For much of the functionality of managing the license server, you need to go into the Server Administration tab of the SolidNetWork License (SNL) Manager. This can normally be accessed by going into the license server and going to Start > All Programs > SolidWorks 2015 > SolidWorks Tools > SolidNetWork License Manager 2015 (your version of SolidWorks may vary).

Server Administration tab on the 5-Tab SNL Manager

However, if you are using a computer as both a server and a client machine, you may be met with an unexpected surprise: a missing tab!

The 4-Tab SNL Manager for Client Machines

The 4-Tab SNL Manager is for client machines. It allows you to see who is using licenses, change the server, borrow a license, and choose which licenses you would prefer to use. The filepath for the 4-Tab SNL Manager is as follows:

C:\Program Files\SolidWorks Corp\SolidWorks\setup\i386\swlmwiz.exe

The 5-Tab SNL Manager is stored in a completely different location:

C:\Program Files (x86)\SolidWorks Corp\SolidNetWork License Manager\utils\swlmwiz.exe

Your folder structure may vary depending on your installation filepath. The important difference is that the 5-Tab version is found under the Program Files (x86) folder and the 4-tab one is under the Program Files folder. You can search those folders for swlmwiz.exe if you’re unable to find it.

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Until the current release of SolidWorks, displaying surfaces within a drawing view has been a bit tricky in SolidWorks.

Past releases have had us jump through a few hoops to get exactly what we want to have displayed on a drawing.

SOLIDWORKS 2015 alleviates the majority of those extra steps, as we can now include Surfaces as objects to split within a section view.

This should go a long way for anyone who works with imported surface bodies and has had to re-work an import to ensure it’s display in a drawing view.

The post New in SOLIDWORKS 2015 – Slice Section View now includes Surfaces! [VIDEO] appeared first on SolidWorks Tech Tips, Videos & Tutorials from Javelin.

The Javelin Online Live Training (JOLT) is an opportunity for users to learn the SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD program from their work location. I participated in Javelin’s SOLIDWORKS Essentials JOLT training course a few weeks ago in order to become more knowledgeable with SOLIDWORKS so that I could complete projects regarding sustainability and environmental analysis. After completing six sessions (3 days a week, 5 hours a day for two weeks) from the comfort of my own home, I was able to manipulate, create and analyze 3D solid models using SOLIDWORKS.

Taking a SOLIDWORKS JOLT Class

Taking the Training

The JOLT course was instructed by Aditya Chandurkar, a certified SOLIDWORKS instructor, who was located in Vancouver. One of the fascinating things about the course was that I was taking the class with other trainees from Ontario, Saskatchewan, Virginia, Michigan, and Manitoba. Javelin provided me with a very nice USB headset and the SOLIDWORKS Essentials training manual in advance. I had the current release of SOLIDWORKS on my laptop set up, so I grabbed a cup of coffee and was ready to go. I also needed to install the Go-to Training software to participate in the training.

The course began on a Monday and Aditya described the outline of the course, I was definitely a little bit nervous about how complicated the course was going to be and whether I was going to fall behind. I am not an engineer and had no previous experience of any kind of 3D modeling software. Despite this, the first few days of the course went really well and I felt quite satisfied with how well I was completing the exercises.

Live help when I needed it

Challenges showed up a few days into the course when I was definitely having some trouble making sure my geometric drawings were completely defined and ready for extrusion into a 3D model. This difficulty was resolved quickly as Aditya helped me through it, by illustrating on his screen how to fully define some of the drawings and making sure that it was completely clear to the class. By the time we were going over the final lessons regarding assemblies, I felt very comfortable with the speed of the course and the past content from the week.

One thing I noticed while taking the JOLT course was that getting help was very accessible and troubleshooting issues became quite easy. This was due in part to Aditya always asking the class if there were any questions, always scheduling a sufficient amount of time for practice and having the navigable course manual on hand.

