Creating a sheet metal helix spring in SolidWorks 2011

Here's a short video tutorial on how to create a tapered helical spring using the Lofted Bend sheet metal tool in SolidWorks 2011.

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An Early Christmas Present from Solidtec Solutions!

DraftSight Delivers Collaborative Services and Unprecedented Ability to Create, Edit, Share, and Manage DWG Files

Dassault Systèmes, a world leader in 3D and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, today announced the availability of an open, online community accessible through DraftSight.com, aimed at providing all computer-aided design (CAD) users access to new services and products to unlock valuable data stored in billions of DWG files.  Building on Dassault Systèmes’ vision of enabling social innovation, the launch of this community comes as a direct result of customer demand and marks the next step in bringing DWG file management and storage into an easy-to-use, online, service-oriented environment.

In conjunction with the debut of the DraftSight community, Dassault Systèmes is also launching the DraftSight solution, a free, professional-grade 2D CAD product delivered using an open business model.  Currently in public beta and available for download at 3ds.com, DraftSight provides users with a better way to read, write and share DWG files.  Based on an advanced architecture, DraftSight is easy to use, generally takes only a few minutes to download and runs on multiple operating systems including Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 (Mac OS and Linux support will be available later this year). DraftSight is available for all users, including CAD professionals, students and educators.

“PLM 2.0 is about using the power of community for collaborative innovation,” commented Pascal Daloz, executive vice president, Market Development & Strategy, Dassault Systèmes. “Together, DraftSight and DraftSight.com will unlock the valuable data stored in DWG files and help reinvent the CAD market by simultaneously integrating data, people and technology.  An interactive, user-driven environment such as DraftSight.com enables the collaborative innovation at the heart of product design and in spurring industry growth.”

With the DraftSight community, Dassault Systèmes showcases its strength in delivering not just industry-leading products, but also timely collaborative services to CAD users worldwide.  Within the online community, users can learn by interacting with members and letting their opinions be heard about specific topics, challenges or anything they’re passionate about when it comes to CAD and DraftSight.  In addition, community members will have the opportunity to share ideas and participate in DraftSight’s transparent, open product development process.  Through the global community experience, DraftSight users can choose from a variety of support options, including Community Support and fee-based, Value-Added Support packages that offer telephone, email and remote desktop support. 

According to Aaron Kelly, senior director, DraftSight, Dassault Systèmes, “DraftSight was developed in response to comprehensive customer interviews that showed an overwhelming need for the ability to share DWG files.  When our customers express the challenges they’re facing, we listen and do our best to deliver.  The community created through DraftSight.com and the immediate availability of the DraftSight product, represent a natural next step in our efforts to drive user-based knowledge sharing and high-quality service that will provide real value to our customers and all CAD users around the globe.”

“C.G Bretting Manufacturing is on a quest to eliminate waste and improve productivity”, said Dave Vedder, director of Engineering at C.G. Bretting Manufacturing Company. “As a SolidWorks customer, several months ago we approached them with a concern that their 2D editor product was slow and not customizable.  In turn, the company invited us to participate in Dassault Systèmes’ DraftSight alpha program where we provided input to the user interface, core features and participated in early testing.  With DraftSight, C.G. Bretting Manufacturing has improved productivity and eliminated waste associated with legacy DWG files.  Our experience with DraftSight is a solid example of Dassault Systèmes’ continued commitment to their customers.  DraftSight will provide an excellent solution for companies that have 2D needs.”

“To continue our productivity enhancement program with success, we’re always looking to improve our tools and processes,” said Marcel Gerber, head of VPLM Competence Center at Bobst Group. “We were happy to join the DraftSight beta testing program and were very pleased with the results.  DraftSight went above and beyond our expectations, providing an easy to use solution with excellent support for our day-to-day needs. This launch will help us phase out several legacy systems and accelerate the standardization of one single 2D CAD solution worldwide, beside our main development process based on CATIA.  DraftSight will improve our capacity to maintain machine documentation from our large installed-based product and allow us to easily communicate with our partners.” 

