Texas Engineering Systems/TES, LLC

Drawings Properties explained

2010-11-16T12:11:00.003-06:00

When linking properties in drawing notes, it can be overwhelming to determine where exactly a specific property comes from. Below is a descrption of each property callout and where that property is read from.

$PRP Evaluated from: Current document

$PRPSHEET Evaluated from: Model in vew specified in sheet properties(by default, the first view inserted into the drawing.

$PRPVIEW Evaluated from: Model in the drawing view to which the note belongs

$PRPMODEL Evaluated from: Component to which the annotation is attached

(information gathered from SolidWorks Essentials 2010 Manual)

My Top 5 SolidWorks Shortcuts

2010-11-11T10:07:00.006-06:00

So you have been using SoidWorks for a while and you think you have an efficient system to get things done quickly, but you wonder if you really are using all the shortcuts that are available out there. Here is a quick list of my top 5 Time saving shortcuts for everyday use.

5. "F"- Zoom to fit. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen cases where a user, maybe even myself, has added a mate in an assembly or rotated a part and seemingly lost the entire thing. Sometimes we get a little overzealous with the scroll wheel... by using the "F" key your model will magically appear in the center of your screen.

4. Automatic tangent arc- this is something that is commonly used in many types of models. first, while active in the line command, click to place the first point of your first line. Then, click and release to place the second endpoint and automatically start the next line. At this point you may either hover over the previous endpoint, or type "a" for arc to activate the tangent arc command. Once the second point of the arc is placed, the line command automatically comes back.

3. Space bar- the spacebar will bring up all standard and named views such as Front, Top, Right, etc. The great thing is that this menu pops up on you screen wherever your mouse pointer is at the time the space bar is pressed. From here, you simply need to double click on the desired view.

2. The shortcut toolbar- This fully customizable toolbar is FANTASTIC! It is environment specific. So, when in a drawing you are presented with drawing related commands, when in a sketch you are presented with sketch related commands and so on... To activate this toolbar, simply type "S" for shortcut and an on-screen popup will appear next to you mouse pointer. To customize what appears here, right click within the toolbar and the only option will be to "customize".

1. This contest for number 1 and number 2 was a very close call, but Mouse Gestures prevailed. The main reason being that you can add the shortcut toolbar into the mouse gestures menu if you so desire. Mouse gestures are activated by holding down and moving your right mouse button (versions 2010 and later). A wheel will appear and you simply have to mouse over the command you desire to activate it. This is also environment specific, and may be customized through the customize dialog to include 4 or 8 divisions in the circle as well as the contents per environment.

The biggest reason to start using these shortcuts, is to eliminate the time your mouse pointer spends away from the model. You will be surprised the productivity increase you will see once you start training yourself to leverage these shortcuts.

Until next time...

Drawing View Scale

2010-10-29T14:17:00.002-05:00

There is a new enhancement to SW2011 that people have requested from time to time. You can now display the scale of a view if the view scale is different than the default drawing scale. In the past, you could only do this for detail, section or auxiliary views.

You can go to Tools/ Options/ Document Properties/ View Labels/Orthographic and check the box for "Show label if view scale differs from sheet scale." Some of you have been asking for that for a while, and now it is hear.

One more drawing view tool that is nice is the ability to use the 3D Drawing View tool. Previously that was just there to temporarily rotate the view to select a difficult edge or something, but now you can actually change the view orientation without having to go back to the part or assembly model and create a new named view. Nice time savings!

Just remember....don't be afraid to read the SW2011 What's New file (HTML or PDF) that is found in the Help pulldown. There are lots of "SW gems" hidden in there that are quite handy.

Until next time..... Let's Go Design!

Tony

What is REALLY New in SW2011?

2010-10-21T14:51:00.002-05:00

So, SW2011 SP0 has been available since October 18th, but the Beta and Pre-Release versions have been around for a while. I am not sure how many people read the ~200 page What's New PDF that is available with every release, but that is kinda my job to know. It is a nice tool to read thru when doing Beta testing (not sure how many of you do that either), but also to prepare for the What's New Roll-Outs that we put on in the different cities around our territory. I have done a few here recently and it is always interesting to see what people get excited about and the items that they don't need.

