There’s nearly 8 ways to create the same 3D model in SolidWorks… along with the 4 other ways. That’s a lot of flexibility, but many of the features just don’t get the use they deserve until someone shows them how to bring forth the hammer of power that is all the crazy, little SolidWorks feature…

Last year, SolidSmack riveted the academic community with some mighty fine tips for students success in SolidWorks. One year later and those measly tips are just not enough. Times are’a changin’ folks and there’s all sorts of things students and ‘the aged’ can do to have more success and more opportunities in 3D CAD and…

Getting just the right detailed drawing view of a model can take immense amounts of time. More than they really should for products designed in 3D. When you open a drawing and nothing is there but the dimensions, that can really make you throw blunt objects. So, you stare real close at the computer screen.…

I know. You’re just screaming, “I work with the CAMERA. Striking a pose this way and that.” *whoosh, whoosh* I’m actually talking about how you model your 3D design in SolidWorks. Ah, now this post is suddenly boring. No tips to get that gritty engineer look on film, just stuff about drawing lines and extruding…

What good is Twitter for? It’s a powerful tool for many people as well as for businesses building brands, but it’s even more powerful where there’s a strong user base. In the CAD world, and SolidWorks in particular, the connection between users just keeps getting stronger. On twitter, you can interact with SolidWorks user, SolidWorks…

“Stop. You’re killin’ me. My models are immaculate. It’s the software that’s the problem.” A lot of people get riled up about bad performance and poor stability, blaming it on the SolidWorks software. I have too. But who would of thought it could actually be the way the models are created… by ME? Great, huh.…

I occasionally choose to point the fire hose of SolidWorks tips and information into an unsuspecting person’s face without realizing how overwhelming it can be. A few hours later I see the the expressionless blank stare of a skinless and slightly tattered face gazing, begging me to stop. A few tips to simply get started…

Way back, in a recent post that showed all you Mac-ophiles how to use SolidWorks on a Mac a commenter named Peter Privitera was having graphics issues with his MacBook Pro when using SolidWorks. His MacBook Pro uses a NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT video card, a low-end 512MB card that runs around $130 and up.…

Your SolidWorks drawings are standing out in the open like a very large and overly dressed target of 3D ninja violence. Hey, I’m just sayin. It’s actually a secret society of defected and very agitated ANSI and ISO standard authors that have passed this info on to me. Your fancy drawing is filled with more…

I had a conversation with someone yesterday about how to create really great looking images without using the SolidWorks rendering add-in, PhotoWorks. I told him it was simple and you can do it in just a few steps. ‘No way, show me.’, he said. If you have PhotoWorks, great; you can create some very slick…

Recently, SolidWorks thwarted a would-be Zombie attack by launching the SolidWorks Geniuses marketing campaign. First up was the Leonardo Da Vince Self-Powered (Zombie-eliminating) Cart. You saw it, I’m sure, and desired to get your hands on the model so you too could prevent an ensuing Zombie onslaught. Well, you’re in luck. Rob Rodriguez is putting…

Right now, I currently have 3 versions of SolidWorks installed on my computer – 2007, 2008, and 2009Beta. oh, and 2005 till just recently. It’s crazy I tell ya. I use 2008 mostly right now, but have to switch back to 2007 for some models. It made me wonder what everyone out there is actually…

BOM’s. Bill o’ Materials. That list of parts that moves across the disco floor like only you wish you could. DID I really just compare a BOM to a dance genre we long to forget? Yes, yes I did, and I’m feeling the nostalgic and stomach-churning affects of doing so. Nevertheless, a BOM provides that…

Oh man, your SolidWorks assembly is looking a little crooked my friend. In fact, I’d say it’s just about to tip over and probably hurt a small family of mice or a vagabond waiting for you to set some scraps out on the porch. I’m going to suggest a way to improve assembly creation, so…

It’s inevitable. A hundred models of a screw and they’re all created a different way. I’m telling ya, it’s an open flesh wound just waiting to get infected. Companies often jump into the 3D modeling fray without laying out an SolidWorks implementation plan. But, even when things are implemented correctly, the details of model creation…

The SolidWorks Confirmation Corner. That little island in the corner just tempting you to become a more decisive person. One option, to accept the ensuing fate of the changes you’ve made to your sketch. The other, to abandon all the relations you’ve jacked up.

