Solidworks 2010 drawing capability 3

[tigermoth]

Hi

In the past (up to SW2008)I have really struggled with the Solidworks drawing interface to produce decent drawings quickly. Everything seems to be so non-intuitive and Microsofty. Just selecting and manipulating the view, annotation, part or underlying sketch you want is a mission, let alone difficulties with view cropping and sectioning particularly with large assemblies. Has anyone been using 2010 long enough 'uder fire' to asses whether useability in this area has improved significantly?

Thanks

 

[SBaugh]

I think you should probably talk to your VAR about training. I have used SW since 95 and I can get drawings out pretty fast. I used to work on 2000+ assembly drawings and varying in what you want on your drawings and how your inputting your dimensions Etc... will vary on your speed. Just asking if 2010 is faster in regards to drawings is not really the right question. The question really is "how efficient are you in make drawings in SW?"

SW has improved in many areas Drawings included. You should get a copy of the What's New from your VAR if you don't want to install it and read through it to see if there are any new items you want. One i think you might like is the Dimension palette. You don't have to go to Properties tab anymore to make changes to your dimensions. However in a later SP they moved the icon for the palette, and made a little harder to get your hands on, but 2011 is suppose to improve on that.

Not to be mean, but I bet some of the problem is not knowing the shortcuts or how to be efficient making SW drawings... no offence.

Regards,

Scott Baugh, CSWP
Berry Plastics
Cad Admin\Design Engineer

http://www.scottjbaugh.com

"If it's not broke, Don't fix it!"

faq731-376

 

[TheTick]

selecting and manipulating the view, annotation, part or underlying sketch you want is a mission, let alone difficulties with view cropping and sectioning particularly with large assemblies

Never really had trouble with any of those things.

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

While there is certainly room for improvement in the drawing creation process, I find it quite productive. Especially after customising the 'S' key shortcut menu. If you are trying to use it as if it were AutoCAD, then yes you will have problems. Use it as intended and it is not too bad at all.


What type of "manipulation" are you attempting? Can you give specifics of the problems you are having, or where you find it deficient?

In particular, what are you wanting to do with the "underlying sketch"?

 

[Gurjjeet]

I can have a safe guess here that you have come from AutoCAD background. I was the same,

I started using SWX in 2000/01. Initially I only used Modeling side for a year or two as I found it very slow to produce drawings compared to ACAD. So I used to create the models & their 2D views in SWX & create DWGs & then used ACAD to finish them.

But then I realized later that I was missing on functionality of SWX as sometimes while detailing I needed to change the assy. which was a pain in that arrangement.

Normally we forget that we have been using ACAD for years & have all the libraries, base drawings, efficient templates & blocks etc. & above all the practice & 1000s of hours of using ACAD on our particular drawings & needs.

So my suggestion is similar to all above here. Get some training, give urself time to practice.

 

[ctopher]

I have never "'uder fire' to asses", but I have "lit a fire under asses" to get drawings done.

To be proficient with SW dwgs, it takes experience with the SW interface and knowledge of good drafting practices.

Chris
SolidWorks 10 SP4.0
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion

 

[tigermoth]

Thanks all. Will attempt to put the case for some training in this area. One issue I have with drawing views is that we often use a driving part containing the underlying layout sketch of a vehicle. This part is inserted in each subassembly to 'infect' it with the 'DNA' of the design. Thus each subassembly is reasonably self-contained and the external reference overhead is limited. However when placing views of such an assembly on a drawing, the view border extends to the limits of the driving part sketch, which is usually much bigger than the solid geometry of the assembly. The sketch geometry tends to autoselect at the drop of a hat, espcially when you don't want it to (even with the sketch hidden). Hence to avoid overlapping views, nearly every view needs cropping, which is not a nice simple click and drag process. Is there some fundamental reason why SW couldn't make the the viewport border something you could click and drag to enlarge (like a text box)?

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

Is there some fundamental reason why SW couldn't make the the viewport border something you could click and drag to enlarge (like a text box)?

