User:Graphics Systems

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Template:Infobox Software Reseller

Graphics Systems is a full-service CAD CAM CAE value-added reseller based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As the acronyms indicate, we are heavily focused on the mechanical design and manufacturing segments of the computer graphics spectrum. We supply our clients with the software, hardware and knowledge to implement 3-D photo-realistic industrial design, 3-D engineering modeling using solids and surfaces, computer analysis based on the 3-D engineering model, rapid prototyping software and hardware which make use of the 3-D engineering model, and manufacturing software to cut parts also grown from the 3-D engineering model.

Our experience covers all of these areas, as well as across the enterprise where design and manufacturing information is normally underutilized. Imagine your marketing department being able to use your rendered images directly in their brochures and catalogs, or technical publications people empowered with the ability to use your engineering models for service manuals and instruction booklets. We have quite a few clients who have their people in QA or on the shop floor view drawings online, directly from the original electronic sheet they never have to worry about their drawings going out of revision.

We have a motto: Raising The Standard. This is something that we strive to do for each client. We want to raise the bar in terms of the capabilities possessed by our clients, so that things which were once on a "wish list" become part of their standard operating procedure.

Contents

[edit] Products

SolidWorks Powerful, easy to use, and innovative, SolidWorks is the leading mainstream CAD solution. Evaluate more design alternatives, reduce errors, and enhance product quality. Only SolidWorks offers the solid modeling power and performance to get any job done, while being intuitive enough for every engineer and designer to learn.

More about SolidWorks

Design better products through the unmatched 2D and 3D capabilities of SolidWorks mechanical CAD software.

SolidWorks Office Premium SolidWorks Office Premium provides your product design team with all the mechanical CAD, design validation, and data management tools that they need in one package.

SolidWorks Office Professional SolidWorks Office Professional includes a full range of mechanical CAD, design validation, and data management tools.

SolidWorks Mechanical CAD Software SolidWorks mechanical CAD software allows your design team to work smarter and faster so that you can develop products that separate you from your competitors.

Design Validation Software SolidWorks Office Premium includes COSMOSWorks® Designer, powerful design validation software created for nonspecialists. It allows you to improve produce quality by identifying areas prone to weakness and failure.

Motion Simulation Software SolidWorks Office Premium includes COSMOSMotion™, software that lets you study the physics of moving assemblies. It helps you refine mechanical designs to enhance reliability and reduce the need for physical prototypes.

Workgroup Data Management Software Minimize errors and duplicated efforts by capturing file revision histories automatically. Access desired files, determine who has worked on them, and see exactly when changes were made.


Features and Benefits Streamlined User Interface The SolidWorks interface has been improved to decrease mouse travel and increase the screen real estate available for design. A new CommandManager layout, embedded view display menus, and customizable pop-up toolbars increase efficiency and workflow. Getting to commonly used commands and customizing the layout will be easier than ever and will benefit new and existing users alike.


SWIFT Instant3D Prior to SolidWorks SWIFT technology, users were forced to spend significant time mastering the system to recognize the benefits of 3D CAD. SWIFT lets any SolidWorks user realize the benefits of 3D CAD without having to learn special techniques. In SolidWorks 2008, Instant3D helps any user design like an expert by providing them with onscreen real-time editing of their designs. Instant3D provides a new level of design visualization while dramatically reducing the steps needed to complete design tasks. New drag handles are presented as a user selects an area of design that allow for real-time editing and creation of designs. There are no dialogs or input fields, users simply select faces, drag, and snap them to onscreen rulers to get exact values. Instant3D really lets the user focus on their designs, not the CAD system.


SWIFT DimXpert DimXpert allows a user to automatically dimension 3D models for manufacturing. DimXpert looks at a design for manufacturing features and applies the appropriate dimensioning schemes. Users get feedback as to whether the design is completely dimensioned for manufacturing. DimXpert also allows users to automate the process of complete and accurate 2D drawing creation. The DimXpert supports geometric dimensions and tolerances according to the ASME Y14.41-2003 3D specification.