When 2008 came out and the user-interface changed, the people that I thought would love the enhancements...didn't really care for them and vise-versa. We had a 2010 What's New about a month ago for a company that was just upgrading to 2010 because of SAP restrictions, but I ended up showing things that they had missed from the previous two releases too!

For 2011, there are some nice enhancements for Simulation and 2D simplification that will be very nice if you have that need. The Defeature tool will be nice for those that were using the approach to save an assembly as a part and remove detail so models can be put on the web and all the interior detail removed so that people can't "borrow" the designs. The new Walk-thru tool is nice (if you need that), but we could do that with different methods in the past. A new way to calculate un-folding of sheet metal parts is nice. You could just have used different bend allowances for each bend, but how many people do that? I just talked to a company that doesn't want to give flat patterns to their vendor and they are making them calculate them.

The tools to auto-arrange dimensions at the drawing level is huge, but in the events that I have been at, I showed the dimension widget that will place the dimension above and below the drawing view and move the other dimensions out of the way caught the attention of several people. That was there in 2010, but it still got a lot of interest. I had several people want me to explain Mouse Gestures again because they didn't understand it. I also try to show "Show-Hidden Components" while in the assembly. I think that is huge, but it has been around for a while and people still don't know that it is there. The Isolate command is great around the assembly level too.

So, what is REALLY new? I guess if you missed it, something from 2007 could be new to you. Don't be afraid to ask what something is if you see it in the menus and don't know what it does. We always say that people tend to find one favorite way to do something even if a new and better way is available.

Let's Go Design!

Tony

Follow Up On The Cloud

2010-10-06T09:08:00.005-05:00

Now I wasn't fortunate enough to attend SolidWorks World in 2010, in fact, I had never touched SolidWorks at that time... However, even in my sheltered little world of AEC /ACA, I did get wind of The Cloud.

SolidWorks folks took center stage 8 months ago and began talk of existing Cloud technology and all the benefits it could bring to the world of design... And, that, is, kind of where they left it. So, as it follows, there has been eight months of blogging, vlogging, podcasts and rumors in the meantime.

Yesterday, SolidWorks CEO Jeff Ray posted a blog here, that effectively answered some of the lingering questions and set a few of the rumors straight.

It seems that the biggest questions floating around were, "What is this Cloud thing" and "Does it mean the end of installed software". Jeff Ray says, "Rest assured" this does NOT mean the end of installed software but rather the beginning of a choice between desktop, online and mobile. He also explains the basis of Cloud technology that it basically takes the load off of your local processor and puts it on a remote machine.

SolidWorks' CEO goes on to talk more in depth about Cloud Computing, measures taken to protect against data theft, and he drops a time frame of "early 2011" for their first cloud type offering which is code named SolidWorks Connect.

Again, I encourage you to read Jeff's post in its entirety here on SolidWorks' blog. You know what they say, nothing like hearing it (or reading it, as the case may be) straight from the horse's mouth.

So will you be getting on board with the cloud? I must say I am quite excited about the possibility of SolidWorks on my mobile Android device. But, maybe just for the cool factor... I'm not sure I would enjoy pinching to zoom and virtual keyboard shortcuts for production work. Who knows though, maybe it'll grow on us.

What's Inside?

2010-10-01T11:32:00.009-05:00

In some areas of design it's reasonable to expect SolidWorks to calculate a volume other than that of your model. This of course poses the following challenge: how does SolidWorks "know" what to include in the volume.

Todays tutorial video is a 3 minute look at how to quickly accomplish this. In the video you can watch here on our youtube channel, I've used the flexibility of a multibody part design to the leverage the combine command. This multibody functionality inside of SolidWorks makes it a fast and accurate process.

