SolidWorks 2012 Tips & New Features (part 1)

Part Reviewer
Ever wondered how a model has been created?

Now you can use the Part Reviewer to find out how parts have been modelled feature-by-feature.

Part Reviewer can help you learn best practices for creating various types of parts.

 You can also create your own parts and add your own comments.

To access Part Reviewer, click Tools > Add-Ins. Under SolidWorks Add-ins, select

SolidWorks Part Reviewer.

The Part Reviewer tab appears in the Task Pane.

Large Design Review
Don't like waiting for large assemblies to open just to check something simple?

Try using Large Design Review which lets you open very large assemblies quickly, while still retaining

capabilities that are useful when conducting design reviews of assemblies.

When you open an assembly in Large Design Review mode, you can:

• Navigate the FeatureManager design tree

• Measure distances

• Create cross sections

• Hide and show components

• Create, edit, and play back walk-throughs

To open an assembly in Large Design Review mode, click Open (Standard toolbar)

or File > Open. In the dialog box, select the assembly you want to open, and then, in

Mode, select Large Design Review.

Assembly and Component Information

Information about the assembly and its components is limited in Large Design Review.

FeatureManager Design Tree

The FeatureManager design tree displays information about the assembly components

and hierarchy.

Information displayed in the tree includes:

• Component names

• Assembly and subassembly hierarchy

An eye overlay appears on the icons of all components when the assembly is opened in

Large Design Review mode.

Align Balloons With Magnetic Lines
Spending a long time tidying up how your GA drawings look?

You can use magnetic lines to align balloons. You attach balloons to magnetic lines, choose

to space the balloons equally or not, and move the lines freely at any angle. The balloons

maintain their alignment when the magnetic lines are not visible. You can insert magnetic

lines automatically when you use the Auto Balloon command. You can also insert balloons

before or after inserting magnetic lines

Search Commands
Do you forget where that really useful command is, the one you used last month?

Using Search Commands lets you find and run commands from SolidWorks Search or locate

a command in the user interface.

These features make it easy to find and run any SolidWorks command:

• Results are filtered as you type and typically find the command you need within a few

keystrokes.

• When you run a command from the results list for a query, Search Commands

remembers that command and places it at the top of the results list when you type the

same query again.

• Search shortcuts let you assign simple and familiar keystroke sequences to commands

you use regularly.