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SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

(OP)
What are your first impressions? I'm not impressed very much with the additions at all. There's a couple of cool features in drawings. It looks like they want us to become "Buyers" with the cost tools. Don't get me wrong, it is nice to get a ballpark price on items, but every supplier will have there cost. I don't know if SW took in account for processing the part ie. paint, anodize, chem film etc...I didn't see it in the demo. I didn't watch all the demos due to lack of interest of the ones i did watch.
 

Colin Fitzpatrick (aka Macduff)
Mechanical Designer
Solidworks 2010 SP 5.0
Dell T5500 Windows 7 Pro (64-bit)
Xeon CPU 2.53 GHz 6.00 GB of RAM
nVida Quadro 4000 2 GB
3D Connexion-SpaceExplorer

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

I liked what they did with equations, the feature freeze, the sheet metal improvements. I haven't run it yet, but I'm hoping that the performance/stability improvements live up to what I was told.  

Jeff Mirisola, CSWP
Design Manager/Senior Designer
M9 Defense
My Blog

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

(OP)
I'll check those demo out.

Colin Fitzpatrick (aka Macduff)
Mechanical Designer
Solidworks 2010 SP 5.0
Dell T5500 Windows 7 Pro (64-bit)
Xeon CPU 2.53 GHz 6.00 GB of RAM
nVida Quadro 4000 2 GB
3D Connexion-SpaceExplorer

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

(OP)
Sheet metal "edge flange" enhancement is very cool.

Can anyone tell me where I can find "SW2012 What's New.pdf"?

Colin Fitzpatrick (aka Macduff)
Mechanical Designer
Solidworks 2010 SP 5.0
Dell T5500 Windows 7 Pro (64-bit)
Xeon CPU 2.53 GHz 6.00 GB of RAM
nVida Quadro 4000 2 GB
3D Connexion-SpaceExplorer

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

In the online Help file

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

(OP)
can i get to it from 2010?

Colin Fitzpatrick (aka Macduff)
Mechanical Designer
Solidworks 2010 SP 5.0
Dell T5500 Windows 7 Pro (64-bit)
Xeon CPU 2.53 GHz 6.00 GB of RAM
nVida Quadro 4000 2 GB
3D Connexion-SpaceExplorer

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

(OP)
got it

Colin Fitzpatrick (aka Macduff)
Mechanical Designer
Solidworks 2010 SP 5.0
Dell T5500 Windows 7 Pro (64-bit)
Xeon CPU 2.53 GHz 6.00 GB of RAM
nVida Quadro 4000 2 GB
3D Connexion-SpaceExplorer

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

(OP)
Chris,
I just the pdf to your email account. It's about 4mb

Colin Fitzpatrick (aka Macduff)
Mechanical Designer
Solidworks 2010 SP 5.0
Dell T5500 Windows 7 Pro (64-bit)
Xeon CPU 2.53 GHz 6.00 GB of RAM
nVida Quadro 4000 2 GB
3D Connexion-SpaceExplorer

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

I'm going to the reseller launch event just for the free food :)

Certified SolidWorks Professional

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

(OP)
Kevin, I take it you're not impressed one bit?

Colin Fitzpatrick (aka Macduff)
Mechanical Designer
Solidworks 2010 SP 5.0
Dell T5500 Windows 7 Pro (64-bit)
Xeon CPU 2.53 GHz 6.00 GB of RAM
nVida Quadro 4000 2 GB
3D Connexion-SpaceExplorer

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

I go to the releases each year, too.  Though this year, there's really not much for me to see.  As I've said elsewhere:

Quote:

The Parts/Features area of the What's New document could have easily lost the four extra pages of graphics telling how to explode multi-body parts (since it's about the same as a regular assembly exploded view), but then we'd have only three or four pages covering new Parts/Features for just under 3% dealing with new geometry issues.

...And I also don't see any sign of PV 360 at all.  Nothing.  Did I miss it?

 

Jeff Mowry
www.industrialdesignhaus.com
A people governed by fear cannot value freedom.

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

(OP)
Jeff,
This is all I saw on page 24:

Documentation
New Tutorials
SolidWorks 2012 includes a new PhotoView 360 and Appearances tutorial and an enhanced
Animation tutorial.
To access these tutorials:
1. Click Help > SolidWorks Tutorials.
2. Click one of the following:
• All SolidWorks Tutorials (Set 1) (Animation Tutorial)
• All SolidWorks Tutorials (Set 2) (PhotoView 360 and Appearances)
3. Select the tutorial from the list.

