Learning to Use SolidWorks 2008

[megalomania]

I want to move beyond my usual poorly hand drawn sketches of designs and plans for things, so I thought I would try Autodesk Inventor Pro 2008. I have never used engineering software before, and I am not much for graphics, so this is all quite new to me. I would like to learn to use the engineering software so I can plan detailed schematics beforehand. I sometimes fall into the measure once, cut twice category, or rather I do too much designing in my head which leads to getting the wrong components, not getting the right components, and figuring out I need additional components along the way.

The software is very daunting, even to an experienced computer user such as me. I tried to follow along with a few of the help files, but I could not get my stuff to do the things they were showing. I can’t seem to find any video tutorials, video training material, or even training books for Inventor Pro 2008. My preferred method of learning stuff like this is to watch a training video, I learn best that way, and for graphics related stuff I think videos are better all around.

I don’t know if Inventor Pro is too new yet, but I didn’t find any Inventor training materials on the net. Perhaps I am looking in the wrong places. I don’t frequent engineering sites, I just stick to the usual places that make video training material like Lynda, Total Training, etc. I found training vids for other Autodesk products, just not Inventor. I found a few short help guides and brief tutorials on doing a few things, but I am really looking for a more in depth training starting from the basics and covering what all the damn buttons do. I think the one tutorial I found was for building an aircraft fuselage, a bit too complicated for me to jump right in, and not what I am going to use Inventor for.

If anyone knows of links to websites that have training materials, some book titles, something that can help me learn this stuff I would appreciate it. I bet as soon as I post this thread I will find what I am looking for.

I would not be adverse to using a different program, but I gather Inventor is the best and it will be around for a long time, so if I learn it now I can use it forever. Like with Photoshop, why use a lesser graphics program when Photoshop is number one, has been around for ages, has tons of training material available, has plenty of plugins, and will probably be around for years? Even if something new comes along to replace Inventor Pro, chances are the new software will use Inventor like features and layouts. Google SketchUp (sketchup.google.com) is one possible alternative, but I honestly don't think it can compare to Inventor. I don't even know if there are any alternative design programs that come close to Inventor.

[Jacks Complete]

Sounds interesting. Once you get up and running, let us know what you think. I might have to snag a copy.

[Safety0ff]

I don't even know if there are any alternative design programs that come close to Inventor.

SolidWorks and Pro-E ( Pro Engineer) are alternatives to Inventor but if you already have Inventor then it's most likely not worth the $'s to switch IMO (academic license prices are resonable though...) I've only used Pro-E, but I also have Inventor, just haven't installed it yet.

I don't know of any book titles, you could look on amazon possibly...

These program's have so many features but once you get the basics it's not quite so overwhelming. Good luck!

[megalomania]

I obtained SolidWorks 2008 yesterday and installed it after reading a few debates about Inventor vs Solidworks. The consensus seems to be SolidWorks is easier to learn from the start for a beginner, and has more training material available. Both programs do essentially the same thing, but each has its strong points.

I have not actually run the program yet, I have to disable all the services Inventor likes to run at startup with msconfig, then get rid of Indexing Services (now I remember why I disabled in a couple years ago). I don't like to reboot unless I need to since I have so many windows open, firefox tabs to dozens of sites, this and that document... I lose my train of thought if I have to shut down.

The price, yes... SolidWorks is more expensive. I will only be "evaluating" the software in "trial" mode.

I did get a handle on making a few simple shapes using the extruder. One simple problem I could not figure out was how to add a hole through a cylindrical object. I added a hole to a flat shape easy enough, but no matter what I do it will not let me select the curved surface. Help is no help, I found a vague tutorial that didn't help... bah! I also can't quite figure out how to connect different parts in an assembly file. They just float around and go wherever I don't want them to connect.

[Bugger]

There are video and interactive training material for Inventor Pro 11 available for download from rapidshare.com on the following pages:

http://www.ebookee.com/-Video-Training-Autodesk-Inventor_125252.html
http://www.ebookee.com/Autodesk-Inventor-11-Accelerated-Productivity-Solid-Modeling-An-Interactive-Course-for-Autodesk-In_124172.html
http://www.technomac.net/2007/09/autodesk-inventor-11-accelerated.html

[charger]

Mega,

A solution to putting holes in curved surfaces is to create a work plane tangent to near the curved surface, and begin a new sketch on that. In an assembly, the first part you put in will be "grounded" or unmoving, from there you constrain other parts to it and each other by using constrain (press "C")

Alternatively, you can register with Autodesk student community; their boards have been helpful for me in the past.