DOWNLOAD DraftSight for FREE! CLICK HERE

 

from your favourite SolidWorks Reseller  

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SolidWorks World Top 10 Ideas on the SolidWorks Forums

If you have visited the SolidWorks Forums recently, you may have noticed that there’s a new sub-forum:

SolidWorks World Top 10 Ideas

The posts with light bulb icons are “Ideas” – these are enhancement requests (ER) that you can vote for directly, rather than through the traditional ER process. Unfortunately the two systems (Ideas and ER’s) currently aren’t integrated – the purpose of Ideas is to generate a list of Top 10 enhancement requests for the SolidWorks World 2011 conference. There is currently an Idea to integrate the two systems together.

You can log on to the SolidWorks Forums using your Customer Portal log in details - once logged in you can vote existing Ideas up or down and comment on them, or create your own Idea (don't forget to search for any similar Idea's first, since multiple similar Ideas may split/dilute the total votes).

Here's a good chance to have a real impact on the direction of future SolidWorks releases - so log in and get voting!

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SolidWorks Sustainability Software: ‘Best New Green Product Innovation’

SolidWorks Sustainability software, which empowers designers and engineers to easily reduce their products’ environmental impact, won the first-ever Best New Green Product Innovation honor last week at the global GREEN AWARDS 2010 in London. 

Accredited by the UK Royal Society of Arts, the awards recognize creativity that conveys the importance of corporate and social responsibility, sustainable development, and ethical best practices. Best Green New Product Innovation was a new category this year.

“This entry is our favorite,” said the judges, who are noted professionals in communications, environmental and sustainability fields. “[SolidWorks Sustainability] software has the potential to revolutionize the way designers design their products. By integrating life cycle thinking into the design process, SolidWorks [Sustainability] helps designers to lower the environmental impact of their creation from the design stage. Their partnership with independent organization PE International, which provides a life cycle inventory database, makes their product robust and reliable. A must-have in any designer’s tool box.”


A representative from Dassault Systèmes (DS) SolidWorks Corp. of Concord, Mass., developer of the software, accepted the award Thursday night at the London Natural History Museum from Mary Anne King, head of environmental sustainability for Microsoft. Also attending the gala ceremony was Sir David Attenborough CBE, who accepted the inaugural green Lifetime Achievement Award for his efforts to broaden public understanding of environmental issues.


What’s your environmental footprint?

Fully integrated with SolidWorks computer-aided design software, SolidWorks Sustainability incorporates powerful Life Cycle Assessment-based tools that gauge impacts on carbon, energy, air, and water throughout the product life cycle, including material selection, manufacture, use, and end of life. DS SolidWorks co-developed Sustainability with PE International, the established experts in environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), whose pioneering GaBi software is the world’s leading LCA package. SolidWorks Sustainability incorporates GaBi’s LCA process models and databases to employ high-quality scientific data in assessing environmental impact.


SolidWorks Sustainability’s material selection tool provides instant feedback to help product designers choose the most environmentally friendly material for a particular design. One-click report generation makes it easy to communicate the findings with the rest of the company.


“We’re grateful for this honor,” said Asheen Phansey, Sustainability product manager for DS SolidWorks. “Consumers are increasingly demanding greener products, and product designers have a tremendous impact on the environment given that they make the products we use every day. That’s why we’ve made sustainable design easy, accessible, fun, and empowering. We’re working toward the day when all design is sustainable design, and we’re leading our passionate customers along this path.”

Pictured at the GREEN AWARDS 2010 are (left to right): event co-host Wayne Hemingway (Designer & Founder of Red or Dead, fashion designer and manufacturer); Mary Anne King, Head of Environmental Sustainability, Microsoft; Simon Booker, Marketing Vice President EMEA, Dassault Systems Solidworks accepting the award for the company; and co-host Janey Lee Grace, BBC Radio 2.

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CYBEX Eliminates Heavy Lifting with SolidWorks

R&D Gets Results with Integrated Simulation, Collaboration, Data Management, & Documentation 

CYBEX International Inc., one of the most trusted names in fitness equipment, is combining state-of-the-art engineering, advanced exercise science, and SolidWorks software to design products that yield more gain with less pain.

