Welcome to this new edition of the SOLIDWORKS Support Monthly News, coauthored by members of the SOLIDWORKS Technical Support teams worldwide.
Vote for the best SOLIDWORKS enhancement ideas!
577 enhancements ideas are available for voting in the SOLIDWORKS World Top Ten List. You’re bound to fin many you’ll adhere to. So vote for them to show your support.
Remember the voting rules:
- Any user with an active SOLIDWORKS Customer Portal login can vote. If you have only one seat of SOLIDWORKS but more than one registered user, all can vote
- Go to this forum and log in to vote
- You can vote for as many ideas as you want (not just those you proposed) – no limit
- You can vote an idea up (+1) or down (-1)
- You have until January 22nd, 2016 to vote
The Top Ten List will be revealed during the SOLIDWORKS World 2016 in Dallas.
We look forward to seeing your ideas and hope to see you there.
| Summary: Today until January 22nd: Voting Wednesday February 3rd: Top Ten List revealed |
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Thermal Bottlenecks and Shortcuts in SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation 2016
With contributions from Joe Galliera
SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation 2016 introduces a couple of new thermal parameter results that are actually quite new to thermal analysis. Yes, you read that correctly, new to Thermal analysis… the whole field! 
What are they? The Bottleneck (Bn) number and the Shortcut (Sc) number. For this breakthrough, there is actually a US Patent Pending for Mentor Graphics and the inventors: Robin Bornoff, John Parry, Byron Blackmore and Alan Davies.
The Bottleneck and Shortcut numbers are used primarily in electronics systems and other thermal systems.
The Bottleneck (Bn) number
In a blog post, Robin Bornoff writes: “ ‘Thermal bottleneck’ [is] a well recognized phrase playing on a very obvious analogy. Despite this there were few attempts to quantify such a parameter. Spurred on by its relevance in electronic thermal design, we did just that, put hard numbers to the concept.”
The Bottleneck number identifies flow paths that carry high heat, while at the same time resist the flow of that heat. Definition of the Bottleneck number considers the ‘dot product’ of heat flux and temperature gradient vectors at any point per the following equation.
The Bn is large when:
- The heat flux is large
- And the temperature gradient is large
- And the two vectors align with each other
This is true when the heat experiences a resistance in the direction of heat flow. When a lot of heat flows in a region of a design AND it has difficulty doing so, temperature rises where the heat came from.
Knowing the location of the bottleneck helps make modifications to the design so as to let the heat flow more easily. This decreases the maximum temperature in the design.
The correlation between high temperature and Bottleneck number is flagrant in the example below. See the capacitors:
The Shortcut (Sc) number
The Shortcut number reveals opportunities for alternate and more efficient heat flow paths, i.e. shortcuts toward cooler areas. A shortcut opportunity exists when it is possible to add a heat flow path in order to bypass the heat to cooler areas.
Definition of the Shortcut number considers the ‘cross product’ of heat flux and temperature gradient vectors at any point per the following equation.
The Sc is large when:
- The heat flux is large
- And the temperature gradient is large
- And the two vectors are perpendicular
This is true when the heat passes in parallel to a locally colder area.
Notes:
- In SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation 2016, the Bottleneck and Shortcut results are scaled to have a range of values between 0 and 1.
- For additional details and examples, see this SlideShare presentation.
Where to find them in SOLIDWORKS flow Simulation 2016?
To add Bottleneck (Bn) number and the Shortcut (Sc) number to your plots:
- Click Add Parameter at the end of the list of visualization parameter
- In the Heat group select Bottleneck number and the ShortCut Number
Noteworthy Solutions from the SOLIDWORKS Knowledge Base
When I apply the “Stability Hotfix for SOLIDWORKS® 2015 SP4” (solution S-070177), what do I do if an error occurs?
In one instance, installation of the hotfix did not succeed because the installer could not stop the process ‘solidworks_fs’.
