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Solidworks 2004

Solidworks 2004

Solidworks 2004

(OP)
Can any of you guys testing Solidworks 2004 give us a quick overview of the new features?

jevakil@mapdi.com

One nuclear bomb can ruin your whole day.

RE: Solidworks 2004

No, if you want too see the new features you need to sign up for the beta testing. I'm not being mean by saying "NO" but we are not able to infrom anyone of the new features in SW04 beta.

SW has made it clear in other NG's that "Anyone Posting to this NG in regards to the Beta version of Solidworks 2004 will be removed from the Beta program. This version is not open for public Discussion"

You can find this post and others like it at comp.cad.soildworks or www.google.com

Besides items that are in beta right now may not be there in the final release of 04.

Regards,

Scott Baugh, CSWP
3DVision Technologies
http://www.3dvisiontech.com
http://www.scottjbaugh.com
FAQ731-376
When in doubt, always check the help

RE: Solidworks 2004

SBaugh is correct again.  I have mentioned that you might all want to be looking a NVIDIA Quadro for graphics choice several times and only that piece of possible information, because it was originally obtained independently from the Beta program and before I had seen the beta release.  Otherwise nothing can be leaked.  It is pretty standard practice and makes sense as he points out.  You could always join the Beta program if it is not too late.

3/4 of all the Spam produced goes to Hawaii - shame that's not true of SPAM also.......

RE: Solidworks 2004

Jevakil, read it yourself:

http://www.solidworks.com/pages/news/viewrelease.html?prid=138

Apprently SW is ready to release this puppy. I signed up to do the Beta Testing just a month or two ago. And it's ready to be purchased. SW must be either: very confident in this release, or quickly releasing 2004 to stave off competition (or both ).

SW has a tendancy to show off Pre-releases at Solidworks World. I do not believe they are too concerned about "leaking" future releases to the public if they showed it to 10,000's (maybe 100,000's) of people at these shows.

RE: Solidworks 2004

SWX 2004 is oficially released.  Does anybody know if it can display screw threads (even if they're simulated)?

RE: Solidworks 2004

no it is not officially released it is in second stage beta testing. I know because i am a beta tester.

RE: Solidworks 2004

In Solidworks' July 8 press release, posted on their web site:

"SolidWorks 2004 is available immediately for purchase in 12 languages worldwide".

Does that mean you can buy it now, but it won't be delivered until the beta testing is over?  Odd.

RE: Solidworks 2004

I think that is what it means, you can pre-purchase now, and it will be delivered after testing.

Also, speaking of press releases, July 7th...
"With the new SolidWorks RealView feature, users can now create lifelike views of products in various stages of design using realistic materials and textures without leaving the design mode. Unlike competing products, RealView marries industrial designers’ aesthetics with mechanical designers’ functional concerns to deliver the most realistic, real-time rendering capability available within a 3D mechanical design system."

Can anyone shed some light on this, like is this an add-on like PhotoWorks (perhaps a renaming trick), or will it be available in the core product, meaning SW04 sans Office and Professional versions?

Wanna Tip? FAQ731-376
"Probable impossibilities are to be preferred to improbable possibilities."

RE: Solidworks 2004

The realview is awesome!! It's not an add-in but rather it comes with SW04.

I had my company purchase me one of the cards that is supported. You have to have a particular Quadro FX card before you can use this new feature. I bought the FX 500 and I like it.

What the Realview is, is that you apply a material to a part like chrome and click realview and the model is seen as chrome. Like if you change colors in a model in SW03 you would see it as that color. Same steps except you add a material instead of a color.

I hope that helps,

Scott Baugh, CSWP
3DVision Technologies
http://www.3dvisiontech.com
http://www.scottjbaugh.com
FAQ731-376
When in doubt, always check the help

RE: Solidworks 2004

Actually some quadro 4 cards are also supported.  the 700, 900 and 980 xgl I believe.  Yes I agree the feature is awesome!

RE: Solidworks 2004

So is this like realtime photoworks?

btw... where do you apply for beta testing?

www.solidworks.com?
If so what sub menus?

sounds like it's to late for 04...