Whether training professional athletes or contestants for The Biggest Loser, CYBEX exercise equipment presents a daunting array of design challenges. Cross-trainers, bikes, treadmills, and strength machines must deliver intense workouts without injury. Such workouts involve smooth motions that hinge on input from the company’s own bio engineers and kinesiology experts. The equipment must stand up to years of punishment by athletes of a wide range of shapes, sizes, and abilities. It must be affordable, easy to assemble, easy to manufacture, and attractive to prospective users and deliver superior results.

“Cost-effectively meeting these design challenges demands a design strategy integrating our mechanical, software, and electrical engineers, all of whom are at the top of their fields,” said Ray Giannelli, senior vice president of research and development at Medway, Mass.-based CYBEX International. “SolidWorks helps us achieve this goal with intuitive software that supports frequent design changes, customization, stress and strain analysis, collaboration, reuse, and high-impact customer presentations.”

CYBEX builds much of its products to order and uses SolidWorks software to produce designs in a wide variety of configurations. Parts are often shared among several products in the company’s broad product lines, and many new designs start life as upgrades to existing ones. “When we update a part in the design phase, it updates wherever it is used,” said Rob Cassano, mechanical engineering manager at CYBEX. “This saves us a lot of time and money as we innovate.” 

Stress, strain, and load analysis is critical for CYBEX devices. A treadmill, for example, needs to support a 400-pound athlete with a pounding stride for the equivalent of 75,000 miles or more. SolidWorks Simulation software helps CYBEX catch any design problems before prototypes go to the engineering life test lab and then ultimately to the CYBEX Institute for Exercise Science for real-world testing. Engineers communicate between development facilities in Minnesota and Massachusetts using SolidWorks eDrawings® software for sharing designs over email, and they collaborate on designs through SolidWorks Workgroup PDM product data management software.

“We use Workgroup PDM heavily from the early stages of design so that all of our engineers can work on the same product at the same time without stepping on one another’s toes,” said Cassano. “It makes the product releases a lot easier. Collaboration is important, and Workgroup PDM really works for us.”

CYBEX uses 3DVIA Composer® software to close sales by creating custom walkthroughs from 3D designs so prospects can preview CYBEX machines in their own sites.

The company discovered SolidWorks software in 1995 when it was having trouble with CAD software that was difficult for engineers to integrate into the design process. “I met with one of the SolidWorks founders,” Giannelli recalled. “He told me SolidWorks is different: it ‘speaks engineering.’ That was true, and our engineers were productive on the new software even before we could sign them up for training. The interface is even more intuitive today, and the software is a key component of our design strategy.”

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SolidWorks 2011 Helps Turn Good Ideas into Great Results

Focus on Speed and Collaboration Enables Design Teams to Work More Productively and Profitably

Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corp. (DS SolidWorks) has unveiled the SolidWorks 2011 product line, delivering new ways to speed product design, deepen collaboration, and strengthen designers’ engagement with manufacturing.

The new SolidWorks 2011 family of products includes hundreds of improvements requested by customers who use SolidWorks every day to design new products, validate their performance, communicate with partners, manage design data, and minimize a product’s impact on the environment.

"In addition to refinements throughout, SolidWorks 2011’s new CAD and PDM capabilities will enable our engineering groups to intelligently tackle new challenges in the design of our products and production systems," said Janine D. Essex, global product line manager for the SolidWorks application at Robert Bosch LLC, a leading global technology and services company. “We’re expecting measurable, improved, and enhanced productivity throughout our customer base.”

“There are big changes,” said Robert Teele, lead mechanical designer for Nuvera Fuel Cells, a clean energy products company in Billerica, Mass. “Our production and marketing departments, for example, are eager to use the new walk-through animation capability to explore our equipment designs and our custom on-site installations with customers.”

Work faster and smarter

The more quickly you can move a great new product to market – and that pressure continues to intensify – the greater the success for everyone involved. SolidWorks has always focused on this imperative and continues to do so in SolidWorks 2011, which includes the following highlights:

New drawing detailing functions in SolidWorks CAD software eliminate the time and effort of manual dimensioning. Users can automatically align, stagger, or center dimensions in a single click without any overlap. Drawings look cleaner and more professional than ever with just a few clicks.

