When using the Relative Coordinate System in DraftSight, you will be working from a temporary location instead of an absolute location.  The Relative location is taken from the last point specified.

Let’s say we are going to construct a 50mm X 40mm rectangle in our drawing from a location on the screen using the Line command instead of the rectangle command.

Once we have activated the Line command, and selected the start point of our first line, DraftSight needs the position of the next point.

To create this rectangle, we will need to use our keyboard to input the data. Since we will be making a rectangle that is 50 x 40, we need to input the value for the length of the rectangle. 

To do this from the Relative position you will need to use the ‘@’ symbol.  The ‘@’ symbol basically states ‘from the last position selected’.  Therefore, you need to type the coordinates necessary.  After the ‘@’ symbol, DraftSight is looking for a value of Delta X ,Delta Y.

Type @50,0, and hit <Enter> which means draw the line segment 50 units in the X direction and 0 in the Y direction.  Now, you will need to draw a line that is vertical by 40 units.  To do this, type the ‘@’ symbol followed by the delta X which is 0 and Delta Y which is 40 then <Enter>, so type @0,40 <Enter>.  Now, draw a line that works towards the left to continue the rectangle.  To do this you need to specify the delta X as a negative.  Therefore, type @-50,0 and hit <Enter>  To finish the rectangle you could type the relative coordinates for the next point as @0,-40 then hit <Enter>, or since this is the last point we can use the Close option.  Type c and hit <Enter>

Remember, the symbol ‘@’ mean ‘from the last point specified’.  When using the Relative Coordinate System this is very important.

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Using ETracking and Polar Guides will give you the ability to use the current geometry for reference in the construction of the remainder of your geometry, without the need of adding additional construction geometry. 

Using Polar Guides is similar to using the ORTHO function.  With the ORTHO function set to ON, you can draw lines horizontal or vertical, or at 0, 90, 180 and 270 degrees.  Using polar guides is like being able to set the angled (polar) increments to whatever angle you’d like.  So, if you know you’ll be constructing geometry at increments of 45 degrees, you can set the Polar angle to 45 degrees and therefore, you will be able to snap lines at 45, 135, 225 and 315 degrees as well as 0, 90, 180 and 270.  The big difference is when using ORTHO, DraftSight forces you to draw lines either horizontal or vertical.  With Polar Guides, DraftSight will only snap at the specified increments when the Polar Tracking Guide is visible.

ETracking is the ability to use ESnap points as reference for geometry construction.  First, you need to have ESnap se to ON for ETracking to work (make sure Snap is OFF) Also, you need to be sure to have your ESnap points set to the functions you will use.  For example, if you wanted to add a circle to the center of a rectangle, you would need to be sure the MIDPOINT ESnap point is set.  When you hover your cursor over the intended reference point an indicator will appear, as well as a tracking guide.  As you move your cursor away from the reference point, the indicator will remain.  You can select a point anywhere along the tracking guide to be sure your geometry will be constructed along that reference.  It is possible to combine two tracking points, and choose their virtual intersection as a reference point, as would be the case of the circle in the center of the rectangle.  Once you have ‘woken up’ one of the reference points and the indicator is visible, move to the second reference point, and hover your cursor over it to ‘wake it up’.  As you move your cursor to the virtual intersection, and BOTH tracking guides appear, select that position and you have selected the center of the rectangle.  When finished be sure to verify the new geometry by adding dimension.

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This post was submitted by Mark Lyons.

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When you add parts or place model into an assembly, the default mesh size that is calculated changes from before (when there were fewer parts).  Try using automatic trials to fix the problem by successively reducing the mesh size by a factor < 1.  If that still fails, try applying manual mesh controls to individual components or faces.  There is also a nice option in the mesh control for a component mesh control to mesh it as if the mesh size was dependent on itself only.
The other comments above are helpful  also.

