n Install the new version with Toolbox in a new location, for example SolidWorks 2007 Data or a directory name that helps to distinguish this library from another. n Copy the old SolidWorks 2006 data (containing the correct configurations) over the top of the new SolidWorks 2007 data. n Browse to the Toolbox\data utilities subdirectory of the SolidWorks installation directory and run UpdateBrowserData.exe. The interface for this program is shown in Figure 17.18. FIGURE 17.18 The UpdateBrowserData.exe interface n Select the Updating Database field and use the ellipsis button to browse to Toolbox\data utilities\lang\English\updatedb.mdb in the SolidWorks installation directory. n Select the Database To Update field and browse to SWBrowser.mdb. You can find this file by following the ToolboxPartFolder path in the Toolbox.ini file, and looking in the \lang\english subdirectory. n Click Update. This prevents you from overwriting your old version, while still copying the old version to the new installation and avoiding the Huge Screws syndrome. Adding custom Toolbox parts If you have been using SolidWorks and Toolbox for a few releases, then you may recall that Toolbox had a function called the Add My Parts Wizard, which added user-created parts to the Toolbox libraries. The parts were limited in that you could not use them with Smart Fasteners, but the interface would work if the part had configurations. In SolidWorks 2007, the Add My Parts Wizard has been removed. However, you can still add your own parts to Toolbox by simply dragging-and-dropping them. Drag-and-drop is available in third- level folders. Levels are counted from the Standard folder, which is level 1. 526 Creating and Using Libraries Part IV 25_080139 ch17.qxp 3/26/07 4:02 PM Page 526 Adding folders to Toolbox You can add folders to Toolbox through the RMB menu. Just RMB click a first- or second-level folder, and select New Folder. You can create a new level-1 folder by RMB clicking the Toolbox icon, as shown in Figure 17.19. FIGURE 17.19 Adding a new folder Merging Toolbox libraries You can merge Toolbox libraries by simply copying or moving one folder in with the existing library folders. Another type of merging may be less successful. If you have two Toolbox parts from different sources and they have different sets of size configurations, these are things you may want to merge to get the benefits of both sets of sizes. Unfortunately, there is no direct way of doing this in Toolbox. The best way would be to auto- create design tables in both parts, and then to copy the configurations from one design table to the other design table. This should effectively copy configurations between parts, although you may need to remove any duplicate configuration rows. Toolbox and PDM This topic could be a chapter on its own, but I will not delve too deeply into it here because it goes beyond the intended scope of this book. A discussion of Toolbox requires some mention of how it may be used in conjunction with a PDM product. Toolbox and PDMWorks Workgroup, or any other PDM product for that matter, can be a challenge to combine. Generally, it is useful to be able to see the fasteners in PDM because of the BOM capa- bilities, quantities, Where Used options, and complete searches. Some users choose not to put library parts in the vault because they are not revision-managed documents. All the same, revision management is not the only reason to put items in the vault. 527 Using Hole Wizard and Toolbox 17 25_080139 ch17.qxp 3/26/07 4:02 PM Page 527 Looking at it from the Toolbox point of view, Toolbox cannot work with its parts in the vault, and if changes were allowed to the parts (sizes add configurations), then you would need to check in the part every time you added a size. This is not necessarily a problem, but it does become awkward. Some PDM products allow files to exist outside the vault, while pointers to the files exist within the vault. This is one very good option for using Toolbox with a PDM product. Another good option is to simply use the Create Parts setting. This creates individual files that are easier to manage. It may also be important for a different reason: some PDM products, such as PDMWorks Workgroup, do not distinguish configurations as separate controllable or separately identifiable documents. Toolbox settings You can find Toolbox settings in the Toolbox menu, by selecting the