I also realized the environmental benefit of taking the course. Instead of driving my car and commuting to a training session, I was able to stay at home and reduce my carbon footprint and the overall impact on the environment. This is especially true for some of those who may have to make a long distance trip to take the training course. This would entail flights, hotels, restaurants and transportation to and from the session every day. Taking the JOLT course reduces these carbon-intensive activities.

A fresh perspective to Online Learning

The JOLT course gave me a perspective on this type of online learning. I recently graduated from the University of Guelph and during my time there I took a number of online courses. Javelin’s JOLT course was probably the most interactive and organized online course I have ever taken. Overall it was a very good experience for me.

The ability to collaborate with the instructor and other trainees to solve problems and work through exercises is a very nice change from monotonous readings and fast-paced lessons found in other online courses

For more information on JOLT training please visit: http://solution.javelin-tech.com/solidworks-online-training

The post SOLIDWORKS Javelin Online Live Training (JOLT): An Effective and Environmentally Friendly Learning Experience appeared first on SolidWorks Tech Tips, Videos & Tutorials from Javelin.

In a SOLIDWORKS animation (motion study), the position of a key point on the time frame indicates the beginning or the end of a motion or a property change.  Dragging key points left or right changes the duration of a motion.  To scale entire SOLIDWORKS animation, select the top right key point and use Alt + Drag.

Entire animation scaled

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My absolute favorite enhancement for SOLIDWORKS 2015 is the ability to save repeatably selectable SELECTION SETS from the feature manager!

It is often in our designs that we need to re-select the same sets of faces, edges or components  more than a few times while completing a design.

As you can see in the following video, the re-selection process is now instant, giving us more time to focus on our designs.

The post New in SOLIDWORKS 2015 – Saved Selection Sets! [VIDEO] appeared first on SolidWorks Tech Tips, Videos & Tutorials from Javelin.

Some of my favorite enhancements to come from this latest release of SOLIDWORKS are addressing some limitations that have affected my own workflow in the past.

Traditionally, one would require the use of parallel planes in order to loft a sheet metal part with dissimilar profiles.  Once the loft was created, one could then cut the sheet metal at the required angle and hope that the body would unroll.

SOLIDWORKS 2015 has given us the ability to generate a dissimilar loft between two NON-PARALLEL planes!

I invite you to take a peek at the video below to see how:

Want to learn more about Sheet Metal design?

Take our 2 day SOLIDWORKS Sheet Metal training course either in-class or online. The sheet metal course is designed for users who need to learn how to model sheet metal parts that will be bent in a press brake. You will learn how  to build complex sheet metal models (stand-alone or multibody) by using the various flange features or by converting solid bodies directly into sheet metal parts, apply forming tools, create flat patterns, and detail everything in SOLIDWORKS drawings

The post New in SOLIDWORKS 2015 – Use Non-Parallel Planes for a Sheet Metal Loft! [VIDEO] appeared first on SolidWorks Tech Tips, Videos & Tutorials from Javelin.

Once again drilling down into the fine details of how SOLIDWORKS 2015 can increase efficiency within your workflow – SOLIDWORKS has given us the ability to set Multiple Dimensions to the “Driven” status at the same time.

The following video will show you how to go about marking the multiple dimensions with the “Driven” status in a very few clicks.

The post New in SOLIDWORKS 2015 – Set Multiple Dimensions to a Driven Status at Once [VIDEO] appeared first on SolidWorks Tech Tips, Videos & Tutorials from Javelin.

Sometimes when working with an assembly, it may be necessary to have something shown on your BOM which is not part of the model (non-visible items). A good example of this is paint, since you may need to purchase it for your assembly but it does not have it’s own part in the assembly. One way to achieve this is by adding a row to the end of your BOM and manually completing the information. While it might seem to rebuild fine and not have any problems, it can be dangerous if you ever delete the BOM, or if you have to recreate it on a new drawing. Such a modification can easily be forgotten or lost, and if the specifications for it are only listed on the old BOM, recreating it can be a source of error.