“Son, that boy is faster at sketchin’ some 3D than a greased zebra chasin’ a three-legged yak.” Now wouldn’t you want to be described like that? Well, there’s more to being fast in SolidWorks, than flipping through commands and some fancy assembly tricks. The System Options have a few setting that are not always used,…

Sometimes, flipping back and forth between a PDF or AutoCAD drawing is enough to make you start humming loudly and spinning in tight circles. That’s ok… when you don’t have to get a drawing out, but when you need to get some concepts going or figure out how things fit together, you can use some…

Yes, it happens to all of us. We’re cruising along with the mouse, clickin’ this way and that, and typing some notes with the keyboard. Life is simple. Then, we take our hand off the keyboard for a sip of coffee or a little stretch and… suddenly our finger shoots straight into our eye with…

Here we go with another installment of mystery tip goodness. Your Question, your post. Here’s why. I get a bit of emails asking questions about SolidWorks and a lot of them are really good questions that I’d love to turn into posts. So, here’s your chance again to have your question answered. First Person to…

Oh, the trials of being a Mac user in the CAD world. There’s just no justice for your simple and elegant character personified in a simple and elegant computer. Who is out there to understand you? SolidSmack has your back and we want to show you how easy it it is to get SolidWorks runnin’…

Look, there’s a bunch of things you could do this week, but showering regularly, eating less beef jerky and discovering your unlimited potential for doing cool things with SolidWorks should be at the top of the list, don’t ‘cha think? I’m finding there’s more and more ways of doing things with SolidWorks that have nothing…

Since the dawn of time, man has contemplated the frustrating effects of the big read error icon and has come to the conclusion that, yes, veins can indeed pop out of your head whether your sitting down or standing in a defensive crouch in front of your computer. Computer errors pretty much feel like being…

I’m liking this topic, so we’re gonna keep going with it till it breaks into a million tiny pieces. Here’s why. I get a bit of emails asking questions about SolidWorks and a lot of them are really good questions that I’d love to turn into posts. So, here’s your chance again to have your…

Oh to have ways of creating models faster. Moving your mouse around really fast-like doesn’t help, gripping your neck and squeezing real hard doesn’t help much either. Sometimes, it’s just what you have in your bag o’ tricks that can get you moving along… or in our case, a library of tricks. In SolidWorks, you…

Well, last weeks mystery tip about PhotoWorks DOF. I get a bit of emails asking questions about SolidWorks and alot of them are really good questions that I’d love to turn into posts. So once again that’s what we’re gonna do. First Person to Ask a Question The first person to asks a question about…

If you’ve been using SolidWorks 2008 for any length of time, you’ll notice that the RealView setting, along with other view settings, are front and center on that dang on-screen toolbar. Do you like that toolbar? I know there’s lots of opinions both ways about it. I actually don’t mind it too much. For one,…

Ok, I’m gonna try something here. I get a bit of emails asking questions about SolidWorks and alot of them are really good questions that I’d love to turn into posts. So that’s what we’re gonna do. First Person to Ask a Question The first person to add a comment below that asks a question…

This is the grandpa scenario in full-effect. Whenever my brothers and I would go over to my grandparents, there would be Twix and Twizzlers in the top cabinet over the stove. I’m completely convince my gut is lined with whatever Twizzlers are made from. There were also giant chocolate chip cookies that made it seem…

Just when you thought you knew everything about SolidWorks Explorer, Devon Sowell gives us his first post discussing tips to make your venture into the abusive and murderous world of data management easier to handle. Some Things you’ll learn: What SolidWorks Explorer is for If parts are open when a drawing is open (Hmmm…are they?)…

Assemblies people! Not assemblies of people, which can have you going through more gallons of fake blood than a remake of the Re-animator, but assemblies of inanimate chunks of 3D data. You can make really, grossly huge assemblies but there’s a point where people start whispering about you behind your back. Instead of spending your…

It’s amazing how simple this is. You can actually do this in less time than it takes you to learn how to trap small animals and sell them outside Wal-mart. Draw a cube This is like the multi-tool of CAD. If you don’t know where to start, draw a cube. Use the annotation tool This…

So where is everything about the world of SolidWorks being stored out there? It’s not under your patio bench. It’s actually spread out across the entire chasm of the interwebular galaxy and is very difficult to harness at times. Soooo, here’s a bunch of links that help me find SolidWorks content when I’m trying to…