In other news, don't forget our SolidWorks 2011 rollout events are right around the corner. You can register for those on the events page of our website here.

http://www.texaseng.com/events.cfm

http://www.youtube.com/user/texasengsystems?feature=mhum#p/u/0/8ipj2FfXzSA

I Want REAL Threads!

2010-09-24T13:01:00.009-05:00

On a couple of occasions lately, I've had the pleasure of helping a SolidWorks user design some real threads. For whatever reason, in these cases, the wonderful cosmetic thread command just wasn't sufficient.

I've been warned in the past, and now so have you, of the impending doom that comes along with creating real threads. Unless you are running a Cray Jaguar, you are going to see performance hits when you start dropping parts with real threads into assemblies.

That said, come on over to our youtube channel and have a quick look at how to create real threads, the kind you can touch and feel, with as few features possible.

You'll be glad you did. :]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qx3lbjKkVLI

A Nicely Discrete Enhancement

2010-09-17T10:39:00.013-05:00

We all know and love the friendly "Context Toolbar" that allows us to have an almost artificially intelligent group of commands right where we need them at just the right time. It's the one that pops up automatically when you select two sketch entities for example.

If you're a person who is often on the front end of design, or if for some other reason you do a great deal of sketching, you've probably noticed that no matter how appropriate it may seem for what you're trying to do at the time, the "Merge Points" command has never been in it's rightful place on this pop up toolbar. We've had to find it over to the left on the property manager.

In SolidWorks 2011 "Merge Points" has finally gotten the respect it deserves and will appear in the "heads up" location as shown in the image above with it's other context appropriate partners.

I must say I'm pretty excited by finding out about this from a fellow blogger. (@jraak ; http://wp.me/pf2rv-rW) I'm a huge fan of convenience. :]

For more enhancements and the whole "What's New" spiel, be sure to head on over to our website and Register for your nearest Roll Out Event (aka SolidWorks Party)! It'll be an informative good time and a chance do some networking.

http://www.texaseng.com/events.cfm

Bill of Materials Advanced Options

2010-09-10T12:57:00.008-05:00

SolidWorks offers it's users almost unlimited flexibility for configuring Bills of Materials. I'd like to show you a few common ways this functionality can be used to compliment your drawings.

Hop on over to our You Tube Channel and have a look at this short video.

You'll be glad you did. :]

3...2...1... LIFT OFF.

2010-09-01T10:28:00.010-05:00

The 2011 SolidWorks product line is here and I must say it's pretty impressive.

We'll be hosting a Launch Seminar/ Good Ole Time for our customers where you can get filled in on all the enhancements of this release. You won't wanna miss it. Head on over to our web site to Pre-Register for the SolidWorks 2011 event nearest you. Some locations this year include Dave & Busters and 300 Club.

If you're not a Texas Engineering Systems/TES customer already don't sweat. We've got a SolidWorks 2011 Roll Out event planned especially for you. Just give us a call at 877-395-2100 and let us know you're interested. These Roll Out events will be held at the same fun location listed here.

In case you haven't gotten around to playing with the 2011 beta versions, I'll wet your appetite for what's in store. Enhancements this year significantly effect the Drawings environment, Weldment functionality, Simulation functionality, Enterprise PDM user interface and much more. A couple of my favorite tweeks this year are the new Path Mate Motor for Motion Studies and the brilliant 2D Simplification for complex Simulation when solid meshes come up short.

Some of our everyday commands have seriously evolved and will dramatically improve the way you work so come on out and see us.

http://www.texaseng.com/events.cfm

http://www.solidworkslaunch.com

No, My equation syntax is not invalid!

2010-08-25T15:02:00.004-05:00

Ever seen the message that says your syntax is invalid for that really brilliant equation you just came up with? Well, assuming that you have checked it closely to be sure that is is indeed input correctly, you may be dealing with a corrupted file. The file that deals with your equations is called "swvba.tlb". You may not have ever known it was corrupt if you hadn't tried to add an equation, but worry not! There is a painless solution.