Configure option. The Configure Data dialog box has four tabs: Content, Settings, Properties, and Smart Fasteners. Content tab The Content tab shows all of the standards. If you are not using certain standards, then you can turn them off by deselecting their check mark. You can do the same for folders and even specific parts within the standard. If you have added folders or custom parts in the Design Library window, they appear here. As you expand the standard, and then the fastener type and the specific head types, you can select individual parts. The Countersunk Bolt is selected in the list shown in Figure 17.20. FIGURE 17.20 The Toolbox Configure Data Content tab 528 Creating and Using Libraries Part IV 25_080139 ch17.qxp 3/26/07 4:02 PM Page 528 Several tabs contain different types of information for Toolbox parts: n You can use the General tab to offer alternate filenames. n You can use the Size tab to disable specific sizes. n The Finish tab is not available for all fasteners, but you can use it to remove parts of the description. n You can use the Length tab to limit the available lengths. n You can use the Thread Display tab to limit the available thread types. Available thread types are shown in Figure 17.21. FIGURE 17.21 Available thread display options n The All Configurations tab enables you to create all of the configurations that are avail- able for a particular Toolbox part. It will also export the database data to an Excel spread- sheet, and import a spreadsheet that is created in this way. Creating all of the configurations for a single part can take a couple of hours, and in the few times I have done it, I have never seen the SolidWorks interface recover from starting the command, although it seems to finish. Having all of the configurations is very useful, especially if you are being plagued by the Huge Screws. Schematic Simplified Cosmetic 529 Using Hole Wizard and Toolbox 17 25_080139 ch17.qxp 3/26/07 4:02 PM Page 529 Settings tab The Settings tab is where you can set the config and part options. If you choose to create parts, then you also need to specify a location for the parts to be kept. If you choose a network location, it is best to use the UNC path, rather than a mapped drive because mapped drives may not recon- nect on start up and may be mapped to different letters from computer to computer, but the UNC always points to the same location from any point on the network. The Settings tab also enables the Administrator to establish a password for Toolbox data configura- tion changes. The Settings tab is shown in Figure 17.22. FIGURE 17.22 The Settings tab Properties tab The Properties tab enables you to set up properties that appear in the PropertyManager. For exam- ple, you can enable fill-in or drop-down lists for values. Properties can be enabled for specific items, as shown in Figure 17.23. Smart Fasteners tab The Smart Fasteners tab controls Smart Fasteners, which are discussed later in this chapter. The tab is shown in Figure 17.24. As an example of the types of settings you can use here, you can con- trol which screw types are used with which types of Hole Wizard or non-Hole Wizard holes. 530 Creating and Using Libraries Part IV 25_080139 ch17.qxp 3/26/07 4:02 PM Page 530 FIGURE 17.23 The Properties tab FIGURE 17.24 The Smart Fasteners tab 531 Using Hole Wizard and Toolbox 17 25_080139 ch17.qxp 3/26/07 4:02 PM Page 531 Using Toolbox Up to now in this chapter, we have looked at Toolbox mainly from the administrative point of view; now, we will look at it from the user’s point of view. Toolbox has two components: Toolbox and Toolbox Browser. In practice, the Toolbox component is actually ignored, and the Toolbox Browser component is generally referred to as Toolbox. The Toolbox Browser is the Task pane interface, and is found on the Design Library tab, as shown in the image to the left in Figure 17.25. The Toolbox component is found in the Toolbox drop- down menu. It includes structural steel shapes, grooves, cams, and beam and bearing calculators. FIGURE 17.25 Toolbox and the Toolbox Browser Turning Toolbox and the Toolbox Browser on You can turn on Toolbox and the Toolbox Browser through the Tools, Add-Ins dialog box. The col- umn of check boxes on the left indicates that the add-in will be active for the current session of SolidWorks only. The column of check boxes on the right indicates that the add-in will be active every time the software starts up, as shown in Figure 17.26. 