Graphics Systems SolidNotes

Interesting and Insightful COSMOSWorks answers, Part I

We here at Graphics Systems regularly come across COSMOSWorks related questions whether it be during training or everyday Technical Support.  So for the next couple of posts, I will attempt to provide Interesting and Insightful answers to a few of the more interesting questions.

We'll begin with three questions related to Frequency Studies.  Frequency studies provide the user with the natural frequency response of a system and with these frequencies, engineers can design around them... hopefully avoiding the dreaded RESONANCE FREQUENCY with such components as motors.

1. Which equations to the Direct Sparse and FFEPlus solvers use to find eigenvalues?  The answer also applies to Bucking studies (but that's another post). Both solvers use the following equation to calculate resultant structural stiffness:

   [K_E + λ_iK_S][φ_i] = 0; K's of E is the elastic stiffness matrix, K's of S is the stress stiffness matrix, lambda of i are eigenvalues and phi of i are your eigenvectors.

2. Are modal participation values calculated? Mass participation factors can be retrieved from the study by right-mouse clicking the Results folder for the study in question.

3. Are the units for gravity calculated in "G's" or m/v? With all studies, unless gravity is a boundary condition set-up by the analyst, gravity is not calculated in. Should gravity be included as a boundary condition, the system of units to describe gravity are the same for any other load or restrain: English, Metric, SI. (I prefer m/s^2 personally) [on the first pass, I had the wrong units; sorry, brain fart]

Thanks for the questions, folks. And keep them coming.  In the next few posts, I'll deal more with Buckling, some items pertaining to mesh quality, and even one or two questions regarding "soft springs."  Stay tuned!

SolidWorks (All versions) Setup for XP and Vista: Pre Installation

1. Check to see what video driver you have loaded. There are several ways of doing this the easiest is to use SolidWorks Rx.  Under diagnostics it will tell you the driver version right at the top. If this is a new machine or you have uninstalled SolidWorks you can also check in the device manager under display adapters.  Double-click on your video card and then go to the driver tab.  You will see the driver version listed here along with some other info.
2. Check for the latest certified passing drivers for your video card on the SolidWorks webpage.  You can get there by going to http://www.solidworks.com and clicking on graphics cards under quick links or click here for a direct link.
3. If the driver you have is not the SAME(newer or older is bad) as the latest certified passing driver you'll need to DISABLE YOUR ANTIVIRUS and then load the latest certified passing driver.
4. Once your driver is loaded make sure and set the driver for SolidWorks.  This can make a big difference.  Even cards that supposedly pass can perform poorly and crash if they are not set to SolidWorks.
5. If you are using an LCD display (flat panel monitor, projector, or laptop) it is extreemly important that you set your resolution to the max.  If you're using a CRT monitor you can set the resolution to whatever you like as long as your video card supports it.  The reason for this is that an LCD display has a specific number of crystals and anything other than the native resolution(maximum) causes the computer to average the color for each pixel with the surrounding ones to get the color that will be displayed.  and in a display that is 1280x1024 at 60hz that's over 78.6 million calculations per second that would not have to happen if you just set your resolution to the maximum.  If you feel that the icons or text is too small there are other ways to fix that (much easier in Vista than XP, but can still be done in XP)
6. Set your virtual memory to start at 4050 and to a maximum of 4096.  To do this right-click on my computer and choose properties.  In Vista there is an extra step here: you will have to pick advanved system settings on the left.  You will then get a popup that says System Properties.  Select the Advanced tab and under performance choose settings(the top one).  You'll have to again choose the advanced tab.  Make sure processor scheduling is set to programs and then click the change button.  This is where you will need to set the Initial size to 4050 and the maximum size to 4096.  Make sure and press the set button before you click ok and you're all done here.
7. If you're running any antispyware and or antivirus kill the processes now if you haven't already done so(Windows defender also need to be killed). For instructions on how to do this read my other articles.
8. Install SolidWorks

Shell Mesh: When should I use Thick vs Thin Elements

Let's consider a cantilever beam, which can be modeled as a solid or as a shell.

