SWX file structure
SWX file structure
(OP)
What is the best way to setup SWX so I can reuse models , resize them, change materials, while keeping the original model intact?
I'm building a library of 'standard' cabinets. These will be the cabinets we use to build models of rooms. Each room will belong to a 'job', each job will belong to a 'customer'.
A standard cabinet with just 2 doors might be used in 50 jobs, in different configurations. Some 30" wide, some 25" deep, some 37.5" wide, and some 24" deep...some that are wood veneer (multiple species and stains), some plastic laminate (thousands of clors)...and so on.
I'd like to be able to pull in cabinet assemblies from our library, resize them to fit a room, and customize the materials to fit a customer....without effecting all the other configurations of the 'same' cabinet that are in other models for other customers.
Can you please give me some advise on how to accomplish this?
Thanks!
I'm building a library of 'standard' cabinets. These will be the cabinets we use to build models of rooms. Each room will belong to a 'job', each job will belong to a 'customer'.
A standard cabinet with just 2 doors might be used in 50 jobs, in different configurations. Some 30" wide, some 25" deep, some 37.5" wide, and some 24" deep...some that are wood veneer (multiple species and stains), some plastic laminate (thousands of clors)...and so on.
I'd like to be able to pull in cabinet assemblies from our library, resize them to fit a room, and customize the materials to fit a customer....without effecting all the other configurations of the 'same' cabinet that are in other models for other customers.
Can you please give me some advise on how to accomplish this?
Thanks!






RE: SWX file structure
Cheers,
Simon
RE: SWX file structure
When I include a standard part in an assembly I do a "Save as..." to a file name unique to the project. I then make the mods needed. Information in the part file properties tells me what it was derived from and the modifications for material, finish, etc.,
--
Hardie "Crashj" Johnson
SW 2011 SP 4.0
HP Pavillion Elite HPE
W7 Pro, Nvidia Quaddro FX580
RE: SWX file structure
I wouldn't attempt to configure the donor project in an attempt to make it all inclusive for all of your projects. I think "saving as" for each project will be the most trouble free method. Once you have several projects done... it really won't be necessary to go back to the original donor, you could go back to a more recent project that more closely matches the current project and do a "save as" from there.
-Dustin
Professional Engineer
Pretty good with SolidWorks
RE: SWX file structure
I'd like to keep all the projects intact. Or does 'saveas' break the link?
Thanks for all the replies!
RE: SWX file structure
-Dustin
Professional Engineer
Pretty good with SolidWorks
RE: SWX file structure
Jeff Mirisola, CSWP
Design Manager/Senior Designer
M9 Defense
My Blog
RE: SWX file structure
--
Hardie "Crashj" Johnson
SW 2011 SP 4.0
HP Pavillion Elite HPE
W7 Pro, Nvidia Quaddro FX580
RE: SWX file structure
The really nice thing about SW is that it handles configurations beautifully, compared to ProE with the "family table" or "simplified rep" thing. Configurations are easy to manage, and you can have a single file with many possible variations by assigning each dynamic dimension to "this configuration." Like Simon205 said, read about configurations and design library stuff. It really is easy, I've used them extensively (ie a 1/4-20 bolt of varying lengths. One file, configurations to handle all standard lengths).
RE: SWX file structure
Cole M
CSWP, CSWST, CSWI, CPDM
Certified DriveWorks AE