"Operation failed owing to geometric condition...."
Thanks a lot for that most helpful tip - any chance that you could at least point me in the right direction?
No. There isn't any chance of that happening soon in my opinion.
Solid Works, in my opinion, has been sold down the river by Dassult Systems who have made the extremely powerful and (again, this is simply my personal opinion) not very intuitive CATIA.
Why on Earth would a massive Company such as Dassult wish to do anything other than buy out a smaller but potentially competitive rival product such as SW and then subjectively degrade it so that it is less of a threat...?

I'm simply conjecturing, of course. But I also haven't renewed my licence for 2014 and I have no intention of doing so for future versions, In about 10 years, the only three advances that come to mind are (from 2003), the ability to add text to a model - and this is still not as good as it should be, slots, and mouse gestures.
Is that the best that SW can do?
No, I don't think it is - and their drawing sheet function is still littered with errors, as it always has been, and yet there appears to be no inclination to tidy things up.
Where the heck is my old Solid Edge CD ROM.....

 

work with the program not against it. My sw 2014 will just close for no reason. its not company fault either no 3d software is without bugs. Only program that operates flawlessly that i have used is alias. They are too busy scamming new licenses every year rather than fix the bugs.

I used 2011 it was flawless it would get occasional memory overload but no glitches. I dont know what they did with 2014 I get graphics glitches cant see tools or icons

 

Hi Barbarian,

I have worked with the program - for about 15 years. My issue now is that the program would appear to be working against me.
I must disagree with you when you say that it's not the Company's fault - it most certainly is. We also develop our own software and we don't release it until it has been substantially de-bugged. That's not to say that we don't have issues, of course we do, as all software does - this is a simple fact that happens when software meets firmware meets new hardware etc. but SW has a policy of issuing a new release every year (and in my opinion, solely to capitalise on the fact that their software is not backwards compatible, and therefore to compel users to upgrade so they can communicate with each others). I believe that was a point you also made.
We could also release a new version of our software each year (and I'd like to stress at this point that our software has nothing to do with any CAD process), but we don't do that, simply because that is not our revenue model.
Subscription based software models can work extremely well, but there has to be a genuine benefit to the purchaser - in my opinion, this is currently not the case with SW.
You yourself complained that the latest release is not stable, and I personally stopped the background downloader years ago on the recommendation of the local SW dealer, who said that the beta downloads were S**t.
I think that my fundamental issue is that I refuse to pay money to any service provider who actually makes my life more difficult, and does so for blatant monetary gain - and I suppose I'm one of the lucky ones, people have to view my files, as opposed to the other way around....

 

I can say that when I started using SW in 2011, things ran well... now though, in 2014, I seem to get crashes A LOT... a couple per day, sometimes; I get lockups (it's just sitting and thinking for 10+ minutes) at the same rate! It does seem as though there must be something going on here... granted the assemblies on which I'm working are exponentially larger than those I used to work on, but the computer I'm using to run it is far more powerful as well. It doesn't seem like I should be having all the problems that I'm having. I love using SolidWorks, though I haven't used any other 3D modeling softwares, so I don't know what I'm missing, I just wish that it would run as well as I do! So often I find myself sitting and waiting, when I COULD be working. I can't stand being idle at work!
Prost!

 

Hi Rev.ATBear,

Generally speaking, I actually do like SW, as I've found it to be the most intuitive modeller available, but I sincerely believe that there are some big issues that need resolving.
The problem with an exponentially larger assembly is primarily the size of the individual part file sizes - which results in a assembly which is actually larger by the 4th power.
SW part files are ridiculously large, and I suspect that the majority of the bytes within them are connected to proprietary formatting.
To convey simple geometric information requires very little data - convert a SW file into a Parasolid Binary file and you'll see the difference in file size is enormous.
We asked our local SW agent about this, and he either wouldn't or couldn't provide a satisfactory explanation.

As SW is a parametric modeller, it's basically a single thread process, which frequently annuls any speed benefit you might get from a more powerful computer. My machine is a custom built one, with four individual hard drives (albeit configured to RAID 4, as opposed to RAID 0 - so it's not quite as fast as it could be, but I get one disc redundancy). But it's still a seriously powerful computer and I also struggle with lag times on complex assemblies. I suppose a decent analogy would be that you could have a car with a 6 litre engine, but if the gearbox ratios were designed for a 1 litre car, that's the performance you can expect...

Cheers (I'm assuming, and hoping, that you're German, hence the 'Prost') - if you're Romanian then Prost means simple minded...

 

Hi K.I.S.S. (keep it simple stupid ?)

