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Sunday, December 27, 2020
Friday, December 25, 2020
Solidworks & Google Apps
Web Apps for Product Development:
This podcast covers a few web applications that I use a lot to keep my team synced as well as add a centralized place to collaborate. Topics covered:
- Bubbl.us - Mind mapping and flow charting
- Campfire - Group-based chat rooms
- Backpack - Project organization
- Google Wave - Bringing 3D into Wave with 3dvia
Over the past month I have been busy migrating our company over to Google Apps from using Microsoft Exchange and other locally managed server products. In this transition I have been thinking a lot about using the cloud more and realized how many applications I use on a regular basis that have helped in keeping my teams synced. Out of all the services I have signed up for, there are usually a handful that end up becoming a part of my daily routine so I though I would share.
All of the web-based apps I talk about are used by me everyday (or had up untill my switch to Google Apps where I consolidated a bit) mainly because they offer a cloud-based place to collaborate with collegues and customers. In an effort to keep the show from going an hour, I picked 4 that I really enjoy for their functionality and, better yet, their "free" price tag. Two of the apps do have pay versions (Backpack has only paid options now, but didn't when I started) but all are free or can be tried for free.
My Google Wave pick was mainly added for the growing curiosity of how it can be used by 3D CAD and I was able to use 3dvia's embed options to embed their content into an HTML gadget in Wave and viewed using the 3dvia Player browser plug-in. This allows 3D models to be uploaded directly from SolidWorks to 3dvia.com and easily embedded into Google Wave for collaboration. This process gets a viewer into the Google Wave interface but will be much more useful when the model can be marked up and measured by multiple collaborators. I hope to see CAD companies create viewer gadgets that will work with Wave to kick-start a true 3D collaborative environment in Google Wave
This podcast covers a few web applications that I use a lot to keep my team synced as well as add a centralized place to collaborate. Topics covered:
- Bubbl.us - Mind mapping and flow charting
- Campfire - Group-based chat rooms
- Backpack - Project organization
- Google Wave - Bringing 3D into Wave with 3dvia
Over the past month I have been busy migrating our company over to Google Apps from using Microsoft Exchange and other locally managed server products. In this transition I have been thinking a lot about using the cloud more and realized how many applications I use on a regular basis that have helped in keeping my teams synced. Out of all the services I have signed up for, there are usually a handful that end up becoming a part of my daily routine so I though I would share.
All of the web-based apps I talk about are used by me everyday (or had up untill my switch to Google Apps where I consolidated a bit) mainly because they offer a cloud-based place to collaborate with collegues and customers. In an effort to keep the show from going an hour, I picked 4 that I really enjoy for their functionality and, better yet, their "free" price tag. Two of the apps do have pay versions (Backpack has only paid options now, but didn't when I started) but all are free or can be tried for free.
My Google Wave pick was mainly added for the growing curiosity of how it can be used by 3D CAD and I was able to use 3dvia's embed options to embed their content into an HTML gadget in Wave and viewed using the 3dvia Player browser plug-in. This allows 3D models to be uploaded directly from SolidWorks to 3dvia.com and easily embedded into Google Wave for collaboration. This process gets a viewer into the Google Wave interface but will be much more useful when the model can be marked up and measured by multiple collaborators. I hope to see CAD companies create viewer gadgets that will work with Wave to kick-start a true 3D collaborative environment in Google Wave
Solidworks Designer
It was if Solidworks is not user friendly enough but in 2012 the following usability and work flow improvement have blown my mind....
After playing with solidworks 2012 the the team at Hamilton By Design rated the various assembly areas that have been enhanced via adding shortcuts, removal of limitations, and streamline workflows and dialogs. In terms of time saves and nice to haves.
- Saving Component Edit inside an Assembly
The Resolve Ambiguity dialog box has been eliminated.
- Modifying Component Dimensions
You can edit the dimensions of a multiple-configuration component in the assembly or drawing environment, regardless of which configuration is active in the component document.
- Creating Subassemblies
You can preselect components in the parent assembly's graphics area when creating a subassembly. Previously, you could preselect only components in the parent assembly's Feature Manager design tree. - Flexible editing in Sub Assemblies
You can edit flexible subassemblies in the context of their parent assemblies. - Face & Edge names in Light parts / assemblies
When replacing components in assemblies, if you select Re-attach mates, the software can access previously assigned face and edge names in lightweight components. - Opening Assemblies
In the Open dialog box, checkboxes for various assembly modes have been replaced by the Mode drop-down list. Quick view / Selective open has been moved to Large Design Review. - Find Missing References
While opening an assembly that has multiple missing references, the process of finding those references is simplified. - Folders
When adding a folder in the Feature Manager design tree, you can preselect non-sequential components or mates to place in the folder - Components Shown and Hidden
In the graphics area, you can press Tab and Shift + Tab to hide and show components. - Hiding the Broken reference indicator
A system option lets you hide the x that appears in the Feature Manager design tree to indicate broken references. - Mate Reference Propagation
When you insert a subassembly into a higher-level assembly, mate references defined in the subassembly’s components are available for automatic mating - Relaoding Components after Discarding Changes
You no longer need to manually reload a component in the assembly file when you discard changes made in the component file. When you close the component file without saving it, a dialog box asks if you want to keep or discard the changes in the assembly. - Smart Mate
To invoke SmartMates between two components already in an assembly, you can press and hold Alt after selecting a face to drag. Previously, you had to press and hold Alt before selecting the face. - Smart Fasteners
When inserting Smart Fasteners, the software recognizes more holes that were not created with the Hole Wizard or Hole Series tools, such as holes created by various mirroring and patterning operations.
Hamilton By Design | SolidWorks
Engineering | Drafting | Laser Scanning
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