If you are willing to pay for it, there are video tutorials available http://www.netwind.com/html/inventor-2008-training.html

[DarkWrath]

I don't really know if it will work in Inventor (or if Inventor even has this feature) but in most graphics/engineering programs I would just make a cylinder with the radius equal to the radius of the hole you want to make , intersect it with the object and boolean B-A them together.

This way the first cylinder will disappear and the second object will have a hole in it...

[wolfy9005]

Cant beat the handrawn sketches, but it's good to have those o-so-straight lines :D

[megalomania]

Oh I think just about anything beats my hand drawn sketches. I even failed art on purpose in high school. I got yelled at for trying to draw straight lines too. God damn art hippies can suck my...

Anyway, I have been using SolidWorks for a few weeks now, just a few times really, and I have downloaded several video tutorials that I have not yet had the time to watch. I rather like it now that I have a few of the basics figured out. I am a far cry away from designing the next space shuttle, or even a lawnmower, but it has already helped me figure out a few things in my book digitizer.

I actually got stuck on one strange problem. My glass platen is a 50 degree angle from the center place, both together are 100 degrees. The side arm that holds the camera SHOULD also be at a 50 degree angle, exactly perpendicular with one side of the glass platen. I set these angles in SolidWorks, but the side arm is not perpendicular for some unfathomable reason.

http://www.roguesci.org/images-forum_posts/book-digitizer.gif
http://www.roguesci.org/images-forum_posts/book-digitizer-down-the-barrel.gif
This may have something to do with the fact I created the side arm part from a previous part that included the base. I was building the entire thing as one big part when I realized I should build each part as a seperate file and combine them as an assembly. Rather than build each part from scratch again, I just deleted all the other components until only the side arm was left. Having deleted the original starting point the new part keeps complaining that there are errors. I rebuilt the part, but now since I am already well underway in my assembly it keeps complaining the new part doesn't match blah blah blah. Stupid program.

I am very disappointed that my version of SolidWorks did not come with the toolbox of parts and fasteners. I thought the office suite was supposed to have that? Either I didn't install the right version of SolidWorks (it gives you the option to install all the versions from the same DVD, it just depends on your license which will work), or the toolbox is an addon. Anyone know?

I am wasting my time designing screws and fastners, a few of which are necessary to include because there are a few areas where their dimensions are important to the design.

I ended up redesigning my cradle too, but that is for the another thread...

[Silentnite]

Mega which version do you have? http://www.solidworks.com/pages/products/3dmech.html has the table describing what's included. It doesn't come with basic.

[megalomania]

I thought I had SolidWorks Office Premium, but maybe the parts library does not work in trial mode...

[Safety0ff]

In case you went back to Inventor Pro 2008. I've been using it for half a week now and I've figured out most the features. It also has some "Try it" tutorials that are helpful. As for your problem with the glass thing. I don't understand what you're trying to make but here's a tip. Always be aware of how you relate one part to another, because it's a "parametric feature based solid modeler." I'm still learning how plan ahead the parameters of each feature so that they relate perfectly whenever I make design adjustments. It'll come with practice/experience.:) And yes, it is better to make separate parts and then assemble them in an assembly. For the fasteners, it's also possible that they're only available in assembly. Mega, because I don't check this forum often these days, if you want me to reply to a question pm so that I know to check.

[megalomania]

It appears I did not install all of the components of SolidWorks the first time around. Now that I had the chance to reinstall it recently, I saw the option for the ToolBox and other accessories. I am in the habit of not installing any accessories on a new program if I do not know what it does because most of these accessories are annoying scumware crap.

The latest service pack 3 for solidworks has just been released. There are a few torrents floating around with it. Check out http://www.ozone-torrents.org (need to register to see the torrents, but it's free, otherwise I would give the direct link). They also have a 4 volume video course for Solidworks 2005-2008. I was somewhat unsuccessfully downloading this before my computer died, but it works great now. I'll probably get banned for downloading this file since it is my first and I am the only leecher. There is no way I can avoid screwing up my ratio if there is no one to upload to :(

[oddpat]

Perhaps you should upload some hand drawings, and we can have a go at it? Let us know how you intend to turn the pages etc., perhaps someone can contribute.

[megalomania]

When I reinstalled SolidWorks a few weeks ago I took care to insure I included all the extra components this time. However, I still did not have the toolbox installed.

I found out once you install solidworks you have to go into the settings and specifically enable the additional features to run. These additional components can be turned on and off as needed, and they start up when SolidWorks is run.

This seems like a strange way of running software, but it probably conserves system resources by only loading those components you actually wish to use. Adobe and Microsoft Office products could learn a lesson here...

