Unless you’re a die-hard SolidWorks enthusiast that gobbles up the first beta release, chances are you haven’t seen SolidWorks 2013 or are just beginning to explore your freshly downloaded pre-release copy. As with any new releases, SolidWorks 2013 contains some great new “Top Enhancements” to increase design productivity. If you haven’t already, I’d encourage you…
Read MoreHow do long-time SolidWorks API experts use their skills within the engineering industry? In an effort to answer that question, I am pleased to introduce Jeff Sweeney of 3DVision Technologies, a Great Lakes region SolidWorks reseller, where he proudly wears the title “Engineering Data Specialist”. Though much of his work involves Enterprise PDM, he has…
Read MoreCADSharp.com’s first-ever SolidWorks API programming contest has come to a close. Some of the finest API programmers out there stepped up to the challenge described in our last post: Write a macro in as few lines as possible that discovers and displays a single message box listing the children of all part components in the…
Read MoreThink you’re a crack API programmer? We’ll find out! CADSharp.com is excited to announce its first SolidWorks API programming contest. Here’s how to enter and win one of three gift cards from Amazon or a 2-month membership to CADSharp.com: Download the example file set here and open “CADSharp_contest.SLDASM”. Write a macro in as few lines…
Read MoreISldWorks::RunCommand is probably the most powerful call in the entire SolidWorks API. Using this single, easy-to-use API call you can execute over 3,000 individual SolidWorks commands. Need to copy and paste an object? ISldWorks::RunCommand. Need to bring up a feature’s PropertyManager page? ISldWorks::RunCommand. Need to hide the FeatureManager tree? ISldWorks::RunCommand. That’s right—many actions that seemingly…
Read MoreThe lowly Visual Basic Editor is sometimes looked down upon in comparison to the feature-robust design-environment available with .NET macros and add-ins. Its true, the VB Editor is rather lowly in comparison. When it comes to churning out macros at break-neck speed, however, VBA macros can’t be beat. Since most of you create VBA macros…
Read MoreHave a macro that you’d like to run on all models in a directory while out of the office? Enter the Task Scheduler. Located in the SolidWorks Tools directory in your Start Menu, this program allows you to schedule batch operation tasks like updating the versions of your files, converting your models to DXF, updating…
Read MoreHow do you run your macros right now? Tools–>Macro–>Run? By clicking Run on the macro toolbar? If macros are even a small part of your workflow, you can do much better. In this post, I want to increase your versatility by showing you four ways you can run a macro without having to use the…
Read MoreAn attribute is a container of user-defined data that a SolidWorks API programmer can store on a SolidWorks model or entity. Like custom properties, they are saved with the model. Attributes, however, have three notable advantages over custom properties: A single attribute can contain an unlimited number of parameters of different types Attributes can be…
Read MoreEnterprise PDM is, no doubt, SolidWorks Corp’s flagship PDM package. This has been the case already for a few years. That being said, Workgroup PDM is not dead and remains a great data management solution for small to mid-sized companies. Savvy CAD managers will still want to use the Workgroup PDM API, and for that…
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