Here are some meshing tips that I compiled before:

Here are  the order of tips to use to overcoming meshing  problems:
1) First if the  standard mesher fails for the default mesh size, then I suggest doing one of two  things: (a) try meshing using the auto looping technique, or  (b) look at the failure diagnostics to determine where it failed to give a clue  as to why.

2) If you did the  auto looping in step 1 as suggested and it still fails, then this time at least  check the failure diagnostics.

3) Did you check  interference?  If there is interference, then: (a) fix the geometry, (b) create  a cavity in one part so that they are not interfering but be wary of small  geometry made by this feature, or (c) make it an incompatible  mesh.

4) Does the  geometry have some other issues like sliver areas or super small faces that are  a a result of imported geometry?  Can it be repaired easily?  These are good  questions to ask at this point but wait until you try more before doing the  harder task of fixing the model.

5) Set a mesh  control for the part or parts that failed and use the sliding bar for “Component  significance” towards the right to High.  The left end of the slider corresponds  to using the default global element size of the assembly (f=0), and the right  end of the slider corresponds to using the default element size if the component  is meshed independently (f=1).  The program calculates the element size (Ei) for  component i from the equation: Ei = G – (G-Ci)*f

6) Set mesh controls  on individual features of the parts.  Just as a recommendation for what I use  for the ratio and number of layers, I think 1.25 and 4 does a better job and  looks a bit smoother than the default 1.5 and 3.

7) Open the failing  part or parts individually and try to mesh them by themselves.   If it automatically meshes with the default, then try to find the largest mesh  size that works.  If the default size does not work, then use auto looping to  find one that does.  You may have to use feature-based mesh controls here as  well.  Make note of the mesh size(s) when it does mesh successfully, so that you  can use this as the mesh size for a component (or feature) mesh control back in  the assembly.

8 ) After trying 1-7  and it still fails, maybe there is a problem with how the parts are touching.   Consider sliver faces or bad geometry that may be created by the mesher  automatically imprinting one surface onto another.  Get a better visualization  of this by creating a split line if possible.  You may be required now at this  point to create an Incompatible mesh and create bonded contact sets  semi-automatically by using the “Find Contact Sets” command.

9) If all else fails,  then with your incompatible mesh, use the “Alternate” or curvature-based  mesher.  The alternate mesher uses the Global Size value to define maximum  element size and the Tolerance value for the minimum element size. The minimum  element size is used for boundaries with the highest curvature. The maximum  element size is used for boundaries with lowest curvature.

Continuing on with the meshing tips, one addition:

1a) You may find in  the failure diagnostics that it will tell you to either change the element size  and/or raise or lower the tolerance value.  Changing the element size has the  effect of also changing the tolerance which sometimes is the deciding factor.   You can also manually change the tolerance size to something other than the  default 5% of the global element size.

First, it is  important to understand how meshing is performed.  After preparing the geometry  by imprinting touching faces and breaking up faces into logical sub-surfaces, a  surface mesh is created for each face independently.

Next, the tolerance  value is used in knitting the surfaces together to create a water-tight solid,  so you want to have a reasonable size tolerance value to be able to knit  surfaces together (5% by default).  Do not increase the tolerance value too  large, but up to 25-30% of the global element size is fine.  The surface meshing technology  was developed in-house which is typically done for any FEA code.  If there is  only a Shell mesh, then the meshing stops at this point.

For a Solid mesh,  it continues by filling in the volume with solid tet elements and again uses the  tolerance value to determine whether elements should be collapsed or not.  Here  you want to have a reasonably small tolerance size so that elements are not  collapsed unnecessarily.  If the mesher fails in the volume filling phase, you  will want to decrease the tolerance down to about 1% or sometimes smaller.  The  volume mesher is done by a third-party meshing product called  TetMesh-GHS3D from a company in France called Distene; again this  is the typical scenario used by many FEA codes.

So you have two  opposing concepts that fight for raising and lowering the Tolerance value.