Large Assembly Management Tools SolidWorks 2008 allows users to work with large assemblies faster than ever with a new set of high-powered tools for large assembly management. New tools allow you to simplify assemblies without the need for configurations and regardless of the assembly structure. New Quick View/Selective Open functionality allows users to quickly view large assemblies and then, on-the-fly, select components to work without having to load unnecessary components in to memory. Additional components can be accessed at anytime with a simple right mouse button selection.


Design Clipart SolidWorks Search will locate any SolidWorks or DWG file whether in the Design Library, on the network, in PDMWorks, or in 3D ContentCentral on the web. This search is not just filename based, but also searchable in metadata (like notes in drawings or custom properties). Bottom line -- users find what they are looking for the first time. New in SolidWorks 2008, Design Clipart allows users to reuse views, blocks, tables, and even images from AutoCAD files as well as sketches and features from SolidWorks parts and assemblies. Design Clipart automatically dissects AutoCAD and SolidWorks files and extracts data so it is reusable in new SolidWorks designs. Users no longer have to spend time setting up libraries for reuse. The ability to automatically extract portions of existing DWG data will help 2D users leverage their designs in SolidWorks more efficiently than ever.


DriveWorks Xpress DriveWorksXpress allows SolidWorks users to automate repetitive design tasks and free up valuable time that can then be refocused on high value activities like designing great products. DriveWorksXpress is a design automation tool that automatically generates parts, assemblies and drawings. It allows a company to capture knowledge and design best practices that can then be used to create new products and product variants. With DriveWorksXpress users simply enter design variables and let the software generate the required models and drawings over and over again.


TolAnalyst TolAnalyst is a tolerance analysis tool that determines the effect that tolerances have on parts and assemblies. TolAnalyst allows users to perform worst case tolerance stack up analysis on parts and assemblies by informing the user which tolerances contribute the most to potential design failure. Tolerances that do not impact the design goal can be loosened to lower the manufacturing cost. TolAnalyst helps ensure that designs meet proper fit and function requirements while lowering costs.


DFMXpress DFMXpress is an up front validation tool used to identify geometry that is difficult, expensive, or impossible to manufacture by conventional machining operations. DFMXpress can help reduce the time it takes to consult with manufacturing specialists by identifying to the designer geometry that may contribute significantly to manufacturing problems.


COSMOSWorks Design Insight COSMOSWorks Design Insight allows the user to easily identify the areas of a design that contribute most to structural integrity. Once these critical areas are identified, the designer can make informed decisions with respect to removing unnecessary material or exploring other design alternatives. Design Insight is an intuitive way to identify over-engineering and reduce material costs in product designs.


SolidWorks MotionManager The new MotionManager consolidates Dynamic Assembly Motion, Physical Simulation, Animation, and COSMOSMotion into a single, easy-to-use interface. The new MotionManager has a key frame-based timeline and controls motors, gravity, and springs based on time. With a single setup, users can now see how an assembly moves and how components interact, create presentations, and obtain component velocities and accelerations for validation purposes.

COSMOSWorks COSMOSWorks provides simple, accurate design analysis that leads to better products by giving designers a safety net for catching errors. Designers are free to innovate, secure in the knowledge that they won't pass costly mistakes down the line.

Complete integration with SolidWorks means that COSMOSWorks users can perform design analysis, simulation and optimization directly from their SolidWorks user interface.

COSMOSWorks enables faster, less costly, and more optimized product development, as well as more in-depth examination of product performance than would ever be possible using even the most detailed prototypes.

COSMOSWorks Products

Available in the following packages, COSMOSWorks can be expanded as your analysis needs grow and change:

Designer - COSMOSWorks Designer is included with SolidWorks Office Premium. Fully embedded inside the SolidWorks interface, COSMOSWorks Designer utilizes the SolidWorks FeatureManager® and many of the same mouse and keyboard commands, so anyone who can design a part in SolidWorks can analyze it without having to learn a new interface. COSMOSWorks Designer contains the most frequently used design validation tools, offering stress, strain, and displacement analysis capabilities for both parts and assemblies at a very affordable price.


