SOLIDWORKSis among the most popular and widely used professional CAD/CAE software, primarily for product designing and engineering applications. Next week 3D Printing Industry will be reporting from the annualSOLIDWORKS World conference在此之前，我们看看软件中发现的一些功能以及其背后的一些历史记录。
昨天，我参加了安排的Solidworks研讨会实心解决方案在伦敦的哈默史密斯。该研讨会由制造业的专业设计师和专家参加。我们的讲师是Solid Solutions技术预售经理Terry O’Reilly。
Solid Solutions是英国实体工作的伦敦经销商。经过二十多年的业务，Solid Solutions现在拥有21个英国办事处，超过200名员工和15,000多名客户。
In addition to being the official vendor of SOLIDWORKS, Solid Solutions has been providing SOLIDWORKS training course since 1998. One of the most popular programs offered by the company is the SOLIDWORKS Training Passport, a 33 days long SOLIDWORKS course which covers all the essentials needed to be an expert.
CAD modeling in manufacturing
几十年来，CAD建模一直是制造过程中不可或缺的一部分。在制造业中采用CAD的原因有很多，但脱颖而出的原因是，它已经启用了并发或同时进行工程。在这种产品开发模型中，来自不同部门的专家可以同时进行单个设计，实际上可以最大程度地减少交货时间。
As CAD modeling is the most important step in additive manufacturing, advanced software like SOLIDWORKS is an essential part of a product designer or engineer’s toolkit.
Made by the French technology corporationDassault Systèmes, on its initial release in 1995, SOLIDWORKS was one of the first CAD software programmed for Microsoft Windows. Currently, there are only a handful of competitors of SOLIDWORKS which include PTC Creo, Solid Edge and Siemens NX by Siemens, and Autodesk Inventor. Recently,SOLIDWORKS 2019 editionwas released which it introduced the virtual reality system.
SOLIDWORKS user experience
SolidWorks基于参数建模理论。参数模型由依赖和独立形状组成。例如，如果中心有一个孔，则孔的位置将根据立方体的边缘定义。在这种情况下，设计师的意图是，即使更换了立方体的尺寸，孔也必须保留在中心。因此，孔取决于立方体。
In contrast, independent features like fillet and chamfer do not change with dimensions but have to be modified manually. This way software like SOLIDWORKS can work according to the ‘design intention’.
SOLIDWORKS has an integrated international standards library. For example, users can create thread holes according to international standards such as the ANSI or ISO. Such a treasury of industry standards ensures that SOLIDWORKS is not hindered by international borders.
Furthermore, SOLIDWORKS also hosts a materials library, where users can define the material in which they want their model to be. Once the material is defined, SOLIDWORKS can generate data based on the properties of the material such as the weight of the final product. This information can be used in reports or quotes.
SOLIDWORKS can also produce 2D drawings from the 3D model. 2D drawings are still used in the manufacturing industry, therefore it is necessary to have such a tool in CAD software. SOLIDWORKS uses the eDrawings plugin, which can be downloaded for free on Desktop. In addition to 2D drawings, the eDrawings platform lets users see the explode and collapse animation of the assembly. Furthermore, users can create parts table which numbers each component in the model. This is to facilitate the product assembly after manufacturing. These drawings can be easily shared with clients. But eDrawings Pro is a full 3D viewer which now supports augmented and virtual reality.
模拟和可持续性
Thanks toFEA simulation, manufacturing processes have become streamlined. Because prototypes are not used as a design tool (as it was usual before FEA), instead they are for validating the final design. Designs can be tested in the virtual environment by running simulation tests provided by SOLIDWORKS and other such software. In this way, product development moves seamlessly from one stage to another, i.e. design, prototype, validation.
SOLIDWORKS offers some of the most advanced simulation options such as stress and heat analysis, vibrations and airflow analysis. Furthermore, in addition to simulation, SOLIDWORKS also hasgenerative designcapabilities. This feature is available under the name topology optimization.
By far one of the most interesting I found in SOLIDWORKS is the sustainability test, which measures the carbon footprint of a model. Sustainability feature is currently being used by automotive manufacturers like Ford, Daimler, and BMW, among several others.
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特色图像显示了SolidWorks中的CAD模型。通过SOLIDWORKS图像。