Here are tips on when and how to change the tolerance value:
(a) If the  tolerance is too large, it will collapse nodes and create bad element shapes  causing the mesh to fail.  If you have features like a fillet radius or wall  thickness that is smaller than the tolerance value, then decrease the tolerance  to something at least half the size of the smallest feature.

(b) Be careful that  you don’t make it too too small or you will run into the problem of having the  surface mesh not able to knit itself together to create a water-tight solid for  volume meshing.  Look for mesh failures coming up during the final stage of  meshing a part where it is filling in the volume.

(c) The tolerance  is a global value and so you should also consider the smallest mesh control size  that was defined.  Also as mentioned before, consider the smallest geometry  feature.  Make use of the SolidWorks tool “Check” for information about short  edges, minimum radius of curvature and other min/max  features.

(d) If the solver  fails because there are not enough restraints or parts are ripping apart from  one another when they should be bonded by a global contact condition, typically  when working with a shells or a mixed mesh, then either your Tolerance is not  large enough or you should define a Local contact set as  bonded.

**********

My favorite new values are: (0.5)^(1/4) and (0.5)^(1/3), which are approximately 0.8409 and 0.7937, respectively.  Why?

Well, when I set my automatic mesh trials options, these values bring me to half the original global mesh size in 4 steps (or 3 steps).  To quarter in 8 steps (or 6),  to 1/8 in 12 steps (or 9), to 1/16 in 16 steps (or 12), and so on.

See below image for settings:

[Original post]

This post was submitted by Joe Galliera.

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The Mouse Gesture is a way of combining pointing device movements and clicks which DraftSight recognizes as a specific command. Mouse gestures can provide quick access to common functions of a program. They can also be useful for people who have difficulties typing commands.

To access the Mouse Gesture wheel, hold the Right Mouse Button down, and move the mouse in the desired direction.  To cancel the Mouse Gesture, release the Right Mouse Button while the pointing device is within the inner ring.

In DraftSight you have the option of having 4 or 8 Mouse Gestures available.  Or, you can disable Mouse Gestures all together if that’s what you want.  The default commands when using 4 Mouse Gestures are: Zoom Bounds, Line, Save and Open.  The additional default commands on the 8 Mouse Gesture wheel are: Trim, SimpleNote, Move and Offset.

The great thing about the Mouse Gesture function is the commands used are easily customized, so you can choose any combination of 8 commands that you commonly use.  To access the menu for control of the Mouse Gesture, simply click Options>Mouse Gestures…

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Watch the following tutorial for more information:

This post was submitted by Mark Lyons.

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When I was running a pack and go to send the files back to the customer, I thought there must be a easy way to only check the files that I’ve edited this day?

I found that in the Pack & Go function, you can double click the “Date Modified” header, and you can key in today’s date and then select to check only these items. This is great when you’re editing a customer’s assembly, and you really do not know which files you could be altering when you make a single change.

PS: You can double click any of the headers in the Pack & Go dialogue and filter just about anything.

Great tool!

Regards
Micah.

This post was submitted by Micah Speight.

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1.      First, open your Toolbox Settings tool found in the Windows All Programs, SolidWorks, SolidWorks Tools menu.

o   Alternatively, you can also launch the Toolbox Settings tool from the SW Toolbox Browser (RMB Configure).

2.      Select the tab “2 – Customize Hardware” and navigate to the component you want to update properties for.

o   In my example, I will use Ansi Inch, Bolts and Screws, Hex Head, Hex Bolt

3.      From here, you can edit properties individually but if you want to edit in bulk, select the Import/Export button, left of the title bar, and select Export data…

4.      Save the Excel spreadsheet and edit the Part Number, Description & Comment columns as required.

5.      Once editing your Excel spreadsheet complete, start this procedure again but select Import data at Step 3 above. The result would look like this:

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This post was submitted by Michel Cloutier.