Professional - COSMOSWorks Professional offers a wide spectrum of powerful tools to help engineers who are familiar with design validation concepts to perform virtual testing and analysis of parts and assemblies. Engineers who need more specific design analysis capabilities can use COSMOSWorks Professional to predict the physical behavior of practically any part or assembly under any loading condition.


Advanced Professional - One of the most comprehensive and sophisticated finite element analysis packages available, COSMOSWorks Advanced Professional offers seasoned analysts a tremendous range of finite element analysis capabilities at a fraction of the cost of most high-end Finite Element Analysis (FEA) programs.

PDMWorks Access, store, change and approve design data more efficiently with PDMWorks Enterprise product data management PDM software.

Uniquely adapted to the requirements of geographically dispersed workgroups, PDMWorks Enterprise is a product data management (PDM) software solution based on proven technology that can be deployed in a fraction of the time required by other enterprise PDM systems. PDMWorks Enterprise helps organizations manage and share product data more effectively and automate workflow to allow better collaboration from engineering to the shop floor, resulting in better products, lower costs, and faster time to market.

Easy to implement and use, PDMWorks Enterprise is the only product data management (PDM) entirely integrated within Windows Explorer. Users perform all functions either through Windows Explorer or one of its CAD integrations. Through this functionality, users across the enterprise can readily manage files and collaborate more effectively throughout the product lifecycle.

PDMWorks Enterprise Summary: Easy to implement and use Provides scalable, secure access for large design teams Enables companies to manage data at multiple locations with automatic file replication at each site Automates simple workflow including ECN/ECO processes Enables connectivity to MRP/ERP systems Full audit trails enable regulatory compliance

DriveWorks Scaleable easy-to-use design automation products to meet the needs of your drawing office and sales teams DriveWorks lets you specify new and variant products through a custom interface.

DriveWorks lets you automate many repetitive tasks and apply rules to your design process so that you can generate design and manufacturing outputs quickly and accurately.

You can create all the documents you need to help you respond to customer enquiries - Quotes, General Arrangement Drawings AND all the manufacturing documentation too - 3D Models, 2D drawings, BOMs, Cutting Lists etc

DriveWorksXpress With the release of SolidWorks 2008 DriveWorksXpress - THE Easy-to-Use Design Automation choice for SolidWorks Engineers is now in EVERY seat of SolidWorks


DriveWorksEngineer DriveWorksEngineer provides all the administrator functionality that you need to Set up your stand alone DriveWorks Project (eg Capture the parameters you want to control and drive, Create the Custom forms used for specifying, Building the rules). From Within DriveWorksEngineer you can also Run new specifications to create variations and clones

Scaleable Design AutomationFrom the Design Office all the way to the Web, if and when you need it, DriveWorks grows with you to meet the Design Automation needs of you and your company

DriveWorksTeam DriveWorksTeam takes engineering 'Know-How' to others in the Design Office, and to internal sales and support teams while maintaining your company’s design rules and integrity

DriveWorksEnterprise DriveWorksEnterprise is web-enabled Design Automation.

Share your DriveWorks projects over the web so that others can access your forms to specify custom products

DriveWorks is a SolidWorks Certified Gold Partner


[edit] History

SolidWorks Corporation was founded in 1993 by Jon Hirschtick, with its headquarters at Concord, Massachusetts, and released its first product, SolidWorks 95, in 1995. In 1997 Dassault Systèmes, best known for its CATIA CAD software, acquired the company and currently owns 100% of its shares. The company was headed by John McEleney from 2001 to July, 2007, and is now headed by Jeff Ray, CEO.

