GoEngineer Blog

Topology Optimization is a technique in SOLIDWORKS Simulation that removes material from a user-defined shape or design space to maximize the the performance of the shape. Performance, in this instance, would be maximizing stiffness to weight ratio, minimizing displacement, or a combination of the two for a given set of loading conditions.

If eDrawings is installed and starts up okay when launched (via the Start Menu) but you cannot preview files in the SOLIDWORKS PDM vault view (Figure 1), this is likely because of a disconnect between eDrawings and PDM. This guide explains how to fix all issues with PDM files not previewing in the Preview tab.

SOLIDWORKS PDM utilizes SQL as its database engine where one database file (.mdf) and at least one transaction log file (.ldf) is created.  The database file stores the physical data added to the database, and the transaction log keeps records of database modifications. By default, the recovery method of a SQL database is set to ‘Full’.  With Full recovery model set, a transaction log can grow until it is out of disk space which can make your Microsoft SQL Server database unusable.  The following document will walk you through step by step on how to change your database recovery mode from ‘Full’ to ‘Simple’.

SOLIDWORKS users can add custom properties to any toolbox component, this can allow companies to track data that’s unique to their organization, this could include manufacturer, ordering information, or component cost. To add these data fields, create a custom property for each piece of information that the user would be interested in tracking. These are not enabled by default and will have to be enabled for each piece of hardware it affects. 

It's easy to manage network licenses of SOLIDWORKS and DraftSight. Here, we demonstrate how to set a timer in DraftSight to return a license to the server for others in a team to use. Unlike SOLIDWORKS, DraftSight Enterprise licenses are not set to return the license server by default and cannot be controlled by the timeout command in the Options File.

In SOLIDWORKS, the FilletXpert tool can be used to quickly create, modify, add, or remove multiple fillets. It can also be used to automatically reorder fillets when required or invoke FeatureXpert to resolve fillet errors. To access FilletXpert, click Fillet in the Feature tab of the CommandManager or go to Insert > Features > Fillet. Then, in the PropertyManager, select the FilletXpert tab.

In this article, we’ll walk through the steps to properly restore a SOLIDWORKS Manage instance with an already restored PDM vault. SOLIDWORKS Manage has multiple parts, much like PDM; we’ll walk through the steps to restore them from backup. Restoring the database requires access to SQL through Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) and the credentials that will allow us to restore a database from backup. Typically this is the ‘sa’ account. 

This guide demonstrates how to change and update material types in a SOLIDWORKS Simulation nonlinear study to depict more accurate stress and deformation results. The nonlinear study type focuses on the deformation that is no longer linear throughout the calculation (beyond the yield strength). While a static study is common, a nonlinear study allows users to incorporate changes to the stress-strain beyond this area.

We hope we never need backups, but it is certainly a possibility that we may have to use them at some point. Here we’ll explore the process of backing up SOLIDWORKS Manage. Creating a backup of the database requires that we have access to the server through Microsoft’s SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS). Backups can be taken through this program manually or on a schedule.