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Show me that SolidWorks is suitable.

Hi Phil,


From what I have read in your post I would think SW would do a lot of what you are looking to do.


Please not though that it will not do all of it for you. There will be a lot of upfront work to achieve most of what you are looking to do. If your work is very often small changes to pretty much the same thing then SW would work very well and cutouts can automatically adjust when related to corresponding components.


People do get frustrated initially coming from AutoCAD to SW as SW requires a different way of thinking but this is nearly always down to lack of understanding and unwillingness to learn and to change.


I'm sure it can do what you want, just don't expect an over night reduction in time to do things, it will be a while before this happens and will come with training and a lot of practice using SW.


If you need to know anything more just post here again. Hope this helped
smiley4.gif
 
YES.
SW can do everything what AutoCAD can do and much more.
Even you use SW only for drawings (like in AutoCAD) you can modify more more MORE faster and easy the drawings when you need. In my opinion is a necessary step today to switch on a parametric CAD program like SW.
Others, more skilled in english language than me can provide you more information.

Good luck !
 
Hi Phil,


We do the same products like yours and we use SW for that. Of course it is a lot of work to do for achieve all the CAD automation you want but it's possible.
 
SW would be well-suited to your company's needs. As a parametric system using solid models, it will help you avoid errors and is a big step up from AutoCAD (which I have also used for years). It will also make design iterations or variationsmuch faster and easier. Be sure to get professional training and expect to invest at least three to sixmonths in getting up to speed. Be sure to set up your file formats (models and drawings), and perhaps libraries too: this will get you off on the right foot. Your investment should pay for itself within a few years.


SW has a very nice sheet metal package. But you may want to look at some other mid-range MCAD packages that compete with SW: Inventor is one of these. I have no personal experience with Inventor, and I have no idea what their sheet metal package can do. Also consider the availability of trained personnel in your area. In my area (the Silicon Valley), we have lots of people with experience in SW or Inventor.


And be aware that you will need some good hardware to run 3D CAD: not just lots of memory and a fast CPU, but a good video card. The nVidia Quadro FX cards are highly regarded: get at leat a 2000 or 2800M, with a 4000 or 3800M being the best value. These cards aren't cheap, but you will quickly regret getting anything less.
 
Hi all, thank you for the replies.

It's great that you saySolidWorks willwork for our company.
We do need to know that it'll work for us i.e. we have someconcernsthat the way SolidWorks references it's object/block library may affect us. <?:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:eek:ffice:eek:ffice" />


Let's say we have a block for a switch that we're working onand save this into our library. This is the first time we've made a model for thatcomponent, but we will probably use it many times again. The concern hereis thatusing itfor another switchboard and stretching/changing it will result in that object updating the library it's referencedfrom and thus being changed in every file that has previously used that object from the library.


We want to know if the sheetmetal side of things can take into account the standard sheet sizes we use, and if it can generate the Switchboard cubicle in a dynamic fashion to suit the often variations in x,y & z, all without having to remake the cubicle every time.



Edited by: Phil Greer
 
Hi
SW uses part/ass from library as AutoCAD uses xrefs. So if
you make a change to a library component when you open a
document that contains a library element all changes are up
to date.
SW uses configuration and you can define every variant of
an assembly or part. Also uses equations and Excel to
create parametrized configurations (variants).
 
Your switch would simply be another part file, not a special kind of 'block' file. If you store it in a library and it gets changed, yes, that will effect all the other assemblies that use that file. However, if it's still the same switch and a user simply added more detail or updated to a new version from a vendor, that's what you would want to happen.

However, if this was a different switch that was similar, then you'd want to make sure that you made a copy of if first, then made the appropriate changes to the copy create the new switch.

That said, we've struggled here with how SW handles pulling files from different locations. SW remembers where the files came from when an assy is saved and when making new copies, it can be hard to break that link or even tell where the files are coming from. The 'magic' under the hood that keeps track of it all is great when it works for you, but when it fails or does something unexpected, it can be maddening to troubleshoot.

We use Pro/ENGINEER a lot here and find that it's simple rules for file retrieval more manageable.

I'd make sure that you ask some questions about this of your VAR or other SW users here or in the SW forum that use libraries and deal with this every day how they manage libraries and track where files are located and referenced from.
 
Thank you for the informative replies.. This is what I need to know.<?:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:eek:ffice:eek:ffice" /><O:p></O:p>


<O:p></O:p>


To be more probing, I
 
It helps to think of the parts and assemblies as you would in the shop. If the switch is common but the bars change, then model them as such. Each new assy uses the same switch part file, but gets new bars relative to it's size.

If the common switch and custom bars are manufactured together into an integral unit, make that a sub assy. Each cubicle would then have a unique sub assy with the common switch and custom bars.

A good solid modeler - be it SW, Pro/E, Inventor or whatever - is designed to mimic the real world. If you build it like you do in the shop, it should work well for you.
 
Phil,

You can file me under the category of people who think Solidworks can do all that you ask, as long as you put in the effort up front to build the libraries, and educate yourselves on how to create robust parametric CAD models.

You, much like many other designers/engineers out there, are going to soon realize that as far as cost/capability ratios go, SW has the highest in the market.

Jim
http://www.linkedin.com/in/shawengineering
 
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