user 2006-6-29 09:32
Technical Tips - General
eDrawings Viewer or SolidWorks Viewer?
eDrawings can open SolidWorks-native parts, assemblies and drawings. So why would you need the SolidWorks Viewer?
eDrawings can open SolidWorks 2001 SP10 documents and later. The SolidWorks Viewer will open all older SolidWorks documents. The Viewer will be needed and supported for some time to come to support legacy data. Paul Adams, SolidWorks Corp.
How do I export files to CADKEY Classic?
CADKEY "Classic" does not support solid models, but you can extract the wireframe boundaries from a SolidWorks file for export via IGES. Choose File - Save As - IGES, and click the Options button. Configure the IGES export options from SolidWorks to output 3D wireframe curves as Parametric splines (not B-Splines).
Translating IGES files from SDRC I-DEAS to SolidWorks
Sending an individual part from I-DEAS to SolidWorks
In I-DEAS:
Go to File/Export/IGES and select OK on the Export form.
The Prompt region will ask you to "Pick Entity". Pick a part until the white bounding box appears around it.
On the IGES Export form enter the Filename and Pick Flavors…
On the IGES Flavors form, toggle on "Use Standard Flavors". Select the ? and pick Number 14 - Unigraphics.
OK the Flavor and IGES Flavor forms. When you reach the IGES export form select the Export button and OK the I-DEAS Warning which tells you that a new IGES file will be created.
Send the IGES file to the system which will import it into SolidWorks.
In SolidWorks:
Go to File/Open.
Change "Files of type" to IGES (*.igs).
Click the options button and verify the setting is ON to import "Surface/solid entities" and "try forming solids".
Finally Click on the "Open" button and the IGES file will be imported.
Importing an Assembly IGES file from I-DEAS to SolidWorks
In I-DEAS:
Go to File/Export/IGES and select OK on the Export form.
The Prompt region will ask you to "Pick Entity". Grab all the assembly instances by holding down mouse button one and drawing a box around them. Alternatively when it says "Pick Entity" use mouse button 3, Get From Bin and select the assembly.
On the IGES Export form enter the Filename and Pick Flavors…
On the IGES Flavors form toggle on "Use Standard Flavors". Select the ? and pick Number 14 - Unigraphics.
OK the Flavor and IGES Flavor forms. When you reach the IGES export form select the Export button and OK the I-DEAS Warning which tells you that a new IGES file will be created.
Send the IGES file to the system which will import it into SolidWorks.
In SolidWorks:
Go to File/Open.
Change "Files of type" to IGES (*.igs).
Click the options button and verify the setting is ON to import "Surface/solid entities" and "try forming solids".
Finally Click on the "Open" button and the IGES file will be imported.
Displaying multiple viewports
In a part or assembly, drag the split bar (a small rectangle to the left of the horizontal slider or on top of the vertical slider) to split the graphics window into multiple views. You can also double click the split bar and it will quickly split the screen in the middle. Double click it again, and it will go back to full screen. If you split the screen in both directions (4 viewports), you can place the mouse on the split bar intersection and move the size of all four viewports together.
In SolidWorks 2006 you can also click the yellow pull-down list in the lower left corner of the graphics window and choose "Four View".
Changing the center of view rotation
With the View, Rotate tool active, click on a part vertex, edge, or face. Instead of rotating the view around the part';s center, the view will now rotate around the selected vertex, edge, or face normal. This is very useful for manipulating the view when zoomed-in.
Also, you can use the middle mouse button (or press down on the scroll wheel) to rotate the model. With this method, middle-click on a vertex, edge, or face. The model will now rotate around the clicked object instead of the default rotation center.