New 2D Simplification helps speed up parts analysis. Users simply select an intersecting plane and apply the loads and restraints to perform static, nonlinear, pressure vessel, and thermal studies. SolidWorks Simulation instantly calculates the results and displays them on the full 3D model – with no waiting.

A new Electronics Cooling Module lets users set up and execute thermal simulations quickly and easily, helping ensure that heat doesn’t melt a product’s electronics. A new HVAC module works the same way for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. Expanded part libraries now include fans, materials, two-resistor components, and integrated circuit packages. New analysis variables include local air quality, ambient temperature, and Joule heating.

A new menu bar in SolidWorks Enterprise PDM product data management software speeds access to key designs. The menu bar, which slips right into Windows Explorer, combines the simplicity of Windows with the benefits of an enterprise data strategy for improved collaboration, control, and reuse of valuable design information.

All SolidWorks 2011 products improve speed and reliability by using memory more efficiently when working with large designs and during prolonged work sessions.

Deepen communication and collaboration

The better key stakeholders grasp intent and direction of a design from the start, the smoother the journey to the finished product. That’s why DS SolidWorks consistently improves SolidWorks’ powerful collaboration and visualization capabilities.

New in SolidWorks 2011, for example, is the ability to more easily create compelling photorealistic renderings in PhotoView 360. It is now fully integrated into SolidWorks CAD software, creating a single, unified environment for design and rendering.

For an immersive experience, SolidWorks users can lead their customers through designs using new Walk-Through capabilities. Users can easily navigate their design visions via their mouse or an onscreen console — no preset paths are required.

SolidWorks customers can also work more closely with partners by sending them detailed designs — but not too detailed. The new Defeature tool facilitates the removal of unnecessary detail or sensitive intellectual property before sharing.

For improved communication beyond the design team, 3DVIA Composer technical communication software, introduces a dynamic, interactive, “storyboard” capability that helps customers deliver process instructions through interactive images. Users can create a step-by-step linked narrative for recipients, such as a colleague in manufacturing, a prospect considering a big contract, or a consumer actually using the product. Users simply drag and drop views to create interactive procedures that are clear and effective. Magnetic lines are another innovative feature that increases productivity by neatly organizing content with minimal clicks.

Engage with manufacturing

Active communication between design and manufacturing helps ensure that teams can actually build the products they conceive and that organizations minimize costly delays, scrap, and rework.

For example:

SolidWorks 2011 includes powerful new features that automate weld placement and documentation. Users select and visualize weld bead paths with the Smart Weld tool, and they specify weld type and prepare joints with enhanced fillet and groove features. SolidWorks automatically compiles data on weld counts, length, and type in new weld tables, enabling detailed breakdowns for cost analysis and bidding. Users can apply new visible weld gaps to fitting-to-fitting, pipe-to-pipe, and fitting-to-pipe connections to ensure successful welds.

Designers will catch sheet metal errors early with new bend calculation tables that let them quickly calculate the developed length of parts.

The new integration of SolidWorks Design Checker into SolidWorks Enterprise PDM software helps streamline the release of designs to manufacturing.

It’s easy to weigh the impact of manufacturing decisions on a product’s carbon footprint through an expanded range of manufacturing and use regions (now including Australia and South America) in SolidWorks Sustainability software. The software also offers new support for custom materials.

Creation of pipe, tube, and conduit runs (especially when supports and hangers are involved) is simpler with new routing capabilities. Users can now trace existing geometry, e.g., a steel beam or wall segment, to guide the route path. SolidWorks associates the outside diameter (not the centerline) of the pipe/tube/cable/conduit with the geometry.

Relying on these capabilities and more, the SolidWorks 2011 product family streamlines the successful handoff of designs to manufacturing.

“We’re deeply committed to providing a design experience that is both intuitive and powerful, and SolidWorks 2011 embodies that commitment,” said Austin O'Malley, executive vice president of research and development for DS SolidWorks. “In addition to improving design productivity, we’ve made communication of designs

more effective, maximizing intellectual property value and shortening product delivery times.”

