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

Augmented reality in eDrawings App

By Sagar Gokulchand AGRAWAL 

Augmented Reality (AR) is a way of combining the real and the virtual worlds by overlaying digital data onto real-world views. It’s a live, direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are “augmented” by input such as video or graphics. As such, virtual information is overlaid on the real world.

eDrawings AR supplements the information on the surrounding real world by making it interactive.

 

In general, AR applications can basically be divided into two categories:

1. Marker-based/image recognition 
2. Location (or GPS)-based apps.

The eDrawings App is a marker-based application. The marker is a unique pattern (a QR code), which size, location and orientation is detected by the application using a camera. This information is used to size, locate and orient the display of the virtual model onto the real scene. As you move the camera, the size, location and orientation are detected as changing. The view of the virtual model is then updated in real-time. This gives the viewer a vivid experience of reality.

AR is available only with the professional version of the eDrawings app, for both Android and iOS systems.

 

How to use the Augmented Reality in eDrawings?

Even for those new to the eDrawings app, the setup is a fairly straight-forward process that takes less than a minute:

1.  Open your model within the eDrawings App
   
2. Tap the AR button to the left hand side of the screen
3. Request the AR Code (only if this is the first time you’ll be using AR): select the ‘Get Marker’ option
   
4. Either email the Global Marker to Print it, or simply view it on another device.
   
5. Place the printed sheet with the marker on a Flat surface, or place on a table the device with the marker displayed
   
6. You can zoom, pan, rotate, section and measure your 3D model in AR mode of an eDrawings App

 

Some of the most remarkable fields where AR using the eDrawings apps can be applied are architecture, construction and furniture. In these cases CAD images of a structure can be superimposed into a real life local view before constructing the physical building.

AR is also very helpful in industrial design, because it can help designers experience products’ designs and operations before completion.

Time Saver: NEW Animation Library in SOLIDWORKS Composer

By Jennifer Tashiro

The new Animation Library contains predefined templates which help you quickly build your SOLIDWORKS Composer animation.

To use the Animation Library:

1. In the Animation Library workshop, select an animation type from the dropdown menu.
2. In the Assembly pane or viewport, select the component(s) where you will apply the animation type.
3. Click the ‘Create’ button to generate the animation block.

 

In the screenshot above, the ‘remove’ animation block makes the part flash 3 times, translate outward, then fade away.  The Animation Library adds all of the animation keys which are necessary for this sequence.

Once you see how the Animation Library works, you can also try the following:

• In the timeline, drag the animation block marker to move all of the relevant animation keys at once.
• Select an existing animation block, edit its properties in the Animation Library, and update the animation block.
• Create custom animation templates for the sequences that you frequently use. For sample templates, see your SOLIDWORKS Composer installation directory\AnimationLibrary subfolder.  You can copy and edit the templates using a text editor.  Then, add the templates and group folders to the location specified in Application Preferences > Data Paths.

The Animation Library is available in SOLIDWORKS Composer 2016 SP3 and later versions.

Ongoing: SOLIDWORKS 2017 Beta

The SOLIDWORKS 2017 Beta Program is still underway and is a tremendous success. Lots of great feedback. With the help of the SOLIDWORKS community, we will make SOLIDWORKS 2017 SP0.0 the best ever.

Want to hop on the train?

Visit the Beta website. If you have any specific questions, don’t hesitate to email us at beta@solidworks.com.

Simulation Step-Up Series

Now that Ramesh concluded the topic of Contact modeling, he turns to the next topic: Bolt Connectors. Arguably the most used connector in SOLIDWORKS Simulation.

Here is Bolt Connectors, Part 2.

Next month, Ramesh will conclude the topic of Bolt Connectors.

 

Noteworthy Solutions from the SOLIDWORKS Knowledge Base

Hotfix for SPRs 921275, 923919, 944333 – cosmetic thread diameter and depth configuration issues.
A hotfix is available for SOLIDWORKS 2015 SP5 and SOLIDWORKS 2016 SP3 to address the following issues:
SPR 921275: Cosmetic thread diameter and depth do not update when switching configurations
SPR 923919: When value of hole wizard thread depth is changed in this part in the design table, it reverts after returning to the file and back to the table
SPR 944333: Parts – Cosmetic Threads – Part, Assy  Feature – Hole Wizard: Cosmetic thread diameter of hole wizard is reset (M0) after switching configuration.
Download the hotfix from Solution Id: S-071498.
See also the General Hotfixes page.

In a SOLIDWORKS® PDM vault, how do I use the ‘Dispatch’ feature to print a file without local cache?
In the ‘Edit Action’ dialog box for the ‘Dispatch’ feature, you can set the following commands:
•    Add a ‘Get file’ command and type the file path value ‘%PathToSelectedFile%’. This command gets the selected file version cache to the local disk first.
•    Add a ‘Shell Execute’ command and use the ‘Print’ command for ‘Verb’ and type the file path value ‘%PathToSelectedFile%’. This command prints the file.
For more information, please refer to Solution Id: S-071539.

Rotating regions in SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation
Pretty much everything you would want to know about Rotating Regions is explained in the Pdf attached to Solution Id: S-018786.

– – – = = = o o O o o = = = – – –

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

Originally posted in the SOLIDWORKS Tech Blog.