Using Modo materials in PhotoView 360 2013

This was a cool option which many of us enjoyed during SolidWorks 2013 beta testing. The option is again available via SolidWorks Customer portal for subscription customer. Here are the quick steps to enjoy these with PhotoView 360 2013

- Login to the customer portal.

- Click the “PhotoView 360 Appearances” link in the Download section

- Click the “SolidWorks Asset Sharing” site link

- Luxology site will open up. Go to Assets

- Download a material asset. I’ve downloaded “Wolf Fur”

- Unzip to a folder

- Make sure said folder is a “custom” folder in the list of appearances (click add custom location if not)

- Drag, Drop, have fun!!

Here is a quick preview of the rendering. You might have to adjust size of model and/or other rendering settings to get the desired results.

Watch this video for a complete walk through and some extra information

Learn more about SolidWorks 2013 (no registration required) and if you’re interested in attending a live seminar on SolidWorks 2013, visit: http://www.solidworks.com/launch/find-a-seminar.htm

                      

SolidWorks 2013 What’s New – Quick Filter

With SolidWorks 2013, you now get the option to quickly filter the type of SolidWorks file (part, assembly or drawing) you want to open.

This helps you quickly pick the file you to want. You can filter between Parts, Assemblies, Drawings or Top level assemblies.

 

 

 

Choose the file type and enjoy working with SolidWorks.

Need more on what’s new in SolidWorks 2013, visit new SolidWorks 2013 website to see all the major updates.

SolidWorks 2013 What’s New – Multiple Versions

With SolidWorks 2013, you now get the option to decide which version of SolidWorks you want to open your files.

Whenever you double-click on a SolidWorks file (part, assembly or drawing) in windows explorer (and SolidWorks is not running), you’ll get a pop up window asking you to choose which version you want to open you file with.

For e.g. if your machine has SolidWorks 2012 and 2013 installed, the pop window will prompt you to choose which version you want to open the file with. This is very helpful for people working with multiple versions of SolidWorks on the same machine. The option will help you to decide which version of SolidWorks you want to work with. This will also reduce the risk of saving a lower version file into higher version (though with the Previous Release Interoperability option you can open SW2013 file in SW2012 SP5)

Need more on what’s new in SolidWorks 2013, visit new SolidWorks 2013 website to see all the major updates.

Finally enjoy your SolidWorks 2013!!

Every fall, a new version of SolidWorks is unveiled with exciting and useful new functionality that goes into every release. Over 90% of enhancements are driven by customer requests. That’s true for 2013 as well, but this year might be a little more exciting than usual.

SolidWorks 2013 includes some really cool new capabilities that customers have been requesting for a while. Some of the new functionality to be watched are:

• Conic Sketch – This gives you full control over shapes for smooth transitions between existing geometries.
• Intersect Feature – You can quickly add or remove geometry without sketching.
• Varying Dimension Patterns – Helps you save time creating patterns, increases design flexibility, and reduces the number of features needed for models.
• Section View Assist – Speeds the creation of production drawings for faster and more consistent section views.

With SolidWorks 2013, users will experience:

• Powerful Design Tools
• Faster Model Creation
• Improved Performance
• Enhanced Collaboration

SolidWorks users have been taking about optimizing the performance of a SolidWorks installation and maximize design team productivity and SolidWorks 2013 includes tool and options to do that. These include:

• CAD Administrator Dashboard – This helps simplify management and troubleshooting of multiple SolidWorks users within a company from a single aggregated view.
• Simulation Sub-Modeling and Incremental Meshing – You can more accurately perform precise simulation analysis for specific areas of large and complex models, and do it faster and more efficiently.
• Network Rendering for PhotoView 360 – This helps you save time with faster rendering of photorealistic images by networking multiple computers to share the computational load.

In addition to above, there are also some more new tools that help you work and collaborate with other people on your design team, vendors, and other supply chain partners. These include updates for improved connectivity, enhanced viewing capabilities, and expanded sharing of designs and data, such as:

• Previous Release Interoperability – Starting with SolidWorks 2013, you can collaborate with customers, suppliers, and internal teams with the ability to open SolidWorks files directly with SolidWorks 2012 (SP5). Users can work more efficiently and improve collaboration and file exchange, reducing delays and easing the transition to the latest release.
• SolidWorks Enterprise Product Data Management Workflow – Route documents and contact users more efficiently to reduce delays and accelerate time-to-market.
• DraftSight/SolidWorks Enterprise PDM Integration – Access DWG files within SolidWorks EPM from the DraftSight user interface, and leverage 2D into the design process.
• eDrawings — You can measure, select and markup  designs from anywhere using a mobile device.