For more information about the SolidWorks 2011 product family, including video demonstrations, please visit www.solidworkslaunch.com or contact a reseller.

Availability and pricing

SolidWorks 2011 products are available for license in Australia and New Zealand through Solidtec Solutions. http://www.solidtec.com.au

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Unified Design Strategy Addresses FDA Medical Device Regulations

SolidWorks Helps Companies Automate Documentation, Analysis, and Data Management for Compliance

With the Food and Drug Administration preparing to tighten already stringent medical device regulations, success or failure of a potentially life-saving new product can hinge on a manufacturer’s design strategy.

FDA regulations have always required careful and comprehensive documentation. The FDA, however, mentioned that there are concerns “centered on whether [the 510(k) program] allows devices to enter the market without sufficient safety and effectiveness evidence,” according to an Aug. 4 FDA news release. Meticulous management of design information helps a company record the safety and effectiveness of a product.

“To streamline product introduction, many medical device manufacturers are moving away from high-end point solutions for design, analysis, and product data management and toward integrated product development platforms that simultaneously address all of these functions,” said Rich Allen, manager of PDM product management for DS SolidWorks. “This unified approach accelerates validation of innovative design concepts and automates design documentation, helping companies navigate FDA approvals and stay focused on product development.”

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, DJO Incorporated, Dräger Medical, Kinematic Automation, MAKO Surgical Corp., and Southmedic Inc. are among the companies that use SolidWorks® software products to automate design, analysis, and data management.

Design documentation. This is the bedrock of FDA approvals. Device makers introducing new products need to be ready to supply regulators with design details, documented design histories, and proof of a device’s safety. Modeling a product in SolidWorks CAD software automatically captures all design data and automates the production of a wide range of documents, including detailed drawings, sections, orthographic views, bills of material, photorealistic renderings, animations, and fly-throughs.

Safety and performance analysis. The FDA expects written finite element analysis results to be submitted with Class II and Class III devices – e.g., those that administer fluids or are implanted. Many medical device makers hire specialized analysts who may use complex software for analysis. Designers and engineers, however, can actually perform many of these tests themselves in SolidWorks Simulation software, which is integrated into the SolidWorks design environment.

Data management. Many device makers lose time and vital information by storing design documentation and safety data separately from their design environment, in manual, paper, or high-end enterprise management systems. With SolidWorks, design, simulation, and data management is a cost-efficient and seamlessly integrated process with full audit trails.

Regulatory compliance aside, SolidWorks products can help medical device makers:

• Develop ergonomically friendly products that may shorten medical procedures, improve outcomes, and appeal to health-care professionals

• Predict behavior of new sophisticated device materials, including strength, conductivity, and ability to be sterilized

• Ensure durability and dependability of implants

• Quickly obtain reference designs, including models of patients’ bones, from 3D scans

• Create photorealistic images and animations for part and assemblies for marketing and educational purposes

• Focus on their core competencies and intellectual property, not managing complex information technology.

“By using powerful design software and a comprehensive design strategy,” Allen said, “companies can quickly and cost-effectively bring new products to market that can make an immediate impact on patients’ lives.”

These imperatives are discussed at length in two SolidWorks white papers “Bringing Innovative Medical Products to Market Faster” and “Analysis guide for Medical Product Designers.”

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Toys and Games Help Build Engineering Skills for a Lifetime

DS SolidWorks Makes the Case for LEGOs, Robots, and Racing Cars

Kids love LEGO® building blocks, but can playing with cute colored blocks spawn the next generation of engineers?

                                                                                    

Absolutely, says Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corp.

“Building even the simplest creation from scratch introduces kids to principles of geometry and physics in action,” said Marie Planchard, DS SolidWorks’ director of world education markets. “This makes math and science not just relevant, but also potentially a lifetime passion. When geometry and physics can make or break a project – whether it’s a LEGO car, robot, or autonomous undersea vehicle for competition – suddenly math and science are more than problems on a page, they’re the keys to the kingdom. Engineers employ this kind of thinking every day.”