 

Colin Fitzpatrick (aka Macduff)
Mechanical Designer
Solidworks 2010 SP 5.0
Dell T5500 Windows 7 Pro (64-bit)
Xeon CPU 2.53 GHz 6.00 GB of RAM
nVida Quadro 4000 2 GB
3D Connexion-SpaceExplorer

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

Eltro, Dan

Lookst like they did pretty good:

**#10 Simplify Video Card Requirements – I'm not sure I entirely understand the scope of this request.**
**DONE** Added auto system check to RX so the exact driver is verified and a direct link to the correct driver if it is incorrect.  No longer a manual process of verification outside of running RX. (Version 2011)
 
**#9 Exploded Views for Weldments – Cool.**  
**DONE** MultiBody Explode (Version 2012)
 
#8 Option to Dangle Children Instead of Deleting – This should be much higher on the list, in my opinion.
 
#7 Graphical Map of Reference – Ok, sure.
 
**#6 Allow More Types of Assembly Features – Cool.**
**DONE**  New assembly level weld feature, Fillet and Chamfer (version 2011)
 
#5 Better Utilization of Processore Cores – Yes, definately.
 
**#4 On The Fly Equations in Dialog Boxes – Yes!!!**
**DONE??**  Drop down to "add equation and bring up needed dialogs in 2011, New equation editor interface in 2012**
 
#3 File Compatibility Between Versions – YES!!!
 
**#2 Increase Stabilty – Yes, but what does this really mean?**
**Will never be "done" but has been focuse of last 3 releases"
 
**#1 SoldWorks Should Cleanly Uninstall Itself – I agree with this too, but is this really something that affects a lot of people on a daily basis?**
**DONE**  Prototype versions in late SPs of 2011, brought to front as visible selection in 2012

===2011===6 out of 10!


1.Angle mates that don't flip at random??

2.Better utilize processor cores

3.Option to dangle instead of deleting

**4.SolidWorks should cleanly uninstall itself**
**DONE** Late SPs of 2011 (Hidden but there) 2012 fully visible

**5.Freeze Features**
**DONE** Version 2012

**6.Enhanced Equations Input & Editing & Linking**
**DONE** New input interface in 2012
 
7.Convert a Solid Body into a Surface body without having to delete, offset, or knit faces

8.Make the ideas section (in the forum) available all year, not just for SWW

9.File compatibility between versions

10.Pressing Escape key should immediately return control of the interface

====2012====3 out of 10 so far...maybe more?  Unsure on the ideas form request and mate functionality, could be 5 of 10??


Anyone know any other major software companies that meet these numbers for satisfying customer requests?

Cole M
CSWP, CSWST, CSWI, CPDM
Certified DriveWorks AE
 

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

(OP)
What is "feature freeze"?

Colin Fitzpatrick (aka Macduff)
Mechanical Designer
Solidworks 2010 SP 5.0
Dell T5500 Windows 7 Pro (64-bit)
Xeon CPU 2.53 GHz 6.00 GB of RAM
nVida Quadro 4000 2 GB
3D Connexion-SpaceExplorer

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

Theoretically, it will allow you to freeze your feature manager at a specific point so SW doesn't start the rebuild at the beginning.  Basically it hardens your model at a specific point so a lot of overhead isn't wasted recalculating unnecessary features.

Dan

www.eltronresearch.com
Dan's Blog

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

(OP)
Very cool, thanks Dan!  

Colin Fitzpatrick (aka Macduff)
Mechanical Designer
Solidworks 2010 SP 5.0
Dell T5500 Windows 7 Pro (64-bit)
Xeon CPU 2.53 GHz 6.00 GB of RAM
nVida Quadro 4000 2 GB
3D Connexion-SpaceExplorer

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

What kind of an enhancement request is "should cleanly uninstall itself" anyway? The development and future of SolidWorks should be focused on things that do no involve uninstalling the thing! I'm mean its Windows, what're you gonna do? I understand they added a total uninstall but ... the point being?

Certified SolidWorks Professional

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

<<<What are your first impressions? I'm not impressed very much with the additions at all.


that was the case for 2011 too...

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

Could this be the result of them listening to the requests to work on stability and performance over adding new features?

We have been mid crunch for over a year now and are still on 2009.  Any opinions on weather or not 2011 was successful at improving stability?

Eric

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

(OP)
We're not seeing value added improvements to jump to the newer versions every year. We will probably jump to 2012 later this year after a few service packs to get the bugs out. I wish Solidworks would concentrate on fixing the little software bugs (that we submit through ER's) that bothers us each and every day. It would make our life a little better.

Colin Fitzpatrick (aka Macduff)
Mechanical Designer
Solidworks 2010 SP 5.0
Dell T5500 Windows 7 Pro (64-bit)
Xeon CPU 2.53 GHz 6.00 GB of RAM
nVida Quadro 4000 2 GB
3D Connexion-SpaceExplorer

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

no and never will. there are good technical reasons for that (unavailability of features in the previous versions, changed features...)