Paint item in a BOM

Use a Virtual Component

A better way to do this is by inserting a virtual component and just not add any features to it. This would allow you to store the information about the paint in the custom properties of a virtual part within the assembly, which makes it safer to store and will be effortlessly added to every BOM you make of that assembly. Here is a step-by-step process of how to do this:

1. Go to: Insert > Component > New Part
2. Select one of your assembly’s starting planes (Front/Top/Right)
3. Go to File > Properties, and add the necessary Custom Properties for the component
4. Click “Edit Component” to stop editing the component and go back to your assembly
5. (Optional) Rename the component in the tree so you know what it is.

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If you have had the opportunity to attend a class with us here at Javelin, I am certain you have heard all of our instructors speak about the abilities that the selection tools within SolidWorks have to accelerate your overall workflow in SOLIDWORKS.  Well get ready to have those selections accelerate your workflow further as SOLIDWORKS has put the selection tool-set right at the tip of your cursor in SOLIDWORKS 2015 – Literally!

The post New in SOLIDWORKS 2015 – The New Selection Context Menu! [VIDEO] appeared first on SolidWorks Tech Tips, Videos & Tutorials from Javelin.

Ideally when you are creating a part in SOLIDWORKS, you want to setup your sketches and features in such a way that the part is oriented as it would be when used in the assembly or how it would be naturally positioned in reality. This has the potential to not work out so well for drawings, depending on the shape of the component. The easy solution is to rotate SOLIDWORKS drawing view or drawing views as required to achieve a clean, logical drawing that best reflects how the part would be oriented when being manufactured. I will demonstrate how to rotate a view in this video:

As you can see, I can rotate the drawing view. The difference is very subtle in this example (180.278 vs 180.264). but you can imagine how this could cause chaos for tight tolerances and you can also see how undetectable this would have been.

Another BIG advantage not demonstrated is that if I manually rotate the view and make a design change that changes the angle of the edge, I will need to rotate the view again. However, if I’ve used “Align Drawing View > Horizontal” method, it updates automatically, maintaining my design intent to have that be a horizontal edge. If I use the “Update Standard Views” method, then I will need to repeat the step of updating my standard views.

To learn more about working with SOLIDWORKS Drawing Views attend a Live Online Drawing Class from Javelin

The post Rotate SOLIDWORKS Drawing View to Align an Edge to Horizontal [VIDEO] appeared first on SolidWorks Tech Tips, Videos & Tutorials from Javelin.

The Center Lines Sketch Rectangle Tool enhancement is one of those changes that is far more profound than one may first think. Given the number of times that one has to adjust a sketch involving a centered rectangular profile, the ability to swap the diagonal center lines for Vertical and Horizontal lines when placing a rectangle is a most welcome enhancement.

Take a look at the following video to find out how to apply the new tool:

The post New in SOLIDWORKS 2015 – Center Lines Sketch Rectangle Tool [VIDEO] appeared first on SolidWorks Tech Tips, Videos & Tutorials from Javelin.

When detailing a drawing, a common complaint for users first starting out with SolidWorks is that dimensions will seemingly arbitrarily jump around after they’ve been placed.  It isn’t that your SolidWorks program is trying to defy your commands, it’s actually that the program is following a drawing layout standard that it thinks you have already instructed it to maintain.  You can, though, turn off that behavior, OR you can adjust the actual settings that control it to use this to your advantage.

Pop up message

Many users who first encounter this behavior may not notice a temporary pop up message that actually explains exactly what is happening when the dimension moves.  Unfortunately this message will only show once per SolidWorks session and after that the dimensions will snap to their assumed position without any explanatory notes.