[edit] Market

Solidworks is used primarily by mechanical engineers and designers. Its user base ranges from individuals to large companies, and covers a wide cross-section of manufacturing market segments, with its only significant weaknesses among large aerospace and automotive companies (which have historically been users of CATIA and Unigraphics CAD software.). Commercial sales are made through an indirect channel, which includes dealers and partners throughout the world. Directly competitive products to SolidWorks include Autodesk Inventor, Solid Edge, and Pro/ENGINEER.

[edit] The SolidWorks approach

 This article or section is written like an advertisement.
Please help rewrite this article from a neutral point of view.
Mark blatant advertising which would require a fundamental rewrite in order to become encyclopedic for speedy deletion, using {{db-spam}}. (April 2008)
screen shot captured from a SolidWorks top down design approach.
screen shot captured from a SolidWorks top down design approach.

SolidWorks is a Parasolid-based solid modeler, and utilizes a parametric feature-based approach to creating models and assemblies.

Parameters refer constraints whose values determine the shape or geometry of the model or assembly. Parameters can be either numeric parameters, such as line lengths or circle diameters, or geometric parameters, such as tangent, parallel, concentric, horizontal or vertical, etc. Numeric parameters can be associated with each other through the use of relations, which can easily capture even the most complex design intent.

Features refer to the building blocks of the part. They are the shapes and operations that construct the part. Shape-based features would include slots, holes, bosses and the like that either add or remove material from the part. Shape-based features typically begin with either a 2D or 3D sketch. Operation-based features generally don’t have sketches. These types of features include operations like filleting, chamfering, shelling, or applying draft to a part.

screen shot captured from a SolidWorks top down design approach.
screen shot captured from a SolidWorks top down design approach.

Building a model in SolidWorks usually starts with either a 2D or 3D sketch. The sketch consists of geometry such as lines, arcs, conics, and splines. Dimensions are added to the sketch to define the size and location of the geometry. Relations are used to define attributes such as tangency, parallelism, perpendicularity, concentricity, and such. The parametric nature of SolidWorks means the dimensions and relations drive the geometry, not the other way around. The dimensions in the sketch can be controlled independently, or by relationships to other parameters outside the sketch. For example, you can sketch a rectangle and dimension its height and width. Then you can extrude the rectangle to create a rectangular prism. You can then relate the length of the extrusion to the height of the rectangle so that if extrusion gets longer, the height changes accordingly. Furthermore, you can subsequently add a hole in the face of the prism and create another relationship so that the diameter of the hole, which was created after the prism, drives the width of the prism. This way, if the hole has to grow larger, the prism’s dimensions would also increase to accommodate it.

Another aspect of the feature-based nature of SolidWorks is you can roll back into the history of the part in order to make changes, add additional features, or change to sequence in which operations are performed.

In an assembly, the analog to sketch relations are mates. Just as sketch relations define conditions such as tangency, parallelism, and concentricity with respect to sketch geometry, assembly mates define the same relations with respect to the individual parts or components. This means you can assemble parts with the same easily edited intelligence that you have in part modeling. Beyond the simple mates are advanced mates that include gear and cam and follower mates.

In addition, SolidWorks has a hierarchy of putting all the things together, which can be traced as follows:

[edit] Drawings

Drawings can be created either from parts or assemblies. They are drawn automatically, just by clicking on the window that contains the part or assembly to draw. The drawing module includes most paper sizes and standards (ANSI, ISO, DIN, GOST, JIS, BSI and GB).

[edit] Editions

SolidWorks CAD software is available in 3 commercial editions and 3 educational editions.

[edit] Commercial Products

  • SolidWorks
  • SolidWorks Office
  • SolidWorks Office Professional
  • SolidWorks Office Premium

[edit] SolidWorks

The SolidWorks core product includes tools for 3D modeling, assembly, drawing, sheetmetal, weldments, and freeform surfacing. It can import numerous file types from other 2D and 3D CAD programs. It also has an API for custom programming in Visual Basic and C. Also included is an entry level finite element analysis program called CosmosXpress.

