*&@#$^ Configurations & Design Tables 1

[bloodclot]

Are there others out there that find working with configurations and design tables frustrating??? I am hoping not to walk this road solo. I have mentioned to my VAR that the Solid Workouts they provide (1 per month for an hour or so) should be directed more to complex issues rather than making fillets, file management, etc. I think I could greatly benefit from some serious in-depth SW training. The kind where you are in training classes 8 hours a day for a couple of weeks. In fact I would be willing to sacrifice my 3 weeks vacation to attend some SERIOUS training if it were available. Hell, I'd even pay my own way (airfare, hotel, etc.). I think the problem here is that we would take a class and then not use SW for weeks or months then use it for a few days and then be woking back in the other cad software to put out some fires on older parts. I probably spend more time trying to figure out how to do things or why things are not working than acuually getting things done. Sorry, I guess I'm probably just venting.....

Bloodclot

What do you see when the Pillsbury Dough Boy bends over?

Doughnuts

 

[ElectroMatt]

There's way too much to the software to be covered in just a week of training. I've been through the basics, sheet metal, adv. assy modeleing and now routing and found the training materials to be just a *basic* introduction into the software. The only way to learn how to use it is to just use it, and make mistakes and learn what you did wrong. Solidworks training should be a quarter-long elective class at the local tech college in order to be expected to use it proficiently when it's dropped in your lap in a production environment.

I do advocate taking all the basic training they offer, download lots of parts from 3DContentcentral and see how they are built. Don't expect too much from your VAR, they are at the mercy of Solidworks Corporation also.

Matt
Electro Industries, Inc.

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

I find configs & DTs are excellent tools and have experienced little to no troube with them. What problems are you having?

Unless you are well grounded in each CAD system you use, jumping from one to the other will always be a hassle and will confuse & slow you down. Extensive training would, of course, be useful but very expensive.

Convince your company that when older products need modification, it is (in the long run) more productive (& hence cheaper) to import or remodel them in SW. That way you get the experience you need & they eventually get a complete range of products in one format. Otherwise you will never be free of "the other CAD software".


Helpful SW websites FAQ559-520
How to get answers to your SW questions FAQ559-1091

 

[smcadman]

What kind of problems are you having with design tables? Are you talking about design tables in parts or assemblies?

As for training, you might look into SolidProfessor or i.get.it desktop. Here are some free tutorials from SolidProfessor if you sign up for the newsletter:

http://www.solidprofessorstore.com/UpdateTraining2006Samples/Closed-Contours.html

http://www.solidprofessorstore.com/UpdateTraining2006Samples/Fill-Patterns.html

http://www.solidprofessorstore.com/UpdateTraining2006Samples/Width_Mate.html

Flores
SW06 SP4.1

 

[joshua221]

Here's something i found out yesterday.
in the row where your dimension variables are, row 2 in an auto-create design table, you should not have a blank cell because everything to the right of the blank cell will be ignored.

 

[bloodclot]

My VAR actually helped me fix my current configuration issues (still do not understand what was wrong but it now works). Thanks for all the replies & suggestions. The tutorials are good information as well.

Really I think the problem is that when I did get my SolidWorks University training from my VAR, it was about 2 years ago. Since then I probably have about 5 months time working in SolidWorks. We would go for classes and then not use SW for months after classes ended. My time usually went like this. Start a new project in SW, work for a few days then have to drop it and go back to CadKey and work on older projects that all of a sudden become HOT, HOT, HOT, need it yesterday kind of thing. Stay in CadKey for months and then try to go back and pick up where I left off on the SW project for a few more days. Repeat this over and over for the next 2 years. My goal is to take and pass the CSWP test next year. Two steps forward 1.5 steps back. Frustrating to say the least.

Bloodclot

What do you see when the Pillsbury Dough Boy bends over?

Doughnuts

 

[drawoh]

joshua221,

"Here's something i found out yesterday. in the row where your dimension variables are, row 2 in an auto-create design table, you should not have a blank cell because everything to the right of the blank cell will be ignored."

That is not a bug. That is a feature.

Consider what happens when I want to delete configurations, but I do not want to delete my data. I place a blank line between my useful configurations and the others. Gone, but not forgotten.

You can add spreadsheet information that is not part of the design table by using a blank column for separation.

JHG

 

[cadman1997]

Bloodclot

It might useful to take a course in Excel because they teach you some things that can be used in Design Tables. The one at Javelin is done by a Microsoft person. You can ask questions just for the Design Tables. Just a thought. I did the i.get.it training that I found very useful especially when studying for CSWP Exam. I agree with CBL that Design Tables are a great tool, I use them all the time in my designs. Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Ralph Wright, CSWP
SolidWorks 2005, SP5.0
P4, 2.53Ghz
1.5 Gb RAM
ATI Fire GL8800 Card
Windows 2000 Pro

 

[Simon205]

Just a quick point but I've found that if you're planning on using a design table to generate a huge number of configurations, it pays to sit away from the machine and clearly work out what you want it to control, and how.

Retro-adding facilities to a design table with thousands of configurations can be a nightmare.

 

[drawoh]

cadman1997,

I have never taken a course on Microsoft Excel, or any other spreadsheet. I am merely curious.

I get buried in a spreadsheet. I see something that would be nifty to do and I check the help files. Lo and behold -- it can be done!

My favourite capabilities...

- You can create programmable text strings...

="CAP SCR HEX SOCKET M"&$E3&"X"&$F3&"X"&$G3

- Assign cell names thus causing your equations to make sense...

="CAP SCR HEX SOCKET M"&SIZE&"X"&PITCH&"X"&LENGTH

- Logic...

=IF(LENGTH>50, "UNSUPPRESS", "SUPPRESS")

- Read up on the MATCH and OFFSET functions. You can use X/Y data to pull information off of data tables. I have used this on design tables.

JHG

 

[neilc78]

I find using DT's very easy. Being competent in excel is also a huge advantage to DT users and opens up all sorts of possibilities.