How to disable the spacing option

To disable the behavior you can go to the “System Options” tab in the Options dialogue (Under Tools > Options) and then go to the Drawings section.  Here there is a check box where you can disable the behavior to “Reduce spacing when dimensions are deleted or edited (add or change tolerance, text etc …)”.  Un-checking this option will cause the dimensions to stay exactly where you place them, the program will no longer try to adjust the spacing of the dimension.

Spacing Option

How to adjust the default spacing option

However if you want to use this functionality instead of just turning it off, you can adjust the way it works if you like.  The setting to control the spacing is file specific (so any changes you wish to make should be saved as a new template file if you want them to be reflected in new files going forward).  Go to the “Document Properties” tab in the Options dialogue, and then go to the Dimensions section.  Under Offset distances you can adjust the offset spacing if you want to still use this functionality, but have a different spacing than the default.

The post Why do my SOLIDWORKS Drawing dimensions move after I placed them? [VIDEO] appeared first on SolidWorks Tech Tips, Videos & Tutorials from Javelin.

A common question we get on the support desk is “where are my bend lines?” or “why are my bend lines not shown?” This can happen for a variety of reasons as I will explain in this video:

The first method I tried was to go to View > Sketches. This toggles the visibility of sketches, and if it is off, the Bend Lines sketch will be hidden

The second method I used was to expand out the Flat Pattern in the feature tree and find the sketch Bend-Lines2 (could be other numbers shown). Then I could click on it and Show it by selecting the glasses.

Finally, I demonstrated that to have the bend notes (in the event that your bend notes are not shown), you need to select your drawing view and choose “(A) Flat Pattern” as your view. The (A) will add the annotations, which include the bend notes.

The post Bend Lines Not Shown: Some Common Explanations [VIDEO] appeared first on SolidWorks Tech Tips, Videos & Tutorials from Javelin.

Attempting to simulate a chain or conveyor system within SOLIDWORKS has traditionally been a challenge. As a precursor to working with the Chain Component Pattern in SOLIDWORKS, you may want to apply some advanced mechanical mates to the path and components of your conveyor to ensure that you have control over all of the components in your conveyor system during a dynamic drag operation. In this way you can interact completely with your conveyor design, once the Chain Component Pattern has been used to populate the design.

Have a look at the following video to see how the Rack / Pinion mate can be used to drive the gear, based upon the movement of the link:

The post SOLIDWORKS 2015 Advanced Mechanical Mates [VIDEO] appeared first on SolidWorks Tech Tips, Videos & Tutorials from Javelin.

When adding the pipe slope to a segment, the value of inclination angle is specified as the ratio of the rise over the run. SOLIDWORKS automatically converts the ratio and lists the Rotation Angle in degree unit below the slope value.

If you enter a number as the Slope value, SOLIDWORKS will recognize it as the mentioned ratio. For example, 0.1 means  and it will be shown as 1.00 Unit : 10:00 Units, which results in a slope of 5.71 degree.

How to specify your own Pipe Slope Angle

Now, if you are looking to have a slope with a certain degree of inclination in degree or radian unit without further calculation, this is how to do it:

After choosing the targeted Slope Segment(s) and the Gravity Plane as well as the Start Point, you can leave the Slope as its default value and click OK, as shown below.

Now, the targeted segment has the slope of 1.00 Unit : 30:00 Units which means a Rotation Angle of 1.91 degree.

Note that if you decide to modify the existing dimension of the slope angle (by double clicking on it), you receive an error as depicted below, since this dimension is read-only.

Here is the solution:

You can simply delete the angle dimension, and measure it again using Smart Dimension command. Thereafter, you can then input your desired value for the slope angle either in degree or radian unit.

To learn more about SOLIDWORKS Piping you can attend a training course on-line or in-class

The post SOLIDWORKS Tech Tip: How to Input a Pipe Slope Angle in Degree or Radian appeared first on SolidWorks Tech Tips, Videos & Tutorials from Javelin.