[edit] SolidWorks Office Professional

The SolidWorks Office Professional bundle includes the SolidWorks core product plus several add-in programs. These include:

  • Animator (Create AVI animations of a model in motion)
  • Design Checker (Checks notes, dimensions and other settings in drawings to make sure they adhere to company standards)
  • eDrawings Professional (Adds markup and measuring capabilities to the free eDrawings viewer)
  • FeatureWorks (Adds editable features to "dumb" imported geometry)
  • PDMWorks Workgroup (A workgroup level document management program to manage SolidWorks files as well as other file types)
  • PhotoWorks (Realistic Photo rendering)
  • Task Scheduler (Schedule SolidWorks to bulk print, import/export files, and create eDrawings)
  • Toolbox (A collection of common fasteners and hardware, Screws, Nuts, Washers, etc.)
  • Utilities (Additional tools for selecting features and comparing features and geometry)
  • 3D Instant Website (Publishing an HTML document of SolidWorks documents, uses eDrawings for viewing)

[edit] SolidWorks Office Premium

The SolidWorks Premium bundle includes the SolidWorks core product and Office Professional add-ins plus the following:

  • CosmosWorks Designer (Finite Element Analysis)
  • CosmosMotion (Motion analysis)
  • Routing (Piping, Tubing, plus Wiring and Harness layout)
  • ScanTo3D (Utility for converting scanned data into solid models)
  • TolAnalyst (GD&T Tolerance analyse tool)

[edit] Educational Products

  • SolidWorks Student Design Kit
  • SolidWorks Education Edition
  • SolidWorks Student Edition

[edit] SolidWorks Student Design Kit

The SolidWorks Student Design Kit is a limited-term trial version of the SolidWorks Education Edition. It does not include all of the features that the licensed edition does.

[edit] SolidWorks Education Edition

The SolidWorks Education Edition is a licensed version of SolidWorks. It is intended to educate students in grade schools, middle schools, high schools, vocational schools, colleges, and universities. It also includes CosmosXpress The educational edition is always 1 year behind the industry edition. However, this makes it great for learning solidworks.

[edit] SolidWorks Student Edition

The SolidWorks Student Edition is intended for individual student use outside of the classroom. It includes all of the same features as the SolidWorks Education Edition.

[edit] Subscription Services

SolidWorks has an initial purchase price with an option to buy a yearly subscription service termed "maintenance". The subscription service entitles you to service packs, new versions, comprehensive hotline support, access to the customer website which contains helpful information, an online knowledge base, enhancement request form, and discussion forums.

[edit] Version History

Past Versions

  • SolidWorks 95
  • SolidWorks 96
  • SolidWorks 97
  • SolidWorks 97 Plus
  • SolidWorks 98
  • SolidWorks 98 Plus
  • SolidWorks 99
  • SolidWorks 2000
  • SolidWorks 2001
  • SolidWorks 2001 Plus
  • SolidWorks 2003
  • SolidWorks 2004
  • SolidWorks 2005
  • SolidWorks 2006 (Native Windows x86-64 version was released from SP4.0 onwards
  • SolidWorks 2007 (A Beta version for Vista exists with limited support.)

Current Version:

  • SolidWorks 2008: Includes full support for Vista x32. Out in October, 2007. SP3.1 includes native Vista x64 support

Future Editions:

  • SolidWorks 2009: Due out in September, 2008.

[edit] Add-in Products

SolidWorks allows for the seamless integration of third-party modules. Some of these modules are small and introduce a minor feature, such as generating a special shaped hole, while others are entire Computer Aided Manufacture products in their own right that use SolidWorks as a convenient graphical platform.

These products can apply for different levels of partner status with the SolidWorks company, to give the advantage of being promoted through the established SolidWorks sales channels. See Partner Products

[edit] Computer Aided Manufacture products

[edit] Other modules

[edit] COSMOSFloWorks

COSMOSFloWorks is a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) product for SolidWorks users. It is embedded inside SolidWorks and can perform fluid flow and heat transfer analysis for all types of fluids (liquids, gases, Non Newtonian liquids, Compressible liquids).

