cadcamstuff.com
CAD=Solidworks CAM=Mastercam

Got a salesman out of town holding a potential costumer hostage, and if your 3D magic skills could be reached for a quick overview it would be so much less embarrassing?

The real question here is, how fast and easy can you deliver your newest fabulous design to your costumer for approval?  Solidworks 3D Instant Website might just be your solution.

The tool is not new. 3D Instant Website was an early Christmas present back in 2000. But since we still have a way to go until the cloud age kicks in, having the possibility to upload and interact with your design on a standard Microsoft Web Browser is still a pretty nifty way to reach upper management and/or costumers.

Tools=>Options=>Add-Ins and you will quickly be able to publish or administrate current uploads. The uploading can be done on SolidWorks-hosted Website or locally over a corporate Intranet.

The biggest point to be made is that 3D Instant Website a very easy tool to master. With easy wizard based menus it does not take long to realize the potentials, and with a little reading in the help file you can actually dig deep and customize the design layout of your web page also.

So less than 30 seconds after your finger has touched the submit button, your email client is ready to launch emails containing links and passwords to whomever you have decide should be allowed to view, handle and judge your 3D creations. 3D Instant Website will of course also gladly show off your 2D stuff, if you decide to cut a dimensional view, and make a drawing.

Depending on your selection when setting up 3D Instant Website, your clients could have access through a password secured Windows Internet Browser the possibilities to rotate, zoom and hide components on your design, for then comment, debate and most likely approve your work. All this done without downloading some fancy viewer.

Conclusion…

Proven in the real world. 3D Instant Website is a fantastic tool to quickly get your design out to people who might be unsecure in the CAD room, but have a big impact on the success of your product. Yep, the guy with the check book is important, but also the guy who need to quote plating or finish assembling down the road could find this very handy. Defiantly worth a test run if you are not familiar with this feature in Solidworks. 

When looking to justify investing in something as important as CAM, you might end up sitting with a long list of new functions you never knew was needed, ever existed,  and possible maybe not even truly understand what really do. On top of that your brain is swirling with the daunting price you have to justify to make this new adventure possible.

A NC-code editor is most likely not on your list, however I know from myself that I use more time in my editor, than many of those new fancy toolpaths CAM companies are bragging about.

If you use  Mastercam and find the following screen shot utterly familiar, its because HSMWorks Editor is actually the old Cimco Editor on steroids .

The intelligent layout…

HSMWorks Editor is sweet on the eyes. This is because they have made it totally customizable with text and background colors. Its easy to set up and adds a flare of intelligent. The intelligence is that it categories the colors with the different functions of the programs, what makes the code much more digestive compared most other NC-editors. It is very easy to have your code turn into a crazy blur of letters and numbers, this function really helps keeping some order in things.

Changes…

Most editors will have some kind of search function integrated. HSMWorks have spiced things up with handy tools  that will let you change spindle and feedrates quickly without having to waste a lot of time searching through the code. My favorite search function is the customizable  “Next Tool Change”. This button makes searching through the code sweet like honey.

Compare…

File compare probably do not need any explanation, however the set up in HSMWorks Editor makes is so easy to compare and bring code from one file to another on the fly, it even makes functions like Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V old fashion. With a quick Ctrl+ <- -> you will be sending the desired values from one side to another. File Compare is also great tool if you are bringing programs back  from the shop floor, and want to make sure you get all operator changes back in your system.

Verify…

We have discussed verifying before, and I can not stress how important it is if you have to do offline programming on a daily basis. The verify we normally are talking about happens right inside our CAM, but there is one dangerous part about this. Verify inside your CAM is done before your toolpaths has actually traveled through your post processor, and since the post processor is the tool that actually creates the code, you are most defiantly running a risk for error. HSMWorks Editor gives you the possibility to verify you actually code. It does not have the fancy graphics, but it can protect a programmers biggest fear. A missed retract height.