The view border used to be user adjustable. SW changed it to its current state several versions ago.

Does the layout sketch have to be showing in the views?

Could you split the sketch into smaller, more specific, areas?

 

[ctopher]

I liked it when the border was adjustable, don't know why it was taken away. I have sketches that go beyond the assy, but are suppressed. The view border still tries to fill them. Crop is the only alternative, that I know of.

Chris
SolidWorks 10 SP4.0
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion

 

[GregTirevold]

Yes, I just *love* those huge "empty" view borders that insist on existing just in case I activate a sketch that is suppressed.

I prefer the way viewports work in AutoCAD. Allowing you to size them, control what layers show in them individually, etc. SW doesn't seem to want to let you have ultimate control over how things are shown in a drawing.

http://www.linkedin.com/in/gregtirevold

 

[Gurjjeet]

A few things which can be helpful in your scenario.

Use "Lock View focus" & "Lock view Position" while working & sketching on overlapping views. Check help for the explanation.

Drag the views by holding onto one of the vertex of a particular view to avoid moving a wrong view.

If needed to crop a view use spline as it is easy to select & draw.

In your situation, I would try to mould my ways of handling the views instead of cropping the views everytime.

 

[tigermoth]

Yes I thought things used to be a little easier. I agree cropping does seem to be best avoided (a resource hungry process). Would be nice to be able to optionally see all the view borders without having to click - maybe show them in some semi-transparent pastel shade! However my AutoCad ancestry must be showing.
Greg's comment that "SW doesn't seem to want to let you have ultimate control over how things are shown in a drawing" is spot on.

 

[countersunk]

Unfortunately, I have also found the SolidsWorks drafting enviroment to be slow, clunky, and just not very intuitive. Everyone in my Engineering Department complains about it as well. It's just not a very good multi sheet enviroment type software. Although, it does have good design enviroment and sheet metal capabilities.

 

[macduff]

I hate to say this......but, I think the drafting package stinks in SW. It's not user friendly at all! I think some of the ideas are cool, but not user friendly. They keep adding bells and whistles and not fixing the problems. One of my biggest complaints is adding a manual dimension to geometry. Select the first line fine, but trying to select the second line, forget it, the dimension value floats over the cursor. It bugs the heck out of me. I pretty much get my job done with the aches and pains of the bugs, but it takes a longtime to do it. Just my thoughts...

Best,


Colin Fitzpatrick (aka Macduff)
Mechanical Designer
Solidworks 2010 SP 3.1
Dell 490 XP Pro SP 2
Xeon CPU 3.00 GHz 3.00 GB of RAM
nVida Quadro FX 3450 512 MB
3D Connexion-SpaceExplorer

 

[mjcole]

If you hold Down the Alt key you can easily move views or tables or anything else that dimensions may prevent you from selecting properly. This prevents the need to hover along the border of the views to move them.

Michael

 

[macduff]

Michael,
This is an awesome tip, and I give you a star! This will come in handy when views overlap.

Thanks,

Colin Fitzpatrick (aka Macduff)
Mechanical Designer
Solidworks 2010 SP 3.1
Dell 490 XP Pro SP 2
Xeon CPU 3.00 GHz 3.00 GB of RAM
nVida Quadro FX 3450 512 MB
3D Connexion-SpaceExplorer

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

You can also select (highlight) a view and use the arrow keys.

http://help.solidworks.com/2010/Eng...legacyhelp/sldworks/drawings/moving_views.htm

 

[mjcole]

Thanks for the star Colin, I figured it may have been discussed earlier but scanned through the posts and thought it would be nice for people who didn't know that one.

It's one of my favorite keys and comes in handy when you're on a busy drawing. I found it tremendously useful for Tables with the resizing issues and bugs for tables in 2008. It's mentioned in the Drawings Training book it's not too visible but definitely one to remember.

For those Spaceball, traveler Pilot users out there you can actually use your motion controller to move selected views like in assembly mode using the following icon.

Michael