532 Creating and Using Libraries Part IV 25_080139 ch17.qxp 3/26/07 4:02 PM Page 532 FIGURE 17.26 Turning Toolbox on in the Tools, Add-ins interface Once the Toolbox Browser is turned on, you can use it by expanding the Task pane at the right of the SolidWorks graphics window and clicking the Design Library, which looks like a stack of books. In this panel, you will see the Toolbox screw symbol. Expand icons until you find the fas- tener or other hardware that you are looking for, and then drag the part into the assembly. Populating holes Holes can be populated in several ways, such as dragging-and-dropping, populating multiple holes at once, and using feature-driven component patterns. I discuss manual and patterning options here, and Smart Fasteners in the next section. Drag-and-drop The simplest way to bring Toolbox parts into an assembly is to drag-and-drop them. Position the part that the fastener goes into so that you can see the edge of the hole where the screw head will go. Then browse to the correct fastener, and drop the fastener onto the edge, as shown in Figure 17.27. Because of the use of Mate References in Toolbox parts, they know that they are supposed to snap into holes on flat faces. When dropping the fastener into the hole, the Smart Mate icon momentar- ily appears. A Smart Mate of this sort applies two mates, one that is concentric between cylindrical faces, and one that is coincident between two flat faces. 533 Using Hole Wizard and Toolbox 17 25_080139 ch17.qxp 3/26/07 4:02 PM Page 533 FIGURE 17.27 Dropping a fastener onto a hole Populating multiple holes at once Figure 17.28 shows the progression from a plate with holes in an assembly. In this example, you would select the edges of the holes, then select a fastener, and then choose Insert Into Assembly from the RMB menu, to fully populate the part. FIGURE 17.28 Populating multiple holes at once in an assembly 534 Creating and Using Libraries Part IV 25_080139 ch17.qxp 3/26/07 4:02 PM Page 534 Feature Driven component patterns Chapter 15 discussed Feature Driven component patterns (also known as derived patterns), where a pattern of parts in an assembly is driven by a feature pattern in a part. You can find this assembly feature in the assembly menus under Insert ➪ Component Patterns ➪ Feature Driven. Smart Fasteners Smart Fasteners are Toolbox parts that know what holes they go into automatically. The database that holds all of the information for Toolbox part types and sizes also holds the information for the sizes of the holes. It is only natural that SolidWorks try to combine this information and use it to its best advantage. You can use Smart Fasteners in two ways: Smart Fasteners with Hole Series One way to use Smart Fasteners is in conjunction with Hole Wizard Hole Series. Hole Series creates the holes through multiple parts at once, creating the appropriate type of hole through each part, and then Smart Fasteners automatically places fasteners in the holes, even including nuts and washers. To do this, you can select the option on the first panel of the Hole Series PropertyManager interface, as shown in Figure 17.29. If you are planning on using Smart Fasteners, using them in conjunction with the Hole Series is your best bet, using them in conjunction with the Hole Series holes. FIGURE 17.29 The Hole Position interface The Smart Fasteners with Hole Series is a function that you should be careful when using. It is very effective, but it may cost you some performance (speed). The Hole Series is an Assembly Feature (sketch) that drives several in-context features (holes), and then parts are mated to those in-context features (fasteners). Smart Fasteners Populate All Smart Fasteners functionality also has an automatic component. Once an assembly has parts mated into place, you can place fasteners into parts with appropriate holes by face, by part, or for the entire assembly at once. 535 Using Hole Wizard and Toolbox 17 25_080139 ch17.qxp 3/26/07 4:02 PM Page 535 [...]