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Launch the Symmetry Check from the Tools menu. There, you will find an option, Automatic Symmetry Split. This functionality will automatically reduce a part to its smallest repeatable symmetrical body. It DOES NOT CARE about the model orientation so it’s great working with imported models without the need to create symmetry planes and such. It’s also especially useful when you run analyses using the SolidWorks Simulation software to reduce your solving time to a minimum.

Watch a video recording, recorded by Value Added Reseller Javelin Technologies here:

http://www.javelin-tech.com/newsletter/tech/2009/june/video_symmetry_split.htm

Have fun!

PS: If you are running SW2009, simply activate the SW Utilities add-in and the option will be made available for you.

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Imagineering TV is a web-TV series, hosted by 3D avatar show hosts, Joan & Alex. These avatars will present to the viewers the latest technology updates in SolidWorks Education, news updates in the education community, and quick tips that will help educators and students become more proficient in SolidWorks.

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Pipe A

Pipe B

Which configuration results in a smaller, thus better, pressure drop?  Better yet, what is the best angle to reduce the pressure drop to a minimum.  It is very easy with configurations (or a design table) to create a fitting with a transitional angle at every degree from 3 to 30.  We can leverage these configurations within SW Flow Simulation with Cloning and Batch Runs to complete the task.

What we find out is that the best angle is 11°, as shown in the graph of the results below (only values until 13 are shown).  This is because if the angle is too small, then the overall pipe length is longer resulting in frictional pressure losses.  Larger angles creates a sharp velocity increase and the resulting pressure drop goes up.  Isn’t this a perfect reason to use a virtual test bench to find out what the best design is without spending the money and taking the time to build the physical test!

Could I have done this same task with the Parametric Study tool in Flow Simulation?  Not exactly, that tools requires that you have a set value defined by a Goal that you are hoping to converge upon, thus the Parametric Study tool is not an optimization tool.

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Let’s Go Design: Episode #3 – The Ultimate CAD Chair project is rapidly approaching build phase. In this episode, Jeremy invites a SolidWorks engineer into the studio to evolve the chair support system based on community input – and use SolidWorks Simulation to help decide which to build. Watch, Share, Vote now at www.LetsGoDesign.tv

SolidWorks User Wins Popular Science Invention Award – June 28, 2010 – Toronto snowmobile racer Shawn Watling has tripled his work speed and won the Popular Science Invention Award for a breakthrough snowmobile track powered by a rearward axle instead of the traditional one in the front of the sled. Link

Solid Scoop – June 28th – Below is sampling of SolidWorks articles from the last few weeks.

• Develop3D – Coverage of the NAIM customer story Link
• Professional Engineering – John Pullin interviews Matt West on social networking Link
• Desktop Engineering – Coverage of ‘Let’s Go Design Series’ Link
• Design Engineering – Coverage of DraftSight news that mentions SolidWorks Link
• CADCAMNews – Coverage of Kinematic customer story Link

Five Questions Friday with Jason Balser of Goodyear Tire & Rubber – from SolidWorks Blog – Jason graduated from Ohio State University in March with a Bsc in mechanical engineering. He worked on the university’s Formula SAE team designing everything from brackets to body panels, which helped him land his job at Goodyear. Link

Terrafugia’s car/airplane hybrid soars on latest FAA ruling – from SolidWorks Blog  – SolidWorks customer : FAA recently designated Terrafugia’s vehicle as “light sport aircraft.” so buyers can fly with a sport pilot’s license. Link

Formula SAE Events – from SolidWorks Blog – There was one team in particular who did such a good job at the presentation, I was pretty much convinced they were actually manufacturing and selling a car! Link

Of snow and tarmac – from SolidWorks Blog – Shawn Watling won a Popular Science Award Link

Five Questions Friday with Brian McElyea – from SolidWorks Blog – Title: Senior Mechanical Engineer at Intuitive Research and Technology Corporation – supplier of services to the Department of Defense, government agencies, and commercial companies. Editor/Blogger: CADFanatic.com Link

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