In REVIEWS

What you want to know about SolidWorks 2008: Sketching and Features

6 Mins Read

solidworks 2008 logoMonday we took a look at the interface enhancements for 2008. While there are things that can be improved, like being able to customize menus, I generally see it as an improvement because it gets you closer to your design. This is particularly important when you’re starting it out and that’s what we’re cooking up today.

SolidWorks 2008 sketch features

SKETCHING AND FEATURES

Sketching is at the core of SolidWorks. It’s a sketch-dependent modeler. Everyone knows that right? You need 2D to make 3D. Sometimes I wish that wasn’t the case, because your feature is limited to what that sketch can do in the orientation it was created and the sequence in which they are created has to be well thought out.

I say all this because SolidWorks aim for 2008 is to, “focusing less on CAD and more on design.” How do you do that? I would say by completely eliminating sketches. I know, sounds crazy, but we still use them for now, so, while there is no evident shift away from SolidWorks being sketch-dependent, there are some great additions to make your sketching go faster and your features more robust.

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In ROCKIN

SolidWorks 2008 officially released

1 Min Read

SolidWorks sent out their press release today for SolidWorks 2008. It’s currently in the last stages of Beta and can be purchased, but there is no published timeline of when it starts to ship. Some may not think so, but I see a lot of benifits coming out in this release. I also see where…

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In ROCKIN

The SolidWorks Blogging Community gets some lovin’

1 Min Read

The SolidWorks Users Group Network site has put up a page listing the bloggers within the community. Lovingly called “the blog squad,” they are the ones that you’ll usually find over in the sidebar links on any of the blogs. There’s good info and personal insight into a lot of the different applications SolidWorks is…

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In REVIEWS

What you want to know about SolidWorks 2008: The Interface

5 Mins Read

solidworks 2008 logoThe launch of SolidWorks 2008 is quickly approaching and even though you may just be getting use to some things in 2007, the new version has some features that could bring you to the edge of your seat. If you’ve seen the preview demo, the new interface may be the first thing that stands out, but the focus on functionality and how you design makes this new version all the more interesting.

Over the next few days, we’re going to plunge into the depths that are SolidWorks 2008. We’re going to go over the major functionality shift in the new version of SolidWorks and show you how you’re going to be doing more of your work on the screen with less lag. This is gonna be the meat. I’ll save the What’s New for you to look at, you can download that right here.

SolidWorks 2008 screenshot

Today we’re gonna look at

THE INTERFACE

This, in any program for some reason, is usually a big complaint when it changes. I’m just gonna say it. It’s better. Take 30 minutes to play with it and you’ll like it. Here’s why…

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