The solver uses Navier-Stokes (NS) equations to compute flow characteristics in both Single Reference Frames (SRF) and Multiple Reference Frames (MRF).

[edit] COSMOSMotion

COSMOSMotion is a SolidWorks module for multi-body kinematic simulation of mechanisms. It can handle complex component collisions, accept formula for motion laws and supply reaction values to COSMOSWorks for further FEA analysis. It is included in the SolidWorks Premium license.

[edit] COSMOSXpress

COSMOSXpress is a feature designed to perform a very limited range of linear static analysis of part geometry. Geometry is limited to a single solid body and the choices for creating boundary conditions are extremely limited which can affect the applicability of the results to the actual problem being solved. Results are limited to a graphical representation of Von Mises stress and deformed shape although actual displacements are not available. COSMOSXpress is included in the very basic SolidWorks license, but is considered superseded by COSMOSWorks Designer (included in SolidWorks Premium).

[edit] COSMOSWorks Designer

COSMOSWorks Designer is a module providing a richer set of tools for linear static FEA. COSMOSWorks Designer can deal with parts and assemblies using solid, shell and (starting from release 2007) beam elements.

It provides a fully associative environment to perform FEA studies inside SolidWorks, with several features for pre-processing as well as for post-processing and a very rich set of connectors and boundary conditions, like virtual bolts, bearings, spot welding, links and pins.

A tool for designing multiple batch calculations (Design Scenario) is also provided.

COSMOSWorks Designer can handle locally non-linear contact and includes a partial support for geometric non-linear analysis (large displacement). It is included in the SolidWorks Premium license.

[edit] COSMOSWorks Professional and Advanced Professional

COSMOSWorks license upgrades including a larger set of solvers.

COSMOSWorks Professional:

  • Buckling
  • Frequency
  • Thermal
  • Fatigue
  • "Drop test"
  • Shape optimization

COSMOSWorks Advanced Professional:

  • all of the above, plus:
  • Composite analysis
  • Seismic
  • Post-dynamics
  • Complete non-linear analysis

[edit] PhotoWorks

PhotoWorks is a raytrace renderer built into SolidWorks, powered by Mental Ray

[edit] Toolbox

SolidWorks Toolbox is a library of predefined fasteners, gears, cams, pins and other accessories, based on information found in Machinery's Handbook. The library is database driven and this database can be modified. Also user defined standard parts can be created and added to the Toolbox for later use in other projects.

SolidWorks Toolbox allows for "drag and drop" insertion of fasteners into assemblies. It also is integrated with SolidWorks "SmartFastener" technology to allow the automatic population of hole features with the appropriate fasteners.

[edit] Animator

SolidWorks Animator has the capability of exploding assemblies and animates the way components explode, join.

It relies on standard SolidWorks kinematics, but can also accept motion simulation results from COSMOSMotion, as well as a thorough manipulation by the user.

It can also produce video output and supports rendered animations using PhotoWorks.

[edit] FeatureWorks

This module recognizes different design features (fillets, cut-extrudes, extrudes) on imported models. The underlying methods for the recognition of different features in the dumb solid are mainly identified as Feature Recognition technologies in the CAD/CAM industry.

[edit] ScanTo3D

Module to perform Reverse engineering, starting from point-cloud or STL/VRML files, as well as using 3D scanning. Included in SolidWorks Premium, starting from release 2007.

[edit] API

SolidWorks also includes an Application Programming Interface (API) for macro and third party development.

[edit] File format

SolidWorks files use the Microsoft Structured storage file format. This means that there are various files embedded within each SLDDRW, SLDPRT, SLDASM file, including preview bitmaps and metadata sub-files. Various third-party tools (see Structured storage) can be used to extract these sub-files, although the subfiles in many cases use proprietary binary file formats.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links