Conclusion…

So maybe it would be silly to buy HSMWorks because of its editor, but it should most defiantly be part of the list of  things you take into consideration when deciding which CAM package to buy.

I’m having a hard time finding anything negative to say about getting my CAM inside Solidworks, and it seems like the major CAM companies has realized that they better got on the Solidworks-train.

BobCAD-CAM has been known for doing things differently compared to there competitors. No resellers, openly posting prices on there website, free post processor modifications, and very affordably. BobCAD-CAM has been many startup shops entrance in to the CAD/CAM world.

I think it is great to see that BobCAD-CAM have taken the step to mingle with the other CAM companies inside Solidworks. This can only result in companies like Mastercam, Esprit and Delcam to work a little harder to justify there price and quality for there Solidworks add-on’s.

At this point BobCAD-CAM offer 2. 3 and 4 axis Milling with a supposedly 5th axis version available in 2011. They also has become a Solidworks OEM reseller and sell a slimmed down Solidworks version that fits there quest for bringing affordable CAD/CAM to you.

I recently sat in on a online demo of this new roaring cat and are sharing the screenshots here.

Conclusion

so if you are looking for an affordable solution to stuff you CAM inside Solidworks, this might be your Solidworks partner. BobCAD-CAM also share there pricing and there available demo for download here

Using sensors in Solidworks is not only for constructions of power plants and streamlining parts for a Formel 1 racer, even us regular people can find use for these sensor functions from time to time.

But before we start looking at this adorable tool, lets make sure that if you do not already see the “Sensor” folder in the top of your FeatureManager tree, we will get it turned on with 4 easy steps.

Power up the sensor folder

1)~Options

2)~FeatureManager

3)~Choose Show from the Sensor drop down menu

4)~And confirm it is now there.

Sensor the mass

With a “right-mouse” click on the sensor folder it is quick and easy to add a new sensor.

Mass Properties can be your best friend when designing parts. You set up your parameters at the start of the design process, so when you are playing with fillets or thin features Solidworks will make sure to warn you gently if you skate outside your boundaries. 

But of course Solidworks doesn’t  stop with options there…

Dimensions

It is a huge advantage that you can set sensors on dimensions that absolutely can not be modified while you are working on a part level.

So when someone with not enough caffeine in there blood, decides to modify your part on the 500+ assembly gets a clear warning signal. This is an easy way to assure you stay on top of things, even if it is really out of your hands.

Be aware there is an enhancement request for the Dimension Sensor…

The method you have to use to choose you dimension is defiantly a bit of a work around;

Right-click on ‘Annotations’ folder in FeatureManager design tree and select ‘Show Feature Dimensions’. This will make dimensions visible >now select add measurement sensor and select required dimension.

Interference Detection

In assembly mode you get “Interference Detection” and “Proximity” available. Here is an example of “interference Detection”.

If you ever design something where keeping an area clear of other object is essential “Interference Detection” might just be the tool you will appreciate.

On the picture above you will see the square frame has been selected for true interference.

And you really have to put in an effort not to realize that the FeatureManager tree is NOT pleased when the basketball enters the “No Go” zone.

Conclusion

I think Sensors in Solidworks is one of those functions you easily can forget about if you do not have a regular use for them. Yet I think you will agree with me that they can be a pretty fabulous tool to throw around at your design at times.

Fruit fanatic or not, Appel’s Ipad is most defiantly the hottest rocking geek topic these days, and Mike Puckett who is one of Solidworks certification specialists modeled up one of these wonders and is gracefully sharing it on 3dcontentcentral.  Now if you are up for prizes, pretty renderings and Ipads, I would recommend that you swing by Solidsmack.com and check out "Ipad model rendering challenge.  Snack a 3Dconnexion SpaceNavigator" for some fun.

Using Solidworks juicy mold tools we can quickly make an attempt on an Ipad core that  we can use to look a little deeper into HSMWorks Solid Verification spinning hand in hand with Solidworks.