... practical reminder of this problem and how easily it can happen to you If you are using SolidWorks 2007, you should be able to tell Toolbox to simply recreate the sizes and continue on If the assembly provided on the CD-ROM had been made prior to SolidWorks 2007, that option would not exist CAUTION 5 46 25_080139 ch17.qxp 3/ 26/ 07 4:02 PM Page 547 Using Hole Wizard and Toolbox FIGURE 17.39 The finished Assembly... library features saved in the Design Library have a bluish background This 560 26_ 080139 ch18.qxp 3/ 26/ 07 4:08 PM Page 561 Working with Library Features occurs because of the SolidWorks viewport background color, which you can set in Tools, Options, Colors Even if you never see that color because you are using a gradient background, SolidWorks still uses the color specified by that setting as the background... properties become available that are not available through Toolbox NOTE 555 18 26_ 080139 ch18.qxp Part IV 3/ 26/ 07 4:08 PM Page 5 56 Creating and Using Libraries Figure 18 .6 shows the configuration selection window Note that this is alphabetically listed, and you can type in the box to go to the configuration that you want FIGURE 18 .6 Inserting library parts with configurations Parts inserted from the library... different feature becomes first.) NOTE Second, SolidWorks used to distinguish between palette features and library features Palette features were limited to a single reference, and library features were a bit less user-friendly but more powerful They have been combined and improved to what we have today 559 18 26_ 080139 ch18.qxp Part IV 3/ 26/ 07 4:08 PM Page 560 Creating and Using Libraries Saving the library... and the Task pane, which now remains open by default 550 26_ 080139 ch18.qxp 3/ 26/ 07 4:08 PM Page 551 Working with Library Features You can also detach the Task pane by dragging the bar at the top of the pane Figure 18.1 shows the Task pane docked to the right side of the SolidWorks window FIGURE 18.1 The Task pane docked to right side of the SolidWorks window If you are using dual monitors, you can... could name when it comes to assembly performance and circular references; however, if you can work with that, then it is a really sophisticated technique 547 17 25_080139 ch17.qxp 3/ 26/ 07 4:02 PM Page 548 26_ 080139 ch18.qxp 3/ 26/ 07 4:08 PM Page 549 Working with Library Features L ibrary features are features that you create once and re-use many times They are intended to be parametrically flexible to fit... is Hex Nut, Heavy Hex Nut 539 17 25_080139 ch17.qxp Part IV 3/ 26/ 07 4:02 PM Page 540 Creating and Using Libraries FIGURE 17.32 Select and place a fastener Drop hex head bolt here 540 25_080139 ch17.qxp 3/ 26/ 07 4:02 PM Page 541 Using Hole Wizard and Toolbox FIGURE 17.33 Specifying the washer and nut 541 17 25_080139 ch17.qxp Part IV 3/ 26/ 07 4:02 PM Page 542 Creating and Using Libraries 5 Notice that... a rectangle, 1.5 inches by 2 inches, and extrude it to about 2 inches in depth 552 26_ 080139 ch18.qxp 3/ 26/ 07 4:08 PM Page 553 Working with Library Features FIGURE 18.3 Locating the library feature Next, in the Design Library, browse to features, then inch, and then the fluid power ports folder, and drag the sae j19 26- 1 feature onto the end of the extruded rectangle Select the 38-24 size from the configurations... design table is not brought into the part with the library feature If the part already had a design table, this would cause multiple tables, which is not currently possible in SolidWorks 553 18 26_ 080139 ch18.qxp Part IV 3/ 26/ 07 4:08 PM Page 554 Creating and Using Libraries FIGURE 18.4 Placing a library feature with dimensions If you override the feature dimensions when feature configurations already... another location, not in the SolidWorks installation directory, but in an area that you have selected to maintain SolidWorks data between releases For example, I have a folder at D:\Library that contains folders for macros, templates, library features, library parts, favorites, and so on You can easily back up or copy these files from one computer to another, although you must quit SolidWorks before making . Toolbox in a new location, for example SolidWorks 2007 Data or a directory name that helps to distinguish this library from another. n Copy the old SolidWorks 20 06 data (containing the correct configurations). (containing the correct configurations) over the top of the new SolidWorks 2007 data. n Browse to the Toolboxdata utilities subdirectory of the SolidWorks installation directory and run UpdateBrowserData.exe are counted from the Standard folder, which is level 1. 5 26 Creating and Using Libraries Part IV 25_080139 ch17.qxp 3/ 26/ 07 4:02 PM Page 5 26 Adding folders to Toolbox You can add folders to Toolbox