Uninterrupted Workflow: SOLIDWORKS 2019 User Experience Enhancements

SOLIDWORKS 2019 introduces some great new capabilities that not only improve the user experience but increase your daily productivity. Providing quick access to your designs the welcome page now lists up to 100 of your most recently opened documents. Each document is displayed with its own preview, and the new quick filter can be used to re-find the list by displaying only parts, assemblies, or drawings. Keep reading to see an example surrounding new features that improve the SOLIDWORKS 2019 user experience.

Filter by name feature

For example, say a couple of modifications to the blue camera assembly are required to finish its design. Typing the word “camera” in the new filter by name dialog is now all that’s necessary to find and open the desired assembly in a matter of seconds.

View and manage external references

Building relationships between features and parts is a powerful method of capturing design intent. SOLIDWORKS 2019 makes the user experience even easier to view and manage external references. References can now be broken or locked when dynamically viewing parent/child relationships from the feature manager.

When using a top-down approach to design, assemblies can consist of many parts each containing numerous external references. The references for an entire assembly can now be viewed and managed in a new interactive dialog box. Each component containing one or more references is listed along with each individual feature, its status, and referenced entity.

Simplifying things further, parts can be viewed independently by selecting the isolate option (in my example, the rear baffle plate). As each reference is selected from the list, its related geometry is highlighted in the graphics area.

Manage complex relationships easier

The circular pattern is shown to be referencing a cylindrical face of the rear mount flange component. Instead, we want it to reference the outer face of the plate. Selecting the break option removes the relation from the circular pattern. Now the direction reference for the pattern can be redefined by simply editing the feature. The SOLIDWORKS 2019 user experience makes managing complex relationships between features and parts easier than ever.

One more modification is required to finish my design. The counter-weight for the camera requires at least 50 mm of clearance between the flange and the body. To increase the overall distance I’ll reduce the thickness of the flange. Now in SOLIDWORKS 2019, the measure tool can be accessed at any time providing a seamless uninterrupted workflow – whether you’re modifying a dimension or editing a feature.

Reducing the flange thickness to 4 mm ensures that the counterweight will now fit and the design changes are complete. These new capabilities to the SOLIDWORKS 2019 user experience will help you be even more productive.

To see the SOLIDWORKS 2019 user experience in action watch the video below.

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About the Author

Angelle Erickson writes about how companies are using innovative technologies, such as 3D printers and SOLIDWORKS software to increase productivity, improve product development processes, and maximize business potential.