GETTING STARTED

Looking to learn how to get SOLIDWORKS installed? This video is the best place to start as it will guide you through the process and cover a few tips and tricks on how to make your installation as robust as possible. It takes you through step by step describing the options in the SOLIDWORKS Installation Manager and also covers how to download the files if you are installing the software on multiple machines.

Even a brand-new computer may benefit from optimising the settings to help SOLIDWORKS run as efficiently as possible. This video demonstrates the key Graphics card, Power and Windows options that are key to running a high-powered program like SOLIDWORKS smoothly. It also demonstrates how to diagnose errors and identify, download and install the certified graphics card driver for your machine and software version.

Ever wondered what type of licenses there are and how this might affect you? An explanation of licenses is demonstrated in this short video plus a demonstration of how to manually activate and deactivate the licenses if you need to change computers that you ware working on. If you are using SolidNetwork Licensing, you will see how to borrow your license if you need to use it away from the office.

This video demonstrates the best way to setup and configure the toolbox, and how to maximise its functionality utilising the existing hole wizard tools for automatic placement. SOLIDWORKS Toolbox is a fully integrated library of standard parts that enables the rapid insertion of fixtures and fittings, from your standard nuts and bolts, to circlips and Pemserts. This functionality is available for those who have a Professional or Premium license.

This video will go through how to install and set up SOLIDWORKS Visualize. Whether you're installing from scratch or needing to find your serial number and modify your current installation. It takes you through step by step describing the options in the SOLIDWORKS installation Manager and how to download the files.

Having all your files and resources in one place will speed up your workflow significantly. This video demonstrates a robust template for folder structure that has been tried and tested. It includes all the relevant file locations, templates and sheet formats, library files and also a folder to store your valuable SOLIDWORKS files. Keeping it in one location helps you back it up and share the file too. You will also learn where the best place to store you SOLIDWORKS files is.

The best workflow within SOLIDWORKS is not necessarily the most obvious, and perhaps becomes even more confusing when you need to make revisions. This video demonstrates the most robust workflow, how to capture your meta data and custom properties, and the most robust way to capture revisions without using a PDM system. With this workflow you are less likely to need significant amounts of time afterwards tidying up your files.

Part numbering is a key way to ensure that your files are organised in a sensible intuitive way. Combining Part numbers with descriptions helps you create a robust and stable file system which is searchable and easy to communicate. We will also show you an example of a scalable robust part numbering system, alongside one that on the face of it looks very sensible, but has many pitfalls.

Have you ever struggled to identify which file is which when using a part numbering system, Or do you not use a part numbering system because you know finding the files will be difficult? With this trick within Windows Explorer you will be able to display your SOLIDWORKS File descriptions and be able to search using them!

Renaming, replacing files within Windows Explorer is a guaranteed way to lose your SOLIDWORKS references. Not many people are aware of the SOLIDWORKS Explorer functionality that is directly available within Windows Explorer which allows you to do this which updates the references inside the associated SOLIDWORKS Files. We have also included a further little trick which lets you always see how long it last took to open your SOLIDWORKS file..

Inside our ‘One SOLIDWORKS Folder’ are a selection of generic templates and sheet formats. These are set so that the Title Block automatically fills in. However, you may want to customise these to suit your company. We have provided both a template with the title block in the bottom right, and a title block up the right-hand side of the page. There is also all the sizes you will need from A4 to A1.

Do you have existing 2D drawing borders that you want to use in SOLIDWORKS? This video explains how to bring them in, and save them as a template, whilst customising it to use your company logo, creating a professional look across all of your SOLIDWORKS drawings.

When moving to SOLIDWORKS from a 2D system, or when receive your data as a drawing, it is often not essential to remodel all of your models. There are tools in SOLIDWORKS that allow the reuse of your 2D data and quickly make it 3D. This video demonstrates our recommended workflow to do this, whilst exploring the different options for importing your .DWGs or .DXFs.

Many people create 2D layouts using simple 2D applications such as Microsoft Visio or AutoCAD, however most companies have their products available as 3D Assets waiting to be used. With SOLIDWORKS we combine the advantage of quick 2D planning with fully realised designs in three dimensions. This opens other possibilities exploring design for the creation of high quality visuals, walkthrough animationsand virtual reality environments.

Have you ever wondered why some file types work better in SOLIDWORKS than others? This video explains the difference and why one file type in particular is usually better for importing and exporting. We also describe how to ensure that your files have been imported without errors, making your modelling more robust, and limiting any errors your experience going forward. This workflow will give you a more robust method to use third party models within your SOLIDWORKS parts or assemblies.

Step files are a common file type for exchanging 3D CAD data between different programs. There are various standards of step and the recent versions of SOLIDWORKS can import Step 203, 214 and 242. In this video we'll explain how to open step files, the differences between them and which import options affect step files.

SOLIDWORKS has many flexible and powerful workflows when working with third party design data, 3D interconnect streamlines collaboration with your customers and supply chain regardless of which CAD tools they are using. It also allows you to leverage any existing legacy design data created in a variety of CAD formats. 3D interconnect is much more than just file translation. This video will cover three of the main workflows where 3D interconnect can be utilized.

Fast, reliable, and convenient, eDrawings Standard is a free product that allows you to view CAD data that has been created in SOLIDWORKS or from a number of different programs eDrawings can open 3D and 2D CAD data. eDrawings Standard comes with a range of tools that help you to interrogate 3D design data, such as measuring, mark-up, section views along with option to view existing animations and simulation results. Best of all it's free, you can install it at the same time as SOLIDWORKS or download eDrawings here.