What's New in SolidWorks 2011

From my notes scribbled during the morning keynote, these new features might not all be accurately recorded:

1. Defeature - removes features from the model; makes the inside of the model solid (completely defeatured).

2. Revolve to surface.

3. Integrated Photoview allows realtime changes to materials, lights, etc. Keep working in SW as rendering takes place.

4. Spent 50% of the R&D time on making SW 2011 more reliable (less buggy).

5. Memory use optimized; SW now releases memory after a commmand finishes

6. Nonlinear simulation

7. Planar (2D) simplification for higher FEA meshes. The results can be transfered back to the3D model.

8. Add dimensions to entire drawing at once. Adjust placed dimensions to autostagger, and respace.

9. Dual dimensions on holes.

10. Drawings checked as submitted for approval.

11. Lightweight weldments. Add weld prep directly to assemblies. Add u grooves, intermittent welds, weld table, callouts on welds.

12. Walkthrough using manikins for greater control and realism.

13. Freeze features to prevent unnecessary rebuilds. Reduces time from 65 seconds to 0.4 secs.

Comments

[twitter.com/JRU_1962]

Thanks for posting a summary so quickly Ralph. Passed a link on to my cohorts back at the office to the post so they can see some of new features. Keep up the excellent work.

[Kevin Quigley]

Some worthwhile features there but after all the fanfare of Monday I see no mention of CATIA or even being able to open a CATIA file as a dumb solid/surface?

[Jon Banquer]

"Freeze features to prevent unnecessary rebuilds. Reduces time from 65 seconds to 0.4 secs."

Users have asked for this for many years. It's about time it got implemented! Hope it's robust.

Sadly I see no direct modeling improvements in SolidWorks 2011. This just gives SolidWorks competitors even more time to make their direct modeling programs more robust and get better at marketing.

When it comes to SolidWorks itself, SolidWorks World 2010 seems mostly be about vaporware and hype. Direct modeling and the CATIA kernel should have been implemented by now in SolidWorks. How many years has SolidWorks been owned by Dassault?

[Sylvain]

12. Walkthrough using manikins for greater control and realism.

Do you mean they ported their Delmia manikins to SW ?? That would be huge. Or is it only a "virtual walkthrough", flying through ther model, etc. ?

[ken elliott]

Yet... still don't have real threads...

[E S LLC]

Another SW release and no major improvements....Inventor pulls farther and farther ahead....LOL

Note, 98% of what is listed as "improvements" on 2011, Inventor has already been offering for at least 3 releases back.

BTW - Inventor CAN import/export CATIA files....LOL