To work around this issue, perform this steps:
1. Open the Windows Task Manager.
2. Manually stop any instances of the solidworks_fs process.
3. Apply the hotfix.
4. Restart the computer.
From Solution Id: S-070214.
Which SOLIDWORKS® products were moved into lower level packages with the release of the SOLIDWORKS 2016 software?
The following SOLIDWORKS® products and add ins were moved to lower level packages effective with the release of the SOLIDWORKS 2016 software.
• SOLIDWORKS Utilities – Moves from SOLIDWORKS Professional to SOLIDWORKS Standard
• SOLIDWORKS FeatureWorks – Moves from SOLIDWORKS Professional to SOLIDWORKS Standard
• SOLIDWORKS ScanTo3D – Moves from SOLIDWORKS Premium to SOLIDWORKS Professional
• SOLIDWORKS TolAnalyst™ – Moves from SOLIDWORKS Premium to SOLIDWORKS Professional
• SOLIDWORKS Assembly Costing – Moves from SOLIDWORKS Premium to SOLIDWORKS Professional
From Solution Id: S-070272.
What are the recommended DPI settings when using a 4k monitor with SOLIDWORKS® Enterprise PDM 2015 / 2016?
Some DPI configurations in Windows 7 can cause the EPDM vault explorer view to display distorted menus. This can be caused when the DPI setting is set to a DPI setting of 144 or higher, i.e. a non-default (default setting is DPI 96). This is non-reproducible in Windows 8.1 x64. Recommendations are given in Solution Id: S-070484.
After I connect a SOLIDWORKS® PDM Professional 2016 client computer to the archive server, why does a file vault not appear in the ‘View Setup’ wizard and the ‘SOLIDWORKS PDM Administration’ tool?
For a SOLIDWORKS® PDM Professional (Enterprise PDM) file vault to appear in the ‘View Setup’ wizard and the ‘SOLIDWORKS PDM Administration’ tool, the installed client type must be ‘Professional’.
If the client type is ‘Standard’, the ‘View Setup’ wizard and the ‘SOLIDWORKS PDM Administration’ tool will only show the ‘Standard’ type file vaults. Any ‘Professional’ type vaults will not appear in the list. Troubleshooting and resolution procedures are given in Solution Id: S-070302.
Is it possible to use SOLIDWORKS® add-ins or macros when running the SOLIDWORKS PDM File Version Upgrade Tool (FVUT)?
Yes. Starting with the SOLIDWORKS® PDM 2016 SP0 software, it is possible to use the SOLIDWORKS add-ins or macros when running the SOLIDWORKS PDM File Version Upgrade Tool. Additionally, a hotfix is available that makes this possible in the SOLIDWORKS PDM 2015 SP3 software as well.
To use SOLIDWORKS® add-ins or macros when running the SOLIDWORKS PDM File Version Upgrade Tool, see Solution Id: S-070409.
How can I transfer to the Model tab the assembly component positions shown at a specific time in a solved SOLIDWORKS® Motion study?
In SOLIDWORKS® 2016 and newer, it is possible. You can use “Copy Multiple Components” functionality using the simple procedure described Solution Id: S-070544.
Why do I get a ‘Monitor lost connection with solver’ status message when I try to run any project in SOLIDWORKS® Flow Simulation?
Your computer’s firewall software or anti-virus software can block certain processes required by SOLIDWORKS® Flow Simulation. This is true even when you run locally with the ‘Run at’ drop down menu set to ‘This computer’.
Ask your IT department to help you with the procedure described Solution Id: S-070365.
Can I link a Design Study Parameter to a Global Variable defined by an equation?
No. Design Study Parameters can currently only link to Global Variables that are defined by a constant value, not an equation. As a workaround, you may link Design Study Parameters to Global Variables defined by constant values, and instead create equations using Design Study Simulation Parameters. Solution Id: S-070365.
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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.