Are you getting SOLIDWORKS warning messages about your auto recovery folder and don’t know how to correct it? Fear not, this guide will show you what this means and how to fix it. This warning message, Figure 1, is SOLIDWORKS’ core functionality, regardless of what add-in or what product you are using inside of it. It pops up when SOLIDWORKS boots up or when you load a file.
Have you ever needed to rename your SOLIDWORKS files, but didn’t want to deal with the headache of losing the references in associated parts/assemblies/drawings? Believe it or not, there is a simple way to rename files while maintaining references within SOLIDWORKS. Let me walk you through how.
We all know how to make a helix in SOLIDWORKS, right? Well what if you needed to create a non-circular helix? Think squares, rectangles, slots, etc. How would you create that? The Helix command and Spiral command in SOLIDWORKS can only be created from a sketch circle. In this post, I will illustrate an example of creating a rectangular spring in SOLIDWORKS using clever surfacing and curve commands.
Do you have external references in your SOLIDWORKS file that you need to manually remove? Then this article is for you! Refer to other posts at the end of this article to learn more about what external references are and when they are appropriate for use. The scope of this piece will be purely about manually removing external references in part files.
Coloring sketches can be useful for communicating ideas to your team members and increase visibility with layout sketches. For this reason, SOLIDWORKS provides a way to quickly change the color of any sketch from default grey. Sketch Color can be found in the right-click menu of the FeatureManager Design Tree. For this example, I will color vertical structural member sketches in my weldment a different color than horizontal member sketches.
Many SOLIDWORKS users are familiar with cosmetic threads. Cosmetic threads are the go-to method for representing and documenting threaded holes and fasteners without needing to schematically represent the physical thread. Schematic representation dramatically increases the draw on graphics hardware resources. As an often-used feature, any changes in how it works are important.
Nearly every commercial product has some sort of product marking. It could be a rating plate, the brand name or logo, or instructions to assemble the batteries. Product marking can be an adhesive label applied to the product, or, artwork that is pad printed. In SOLIDWORKS, we represent the product markings with Decals.
There are times when we need to know exactly what the last version of a file for SOLIDWORKS was saved in. This isn't easily found unless you know how to set it up. In this SOLIDWORKS tutorial, we'll show you how. This process will help ensure that files are opened and saved in the correct release to prevent file version issues. Generally, this is used in a multi-year version setup.
You may have learned that some system options in SOLIDWORKS aren't easy to change. There is a path through Tools > Options and onward that is fine for seldom changes, but for system options used frequently, the number of clicks can add up. While we cannot directly change an option without using the SOLIDWORKS options menu, we can use a macro to get the job done. In some scenarios, it is handy to have a particular option on, while in others, better to have it off.