Good to know it isn't just me and my computer! I do find SW to be extremely intuitive... as a matter of fact, I've said quite often when comparing the ease of use between SolidWorks and AutoCAD, that I think that AutoCAD is being kept especially non-intuitive (read "difficult to learn and use") on purpose, in a sad attempt to keep drafting as a specialized skill.
As for my ancestry, I am actually Welsh/English, though I am presently learning the German language, hense, "Prost!" It's interesting to learn that in Romanian it means "Simple-Minded". Thanks for that tid-bit!
All in all, I do love using SolidWorks, and unless given the opportunity to learn Catia, I'm not planning on switching!

Have a great day!

Anthony

 

Hi Rev.ATBear,

Bang on the money... (I won't ask what your user name represents, I'm scared of the answer...)

SW was basically created as an alternative to AutoCAD, and it certainly achieved it's initial goal in achieving user migration, as I for one find AutoCAD to be something that is unprintable.
Trouble is, that in order to keep AutoCAD users unflustered, they kept, and continue to keep much of the original functionality and operations in what they now call 'DraftSight'. My opinion of this program is equally unprintable.

Drafting has changed exponentially over the years, and is now within the reach of any designer/engineer that doesn't mind the tedium - so I'm surprised that AutoCAD still exists as a viable commercial entity.

Personally I find it hard to adapt to any program that contains even the slightest unintuitive commonly used feature - that's why I'm not a CATIA fan - when I scroll the mouse wheel towards me, I expect the model to zoom in...

And by the way, from my grandparents ancestry, I'm 1/4 English, Scots, Welsh and Irish. And you thought you had issues...

Cheers,

John

 

Well, hello to the entirety of the British Isles!

As for my user name, I see it as a representation of the most up-to-date revision of me. I'm quite aware that it could lead some to believe that I am a reverend, and actually I am, via the internet I had some friends getting married, you see...

Anyhow, I knew SW was created as an alternative to AutoCAD, and they did a great job, by my estimation... When I was in school for drafting we used the AutoDesk series of software, and tbh, I really enjoyed their 3D softwares, especially Revit. When I got out of school, I did my damnedest to find a job as an Architectural Designer so I could keep using it. Of course that didn't pan out for a number of reasons, most likely of which was that I graduated in 2010, dead in the middle of the American recession and housing crisis (mentioned only if you're not from the USA and aren't familiar with it).
Anyhow, I became a Mechanical Designer, which works well for me as I have always been quite mechanically inclined, or so I was always told. It sits well with me, really, and considering my Attention Deficit Disorder, I do quite well with it, as long as I'm not bogged down with tedious paperwork or constant computer lagging/lockups. I especially love reverse engineering, you know? Taking a tape measure, some digital calipers, and other tools, getting a part or an assembly of them, and building it in a 3D virtual environment is awesome. AND the sheer power to be able to develop new things and be able to see them nearly as I would in the real world is truly enjoyable.
As for Catia, I don't have any experience with it, but from what I understand it's used extensively in the aerospace and automotive industries, and I love anything to do with Aerospace. I'm kind of a Space junkie! lol I'm sure that you're using the mouse wheel as a metaphor insofar as an explanation that Catia is different from SolidWorks to the core. I'd still like to find myself a copy, just to mess around with and try to teach myself to use, just for my interest in moving toward designing in an aerospace capacity, and even if it never happens, it would still look great on a resume that I've taught myself to design in Catia!
And yes, when I scroll the mouse wheel toward me, the model SHOULD zoom in... I'm pulling it toward me ffs, not retreating!

Have a great day, John, it's really nice to meet and connect with another like-minded designer. Where are you from, btw? I'm from near Cleveland, Ohio, USA.

Slàinte!

Anthony

 

Hi,

Thanks for the clarification on your user name - I think...?
Glad you love your job, but the reverse engineering thing isn't for me - I only get true pleasure out of designing something from the ground up - something I'm proud to put my name to.
My experience with CATIA is fairly limited, but the biggest benefit I could derive from it during my very short time using it was it's ability to better manage large user group integration, in terms of conflicting part sizes drawn by different designers on the same team.
And of course, Dassult systems is primarily a aeronautics company, which requires a massive design team.
SRDFMC is an experienced user of CATIA, and he informed me of some useful features that SW doesn't have, such as the ability to space linear or circular patterns irregularly in more than one axis.

And I'm from England, Yorkshire to be precise, but living in South Africa for the last 17 years, and specifically in Cape Town for the last 2 years.
Cape Town is this years 'Design Capital of the World' Can't say I've seen any benefit from it..
We don't even have a single DMLS laser printer in the whole city - I think the design focus is more 'arty' than industrial.

Sithee

John