SolidWorks 2008: The Shock and the Dissection

I finally got the new DELL configured and all the software installed and running. I also made sure to copy all my files and download the files I’ll need to work my way through Matt Lombard’s new Surfacing book.  And so, at last, the moment of truth had come:  it was time to fire up SolidWorks 2008 and see for myself what it really looked like!  First, it was the shock of the unfamiliar.  Looking at that first screen, I could recognize some icons for the basics (opening files, help, options, etc.), as well as the Task Pane on the left side. While it didn’t look so dramatically different from SW2007, I quickly noticed that the menus for File, View, Tools and Help were missing… at least I couldn’t see them.  Hovering around with the cursor for a few seconds, I finally found them, and pushed the pin button to keep them from hiding again. There! That certainly looked more familiar!

Still, it looks different … I think I like the blue background; it looks nice, and it’s easy on my eyes too. I tried opening a new file, and got momentarily confused by the rearrangement of icons, menus, and toolbars.

I know, I should’ve been reading the “what’s new?” document, but I was way too excited for that, so I began to search for the familiar items on my own… And it really didn’t take long to find them!  I found how to display the rest of the toolbars by RMB clicking on the first tab on top of the screen. This is called the Command Manager, by the way. I also found the tools for selecting View Orientation and Display Style on the center top of the graphics area.

So, as I was exploring, opening files, and finding what else had changed, it happened: the dissection.  It was around 11:00 pm when I turned my back on the DELL to check email on the Fujitsu.  Suddenly, I noticed that something strange was going on, SolidWorks seemed to be searching through my files, and a small window showed up, alerting me that dissection was taking place as scheduled. Underneath the window, there was a “click here” sign that read “stop dissection”… or something similar. Since I wasn’t sure what this dissection was all about, and I certainly didn’t remember scheduling it myself, I decided to stop it for now and find out more about it.

A quick search in the SolidWorks help documents revealed that this “dissection” was related to something called “Design Clipart”, that is new functionality in SolidWorks 2008. Basically, through SolidWorks Search, this Design Clipart is going to search through all the folders and files you specify in the search paths, and dissect the files, in order to extract data that can be reused in SolidWorks.  There’s that dissect word again… Well, it actually means that it breaks down the parts into features that could be reused, and creates a library with them. Later on, you can simply drag and paste those features in different document, pretty much like a clipart. The files themselves are not changed or damaged by this process. According to the help document, parts will be dissected into features (apparently only extrudes and cuts), sketches and blocks; features will be dissected into sketches; drawings will be dissected into general tables and blocks; and DXF/DWG files will be dissected into tables, blocks and views. This is one file from Matt Lombard’s new book that got dissected that way.

The dissection is pre-scheduled to happen every day at a certain (probably very inconvenient) time, but you can change this, or even prevent the dissection from taking place, by accessing the System Options. Click on Options, Search and, under Dissection, select the time that is most convenient for you, or clear the option altogether.

You can also select what folders and files will be dissected by clicking on Options, File Locations, selecting Search Paths and adding or deleting to the list.

Even if you decide not to perform the dissection as a routine thing, you can still dissect an occasional file by itself. All you need is to open it using SolidWorks Search and you’ll be asked if you wish you dissect that file or not.

I think I’ll prevent the dissection from happening on a regular basis, at least for now. It is pretty cool, though, and I think it can save me some time and effort too, but I think I prefer it as something I can choose to do to a file or two every now and then.

So, this pretty much summarizes my first encounter with SolidWorks 2008. So far, I like it. I don’t want to say that I love it yet,  just not yet, because I don’t know what surprises await me… but I really do like what I’ve seen so far.

Anyway, right now I’m editing some video from yesterday’s SWUG meeting, and, if it turns out right, you’ll get to see this dissection thing in action and used for noble purposes, together with many other cool tools and strategies, for automating SolidWorks, and making your work easier. Stay tuned!

Comments

[Jeff Cope]

Design clipart is awesome. Also, you can use it even on models that haven't been dissected yet. When you left click on the thumbnail in the search tab of the task pane, a button pops up that can make SolidWorks dissect it on the spot. It is very fast.

Great post.

[Gabi]

Thanks for the comment, Jeff! I also think it's a nice addition to SolidWorks, in particular for dissecting individual files and reusing features from them. I love being able to do that!