Hello to all,

Welcome to this new edition of the SOLIDWORKS Support Monthly News, coauthored by members of the SOLIDWORKS Technical Support teams worldwide.

Instability in SOLIDWORKS due to conflict with Microsoft KB3072630

There is a conflict with Microsoft KB3072630 (published July 14 2015) which can cause SOLIDWORKS to become unstable when installed or updated after KB3072630 is applied. The Microsoft update makes changes to Windows Installer which prevents SOLIDWORKS installations (new, modify/repair, update or uninstall) from being executed correctly. We are working diligently to produce a software fix as soon as possible in SOLIDWORKS 2015 and 2016, however in the interim please review the information below to prevent and correct instability caused by this conflict.

More troubleshooting information here.

SOLIDWORKS 2016 Beta

The SOLIDWORKS 2016 Beta Program is still ongoing. Jump on in! Here’s everything you can do when you become a tester:

• Test-drive new & enhanced products
• Connect with the community
• Interact with the R&D and management teams
• Show off your skills & gain recognition – over 100 prizes!

Spotlight on Features: Behavior of pre-stressed bolts in SOLIDWORKS Simulation

One of the most advanced and useful Connectors in SOLIDWORKS Simulation is without contest the Bolt Connector. A Bolt Connector can connect two components, multiple components, or a component and the ground. You can define bolts through a mixed stack of solids, shells and sheet metal bodies. You can also define a bolt by selecting entities of the same component. And in SOLIDWORKS Simulation, Bolt Connectors can be tightened (you’ll get an explanation of what then happens here).

However, many customers have a difficulty understanding results for such pre-stressed bolts because the axial force in them does not vary proportionally with the applied loads.

As a matter of fact, the behavior of a bolt depends mainly on2 things:

• the pre-stress value (the preload),
• and the relative tensile stiffness of the screw and of the parts maintained together by the bolt.

For example, let’s consider perfectly rigid parts tightened together by a bolt. Suppose the bolt has been given a Preload. Then, applying an external tensile force (Load) on the bolt would have no effect on the axial force in the bolt, unless it is greater than the Preload. See the figure below.

Numerical example

Imagine that in the image above the Preload is 100N. Then the force in the bolt is 100N and as a consequence the two parts are pressed together with a 100N force. If a Load of 30N is added as shown, then what happens is that the contact force is reduced to 100 – 30 = 70N and the tensile force in the bolt remains 100N.

Of course, the parts tightened by a bolt are not perfectly rigid. Therefore, things get more complex.To find out what happens then, see this Tutorial on the Basics of Bolted Joints.

Noteworthy Solutions from the SOLIDWORKS Knowledge Base

After my installation or upgrade of SOLIDWORKS®, why are many SOLIDWORKS add-ins missing from my add-ins list?
If your upgrade or install was performed after July 15th, 2015 the most likely explanation is a known conflict caused by Microsoft® update KB 3072630 which was released on July 15th, 2015. This update makes changes to the Windows Installer. To address this problem, try the steps in Solution Id: S-069490 (with your IT department’s assistance if required).

When launching SOLIDWORKS® or opening a file, why does SOLIDWORKS return “Could not load SOLIDWORKS DLL: GdtAnalysisSupport.dll”?If your upgrade or install was performed after July 15th, 2015 the most likely explanation is a known conflict caused by Microsoft® update KB 3072630 which was released on July 15th, 2015. This update makes changes to the Windows Installer. To address this problem, try the steps in Solution Id: S-069491 (with your IT department’s assistance if required).

When recording, playing, or editing a SOLIDWORKS® Macro, why does SOLIDWORKS crash?
If your upgrade or install was performed after July 15th, 2015 the most likely explanation is a known conflict caused by Microsoft® update KB 3072630 which was released on July 15th, 2015. This update makes changes to the Windows Installer. To address this problem, try the steps in Solution Id: S-069497 (with your IT department’s assistance if required).

In SOLIDWORKS® Enterprise PDM 2015 SP3, where can I obtain the recommended performance hotfix for SPR 896821?
If you are using Enterprise PDM 2015 SP3 (version 15.3.959) it is strongly recommended that the hotfix for SPR 896821 is applied on all 2015 SP3 based file vaults.
This hotfix addresses a problem that can affect overall SQL performance when working with the Enterprise PDM add-in for SOLIDWORKS in large file vaults or with large assemblies. This problem only affects Enterprise PDM 2015 SP3 and has been corrected in Enterprise PDM 2015 SP4.
Instructions can be found in Solution Id: S-069393.

How do I manually upgrade legacy Toolbox or legacy Hole Wizard data that is located in a SOLIDWORKS® Enterprise PDM vault, for use with SOLIDWORKS® 2015 and newer?
Please see the PDF file in attachments of Solution Id: S-069207 for instructions. This PDF does NOT apply to data that you store outside of SOLIDWORKS® Enterprise PDM vault.

What is the meaning of the relative intensity in a Radiation Spectrum in SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation?
In a Radiation spectrum definition, the relative intensity values of any given spectrum can be scaled by an arbitrary value without changing the results: The spectrum only defines the shape of the spectral behaviour. Its intensity is defined somewhere else. For instance, for Solar Radiation in the General settings, it is defined in Intensity. See the full explanation in Solution Id: S-068795.

Why is the ‘Material Web Portal’ option not available in the material dialog box?
This is the expected behavior if you are working with ‘SOLIDWORKS Premium’. Customers who have a license of ‘SOLIDWORKS Simulation Standard’ or ‘SOLIDWORKS Simulation Professional’ or ‘SOLIDWORKS Simulation Premium’ have access to the SOLIDWORKS Materials Web Portal hosted by Matereality. In case of standalone license, you should use the serial number from ‘SOLIDWORKS Simulation Standard’ or ‘SOLIDWORKS Simulation Professional’ or ‘SOLIDWORKS Simulation Premium’. In case of Solid Network License (SNL), you may need to reorder licenses in the SNL Manager. See how in Solution Id: S-068819.

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That’s it for this month. Thanks for reading this edition of SOLIDWORKS Support News.

Originally posted by Julien Boissat in the SOLIDWORKS Tech Blog.