I have been gathering more and more training materials. I have not watched that many yet except for bits and pieces when I get stuck with a specific problem. I don't really need to learn the whole program back to front, but the more I do learn the more likely I am to design other things I never would have attempted otherwise.

I found a very nice website with a free part library, http://www.3dcontentcentral.com/ 3D Content Central has catalogs of company and user submitted parts all available for free downloading. A very useful marketing strategy this is. By using a company's 3D part in your design you are quite likely to buy the parts from the company when you build the real thing. It is also nice to know what parts are commercially available for design purposes.

[monkeyboy]

I have several pdfs about solidworks. If you want any of these, let me know & I'll upload them.
(eBook-CAD)Solidworks Tutorial.pdf
SolidWorks Lessons.pdf
SolidWorks 2005 - Drawing Sketches for the Solid Models - SolidWorks.pdf
Manual 2004 -2005(Solidworks).pdf
Solidworks Manual.pdf
Solidworks - Essentials Course Volume 1&2.pdf
SolidWorks 2005 - Essentials Advanced Assembly Modeling.pdf
Solidworks Advanced Modeling Techniques.pdf
(Ebook) Solidworks Engineering Design With Solid Works.pdf
Assembly Modeling With Solidworks 2005.pdf
Solidcam - Integrated Cam Engine For Solidworks - Manual - Milling Book Vol1 Screen.pdf
SolidCAM - Integrated CAM Engine for SolidWorks - Manual - Milling Book Vol2 Screen.pdf
Rhino Surface Modeling For Solidworks.pdf
Solidworks 2005 - Sheet Metal And Weldments.pdf
Solidworks 2005 - Routing.pdf
Sten Sub machine Gun CAD Model-SolidWorks.zip
Probably more, that's just the first directory I looked in.

Bunch of Mastercam & Rhino stuff, too...

[megalomania]

I have all of those except "Solidworks Engineering Design With Solid Works.pdf." Most of the books available online are for old versions, which I am not interested. SolidWorks 2007-2008 are quite similar, but the interface for the older versions is different enough to make training materials with it not very useful.

Many of the books labeled 2005 or 2008 are actually for SolidWorks 2000 or 2001, quite useless.

I am most interested in video tutorials. I have all of the Quasar SolidWorks video tutorials, plus a couple others.

[Wallybanger]

From what I have heard, Solidworks is quite easy to learn if you're new to engineering software. I have never used Solidworks but I know it's quite similar to Catia (which I do use) and that they're both made by the same company. Catia isn't a terrible piece of software and the one advantage it has over Solidworks is that there are a lot of training materials available for it. I can hook you up with links for both Catia and the training software if you like (They'll be torrent links).

I'll also add that once you know the main principals of 3D CAD (using panes, axis systems, & points to create protrusions, cuts, bends etc) it's quite easy to transfer those skills to other programs. The main learning curve is with buttons and functionality. My personal recommendation would be to get a copy of ProEngineer Wildfire 3. I find that the ProE stuff is best CAD software I've used to date.

from what I gather from your other posts I'm operating under the assumption that you're downloading the software, which is good.... most of this stuff costs upwards of 10's of thousands of dollars to buy.

[megalomania]

I did notice some of the features were similar between SolidWorks and Inventor even though I only used Inventor for such a short time. I think I will stick with SolidWorks because I am stuck with it now for the reasons you gave, the buttons and functions.

I actually can't find a price for SolidWorks, which bodes ill, but it does not matter. I have legit access through my university which has it installed on all the computers in the engineering department... Piracy is wrong m'kay, it's bad m'kay, just bad m'kay.

[borex]

I'm working in CATIA, SOLID EDGE, NX5 and I can't say which is the best. if you want only to do modeling you can choose every one of them. In stress Analise you can have problems: there are many solvers nx is using NASTRAN is free and don't have many bugs. Soliedge is have integrations with femap catia i dont know I'm been only on one course but is many manuals in inthernet of catia for free. and it's very popular program. I have account on myigetit internet course for engineers if you want I can give you my pass. SORRY FOR MY ENGLISH I live in POLAND(CENTRAL EUROPE)






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Moderator Note:
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Your offer was generous but I had to take a quite a bit of time to even make that portion legible. Please have someone help you with the English verbal tense and noun placement. I know that Central European languages are VERY unique & different from English but the original post could not be understood. English verbs are structured similar to German, that may help you understand why your post was illegible in it's original form.

[PreventerWind51]

Heres the link to our graphics communication class tutorials on using solidworks.

http://courses.ncsu.edu/gc120/common/solidworks_labs.htm

Its very thorough with step by step instructions, photographs, and a few flash videos, and is up to date with regards to SolidWorks 2008. It does an excellent job of covering the basics, and works as a great starting point.