To that end, DS SolidWorks today introduced two new free tutorial programs for creating LEGO cars and sophisticated robots  for creating LEGO cars and sophisticated robots with SolidWorks^® CAD software. The tutorials include a dozen lessons, videos, and part models for download. Projects range from elementary through college level, with straightforward instructions supporting those without prior SolidWorks experience.

As students learn the foundation of physics and engineering, they gain instant proficiency in the world’s most widely used 3D design software. Lessons get progressively more sophisticated, introducing higher-level math and physics principles via integrated SolidWorks capabilities such as simulation. Students engage as deeply as they would with a video game while acquiring valuable skills and knowledge, and earning a sense of accomplishment.

“We’ve discovered a lot about learning styles over recent decades,” says Planchard. “Although some students will grasp math and science in the abstract, the world is full of intelligent tactile learners who need to do, touch, and make things, whether virtually on a SolidWorks screen or in their garage. In school and in society, we’ve gotten away from making things. But when you let students do that, and when you add in the element of teamwork and competition, they’re hooked.”

Planchard’s team articulated these messages at the inaugural USA Science and Engineering Festival (see video) recently in Washington, DC. With the help of SolidWorks partner the STEM Academy, thousands of students raced dragsters and built their own elastic materials (Planchard’s blog posts).

The festival wrapped up a week of student-focused activities such as the White House Science Fair, where middle and high school students from around the country presented award-winning projects. “It’s in these pursuits that talents are discovered and passions are lit, and the future scientists, engineers, inventors, and entrepreneurs are born,” observed President Obama.

Competing in LEGOs and beyond

DS SolidWorks has shipped nearly a million educational software licenses, and sponsors a wide range of student activities, including:

Concrete Canoe – This contest for college civil engineering students involves designing, making, and racing a vessel, often relying on stress and flow analysis in SolidWorks Simulation software. Sponsored by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).

Solar Splash – Students design, build, and race solar-powered boats. SolidWorks Sustainability software is especially relevant.

Structural Steel Bridge – This structural engineering competition requires design, fabrication, and analysis of a scale steel bridge. Students are judged on construction speed, stiffness, lightness, economy, display, and efficiency. Sponsored by the American Institute of Steel Construction.

Unmanned Systems – College and high school students create autonomous unmanned vehicles for land and sea. This multidisciplinary competition involves all the simulation realms and comprises electronics, software, and mechanical systems. Sponsored by Association for Unmanned Vehicles International and the Marine Advanced Technology Center (MATE).

Vehicle racing – High school and college students design, build, and race Formula-style cars and hybrid, aero, snowmobile, and Baja vehicles. Sponsored by the Society of Automotive Engineers.

FIRST® Robotics – The premier high school robotics competition. Students design, build, and put robots to the test. Founded by inventor Dean Kamen to inspire young people’s interest and participation in science and technology.

FIRST® LEGO® League – A robotics program for 9- to 16-year-olds (9 to 14 in the US and Canada).

MIT Lemelson InvenTeams – InvenTeams are teams of high school students, teachers, and mentors that receive grants up to $10,000 each to invent technological solutions to real-world problems.  

“Hands-on activities cultivate real-life skills students will need in their careers,” says Planchard. “And whether you become an engineer, cake baker, or judge, you need basic science and mathematics competency, at least until you make lasting career decisions. Adding the competitive element builds on this foundation and develops collaboration, teamwork and innovative problem-solving on deadline.”

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Solidtec Partner News

Solidtec and SolidCAM Integrating your Success

Solidtec Solutions and SolidCAM ANZ are proud to formerly announce their ongoing partnership which has a proven track record of providing Australasian manufacturing companies integrated design and manufacturing solutions to reduce time to market.

Solidtec and SolidCAM staff have a proven record of implementing, training and supporting both SolidWorks and SolidCAM software in the Australasian market. Mutual customers attest to the benefits of dealing with experienced design and manufacturing professionals from Solidtec and SolidCAM.