But I might be interested for 05,06,...

Thanks,
--Josh--

RE: Solidworks 2004

SBaugh, does this mean my "old" GloriaIII card won't work?  Is there a list of approved card for using this new feature?  Is it still restricted due to beta testing, or can you share the list with me, or point me in the right direction?

Wanna Tip? FAQ731-376
"Probable impossibilities are to be preferred to improbable possibilities."

RE: Solidworks 2004

Your card will work fine you just can't use the the Realview option.

There is a list in the What's new of SW04.

From my understanding this is the list that I'm aware of:
Quadro FX 2000, 1000, 500
Quadro4 980 XGL, 900 XGL, 780 XGL, 750 XGL, 700 XGL, 700 Go GL

You have to remember that this is Beta and this could change, but I doubt it will...you never can tell sometimes though.

,

Scott Baugh, CSWP
3DVision Technologies
http://www.3dvisiontech.com
http://www.scottjbaugh.com
FAQ731-376
When in doubt, always check the help

RE: Solidworks 2004

Just got back from a SW2004 Rollout seminar coordinated by my VAR, GoEngineer.  Very nice info, and our guest speaker was Aaron Kelly, Director of Product Development at SolidWorks Corp.

It amazes me how I can still get excited about this software each time I see a new version come out.  We've all had our share of bumps and scrapes with the software, and it looks like SW Corp is finally taking all of that to heart.

MadMango
"Probable impossibilities are to be preferred to improbable possibilities."
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

RE: Solidworks 2004

can someone tell me where to put the realview shader and texture files then please because my cards an fx2000 and im sure it supports texture shading and then some

LIKE ive said in earlier posts theres got to be something quicker than pw2

RE: Solidworks 2004

I just have one question...

Please tell me they have improved the 2D drawing side of the software...

That seems to be about the most unstable part of the software to date...

If you get a really busy drawing, dimensions and annotations tend to jump around all by themselfs...

RE: Solidworks 2004

haa haa haa,, plenty of chatter for non-disclosure.
Glad Im not talking about how I like the Task Scheduler  :p

RE: Solidworks 2004

SWVB101, I didn't see too much on the drawing side during the Rollout seminar, except some new functionality.

Auto-insert Item Bubbles-  These look really nice, and they default all around the drawing an equal distance, makes things look nice.  If leader cross, they automatically uncross themselves.

Hole Charts- enought said there, looked really good.

Rev Blocks- again, nice looking.

Light Weight Drawing mode- acts just like LW assys.

MadMango
"Probable impossibilities are to be preferred to improbable possibilities."
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

RE: Solidworks 2004

I just went to a seminar and found alot of little and big things in the 2004 that I am excited about.

- My favorite additions are the Weldment items.  You can sketch a 3d structure of just lines then extrude different steel (tubings, angles, etc.) along those lines.  You can show welds on a welded part (It adds the weld to the total mass of the part too!) It is not supposed to slow anything down and it looks really cool. You can add an automatic cut list chart into the drawing file.  It is not an Excel table either and is very customizable.  You can also pull off sub-details on the weldment sheet.
- Hole charts-It makes a chart and also labels all of the holes on the part. Easily customizable also.
- You can rotate and move a part in the assembly with out clicking the icons, it is all mouse driven.
- Ability to easily customize menus
- The feature manager will fly out in the drawing space and be transparent when another tab comes up, so it is not hidden under it.
- Tabs have been moved to the top of the feature manager
- Addition of a dimensions toolbar
- You can mark dimensions in your sketches to be used in the drawing, only those marked will show up.
- Easier Move/Copy/Rotate entities in assemblies
- Measure tool can always be on
- Revolve doesn't need a centerline now, can use and edge or other feature
- New wrap feature to wrap a sketch around a cylindrical part
- Internal and External Graphical threads are shown.
- Don't have to click add when putting in a custom property
- If you delete a plane in a part, the sketch on that plane does not automatically delete, just shows an error and allows you to fix it.
- Can put mates in seperate folders.
- In assemblies, you can see both the part features and its dependencies at the same time in the feature tree.
- New Limit mate (good for cylinders and strokes)
- New Symetric mate
- Lightweight sub-assemblies within main assemblies
- Lightweight drawings!!
- Can dissolve a pattern
- Auto balloons
- Semi-Auto revision table
- Save as pdf
- Native AutoCAD files imported into SWX will update when the AutoCAD file updates.
- Task Scheduler

Plus more that I'm sure I have already forgotten.


RE: Solidworks 2004

According to what I have been told outside the beta program constraints, any Quadro graphics board will be fine for SW 2004/RealView.  And, yes they did mention this at our local roll-out presentation.  The date given fro actual release to the street was about August 1st if I recall.  I'm not quite so excited about the actual date myself, because we always wait for:

1.  ...the dust to settle on ANY major software release - not just SW.

2.  ...for SmarTeam (PDM) to catch up!!!!!!!! Not exactly performing per the Gold Partner standards - and they belong to the same company......

3/4 of all the Spam produced goes to Hawaii - shame that's not true of SPAM also.......

RE: Solidworks 2004

I hope I don't offend anyone by saying this, but...

I used to use Solid Works and switched to Solid Edge.  I find it funny how the two closely compete.  

I have to admit Solid Works does a good job with the Wow tools, but when it comes down to serious modeling, the flexiblity is not there.  Too many work arounds and what I consider taking the long route.

In being fast to market as they say, they took short cuts in programming from day one.  Now they have the band aid effect going on.  That's why Solid Works can't handle the large assemblies like Solid Edge can.

I like the fact that I can program with Solid Edge, I don't want to have to be a programmer to do my job, with Solid Works we were having to write macros to speed up the drawing/modeling process.

Also, there is too many add on's for Solid Works that are already offered in Solid Edges package.

As far as the new additions, I don't see anything different than what I'm already doing with Edge, including the material and textures.

Again, I don't want to offend Solid Works users, but we were told in the buying of Works process all the things we could do, to later find out we couldn't.  Our sales rep didn't exactly lie, but didn't exactly tell the whole truth.

RE: Solidworks 2004

I forgot to ask, is the pro-e translators included in 2004?  The ones I'm talking about are the ones released in the last beta version and then pulled before release.  This was one of the things that steered us from Works.

RE: Solidworks 2004

You tell if  pro-e translators included in SE? If SW is having legal problems cracking the newest PRO/E file format then how is SE doing?

RE: Solidworks 2004

I don't have any problems converting Pro-E drawings in Edge.  There is interoperability between edge and Unigraphics and it would be nice if this was also available with Pro-E.

The company I work for is a third-party supplier to many companies, but one of our customers (a supplier to many companies also) are considering Works because they were told by the sales Rep there was total interoperability between them and Pro-E.  

I'm just curious because I don't think the sales rep is being totally honest, which is what originally brought us to Edge.

RE: Solidworks 2004

Thats better all my gripes about solidworks pw2 will now be thrown out the window the realview uses cg shaders just like our alias maya software thank god that means that the wobbly pw2 renderer can go !!!

By the way now that sw are making inroads into real time shading and mapping does that mean they will drop pw2
seem's they might be going down two different roads even though the two are related cg shading and its proprietry shading language is only supported on quadro and their quadro fx last time i looked if ati support it could someone let me know ,

so that means to use it you need the right hardware what if you dont have the right hardware?  pw2 will be supported on virtually any graphics card so it just seems there will be more choice again this comes back to the pw2 renderer and its time to render issue try rendering a 2 minute avi at 7.5fps it takes a long time.
The realview is cool because at an advanced level its better than scanline rendering for realism(this is how the pros do it for feature films etc)and its quicker too because of the hardware on your ggraphics card
but lets remember this isnt a feature film its an engineering package and why would you want a feature like this when pw1 was fine for what engineers need
Its the same old story lets find a new technology strip it to its bear minimum away from the full really good features and sell it or include it as a plug in

RE: Solidworks 2004

No the PRO-E translator for the newer versions of pro-e is not available, nor will it. PTC has made a liscensing fee demand per seat that was to high for SW to pay.

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