The actual deformation of the real beam (not mesh) is the sum of the shear deformation and the bending deformation as seen below:

When modeled as a solid it is recommend to have a minimum of 3 elements thickness in all places so that the shear deformation can be calculated accurately.  If this is not possible because of the size of the model (there are too many degrees of freedom) we use shell elements.  This is the reason we have two types of shell elements.  Thick shell elements consider the shear forces (for thicker plating) and thin shell elements do not (for this sheet metal) because they are negligable and would just waste calculation time.

As a rule, thick shell elements should be used when the thickness to span ratio is greater than 5%.  That's a very simple rule as long as you understand one thing... How exactly do we define span?  Thickness and 5% should be perfectly clear but the span can be confusing.  To explain this let's again consider the same beam.  In this case the span is the length but not the width.  But to be a little more clear lets consider this piece of sheet metal:

In this case we first need to assume that the verticle section is rigid compared to the horizontal section.  The sheet metal may be very long and thin but because of how this load is applied, if you need to conseder the deformation of the flange you should use thick elements because in this case the span is the length of the flange not the length of the part.

It's hard to put a concise definition on span but in general I'd define span as the distance between where the load is applied and the place bending starts.

Disabling Antivirus: How To

To date I've written several articles listing the processes that need to be killed in order to ensure a specific antivirus program is completely dead and will not interfere with your SolidWorks installation or service pack upgrade.  I plan to continue to post more of these as versions change and as I discover new software in use.

What I didn't write before was exactly how to kill all the hindering processes and services; I just told you what they were and left that for you to figure out.  So here's the how to:

1. Download Process Explorer (works with XP and Vista) and get it running.  Here's a direct link to the download file http://download.sysinternals.com/Files/ProcessExplorer.zip.  If you're not sure what it is and want to know more go here and you can see some screen shots and additional info.  http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/utilities/processexplorer.mspx  You must run process explorer as an admin user so you can see the Company Name column. This can easily be done with a right click, run as...
2. Once you have process explorer up and going take a look at the company name column and note every process that is associated with your antivirus and antispyware.  Also to double check, hover your mouse over each and every process and look at where the file is being executed from because the Company Name column is sometimes blank or not correct.  If it's from the folder where your antivirus is installed add that to your list of processes to kill.
3. As an optional step you can compare the files you've found to the files I have listed in my other articles to make sure you got'em all or let me know if you've found any new ones.
4. Once you have the list you can go through and right click on each one of the processes and choose Kill Process Tree.
5. If you can kill them all this way that's great but more often than not there will be one or more that will not die... for example rtvscan.exe with symantec antivirus and this is the one that really causes the problems so don't you dare ignore it and install anyways because you don't know how to kill it.  Keep reading... We'll get there
6. Right-click on my computer and choose manage... When Computer management comes up look to the bottom of the left-hand pane and expand Services and Applications and click on services.  Now in the right-hand pane scroll down untill you see the services associated with your antivirus software.  Be aware that the name of the service may not be the same as your antivirus software. For example McAfee's services are called Network Associates...  Once you've located the services, right click on them one at a time and choose Stop.  There will be anywhere from 3 to 8 services, which may or may not allready be stopped.  To verify, make sure and look at the Status column and confirm that it is empty.  It's important not to forget about your antispyware in this step.
7. If this did it and all the processes are stopped, you should now be able to kill that last of the processes, (step 4) if they're not already dead.  Be aware that just because the service is stopped does not necessairly mean the process is stopped, and in the end it's the process that we really need to kill.  If there is a process that will not stop, which again is more often that not, you'll need to keep reading...
8. For those processes that will not stop you will need to double click on the process and set it to disabled(most likely it is set to automatic before you change it).  at this point you will need to restart your computer and start from the top (step 4, assuming you still have the list you made in step 2).  The processes you already killed will be restarted when you reboot so you'll have to kill them again.
9. If for some reason you can't disable the service it is because you are not an administrator and you will need to log off and log back in as an admin to complete step 8.
10. Lastly after your Installation is complete make sure and remember to set whatever services you set to disabled back to automatic.