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

I hate that... You'll seldom hear me singing its praises, but AutoCAD gives users the option to backwardly save and you just accept the little message that says you will lose some of the features of the newer version. Fine by me! It's a complete pain in the a*** not having the same pleasantry in SW.  

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

autocad is a completely different system. it's much easier to save simple lines etc. a feature might be reworked in a new version of the swx or completely changed, which makes backward compatibility very challenging.
too bad they don't have the "read future version" like proE had it for the wildfire 2.0 (so that it could read 3.0 files)

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

Quote:

no and never will. there are good technical reasons for that (unavailability of features in the previous versions, changed features
That's an old saw that's been around for years.
  • It was promised at SWW 2011, for the second time.
  • It is not technically impossible either. Anyone who has perused a Structured Storage file can figure this out. And one reason the SW software keeps taking up more and more space on disk is because it has to retain compatibility with previous versions.
  • Since 2009 SW hasn't made any earth shattering changes to the core, just cosmetic UI changes.
  

TOP
CSWP, BSSE
www.engtran.com  www.niswug.org
www.linkedin.com/in/engineeringtransport

"Node news is good news."

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

Since 2009 SW hasn't made any earth shattering changes to the core, just cosmetic UI changes.

exactly.
although the option in the 2010 that you can retain holes, made in the assembly, in the parts themselves, is a much needed feature (for me).

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

Quote:

"That's an old saw that's been around for years.•It was promised at SWW 2011, for the second time."

Um this has never been promised.  It has been on the top ten, but it has never been promised to be included.

I like the comparisons to line Cad as well.  The expectation for backwards compatibility.  I want something better, more powerful, more stable, more features, but make it still work in the old stuff.  So why are we not asking Chevy.  "Hey why can't I put the engine from my 2008 Monte Carlo into my 1980 Monte Carlo without modifying it?"

Cole M
CSWP, CSWST, CSWI, CPDM
Certified DriveWorks AE
 

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

Quote (sldwkmin):

Um this has never been promised.  It has been on the top ten, but it has never been promised to be included.
And you attended SWW2000?
I recall it being promised at the last SWW, but others don't agree with me. Maybe I misunderstood.  

TOP
CSWP, BSSE
www.engtran.com  www.niswug.org
www.linkedin.com/in/engineeringtransport
Phenom IIx6 1100T = 8GB = FX1400 = XP64SP2 = SW2009SP3
"Node news is good news."

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

I may be alone in thinking this, but quite honestly, I think SW is VERY expensive. For this reason, I don't think it's unjust to have certain expectations... I would happily trade yet more power and features (essentially more toys in my opinion) for things I expect should be in place, and I EXPECT stability.

The fact is that you CAN put a 2008 model Chevy in a 1980's model: hell I owned a '54 Ford with a 1990's Chevy in it haha! I expect a loss of some functionality: I understand it couldn't be completely backwardly compatible - like the Chevy, but - like the Chevy - a lot of things will fit right on and with a bit of intelligent modification everything will work perfectly well.

I just feel it's such a basic thing and SW just can't do it. Occasionally I think SW is ploughing on with more, more, more when there are basic niggles I'd like fixing first. Maybe this will all be academic in a couple of years when we get this big over-haul to the Catia style SW?

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

Quote:

I may be alone in thinking this, but quite honestly, I think SW is VERY expensive.
How right you are. But not in the way you think. I purchased SW98+ for my business some years ago. To keep it in maintenance and upgrades all these years would cost about $31,000 in today's inflation adjusted dollars. I could have bought CATI, Pro/E or NX and had it all then for that kind of money. After a couple of years the easy to use interface would have been a moot point because a) I would have learned those packages interface and b) SW keeps changing theirs so it has to be relearned from year to year.

TOP
CSWP, BSSE
www.engtran.com  www.niswug.org
www.linkedin.com/in/engineeringtransport
Phenom IIx6 1100T = 8GB = FX1400 = XP64SP2 = SW2009SP3
"Node news is good news."

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

Do you think all their ressources are working on SolidWorks V6 and they only care about maintaining SW as it is right now until that new version comes out?

I'm saying this because I come from using Solid Edge for several years and when they released V20 they seem to have concentrated all their efforts to make the software as stable as possible and they only added small improvements that were much appreciated by the current user base. We learned after the released of Synchronous Technology that they were working on it for a couple of years.

I wonder if we are seeing the same pattern here?

Food for thoughts!

Patrick

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

So you have these expectations...What other 3D CAD system provides backward compatibility that does more then saving a file as a parasolid opening it and recognizing the features?

Kellnerp you bring up the cost of SolidWorks over time.  What are the maintenance costs of those other systems over that same period of time?  Also what is provided with the other systems maintenances costs in comparison to SolidWorks upgrades and tech support being included with their maintenance?