A Toolbox custom property can be linked to SolidWorks materials library using the list option.  The material selected in the Toolbox configurator gets applied to the Toolbox part and the custom property can be displayed in the BOM.  Only one Toolbox property can be linked to SolidWorks materials library.

Custom properties are added to Toolbox parts using Toolbox Settings.  This dialog is accessed from Tools > Options > Hole Wizard/Toolbox > Configure or from the Start menu (eg. Start > SolidWorks 2015 > SolidWorks Tools > Toolbox Settings 2015).

• Go to Toolbox Settings > Customize Hardware (step 2) and select the standard, category or type that require new property
• Select the icon for ‘Add new Custom Property’ to bring up the Custom Property Definition dialog
• Enter the property name (eg. Material)
• Select the ‘List’ button and note that the option ‘Link to SW material’ appears
• Select the ‘List’ option and click ‘Select’ to bring up the list of SolidWorks materials available
• Select SolidWorks material and enter the name for BOM display
• Repeat the previous step until the list of Toolbox materials is complete
• Confirm OK and save Toolbox changes

Linking Toolbox property to SOLIDWORKS materials

Any materials added to the list will appear in the Toolbox configurator when the part is created or edited.

Toolbox property linked to SOLIDWORKS materials

The post Linking Toolbox Custom Property to SolidWorks Materials appeared first on SolidWorks Tech Tips, Videos & Tutorials from Javelin.

For many SolidWorks tools we often have a wishlist….. It is often added to when we find ourselves stuck in a particular workflow.  The recent enhancement to the Delete Bodies Tool within SOLIDWORKS 2015 is a great enhancement that will find us a way out of a potentially limiting workflow.

The video below will show you how to access the new keep bodies option with the Delete Bodies Tool:

The post New in SOLIDWORKS 2015 – Keep or Delete Bodies with the Delete Bodies Tool [VIDEO] appeared first on SolidWorks Tech Tips, Videos & Tutorials from Javelin.

To stay ahead of the competition you need a solution provider that will dig deep into your projects and workflow to identify improvements and ways to reduce costs.

Javelin is more than just your authorized SOLIDWORKS reseller; we can provide your business with exclusive solutions for every stage of your product lifecycle. To help reduce time-to value, drive greater agility to meet changing market demands, and increase success for your product launches.

Javelin Track

We can improve your PEOPLE , equip your business with the latest TECHNOLOGY, help you to setup the required PROCESS, and introduce you to new innovative MANUFACTURING techniques. Discover the services available from Javelin.

Skills Assessment & Training for your PEOPLE

At Javelin we understand that people are your most important asset and the pressures of business force you to do more with less – like attracting, engaging and retaining the right talent. What makes us distinct as a value added reseller is that we offer unique solutions designed to meet your people needs; from sourcing strategies, tailored training, certification, and solutions to capture and develop your existing best practices.

People Solutions

Common people problems that our customers face:

• Is there significant pressure on your design and engineering departments to reduce timelines to meet customer demands?
• Are you currently searching for talent and need a solution for training and on boarding of new staff?
• Do you have people leaving soon either through attrition or retirement and need to capture their knowledge and best practices to ensure your business continues to function?

Get the people solutions you need from Javelin

Javelin can provide your people with custom training and assessments, along with certification and testing to help with recruitment purposes or evaluation of your team’s skills and knowledge.

To capture your best practices we can create documentation and develop custom courseware to ensure essential knowledge is retained in your business and shared with other staff members.

Get the latest TECHNOLOGY

Javelin’s SOLIDWORKS® design solutions help thousands of Canadian designers, engineers, and manufacturers to create and deliver great products.

The powerful yet easy-to-use solutions cover all aspects of your product development process with a seamless integrated workflow — that includes design, verification, communication and data management — which will simplify the development process for even the most complex designs.