Australian and New Zealand SolidWorks experts, Solidtec have rapidly established themselves as the leading SolidWorks supplier in Australia and New Zealand. Whilst Solidtec are considered to be leaders in the field of training and technical support for SolidWorks, it is the value they add from connecting manufacturing companies to other organisations in their Alliance Program which makes them the supplier of choice for leading design and manufacturing companies.

“The team at SolidCAM ANZ have extensive experience dealing with integrated CAM within the SolidWorks environment” says Solidtec Solutions CEO, Shane Preston. “The dedication to ensuring their customers are successful with their CAM installation is refreshing and very much aligned with the Solidtec culture of putting customers first”.

“SolidCAM ANZ is 100% focused on the CNC machining industry throughout Australia and New Zealand. Our core business is providing CAM solutions for the SolidWorks community. We offer a range of products and services including integrated CAM solutions, custom post processor development, training and world class technical support” adds SolidCAM Managing Director Grant Preston. “SolidCAM is a powerful CAM product that supports the complete range of machining applications including 2.5D, 3D, High-Speed Machining, 4/5 axes Indexing, Simultaneous 4/5 axes Milling, Turning, Mill-Turn, and WireEDM. As a result of the seamless single window integration and direct associativity with the native model, SolidCAM is recognised as a SolidWorks Certified Gold-product”.

About the Solidtec Alliance Program: the Solidtec Alliance Program brings aligned businesses together to provide value-add services for Australasian design and manufacturing organisations. Solidtec works with its Alliance Partners to promote technology adoption as a method of achieving and maintaining a competitive advantage. For more information relating to SolidWorks, 3D CAD or the Solidtec Alliance Program please contact Solidtec on 1800 824 883 or www.solidtec.com.au

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Solidtec Congratulates First Certified SolidWorks Expert in Australia

SolidWorks Certification Centre helps business to achieve success.

Matthew McKnight, Principal Engineer at Produckt Design, (www.producktdesign.com.au) has become the first Certified SolidWorks Expert (CSWE) in Australia. SolidWorks certifications can be used as a benchmark to measure your knowledge and competency with SolidWorks software. The SolidWorks Certification Centre is designed to ensure that your business and the employees within it have the skills and knowledge to get the most out of your 3D CAD software. 

Produkt Design is an engineering consultancy company focusing on SolidWorks servies, drafting, project management, design visualisation, design verification, and mechanical and aerospace design. McKnight can attest to the value of certification. "It's important to us that we provide a level of professionalism second to none and SolidWorks certification forms a part of this, giving our clients the comfort of knowing they're dealing with the most competent of SolidWorks users."

SolidWorks offer different levels of certifications to suit all levels of user experience. The three tiers of certicication available are:

• Certified SolidWorks Associate (CSWA)
• Certified SolidWorks Professional (CSWP)
• Certified SolidWorks Expert CSWE)

In addition to these, SolidWorks provides certifications specific to 3D CAD disciplines including sheetmetal, weldments, surfacing and mold tools. 

Exams are available at any time, 7 days a week, and focus on the fundamental skills necessary to ensure your company's overall success using SolidWorks. 


Solidtec, a value added reseller of SolidWorks in Australia and New Zealand, supplies Produckt Design with the SolidWorks software, tools, and support that Matthew McKnight is now so familiar with. Shane Preston, CEO of Solidtec Solutions says "At Solidtec, we want to ensure that our customers are getting the absolute most out of the SolidWorks software, and the training and support package our subscription services provide. If our cusomters succeed, we succeed. It is great to see our customers getting so much value from Solidtec subscription; Matthew is an excellent resource to have within the SolidWorks community."


To learn more about SolidWorks Cerfiticiation visit www.solidtec.com.au/certifications.aspx or call 1800 824 883.

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Welcome to Solidtec Solutions BLOG!

Solidtec Solutions are passionate about SolidWorks 3D CAD technology. Solidtec Solutions are staffed by experienced industry professionals and everything they do revolves around making their customers as successful as possible with their implementation of SolidWorks 3D CAD technology. Solidtec Solutions are focused exclusively on the SolidWorks community.

To view our website please click here.

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