Cole M
CSWP, CSWST, CSWI, CPDM
Certified DriveWorks AE
 

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

Patrick, very likely this is my theory too. I must say they did a great job with the marketing again, must have taken quite a few dollars to cobble together. Goshdarnit-diddly-dangit!

Certified SolidWorks Professional

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

Quote (sldwkmin):

What are the maintenance costs of those other systems over that same period of time?
It doesn't matter because I've come to the conclusion that paying maintenance does not have a decent ROI and probably doesn't for any software. I said that if I had bought one of those I would have had it all. My point being that SW has dribbed and drabbed many, but certainly not all by any stretch, capabilities of those packages. For example, CATIA can do certain surface constructions that I have asked SW for since 1999. Pro/E can produce parametric curves, a capabilty SW still doesn't have. On the Simulation front, SW still doesn't have much of the capability that Cosmos/M had when I was running it on DOS. 2D simulation comes to mind. Such a basic capability should have been one of the first things SW should have been able to handle. Still can't do substructuring, structured meshing, and a host of other things.
Once you have a software package installed and running well continuing maintenance is a manufactured need, not a real need. When you have a significant amount of customization of that software in place, further updates can be expensive beyond maintenance. When you have software that won't interoperate with itself, the problem is compounded even more.  

TOP
CSWP, BSSE
www.engtran.com  www.niswug.org
www.linkedin.com/in/engineeringtransport
Phenom IIx6 1100T = 8GB = FX1400 = XP64SP2 = SW2009SP3
"Node news is good news."

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

just about the only good thing about the maintenance are the service packs, which are restricted (to maint. customers) on most platforms (autodesk being the exception)

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

Quote:

just about the only good thing about the maintenance are the service packs
SPs should be free. With only a few exceptions, Sps are fixes to software bugs. We should not have to pay to fix the flaws in SW programming.

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

Most mainteance contracts are priced in the 10-12% of initial cost range per year. You need to calculate that into the cost of the software.
In the case of NX and Pro/E, if you skip a year, you have to pay back maintenance to get it reinstated. Where I used to work, they stopped their UG maintenance after 18 years because corporate had decided to move them to Pro/E. So they stayed on UG V18 for their legacy files. About 5 years later, they needed to upgrade to NX4 for a project so they bought 1 new seat as it was cheaper than the back bill. Plus they could still run the 30+ seats of V18 which they would have lost if they had only upgraded.

Backward compatabilty is more than just lost features of the newer release. It also involves the data structure of the file as saved. One of the files that SW was to upgrade is the Parasolid schema that changes with each release of the kernel. This is just one file that means that each install is larger because the latest schema has the methods for updating older versions to its structure.
 

"Wildfires are dangerous, hard to control, and economically catastrophic."

Ben Loosli

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

CorBlimeyLimey,

I would agree if SP's were just fixes that you possibly should not have to pay for them...but on that same front if you bring your car in for the system control updates you pay for those.

Interesting thing about SolidWorks SP's is they bury ehancements in them more regularly then you think.  One of the more recent ones being the complete uninstall that is in 2012 was included in late SP's of 2011 if you knew where to find it.  There are little enhancements in each one if you look for them.

Cole M
CSWP, CSWST, CSWI, CPDM
Certified DriveWorks AE
 

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

Separate bug fixes from enhancements and bob's your uncle, no?

Certified SolidWorks Professional

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

Excited to see all the new changes and additions they have implemented!

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

(OP)
Looks like I'm going to miss our "Tee Up SolidWorks 2012 at DDi's Rollout Event" next week. I have to travel to Brazil for work. I really want to see the new 2012 product and what's really been added. Also, I like networking with the other Tucson users. Oh well...

I agree with separating the bugs from the enhancements.  

Colin Fitzpatrick (aka Macduff)
Mechanical Designer
Solidworks 2010 SP 5.0
Dell T5500 Windows 7 Pro (64-bit)
Xeon CPU 2.53 GHz 6.00 GB of RAM
nVida Quadro 4000 2 GB
3D Connexion-SpaceExplorer

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

I just got the SW2012 SP1.0 DVD from my VAR. Is it ready for production use? Large design review could be quite helpful for us.

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

From testing on our products, SP0 was suitable for production ... but you should always do your own testing before using a new version on production files.

RE: SolidWorks 2012 Has Arrived

(OP)
I agree with CBL.  

Colin Fitzpatrick (aka Macduff)
Mechanical Designer
Solidworks 2010 SP 5.0
Dell T5500 Windows 7 Pro (64-bit)
Xeon CPU 2.53 GHz 6.00 GB of RAM
nVida Quadro 4000 2 GB
3D Connexion-SpaceExplorer

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