Stock Setup in HSMWorks

Stock setup is pretty simple to habdle in HSMWorks, Automatic has to be a favorite word, but you also have an option to use Solidworks sketches, what should make already Solidworks users feel pretty comfortable with this virtual task.

As written in the past, I am a big fan of shortcuts for quick access to get the job done. Right mouse key in HSMWorks is stuffed with a big selection of functions, including Simulate and what we are looking for….Solid Verification. So right mouse click on the HSMWorks job folder, and the hallway that leads you to Solid Verification lights right up

HSMWorks Solid Verification.

Placed inside the solid verification part in HSMWorks is pretty sweet. My biggest complain is that my 3Dconnexion SpaceNavigator is disabled., what just results in the old fashion zoom and un-zoom with the mouse wheel. Still looking like a standard Solidworks property manager, HSMWorks has taken full advantage of the space available, and as you can see on picture above you have some cool information and measurements available, and all this information comes to life as you move your cursor over the different areas of the verified part.

Also inside Solid Verification you will find that “Right mouse” click brings up some neat tools. Here I find my savior for missing 3Dconnexion functions with a varieties to view the part from different standard views, and “Beep” and “Flash on Crash” could easily become the tools to secure your title as “CAM Ninja” around the office.

Conclusion

Verification is the last line of defense before sending that NC code to your CNC machine. Now I most likely do not have to remind you that spindle repair has not become cheaper. HSMWorks have invested in giving you the tools that will make it possible for you to verify your work and at the end of the day, you can go home while your mold core is being machined safely.

More interested in export from Solidworks to Mastercam?

Same texts as in “What you should know…..export from Solidworks to Mastercam”, but different videos

There is days you could wonder if CAD sales people have practiced extra hard on keeping a straight inviting face when they claim that there CAD software can import and export any of there competitors formats as if it was an extension of there body.
Now, I’m not going to throw the CAD sales guy into the “used car salesman” category, he do not deserve that. To be fair, most CAD software will import what ever you throw at it, maybe just not to the standard you had expected. So before calling Tech support and either screaming in frustration or pleating for a better solution and maybe a comforting hug, lets look at the issue from a logical and practical side of things.

Import/Export
Converting CAD from one system to another should be compared to translating from Russian to Greek with a dictionary where more than a few pages are missing. If you are trying to import a ProE file into Solidworks you need to realize that you are importing one competitor into another, and therefor in this example Solidworks only have what ProE gives them to work with in the conversion process. This goes for every CAD manufacture, so until we get all our different CAD extensions converted into one standard (keep dreaming, scooter) you should treat you import/export with some natural caution.

System Tolerance
So it is understood that there can be complications with translating the CAD data from one format to another. How about the system tolerance set up by the IT guy or you as a CAD captain?

~Mastercams System Tolerance page~
So imagine some guy(gentlemen, if he actually end up being your costumer) draws up some geometry on his 3rd world waterjet software, then saves it as DXF, and through a couple of sales reps. and a CAD Manager it ends up on your desk. Do you trust that the discount software that comes with a machine that think it is accurate when operating within +/-0.1mm? I didn’t think so.
So what does this mean? well at least make sure that your templates and tolerances are set to proper scale. And again, you need some caution when dealing with incoming files.

Here is a couple of more things you might find interesting when exporting from Mastercam into Solidworks…
A video is worth a thousands pictures

Did my Mastercam file just turn dumb?

Some Mastercam curves can form a nice Solid

Looking to export from Solidworks to Mastercam?

There is days you could wonder if CAD sales people have practiced extra hard on keeping a straight inviting face when they claim that there CAD software can import and export any of there competitors formats as if it was an extension of there body.
Now, I’m not going to throw the CAD sales guy into the “used car salesman” category, he do not deserve that. To be fair, most CAD software will import what ever you throw at it, maybe just not to the standard you had expected. So before calling Tech support and either screaming in frustration or pleating for a better solution and maybe a comforting hug, lets look at the issue from a logical and practical side of things.

