawing annotations has never been faster and easier. Changes can be easily made using the new split view FeatureManager to access the PropertyManager. With a double click of the mouse, users can edit arrow types and directions; change multiple annotations using only one command; dimension tolerances and precision values quickly; and edit notes and balloons already in place.

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  Annotation alignment tools - SolidWorks has made it easy to accurately align and space annotations and notes. The user simply selects the type of alignment desired and SolidWorks ensures that the note or annotation is precisely placed.

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  Balloons in the bill of materials (BOM) - balloons are now bi-directional and associative with the BOM. When the value of a balloon item number is edited, SolidWorks will automatically update the BOM.

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  Drawing view clean-up - SolidWorks provides several new tools to control the visibility of drawing views. SolidWorks users can now selectively show or hide components, or display them in a hidden line mode. Components can also be placed on layers to control colour, line font, and visibility.

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  Crop view - drawing views can now be cropped for clearer visibility and more effective design communication.

SolidWorks 2000 is reported to provide surfacing capabilities that simplify the use of imported models and creation of ergonomic shapes. SolidWorks supports both solid and surface modeling in a single, integrated environment. Surfacing enhancements include:

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  Extend surfaces - a new tool that enables easy, dynamic editing of surfaces. When the extend surfaces command is used, the edges of the active surface are highlighted with 3D drag handles. Users can drag the surface to its desired shape - or users can input distance values in the PropertyManager and the model will update automatically.

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  Trim surfaces - users can now trim surfaces and receive instant, intuitive, graphical feedback. Users simply highlight the area that needs to be trimmed and SolidWorks automatically displays what part of the surface will be cut and what will remain. This enables users to create complex shapes faster and easier than ever before.

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  Fillet surfaces - engineers and designers can now fillet surfaces to combine multiple surfaces, smooth edges, and round corners.

SolidWorks' assembly design capabilities are said to allow users to easily reference surrounding geometry. There is no need to export parameters or build equations. The relationships between parts in an assembly are associative, making changes fast and easy. Enhancements claimed include:

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  Large assembly performance - in SolidWorks 2000, large assembly files open more than two times faster than before, with some of the largest assemblies opening up to eight times faster. In fact, the larger the assembly, the better the performance increase.

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  Dynamic clearance - this feature works with SolidWorks' dynamic assembly motion to display in real time the distance between two moving components. As a component is moved or rotated a dimension automatically appears indicating the minimum distance between two components. This feature enables engineers to quickly spot and remedy potential design problems between moving parts.

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  Hidden line removed mode (HLR) - with SolidWorks' enhanced HLR mode, users can switch from shaded assembly mode to HLR mode with roughly the same performance and speed as the shaded display. With one mouse click, users can instantly switch between the two modes.

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  External references - SolidWorks has added tools to help users control the associativity of externally referenced parts. External references can now be temporarily frozen or permanently detached to facilitate life cycle design change management.

SolidWorks continues to add more powerful part and feature modeling capabilities to further enhance design flexibility. These enhancements include:

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  New hole wizard - with this innovative tool, users simply indicate the size of a hole needed for a model, and SolidWorks automatically generates it. Users can avoid searching through the Machinery's Handbook for size information because the data are already contained within SolidWorks. All hole types in SolidWorks are based on standard bolt and screw sizes. The Hole Wizard also allows engineers to create user-defined patterns of holes.

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  Assembly feature, sketch driven, and table driven patterns - users can now easily create patterns of one or more assembly features simply by clicking on the desired pattern type (linear, circular, table driven, and sketch driven pattern types can all be easily created). SolidWorks 2000 also enables the creation of patterns of holes, bosses, or other features, rather than developing a series of separate sketches. Users can also create table driven patterns using familiar XY co-ordinates. Patterns are created with a user-defined co-ordinate system by either manually inputting the values or reading them in from existing files.

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  Non-uniform XYZ scaling - this feature is ideal for those engineers and designers involved in mold design. It enables the scaling of geometry along a user-defined co-ordinate system.

SolidWorks 2000 contains new, powerful sketching tools to make the design process easier and faster than ever before. Sketching enhancements include:

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  Enhanced 3D sketcher - building on this exciting innovation first introduced in SolidWorks 99, the 3D sketcher can be used to create pipes, tubes, and wires. In SolidWorks 2000, the 3D sketcher now also supports the creation of 3D splines providing even easier sketching of curves.

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  Increased control of splines - SolidWorks has significantly enhanced the ability to manipulate, control, and edit splines. Now at any point along a spline, engineers can use the nodes to control the tangency to neighbouring curves, lines, and arcs. Similar to other sketch geometry created in SolidWorks, constraints can be specified to keep the design intent intact even when changes are implemented. The ability to extend splines to other sketch geometry and model edges is also provided.

Details available from: SolidWorks Corporation. Tel: +1 800 693 9000.