Employee rolled alot of feature trees backwords

[arcticcatmatt]

I have an employee that decided that when she wanted a new part that was the same as an old part but minus the last 2 features, she would save as copy then roll back the feature tree 2 features. UGHGHGHGHG

Now I have a 50 part assembly on my screen and solidworks keeps telling me that some parts were saved in their roll back state, would I like to roll them forward. Go figure!

Now I have a mess on my hands. Is there a way to check what parts she did this to? Or do I have to go thru them all.

I hate work.

 

[macduff]

arcticcatmatt,
You're in my prayers after reading this thread.

Best,

Colin Fitzpatrick (aka Macduff)
Mechanical Designer
Solidworks 2008 SP 4.0
Dell 490 XP Pro SP 2
Xeon CPU 3.00 GHz 3.00 GB of RAM
nVida Quadro FX 3450 512 MB
3D Connexion-SpaceExplorer

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

... and she would be in my crosshairs oops, I mean prayers also.

 

[arcticcatmatt]

How far are you guys from NY state? I want to work with you haha.

I can't imagine how much more efficient my day could be if everyone cared enough to do their job correctly.

I have two parts on my screen right now trying to mate them. One models holes are ordinate dimensioned, the other models are located on a bolt hole circle. Of course, they are .000004 off and will not mate, so I have to repair the problem. I swear I do that 20 times a day.

The other parts I have are not modeled correctly. They are .495 wide and the holes are located from the left side, the connecting part is .505 wide and the holes are located from the right side.

UGHGHG! Either model it line to line and tolerance it on your print with a limit dimension or model it to the size you already did and put the planes in the middle of the part locating the holes from the middle of the part so it all lines up!!

The problem here is everyone is thinking in 2-d mode. Hell, they still bring up Cadra every day and will even create new parts in Cadra sometimes.

 

[MadMango]

Seems like some training could be helpful, followed by more training, and perhaps some additional training.

 

[macduff]

arcticcatmatt,
Sounds like you need some drawing standards in place, and a checking function to boot. Of course communication and common sense also plays a roll. But you know what they say about common sense, it’s a misnomer……


Colin Fitzpatrick (aka Macduff)
Mechanical Designer
Solidworks 2008 SP 4.0
Dell 490 XP Pro SP 2
Xeon CPU 3.00 GHz 3.00 GB of RAM
nVida Quadro FX 3450 512 MB
3D Connexion-SpaceExplorer

 

[drawoh]

arcticcatmatt,

I have two parts on my screen right now trying to mate them. One models holes are ordinate dimensioned, the other models are located on a bolt hole circle. Of course, they are .000004 off and will not mate, so I have to repair the problem. I swear I do that 20 times a day.

Unless the geometry of your parts are weird, you should mate faces, one hole, and make two features parallel. Then look at the other holes to see if anything does not line up.

The problem with pitch circles is that on some parts, a pitch circle is a good specification, and on other parts, they are not. Some people insist that the dimension shown on the fabrication drawing must exactly match the model.

So now, we have a round flange with a six hole pitch circle, attached to a complex, flat plate. We convert all the the flat plate holes to rectangular co-ordinates to simplify fabrication and inspection. We correct the holes on the model to exactly match the fabrication drawing. The flange continues to be dimensioned as a pitch circle. For production, on both parts, we remove the parametric sketch constraints.

The results of all this passes manual checking. The parts can be assembled. The only problem is that there is a positional discrepancy in your holes of some value less than your decimal accuracy.

Think about it. Even if you can mate two holes, you cannot mate the other four.

Just for the record, my approach on the plate would be to model the pitch circle, and apply the dimensions as rectangular co-ordinates. The results would assemble by your procedure. They would pass manual checking and the parts would assemble, however, there would be a discrepancy between some of the actual features, and the fabrication drawing. This discrepancy will be less than your decimal accuracy.

JHG

 

[TateJ]

She is a fellow employee...
I am the solidworks admin for the group.

Does that mean you have some authority... or you're just the one who knows the most about SolidWorks?
If you have some authority... exercise it!
If your boss won't back you... climb the ladder.

She just got done screaming at me and calling me every name in the book.

Technically, that's creating a hostile work environment & if your HR department won't fix her, you have other options... Spend a little Google-time on it.

And I hope you're not the type of "goober" that likes to exaggerate to make a story interesting.

Really... SCREAMING...? I doubt she was SCREAMING.
When you exaggerate, you loose credibility... IMHO.