Import/Export
Converting CAD from one system to another should be compared to translating from Russian to Greek with a dictionary where more than a few pages are missing. If you are trying to import a ProE file into Solidworks you need to realize that you are importing one competitor into another, and therefor in this example Solidworks only have what ProE gives them to work with in the conversion process. This goes for every CAD manufacture, so until we get all our different CAD extensions converted into one standard (keep dreaming, scooter) you should treat you import/export with some natural caution.

System Tolerance
So it is understood that there can be complications with translating the CAD data from one format to another. How about the system tolerance set up by the IT guy or you as a CAD captain?

~Mastercams System Tolerance page~
So imagine some guy(gentlemen, if he actually end up being your costumer) draws up some geometry on his 3rd world waterjet software, then saves it as DXF, and through a couple of sales reps. and a CAD Manager it ends up on your desk. Do you trust that the discount software that comes with a machine that think it is accurate when operating within +/-0.1mm? I didn’t think so.
So what does this mean? well at least make sure that your templates and tolerances are set to proper scale. And again, you need some caution when dealing with incoming files.

Here is a couple of more things you might find interesting when exporting from Solidworks into Mastercam…
A video is worth a thousands pictures

Flip, Flop Fly, my Solidworks part tipped over

Cover you solid with curves and arcs

Coming up…

What you should know…..Export from Mastercam into Solidworks coming soon~Yep what about the other way around.

Remember the days where you had to unplug the phone line and get your dial up modem spinning for then knowing that about a pot of coffee later you had internet exlporer 1.0 loaded (That was Windows 95 by the way). But these days with laptops, Blackberrys and Ipads web pages are sliding past our eyes like a freight train………Sooo I have to conclude that you feel just as web hardcore as I do, what merely just results in that I am opinionated about what a cool web design is……feel you are hard to impress? me too (Previous blog post ranking top 10 Solidworks resellers website)
Is your Solidworks resellers website a favorite?

So when you come across a site where your hands starts getting sweaty and you are scrambling for the bookmark button because a power outage would be devastating. Adding the bonus of Solidworks and learning on top of that what more can you ask for?

solidworksmodel.com
Jan-Willem Zuyderduyn is the guy behind this sweet looking site. Jan-Willem has placed in the top 3 in multiple design contests, and now is your chance to learn his tricks and magic using our favorite design package Solidworks. I have to be clear that I have not had a chance to try any of these tutorials as of yet, but the concept is this…

For a very low price (Hey girls, fathers day is coming up soon~wink wink) you get the tutorial package containing of 15 E-books saved as PDF files. The readers will learn how to model, assemble and render a complete Chopper using SolidWorks.
Using Jan-Willem’s own words:
It will help to discover the most important features of SolidWorks in a creative and innovative way. All the exercises together will form a complete chopper. This practical way of working makes it challenging and fun for the participant and is one of the greatest strengths of SolidWorksModel.

Now I can hear people comments about how they don’t design motorcycles, have no use for rendering skills or even someone telling me that they have purchased Solidworks tutorials before, just to find that people don’t bother using them.
Could it possible be because people really have a hard time getting excited about pattern a refrigerator rack or revolve a candlestick holder? (who other than your grandmother have one these anyways?).
The cool thing about this package is that you not only get to learn a bunch of Solidworks skills, but you also get a satisfaction in the end by creating something really cool. You show the final result to your teenage son and tell me that you don’t get invited to next carrier day at school.