Keeping Dissection Data local

The new dissection functionality in SolidWorks 2008 is great for allowing the user quick access to the underlying feature and sketch data in their design files without having to store them in a library. A big plus is that the dissection information is not stored in the SolidWorks files themselves, which keeps them from becoming bloated with what is essentially "cache" data. Instead, SolidWorks stores them in a directory on the local drive:

C:\Users\{login}\AppData\Roaming\SolidWorks\Dissection

This can be a performance issue if you are using Roaming Profiles on your Windows network, because everything under the AppData\Roaming folder is copied to the server, and downloaded to the client workstation each time they log in. If you use dissection a lot, you can easily get tens of gigabytes of data in your dissection folder, which will make your logins very slow and cause your IT staff to call you names.

The solution is to make your dissection folder truly local to your workstation. Go to Tools > Options > System Options, and look under the Search page. You will see a place to specify the folder your dissection data is kept -- just make a folder outside of the Roaming section of your profile and it will stay home.

Of course, if you log in from a different workstation, your dissection data won't be there, because it's not part of your Roaming Profile; however, you can easily re-construct it simply by working with SolidWorks. Unless you spend a lot of time working on multiple machines, the trade off is very much worth it.

Click, Snap! Using Named Mate References with Sub-Assemblies

If you're like me, you want to save time.  You want to be more productive. And SolidWorks has many tools to aid you.  For example, creating the needed geometrical relations between components in an assembly (called "mates") is sped up with SolidWorks' "Smart Mates" technology.  Hold down the ALT-key, click and drag a face or an edge over to other geometry.  Viola!  A new mate (or two) is quickly created.

In the same vein, mates can be pre-described on components such that they more quickly snap in to place when inserted in to an assembly.  These are called "Mate References."  AND, if the Mate References in the part has the same name as a Mate Reference in the assembly then you can save even more time! However, the terminology in SolidWorks' Help file refers specifically to the use of Mate References with regards to individual parts (components) only. Does this mean you can't do the same with sub-assemblies?

Thankfully the answer is a resounding No!  With a little extra reference geometry, one can easily leverage Mate References for sub-assemblies to allow them, also, to SNAP in to place in a top-level assembly.  I'll show you how:

I begin with creating common reference geometry in both the sub-assembly and the top-level assembly.  In the images to the right, you see just that.  (you do not have to name the reference geometry identically but it helps from a documentation standpoint)

You then create an identically named Mate Reference in both the sub-assembly and top-level assembly.   Select the appropriate reference geometry items to populate the Mate Reference in addition to their appropriate mate conditions and alignment. (see the thumbnailed image to the right)

The thumbnailed images below show the two identical Mate References I added to both models. When the sub-assembly is inserted in to the top-level assembly, you need only click once to finish placing it. See the image below.

And the final assembly tree, complete with mates, you can review by clicking the last thumbnailed image to the right. You can see, hopefully, that with the right references in place, using named Mate References will allow you to quickly insert your sub-assemblies in to upper-level assemblies.

The Six Million Dollar PDF question…

Ever since I can remember working with PDMWorks Workgroup (PDMWG), one question that potential customers ask from me would be how to allow non-engineers who don’t have SolidWorks nor have access to the PDMWorks Workgroup vault see drawings. My standard answer would have been that

a. Non-engineers can view the files using PDMWorks Workgroup Contributor or
b. Non-engineers can view the files using PDMWorks Workgroup Viewer.

Both options require client licenses. However, I will sometimes get responses which indicate that the client machines in the shop floor are not the fastest and that the customer just wants his users to access PDF files from a network share.

With the arrival of SolidWorks 2008, they have introduced new PDF integration functionality inside PDMWG. You see, PDMWG now allows users to automatically generate PDF files in the vault during a check in. They also allow users to use Task Scheduler to generate PDF files and store them inside or outside the vault (emphasis mine). This automatically brings visibility to your drawings to more non-SolidWorks and non-PDMWG users.