In order to remedy this bugger, follow the simple steps below.

1. Stop the SolidWorks process
2. Search the local hard drive, where SolidWorks is installed, for the file called "swvba.tlb"
3. Delete all that are found
4. Turn off any anti-virus/firewall that may be active (you may need to log in under a different user if you are not a system administrator)
5. Restart SolidWorks

The SolidWorks installer will automatically regenerate this file -from KB solution S-028801

See...relatively painless...

Be sure to check back often for other tips, tricks, FAQ's, and other generally cool information about the SolidWorks product line.

Checking Video Card and Driver In SolidWorks

2010-08-16T08:31:00.005-05:00

Ever get "ghosting" or choppy graphics while modeling in SolidWorks? You may need a video tune up.

SolidWorks provides a tool that makes it SIMPLE to check that your video card and driver combination is up to snuff...

Click Here For a Video Demonstration!

This tool is called SolidWorks Rx and if you have SolidWorks installed, you have this tool. It's under SolidWorks Tools in your programs.

Not only will it check your video card and driver combination for compatibility, but it will also provide a link to SolidWorks web site where you can view a list of all supported graphics cards and matching drivers specific to your machine.

This is also a great place to look if your deciding which video card you want to purchase for machine that will run SolidWorks.

Just navigate to the diagnostics page of the Rx tool as shown in the video and wait a moment for SolidWorks to do the rest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dR9Z7vp7_c

Three Dimensional Splines: Let SolidWorks Do The Works

2010-08-13T12:47:00.002-05:00

Let's face it, it can be difficult to visualize a 3D sketch from time to time. Especially if splines are involved... The screen is flat and the sketch is not. Period.

For this reason SolidWorks has some great tools that are widely under used. We've created a video using some of these tools and invite you to head on over there to our youtube.com channel to have a look.

Click Here

The video uses one of those twisty light bulbs as an example modeling task where 3D sketching comes in really handy.

Don't forget to leave comments and check out our website

www.texaseng.com

And if you're already using these tools great! Feel free to throw tomatoes at the screen. :-]

Simulation Essentials E-learning

2010-08-12T18:08:00.000-05:00

Do you abhor travel for training? Don't get stressed-out: this might be for you. Try the Live-instructor, web-based Simulation Essentials Class. There are class "sessions" once a week, spread-out in small, bite-sized packets over a four week period. You stay at home or work- watch and listen, and participate.
Due to popular response, we have scheduled classes through the end of the year!
Brochure, schedule, and sign-up information.
Thank you for recommending us! -Tony Botting

SolidWorks World 2011

2010-08-10T10:40:00.005-05:00

Don't miss out on the discount pricing for SolidWorks World 2011. If you register before October 29, you will save $200.

This conference is a great event to learn, network, and talk with other SolidWorks users from around the world. It is in our backyard this year, at San Antonio's Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center on January 23-26 2011. Check back for more information about where you can find the Texas Engineering Systems team at the conference. We hope to see you all there!

Click here to visit the SolidWorks World 2011 Web page

Sketch on an image

2010-08-06T12:56:00.001-05:00

When using a picture for the purpose of tracing, it works best to insert a sketch picture. In order to do this, open a sketch on the appropriate plane. Then, choose sketch tools from the tools menu."Sketch picture" will appear in this list. You will be able to re-size your image once it is inserted into the sketch. This allows you to maintain aspect ratio if desired. The supported file types for these images are:
1. .bmp
2. .jpeg
3. .tiff
4. .gif
5. . wmf
6. .png
7. .psd

Want SolidWorks 2011 to be Better?

2010-08-03T21:23:00.004-05:00

Sign up to be a Beta tester today. All you need is to be a current subscription customer with a customer login to get started. Visit https://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/subscription/betaprograms.htm today. You can even earn points to win cool prizes! Have fun, and help make SolidWorks 2011 better.

SWCADJOCKEY

Design Tree Folders

2010-07-13T08:47:00.004-05:00

Greeings from behind the keyboard.....

