First, in the base SolidWorks product, language localizations are able to be removed, thereby reducing the download size by over 1 GB.  I know that this will be met by much rejoicing! 

Next, the SNL Manager can finally be upgraded, instead of having to perform an uninstall/reinstall.  It’s about time!  This cost my company a couple of days of downtime and caused myself much scrambling and cursing when my Enterprise PDM install went down after uninstalling the SNL Manager to update it.  (Uninstalling the SNL Manager very nicely deleted the entire SolidWorks tree from the registry, which was, of course, where the EPDM info was also located!) 

Service packs can now be rolled out to different groups.  This will be great for testing.  Just create a group with your power users, and give them the service pack to test before going company-wide. 

Administrators can also now reduce the list of software shown in the SNL Manager to just what software they are actually licensed for.  Also, when borrowing license for a SolidWorks package, the base SolidWorks license is now borrowed automatically.  This should definitely reduce confusion and make borrowing licenses much easier.

 And for stand-alone users, there is also the SolidWorks Background Downloader that can automatically download service packs in the background and notify you when they are ready to install.

 So what do you think?  Are you excited about these improvements in the service pack installation process?  Are there any more that you would like to see?  Let us know in the comments!

DISCLOSURE: DS SolidWorks Corp paid for my airfare, lodging, and some meals.

We’re preparing to upgrade as I type.  How about you?  Will you roll now, or wait for a service pack or two?

But this tool does have some intelligence built in, in that you can preserve assembly motion by specifying certain mates, faces, etc.  Take a gearbox with a gear mate, for instance.  In the Defeature options, you can specify that the shafts, the component(s) they are mated to, and the respective mates are all retained in the defeatured assembly, allowing the correct operation of any moving parts in the resulting assembly.

In the Defeature options, you have the options of simply storing the settings in the assembly file for future use, saving the assembly as a separate local file, or publishing the defeatured assembly file to 3D ContentCentral.  Regardless of which options are chosen, the settings are stored in the assembly file in a new Defeature node in the FeatureManager tree.

I am really excited about the inclusion of this tool, as it is a function that I have needed to use in the past, and it definitely makes the task of simplifying an assembly much easier and straightforward.  And the resulting model is much nicer and more functional than anything I’ve created manually.

What do you think of the new Defeature tool?  Let us know in the comments!

Image Credit: DS SolidWorks
DISCLOSURE: DS SolidWorks Corp paid for my airfare, lodging, and some meals.

• Stability
• Performance

We all know the drill from previous versions: you open a few files, close them, open some more, change some features, create a drawing, etc.  The amount of system RAM slowly dwindles to nothing, and it’s time to restart SolidWorks, or maybe even reboot your computer.  However, in SolidWorks 2011, they have worked on the memory management in SolidWorks 2011, resulting in a lower memory footprint.

Shaun made the statement that they believe that the SolidWorks 2011 SP0 performance and reliability is equivalent to that of SolidWorks 2010 SP4.  He also mentioned that during the Beta testing for SolidWorks 2011, there have been relatively few crashes reported.

There have been numerous tweaks and refinements to multiple aspects of the SolidWorks product line.  There are however, a few great new features in this release, such as

• PhotoView 360 integration in SolidWorks 2011
• Grid System (useful for Weldments/Architecture)
• HVAC and Electronics add on modules for Flow Simulation
• Routing Library Manager for Piping
• Defeature (removes detail from assemblies)
• Walk Through.

A few questions came up in the meeting with SolidWorks.  A question was asked about the UI shown at SolidWorks World 2010 when they showed their cloud technology preview.  Shaun responded that they were always experimenting with different UI’s, and that most were never seen.  On the topic of the relationship with their parent company, Dassault Systémes (DSS), it was said that the closer relationship with DSS enables SolidWorks to leverage technology, and provides opportunities to move to other technologies.  Shaun did say, however, that they did not want to introduce anything that would sacrifice the SolidWorks experience.

The question of a Catia translator was brought up, and Shaun said that SolidWorks was working actively to get a Catia translator.  That this issue has persisted for so long while many of their competitors already have Catia translators continues to be a black eye for SolidWorks.  I did get the feeling from the response that this is out of SolidWorks’ hands, as I have long suspected.

I will have follow-on posts covering the new features and enhancements in more detail following shortly.

DISCLOSURE: DS SolidWorks Corp paid for my airfare, lodging, and some meals.

SolidWorks has a new educational site set up called SolidWorks Robotics University.  It is geared more towards students and teachers, but is open to anyone.

"SolidWorks Robotics University is a learning and sharing place for students, teachers and mentors wanting to know how to design with SolidWorks 3D CAD, animation, and simulation software. To begin, follow the SolidWorks Tutorials. Review the robot tips and design tips to advance your skills. Incorporate analysis and simulation into your robot designs. Learn from other featured robot designers. Strengthen your math skills too. Share your ideas with other members. Add your photos, videos, and events. Post comments and ask questions. Invite your friends. SolidWorks Robotics University is open to all ages of robot designers and uses models from all different types of robot competitions."

An invitation is required to join, so you just have to find someone who is already a member…;)