Now, if somebody were to ask me the above question, I still would definitely recommend them to either use PDMWG Contributor or PDMWG Viewer since these are still the ideal solution. Everybody should be using a PDM system. However, now we have a potential workaround.

P.S. If you’re wondering what the reference to Six Million Dollar is, then you’re probably younger than I am and will have to ask your parents what that is all about. Hint: It’s related to the Bionic Woman.

Note: This post courtesy of Gerald Go, IT Support Specialist at Graphics Systems Corporation.

Leveraging 3D Annotations

We help many SolidWorks users become more proficient and efficient with the tools they use everyday. Simply having such a potent MCAD software at their disposal is a gigantic step towards productivity gains.  And yet, it surprises me when I ask users if they take advantage of leveraging Annotations from their 3D model in to their 2D drawings.  Few do. (But if you are one who does, shout out; we'd like to hear from you)  In the end, we're talking about saving you time in the creation of your 2D drawings.

The first and easiest tool/technique is to insert Annotations such as Datum symbols and notes at the 3D model level. (Insert, Annotations from the pull-down menus) To view these annotations, right-mouse click the Annotations folder in the model's feature tree and choose "Display Annotations."  The particular Annotation type can be set within the Details of the same context menu.   Then, to bring these Annotations into drawing views on the print, use Insert, Model Items from the drawing's pulldown menu. Click on the thumbnailed images below to view the screenshots.

A second technique is to use 3D Annotations along with a special drawing view type called Annotation Views.  This method likewise speeds up the time it takes to document our 3D work. Additionally it is useful for quickly conveying manufacturing design intent per the ASME 14.41-2003 standard.  3D Annotation Views are organizer according to the model's orthographics projections (Front view, Top view, etc) and can be created manually or automatically.  As a warning, however, 3D Annotation Views are not dynamically linked back to the model from whenst they came. To re-create the drawing view and show updated annotations, the view will have to be deleted and re-inserted.

How do I create an Annotation View?- From within the model, you can create an Annotation either dynamically (while you are inserting Annotations) or by marking an orientation as a Annotation View and selecting items after the fact.  Again, from a right-mouse click on the Annotations folder, check off "Display Annotations" and "Enable Annotation View Visibility." Also from that menu, you can create a new Annotation View. (Insert Annotation View)

The desired Annotations can be selected after choosing the orientation (or face) you wish to control. Follow the blue arrows as they direct you through the wizard.

The last piece of the puzzle is to create the views in your 2D drawing.  From within the drawing, insert a new drawing view from the model.

Select the radio button marked "Annotation View" and whatever views exist will be highlighted; also, note the little letter "A" next to the icon.  See the thumbnail below.

Creating efficiency with SolidWorks is easy and there are many unique techniques such as this to help you along. 

Graphics Drivers for 2008 and Windows Vista

In conjunction with the release of SolidWorks 2008, Microsoft Windows Vista users can now download certified driver version 6.14.11.6250 (NVIDIA version 162.50) from the Hardware & Graphics Cards webpage (http://www.solidworks.com/pages/services/videocardtesting.html). This driver is certified for use with SolidWorks 2008 for the following NVIDIA cards:

Quadro FX 350
Quadro FX 550
Quadro FX 560
Quadro FX 1400
Quadro FX 1500
Quadro FX 3400
Quadro FX 3450
Quadro FX 3500
Quadro FX 4500
Quadro FX 4600
Quadro FX 5500
Quadro FX 5600

No certified Vista drivers are posted at this time for any ATI cards, laptop cards (vendors such as Dell, HP, etc.) or for SolidWorks 2007. More drivers will be made available for downloading as soon as they complete the SolidWorks certification process.

A Better Way To Hatch in 3D

Sometimes you run into a situation where you want to hatch faces in a model to show on a drawing sheet. If you do this with the regular 2D manual hatching tool and just click on faces, they will show through the unhatched faces of the model like this:

A better way to do this is to take advantage of textures in the 3D model. By adding a texture (and you can make your own) you can essentially hatch directly on the model in 3D and simply show the model that way by making the view shaded in the drawing sheet, like this: