Recent content by enginerd1959

The fix was under TOOLS, OPTIONS, SYSTEM OPTIONS, EXTERNAL REFERENCES. I unchecked “Search file locations for external references”. That one fix made assemblies load 3 to 10 times faster.

I forgot to mention I'm running SolidWorks 2014 Premium x64 Edition, SP 3.0

My company recently upgraded me to a new fast workstation: Xenon 3.7 GHz CPU 32GB memory Nvidia Quadro K2000 video card 750 GB HDD Windows 7 The odd thing is it now takes over 10x longer to load assemblies as my old computer, unless I unplug or disable the network connection. For example...

Sorry - can't upload the part (it's proprietary). But I was able to get what I needed by doing a couple tube sweeps with the same guide curves. I used the old IDs for my new ODs, and zero for my new IDs. There was one tapered transition that I was able to create with a revolve. Probably not...

I have a non-parametric part, imported as a Parasolid. It's a stainless tube with varying diameters and bends. I need to find out the internal volume - how much liquid it can contain. What's the best way wo do that?

Thanks Eric. Worked like a charm!

In NX4 I have a couple detail views (the little circular window) of a cylindrical part side view. I can't figure out how to force a diameter dimension. I can select one side, but the other side is outside the circular window, so all I an get is the radius (the 4.235 dimension in the attached...

John, Is there a reverse button in the Through Curves dialog box in NX4? I can't find it.

I figured out the twist problem. I chose "Angle" alignment & picked the center of the 2 circles. I don't understand why it worked, but it did. I finished by uniting the various bits.http://files.engineering.com/getfile.aspx?folder=07fa569f-b694-474b-aa02-3b17b395a457&file=U-Clip_Coil_Spring.jpg

Sorry - I should have read your reply more carefully. I was at least able to get something to appear with "Surface Through Curves" but it's twisted.http://files.engineering.com/getfile.aspx?folder=12f1051d-965a-4c3e-a39a-682eabff7947&file=Surface_Through_Curves_problem.jpg

Thanks guys, John - I don't know anything about mesh surfaces. I tried experimenting with the command & reading the help file but I'm totally lost. I probably need more advanced training, but 99% of what we do here is simple Extrudes, Revolves, etc. Hudson - it appears your sample .PRT is...

I'm trying to connect 2 cylindrical objects, but one is also helical (a spring) so I'm not sure how to make a guide path that's perpendicular to both ends. But the "Bridge" doesn't have to be perfectly tangent. I'm just throwing together concepts for a rainstorming session, so if you have a...

I went into "Roles" and switched from "Designer" to "Advanced Designer" and that fixed it. (I wonder if I'll get a pay raise now that I'm "Advanced"?) Thanks for your suggestions.

I'm running NX4. When I try to insert a datum I no longer see the "Annotation Placement" box, so I can't change the default arrow to a pyramid. This happened to a coworker a few months ago, and after checking this forum we changed his screen resolution. That fixed it. Now mine is...

Thanks. That is a very handy parametric-driven model. But I'm required to work in NX4. I was able to access a coworker's NX5 station to view the file. Now I'll try to duplicate it in NX4.