Right-click. It's friggin' magic!

FAQ376

 

[arcticcatmatt]

^ Good thing I wasn't exaggerating then.

 

[TateJ]

Good thing I wasn't exaggerating then.

Then you and your witnesses (all the folks that heard her screaming at you) can go to HR together. You should have no more problems with her...

Right-click. It's friggin' magic!

FAQ376

 

[arcticcatmatt]

Funny thing... I am being moved out of the group. I am going from designing machines to designing product.. and NOT in solidworks. I am the groups admin for solidworks. Not to brag but nobody comes close to using it to its potential as I do. Their macro's exist because of me, and problems are fixed because of me.

They shortcut things like old 2d ways all the time and screw themselves.

And now.. it looks like I am going from Solidworks admin to learning an new software doing a new job.

I was proud of being the best we had for SW.. but not it seems that it was worthless.

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

Congratulations! Which software will you be using?

 

[arcticcatmatt]

^ Congrats? I am scared $hitless. I bought a house in may and I am single.

I am guessing it will be catia or ideas or nx3. Probably one of the first two.

I am sure within a few months I will forget most of my solidworks knowledge. What a shame.

 

[macduff]

Make the best of it whatever life throws at you. If you were a jock in the SW software, you'll be a jock in the new CAD software whatever it will be. I have a friend in San Diego who went to a different company and had to learn UG NX2. Well let's say he is better than the CAD jocks who have been working in the software for 13+ years. He has been at the company for only 2 years.

Also, he never forgot SW.

Keep you head up!

Best,

Colin Fitzpatrick (aka Macduff)
Mechanical Designer
Solidworks 2008 SP 4.0
Dell 490 XP Pro SP 2
Xeon CPU 3.00 GHz 3.00 GB of RAM
nVida Quadro FX 3450 512 MB
3D Connexion-SpaceExplorer

 

[MadMango]

I'm sure whatever software you use, you will be able to apply what you know in SW to it. Besides, the basics never change, so with a strong foundation you'll excel in no time.

"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."

Have you read faq731-376 to make the best use of these Forums?

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

Don't be scared. Embrace the challenge. Learning a new program can only make you more versatile and marketable for future employers.

Just be prepared to be getting lots of calls from the SW crew until they find a replacement.

Will you still be in the same location? Could SW not be used for designing the product?

 

[ctopher]

Since you know SolidWorks, you will pick up CATIA. I think SW is easier to learn, but CATIA is more powerful. UG is ok, but eventully will be only known in history books.

Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 3.1
AutoCAD 08; CATIA V5
ctopher's home (updated Aug 5, 2008)
ctopher's blog
SolidWorks Legion

 

[arcticcatmatt]

I work for a HUGE automotive supplier.

I was moved 2 months ago to a NEW department to find ways to save energy (electric, gas). I have done great work and saved ton with proposals. They picked me because they know I do that stuff to my house haha.

Anyways, now they are laying off again and I got moved instead of shut down. I am honored to still be here but scared also. I do NOT want to lose my solidworks skills. I LOVE solidworks and pride myself in my accomplishments in it.

We have laid off over 50% of people at this location and we were at 1600 employees a couple years ago.

 

[zubaj]

ArticCat,

I was one of the top SW users at my last job and now I'm using Inventor at a new job. Most CAD softwares are pretty similar in terms of the basics and I'm sure you'll be a power user of the new software in no time. Heck, I've been using Inventor for 3 months now and feel like I know it better than people who have been using it for 5 years. Oh the wonders of building models right the first time...

 

[takedownca]

Ditto to what everyone else is saying about alternate software packages. It's similar to programming. If you know the general rules and enjoy what you're doing, it won't take you long to outstrip the old hands. At my first real job I took on the role of CAD admin and goto guy after using SW for only 6 months. Four years later I ended up having to use ProE and again quickly new more about the software than people using it for 10+ years. If you like your job and have an aptitude for picking up new things, learning more software packages should be a snap, and will help your career in the long haul. Also, you don't lose a skill like SW. You might get a little rusty (like me after the 1 year stint using ProE), but it doesn't take long to shake off the dust.

 

[GRF]

I went 5+ years between using SW as my primary cad software, versions 98+ to 2004. In between there I used Mechanical Desktop for 3 years and then just marked up paper drawings for 2, (that company had a cad department and engineers were not allowed to play). With in a year of being back on SW people were coming me to instead of the guy who had been the guru for years to ask how to do things.