Have you ever wanted to "clean up" your Desgin Tree but just didn't know how or know it's possible. Well then, you're in luck...take a look at this typical Design Tree above. You will see three different images. To simply the Design Tree we can group like features such as bosses, cuts, and fillets. To do this simply ctl or shift select the features you would like to group and right mouse button click and choose "ADD TO NEW FOLDER". Have a great day and if you need technical support please contact support@texasengineering.com

Brian Ross

2010-07-12T15:32:00.002-05:00

Greetings from behind the keyboard....

Let's talk about SolidWorks activation...BEFORE you uninstall SolidWorks off your machine make sure to transfer the license. To do this, click on the help pulldown menu and transfer license. This will return the license to the SolidWorks activation server so your software can be installed on another machine...it's fast, simple, and even painless

Q: When do I need transfer the license off my machine? A: If SolidWorks is not going to be used on that machine in the future.

Q: If I'm upgrading from SolidWorks 2009 to SolidWorks 2010 do I need to transfer my license? A: No, this is not needed

I hope this answers a couple of our most common questions on activation. Check back with us weekly as we will be continually updating our blog. If you need technical support please contact support@texasengineering.com

Brian Ross

Resizing Shortcut Toolbar (S Key)

2009-12-09T16:55:00.002-06:00

If you are attempting to resize the shortcut toolbar (S-Key) and are unable to, it maybe that you are running solidworks on your secondary monitor. This is a know issue that has been reported to Solidworks development under SPR #390779.

The workaround for this is a rather simple one. Simply move Solidworks back into your primary monitor and re-size the toolbar.

Are you planning on Installing 2010 and would like more information on how to do this?

2009-12-04T09:28:00.002-06:00

If so the following link has all the info you would ever want to know about installing 2010 and more. Everything from how to install a single seat of Solidworks to deployment of multiple seats using administrative images. Just follow the link below, or from your Solidworks customer portal account select Technical documentation / Administration guides / Solidworks Installation and Administration Guide.

http://files.solidworks.com/Supportfiles/SW_Installation_Guide/2010/English/install_guide.pdf

Is your Cad workstation still using Pentium 3 processors?

2009-12-04T09:15:00.003-06:00

Some of you may still be using older Cad stations with Pentium 3 processors especially if you had Dual processors. If this describes your workstation, please note that Solidworks 2010's core modeler is built on having the P4 processor instruction set or higher available. Solidworks 2009 was the last version that included the libraries for P3 class processors.

Installation Issues and .Net framework

2009-12-04T09:01:00.002-06:00

Are you having issues with your Solidworks installation and receiving errors about .Net framework? The issue may be in the Microsoft .NET framework installation. To correct this issue:

1. go to add remove programs and remove any .NET framework installations listed.

2. use a registry clean up utility that will clear any old registry entries. There are several applications that will do this several of them are even freeware. The reason this step is listed is that the registry sometimes retains information even after the application is removed. If this step is not done then there is potential that one of the old registry entries will be used instead of the correct entry which could result in still having the same symptoms even on a "new" install.

3. using your Solidworks DVD. Browse to the folder PreReqs/dotNetFx and run the install dotnetfx3.exe (for 32 bit installations) or dotnetfx3_x64.exe (for 64 bit installations)

Where in the World is the VaultAdmin Tool?

2009-08-27T08:59:00.008-05:00

You are your company's SolidWorks Workgroup PDM administrator. Every time you install a new service pack of SolidWorks, your SWPDM VaultAdmin tool is missing. To correct the issue, you can browse to your SolidWorksExplorer.msi file in the swexplorer folder of the SolidWorks service pack download. Run this msi file and modify your SolidWorks Explorer install. You will want to do a custom install and pick SolidWorks Workgroup PDM VaultAdmin.
To prevent this from happening the next time you install a service pack using the Installation Manager, you can pick which products to upgrade.

You can now pick to install SolidWorks Workgroup PDM VaultAdmin with all of your other products to install.