Check it out for yourself solidworksmodel.com

Continuing with some more exploring of HSMWorks (The milling package integrated inside Solidworks).
I’m going to do a quick dance through a simple pocket toolpath, so you can take a look at these screen shots and tell me that this gold partner hasn’t done a splendid job integrating CAM into Solidworks.
Toolpath drop down…

The entry into the HSMWorks from the standard Solidworks drop down menu could appear intimidating for new users with all the different toolpaths available. They are pretty standard for most milling packages, and when digging into the tutorials it should quickly make a lot more sense for new users……no fear
Tool library

As you start using you CAM tool you will find that you also will favor composing your own tool library. This software has done the job making these custom menus easy to digest.
Coordinate

I really like that HSMWorks is taking advantage of already existing Solidworks functions and implement them inside the CAM also. Here is a attempt to demonstrate a coordinate I sat in Solidworks and now picking it right out of the Solidworks Feature Tree to specify where the solid to machine is compared to the machine axis.
Picking the toolpath

Picking a simple 2D pocket is no different than picking a new face to sketch on, and as you can see in the menu that you have the controls on from where you want to feed, retract, top up, bottom down. Basically you are in control of where as to start the chip making.
Simulation

You need to be able to program tomorrows job today. Your last line of defense before the operator press the green button is a simulation process. Verifying that you have enough clearance or picked the right axis for your tool to travel down is critical. Being integrated inside Solidworks means that you can skip a step you many times have to complete with with stand alone CAM package. With more HSMWorks to come on cadcamstuff.com, simulation should be on the agenda.

HSMWorks, welding CAM onto Solidworks
So no really doubt that integrated CAM inside Solidworks looks totally cool. So what are some of the advantages of stuffing your CAM inside your CAD package as compared to a stand alone CAD/CAM package?

First of is that now you have both your CAD and your CAM contained inside your .sldprt file, this mean less files to keep track of getting updated and stored the right places. Your IT Manager would love you.

Secondly is the issue of your CAD model having a change made to it after it has already been submitted to production. There is no concern about getting the CAD converted over to a CAM system and if the busy engineer remembers to notify all design changes to whom ever is programing on the stand alone CAM. With integrated CAM inside Solidworks, you are picking the same feature the engineer extruded, there for if a radius has changed….well then you are picking that one.

Third is cost. Generally a integrated CAM is cheaper than the stand alone. Reason for that is the stand alone CAM also carries a needed CAD module. So if you already have or need a CAD package like Solidworks and are looking into adding or upgrading CAM, you should defiantly seriously be looking at integrated CAM.

The plan is to do some more HSMWorks here on cadcamstuff.com. I hope we can dig a little deeper into this tasty software together.

We take a lot of pride in what we do and with all this designing, engineering and machining we all know we are keeping the industrial world on its feet. Now the question is can we possible be asked to do more? Go green, Go paperless…..yeah whatever dude. Lets go for something a lot more fun and important.

For our second year we clear our brains from spinning endmills and lofted solids. From last years Orangewood children foundation on the west coast, Check out…
When being a Solidworks and Mastercam user cost you money
To ~Solidworks scholarship inflated~ MATCH School in Boston on the east coast.

The Mission Of: Match Charter Public High School
The MATCH Charter Public School prepares inner-city Boston students to succeed in college and beyond – including those who have no family history of college attendance. Courage, discipline, and perseverance are our core values, and we reverse underachievement through a combination of innovation, relentless personal academic attention, and an old-fashioned “no shortcuts” ethic.
Fact sheet…

Solidworks is involved…
Solidworks have establish an endowment and have contributed to this scholarship fund for the past 3 year.

Solidworks have also sponsored Match school first scholarship recipient in hosting Lut Celestin in her first internship while attending NorthEastern Univ..

Solidworks are also a sponsor of their annual fundraiser dinner which is help to offset the costs of extracurricular activities not covered by their regular funding; such as sports and clubs.

Jeff Ray (CEO of Solidworks) is an active committee member and contributes much of his time to this great school, which most recently added a middle school to extend their reach.

cadcamstuff.com…
As a single parent to 2 young girls I feel blessed that we survived the tough year of 2009. Business are picking up, overtime is on the agenda and having the opportunity to say that my family is joining the Solidworks family in donating to a great organization like Match school makes me proud.
Please consider to join us in this great cause and don’t forget donations are tax deductible
MATCH School donation site