Technology Solutions

New 2015 Technologies

SOLIDWORKS 2015 adds new tools and capabilities to help inspire innovative design and grow your business. In addition to CAD, FEA, and PDM tools the latest SOLIDWORKS release has new technology for:

• First Article Inspection (FAI).
• Product Manufacturing Information (PMI) 3D engineering drawings.
• Documentation & illustration.
• Electromechanical design.
• Industrial & mechanical concept design tools.
• Cloud based design & collaboration.

Javelin Technology Solutions

Javelin is the largest SOLIDWORKS reseller in Canada and can provide your business with the latest technology backed by an expert technical support and training team.

PROCESS Improvement

We know you are continually striving to connect all of your business systems and document your processes in order to obtain certifications. You may have a data management system, but is it connected to your ERP or MRP systems? Are you still relying on manual processes in your workflow to keep projects on track?

Improving your process

Common process issues that our customers face:

• Need to improve the flow of documentation to ensure the “as designed” and the “as built” are in sync.
• Need to reduce the amount of time spent on manual inputs, spreadsheets, and reduce associated errors.
• Require a better means of documenting products or processes that may rely on the shop floor or other areas, to ensure the knowledge of the end released product is captured.
• A need for better communication between the design department and the shop floor.

Get the process solutions you need from Javelin

Javelin’s process experts can help you to integrate all your data systems so there is a better workflow in place across your entire organization; which can also help you to obtain the business certifications your customers require such as Military-Standard-31000A, ASME Y14.41, ISO 16792, and DIN ISO 16792.

We also have experience with helping businesses utilize government funding schemes when implementing new processes, including the Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) program.

Digital MANUFACTURING

Digital Manufacturing with production 3D Printers has opened the door for faster and more cost effective short-run manufacturing methods. Time-to-market is no longer constrained by the lead time required for tooling.

With 3D printing a product can be manufactured the same day that a design is completed. This allows Javelin customers to respond faster with less initial cash outlay for tooling and capital equipment.

Digital Manufacturing Solutions

How 3D Printing is utilized

3D printing can make dramatic improvements in both time and cost efficiency, when compared with more traditional production methods. Here are just a few applications where 3D printing is used for manufacturing:

• Creating jigs & fixtures.
• End-use parts.
• Sand casting.
• Surrogate parts.
• Thermoforming.
• Mold, tool and die.
• Creating mock-ups & prototypes.

Javelin Digital Manufacturing Solutions

Javelin can help you determine if digital manufacturing is right for your business and give you the guidance you need to choose the right printer for your needs. You will also receive installation, training, and servicing.

Take the NEXT STEP

Contact your local Javelin office and arrange for a visit to your location by one of our solution experts. We want to hear about your business issues and we are confident that our solution expert will be able to find a solution for you.

We can help:

• Enable your organization to scale.
• Encourage flexibility and growth across your entire business.
• Increase overall value.
• Maximize workforce productivity.
• Deliver faster, more efficient results.

Call a Solutions Representative now at 1-877-219-6757 or fill out the form below to contact us:

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As a second part to our earlier post regarding the Model Break View functionality available with SOLIDWORKS MBD 2015, let’s take a look at the same functionality for an Assembly Break View.

The post New in SOLIDWORKS MBD 2015 – Assembly Break Views [VIDEO] appeared first on SolidWorks Tech Tips, Videos & Tutorials from Javelin.

Surfaces do not appear in SOLIDWORKS drawing views by default.  When used as reference geometry, surfaces are usually not required in a production drawing.  However, when the entire model or some of its elements are designed as surface bodies, the drawing is incomplete if surfaces are not displayed.

Surface bodies can be inserted in drawing views as model items:  Insert > Model Items > Reference Geometry > Surfaces.  In the Source/Destination section, the source can be selected as entire model or a feature, and the import can be applied to all or selected views.

Surfaces in SOLIDWORKS Drawing Views as model items

PropertyManager for section views provides the option to include surfaces in the section cut and to display surfaces.

Display of surfaces in section view

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