Accessing Dimensions From Multiple Features

2009-08-21T10:32:00.001-05:00

In order to have access to multiple feature's dimensions at the same time, RMB on the Annotations folder in the Feature Manager Design Tree. Then, select show feature dimensions. This will display all of the dimensions in the model at once so that they are easily selected for use in equations.

Save as and update references

2009-08-12T14:13:00.001-05:00

In order to save the components of an assembly and update the references of each new part name in one easy step, simply choose file->save as-> then click on the references button. In this dialogue box, if you choose "more options" you can add a prefix or suffix to all components in the assembly that are selected in the list. Then you can choose the file location for the new files. This will update all the references while creating copies of the components.

FIles of type dropdown

2009-08-11T13:59:00.004-05:00

SolidWorks should remember the last filter that was applied in the Files of type" drop down box when a file was opened. If you choose all files as the filter, next time you choose file open it will revert back to the last SolidWorks file type that was chosen. However, if you choose "SolidWorks files" and open a document, it will show all SolidWorks file types next time you choose file open. The trick is to change the files of type dropdown to whatever you would like it to start from, then actually open a document from the list.

Simulation Premium Course, Jun 9 &10, Houston

2009-05-14T10:44:00.002-05:00

We hold Simulation "Premium" courses quarterly. This particular course is two days and covers nonlinear static behavior such as: what happens when your model starts to yield? How far can you continue to yield the material until it rips open? Another nonlinearity deals with rubber gaskets and sealing issues. How do you know for sure the O-ring will deform or squish correctly and fill-in all the gaps? You can conduct a cross-sectional view in the SolidWorks Simulation, and determine the forces required to make that seal work correctly.
We have a PDF brochure at: http://www.texaseng.com/trainingdesc.cfm.
Click on "SolidWorks Simulation Premium -Nonlinear". Thanks for reading and have a great week! Anthony Botting

Photos from SolidWorks World 2009

2009-02-13T23:04:00.004-06:00

Well, what is the old saying "the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray" or something close to that. As I found updating the blog while actually in Orlando with the packed days of activities was more than I could handle. The good news is that I took notes, and know what I want to write about each days activities. I also took some pictures of the activities each day, I have posted the pictures on my (our) flickr site. Please use the link that I added to the links toolbar up in the top right corner of our BLOG. Please use these as a preview of what I will be posting about last weeks activities. It was a busy week, and I am looking forward to recapping it all for you right here.

By the way have you seen the new U-Print? It is a very cool new desktop 3D printer that we are carrying. Guess the price.... You will never guess $14,900 and that comes with the first years maintainence! I will be discussing the new machine here in the next few days, but if you just can't wait there is a link on our homepage to some marketing info.

Nathan

SolidWorks World 2009 Preview

2009-02-08T12:04:00.000-06:00

Let me start off by introducing myself. I am Nathan Dunn the Director of Engineering from TES/Texas Engineering Systems. I am attending SolidWorks World in Orlando this year, and thought that it would be nice to write home about my experience so that anyone that was not able to make it would be able to experience the general highlights of the week.

Well SolidWorks World is almost ready for an official start. I am writing this from Orlando, but I wanted to make sure that we had a perliminary post before the rest of the conference information.

Q. What is SolidWorks World or SWW?

A. SWW is a gathering of 4 to 5 thousand people that all love SolidWorks. SWW happens every year at the beggining of February, and changes location as well. SWW 2008 was in San Deigo, SWW 2007 was in New Orleans, SWW 2006 was in Las Vegas, and so on. This year the conference is back in Orlando at the Swan and Dolphin (a resort hotel in Disney World). The atmosphere at SWW is always amazing. Have you ever had an opportunity to be around 4500 people that love SolidWorks before? Well if you have not please think about attending SWW2010. I will be posting the location of next years conference after the last general session on Thursday.

Alright, so now you know something about what SWW is, now lets talk about some specifics of what happens there. The conference officially starts on Monday morning with the sessions and technical training. However there are some things that start happening on Sunday.