For all of you crazed 3D-modeling, equation-using junkies out there, you may be really, really excited to know that your equations will update in real-time when using Instant3D in SolidWorks 2008. Jeff, from ExtensibleCAD, shows this happening when using logical (if-then) equations to drive features. See video below. The equation is set up to change…

Here’s a slightly useful and not-at-all complicated tip on reducing features by using 3D sketches. It’s more fun to have people gather around your desk, get all attentive and then yell the first step very, very loud as they hunker down around your screen… Now move in close people… Two Tips in One This is…

“Oh man, Josh is doing a tip on one of those useless features in SolidWorks 2008! I have gaskets and pinions to engineer!! Who has time for some silly ‘smags’ or ‘tags’ or whatever! I’m going to YouTube and watch squirrels race.” Hey, hey, hey! Hold back your fury and check this out. You can…

Whoa there buddy, I think you’re getting carried away with all of those colors. That much color is certainly not per procedures and we’re gonna have to beat you black and white. It happens, I know. You want an accurate color for your model and you can’t help but spend hours dragging your cursor through…

Awww, look. That tiny assembly is so… tiny and cute. Makes you want to grab a million of ’em and just give ’em hugs. Now, I know some of you aren’t that attached to your bracket or gasket assemblies, but you gotta admit there’s a special place in that documentation system for those little boogers.…

I know you woke up this morning just rearin’ to be an overachiever that knows absolutely everything possible about solid modeling and then how it relates to the molting season of yaks. All I can tell you is that yaks molt once a year and the wool is woven into blankets and tents. Also, the…

You’ve probably been there – tease and ridiculed for organizing other people’s features, “accidentally” fixing someone else’s sketches or finding the last keyboard combination for a shortcut. It’s a condition that use to be treated with humidifiers and Malox, but that made the affect and smell even worse. So, I’ll just list some of these…

Oh boy, large assemblies. How incredibly fun and dreadful. It’s as if the rest of the day is slowly being eaten away by a horrible flesh-eating bacteria… that has given up flesh because of guilt and eats time…instead. Why? A lot of people fear having to open a large assembly. I didn’t want to feel…

I love errors. Those kinds that riddle a FeatureManager Tree with red like the list of a persistent hitman with refined and distinguished taste. Errors can be a disgustingly vicious act and a lovely dinner all tied up together. Errors force a solution Or rather, errors force determining a solution. The hitman’s hitman to keep…

Oh, stop it. That title is just too clever. It’s hard to believe there would be any rude, self-serving miscreants in the realm of SolidWorks, but you watch. One day your helping old ladies take their meds, next day your making everyone change part colors and capitalize the ‘S’ and ‘W’ in SolidWorks for all…

You’ve been working on a 13,000 part mega-assembly in SOLIDWORKS with the most well thought out top-down assembly structure ever devised by man. The next morning, you gingerly sip your coffee as the model ooooopens, and then… something doesn’t look right. Suddenly, that pastry loses its sweetness as you come to grips that all your…

How do you get info out of SolidWorks models? Threats and candy don’t do the trick, but bring out a steamy bowl of button clicking and you’ll be in statistical, property enhanced euphoria to break up the vapid atmosphere of deadlines and cold pastries. If you’re like me, you like your fill of statistics and…

If you mix an interest in web design with an interest in SolidWorks you get a hideous amalgamation of 3D graphics, silly phrases and coffee stains. Couple that with a frustrating inadequacy of font types and its basically pure madness. The Problem Adobe Flash, formerly Macromedia Flash, opened up a lot of possibilities for web…

Seriously, this error message needs to be turned off, put in a can, set ablaze and fired into space… then devoured by an evil alien bacteria and sucked into a black hole. In lieu of that, here are some ways that can often times help you get around that wonderfully obscure message.

Last week we talked about naming features to improve your design. Sometimes, on very rare occasions, when your feeling especially detail oriented, you may want to add a special character to a name or note. Fortunately, Windows has a bunch of obscure numbers you can use to add some symbols to you descriptions and it…

You’re driving down a winding road and suddenly your car goes flying off a cliff into a den of wild boar. Not a good situation to be in. While getting some parts to stay on track in SolidWorks is not nearly as morbid, it can be a pain in the neck, especially when it comes…

As discussed in the previous post, SolidWorks is the disco queen of features. Sketches drive these features and sometimes you want to use them in another part or nice Gorgonzola salad. There are library features and copying features, sure, but to get a quick copy of a sketch that you’ve already created, you may want…