Here is a extrac t from CEO Bertrand Sicot’s perspective on SolidWorks 2013:

“But the SolidWorks community is not about numbers—it’s about people. Our mission is to make it easy for you to bring the ideas in your head to life, as well as help to prepare the next generation of engineers and designers for success. SolidWorks is currently being taught in over 25,000 schools worldwide, including 72% of the world’s top universities, as well as a growing number of high schools, and even middle schools.

In closing, I would like to thank our customers for helping us get to where we are today. Helping you make the designs that change the world is truly what motivates all of us. I would also like to thank all of the SolidWorks resellers and solution partners who are helping SolidWorks customers every day. You are an important part of the SolidWorks community, and we appreciate everything you do.

And finally, thank you to every SolidWorks employee past and present. You are the best team in the industry, and I’m looking forward to more amazing things in years to come.“

Learn more about SolidWorks 2013 (no registration required) and if you’re interested in attending a live seminar on SolidWorks 2013, visit: http://www.solidworks.com/launch/find-a-seminar.htm

                      

SolidWorks 2013 Sneak Peek: Any Component as Envelope

With almost 2 days to go for the release of SolidWorks 2013, here is one more interesting feature to share with you. SolidWorks 2013 gives you the ability to make envelopes from subassemblies. Workflow improvements include designating components as envelopes as you insert them into assemblies, and changing components to or from envelopes at any time. New options let you adjust envelope visibility and load envelopes as lightweight or read-only.

A quick video on the new feature

Need more on what’s new in SolidWorks 2013, visit new SolidWorks 2013 website to see all the major updates when it launches on September 10, 2012.

SolidWorks 2013 Sneak Peek: Exclude Components During Interference Detection

With only few days left for the big event i.e. release of SolidWorks 2013, here is another cool feature of SolidWorks 2013. You can exclude selected components in Interference Detection  in SolidWorks 2013, . You can filter components with matching cosmetic threads from Interference Detection results and place them in a separate folder. You can exclude interferences involving hidden components, as well as exclude selected components from Interference Detection results. Optionally, you can specify to remember components to exclude from session to session.

This video shows how this applies to cosmetic threads.

Need more on what’s new in SolidWorks 2013, visit new SolidWorks 2013 website to see all the major updates when it launches on September 10, 2012.

SolidWorks 2013 Sneak Peek: Mates in Mirrored Subassemblies

Here’s yet another new feature for 2013. When you create an opposite-hand version while mirroring a subassembly, all the standard mates in the subassembly are mirrored as well. Previously, standard mates within the subassembly that mated to the default planes or origin of the subassembly were not created..

A quick video on the new feature

Need more on what’s new in SolidWorks 2013, visit new SolidWorks 2013 website to see all the major updates when it launches on September 10, 2012.

SolidWorks 2013 Sneak Peek: Insert Multiple Components in Assemblies

Here’s another new cool feature for 2013. In the Insert Components PropertyManager, you can select multiple components at a time and then insert each one in succession without returning to the Property Manager. Also, if you double-click the assembly origin, all the selected components are inserted at once, each with respect to the origin.

A quick video on the new feature

Need more on what’s new in SolidWorks 2013, visit new SolidWorks 2013 website to see all the major updates when it launches on September 10, 2012.

SolidWorks 2013 Sneak Peek: Auto-Dimension While Sketching

While SolidWorks has had the ability to add dimensions while sketching for some time, SolidWorks 2013 makes it a whole lot more intuitive. Now, when you enter dimension values while sketching, SolidWorks will automatically add it to the geometry. You just need to set the setting shown below to enjoy this new feature.

But here’s the best part–if you don’t enter a dimension value, none will be added.  This way, you can choose just what to add, and not get a bunch of extra values you’ll end up deleting later. Or, you can add the dimensions that wouldn’t otherwise be created in the order you sketched.

A quick video on the new feature

Need more on what’s new in SolidWorks 2013, visit new SolidWorks 2013 website to see all the major updates when it launches on September 10, 2012.

SolidWorks 2013 Sneak Peek: Automatic Routing Along Existing Geometry

In SolidWorks 2013, the Auto Route tool includes an option to create a route based on existing geometry. To route along geometry, specify a start point, one or more planar faces, and an endpoint in the Auto Route PropertyManager. Routing automatically creates a route from the start point to the end point that runs parallel to the faces.

You can specify the distance between the route and each planar face. This makes it easy to create a route that maintains a specific distance from walls and other planar surfaces. You can also specify if the route should include a covering for dimensions, and if it should use a centerline dimension.

A quick video on the new feature

Need more on what’s new in SolidWorks 2013, visit new SolidWorks 2013 website to see all the major updates when it launches on September 10, 2012.