Preview Sunday: Sunday is normally a day filled with invitation only round table discussion for customers, and Reseller specific technical sessions. Sunday is also the day that the certification test are given, CSWP, and CSWA. Sunday night also includes a "Welcome Reception" this is an open event including food that is held in a Partner Pavillion. The Partner Pavillion is always a cool place to be, most of the Gold Partners for SolidWorks are represented with a booth showcasing thier product. There is also a Product Showcase which has real live products that have designed in SolidWorks.

Preview Monday: Monday really starts the conference. Moday will start with a general session, normally the CEO (Jeff Ray) and some of the other top managment of SolidWorks will address the audience and set the tone for the week. After that the technical sessions start. The technical sessions normally include customer, reseller, and SolidWorks employees giving technical information about a specific topic. These are normally about an hour to an hour and a half. and they fill the entire day after the general session is over. Monday night is always the CSWP special event. Only CSWP's are allowed to attend, and Jeremy normally has a fun evening planned.

Preview Tuesday: Tuesday again is started with a general session this one is normally the one that features the special guest speaker. This year the guest speaker is going to be the founder of Virgin. Then another day filled with technical sessions. Tuesday night is the Special Event night for all conference attendees. This year they are opening the Disney Animal Kingdom up to just the SWW attendees for the evening.

Preview Wednsday: Wedneday's general session is the big one, we will get to see a preview of what is will assume is SolidWorks 2010! Then more general technical sessions.

Then everyone goes home, after the exhausting week. I will be posting some pictures, and more specific information as the week progresses. Please stay tuned!

Nathan

2009-01-08T21:18:00.000-06:00

Instant3D: snaps note in SolidWorks 2009

Turn on Instant3D (press the big button on the Command Manager) and when you select a face of your constrained model, you can see a blue-colored ball at one end of the dimension witness lines. The dimension shown is the boss feature extrusion depth.
Select the blue ball at one end of the witness line, and while holding down the left mouse button, hover your mouse over the ruler shown and drag your mouse cursor.
The cursor will "index" and snap to the ruler scales as shown by the green line with the green triangles at each end of the line.

Hover your mouse curser away from the ruler, and you will gain arbitrary indexing: when you move the mouse, will not snap to the ruler.
Hmmm....this looks alot like Google's "SketchUp" program.

Dimension - Change Plane

2009-01-03T11:04:00.000-06:00

Welcome 2009!
In a 2D drawing on an isometric view, you can change the plane at which a true dimension is shown. Just select the dimension text, right-mouse-button (RMB), and choose "Display Options...Change Plane." Many thanks to John Milbery for that one!
Happy New Year!

2008-12-16T17:57:00.000-06:00

Did you know? SolidWorks 2009 software will not run on Vista "Home" products, no matter the extra descriptors (such as "Premium", which incidentally, SolidWorks Corp is following). To run on a Microsoft Vista operating system, you need Vista Ultimate, Business, or Enterprise.
This is Chelsea, one of my silly dogs (just thought I'd throw that in). -Tony the SimulationMan.

2008-12-16T12:22:00.000-06:00

Texas Engineering Systems/TES, LLC will be at SolidWorks World 2009 - will you? We would like to say "hi" and talk with all of our customers attending - send us an email, SWWorld@texasengineering.com to contact us with any questions or to discuss what you have found interesting this year at World. Look forward to seeing you!

If you've never attended before, SolidWorks World is an energetic, one-of-a-kind forum for learning and education. There are lots of general sessions with keynote speakers - this year will feature Sir Richard Branson, Founder and President of Virgin Group.

Hit the Partner Pavilion with over 100 third-party products and services. Visit the Dimension 3D Printer booth. As an authorized reseller of Dimension 3D printers, stop by and we can show you how adding one of the Dimension printers to your design process can really help cut down on you design time.

2008-12-11T13:18:00.001-06:00

This is the first Blog!