DriveWorks World 2020 Goes Digital

Last week we were joined by over 200 DriveWorks customers, resellers and partners for a week of learning, networking and sharing ideas – all online.

Whilst the current global situation stopped us from hosting a face to face event, we still wanted to provide an opportunity for DriveWorks users to learn and connect. So this year we made DriveWorks World a digital event.

The technical sessions we run at DriveWorks World are extremely valuable and are part of our commitment to Helping You to Help Yourself. We wanted to make sure we could still deliver the training content that our technical team had worked hard to create.

During the event, we revealed What’s New in DriveWorks 18 and presented digital training, hands-on learning and advanced sessions all through live webinars and downloadable content.

Using technology, we created an event that was completely online.

Live Sessions

On Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, at 10am and 4pm Glen introduced the day’s schedule with a live webinar session.

Following these daily live sessions, the content was then made available to download.

Online Training and Technical Sessions

Online Chat

DriveWorks World is always a fantastic opportunity for us to get together with our customers, resellers and partners for learning, networking and sharing ideas.

The important conversations and knowledge sharing that takes place during DriveWorks World are just one of the reasons we love the event so much. We didn’t want to lose the chats and discussions when taking the event online.

To make sure we could still have these conversations take place, we set up a DriveWorks World dedicated Slack channel.

Here all our attendees could join in the conversations and connect with other DriveWorks users and experts. Throughout the event, there was a real buzz and we loved seeing our attendees interacting with the DriveWorks team and each other.

With different channels set up for the DriveWorks Essentials Training, What’s New, DriveWorks Pro Advanced Sessions and also an enhancements request channel – there were lots of exciting conversations a taking place where we could all share ideas as well as tips and tricks to help each other out!

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for Digital DriveWorks World 2020!

Throughout the event, 227 members joined the online chat, we had 44 different channels running and over 3500 messages were shared.

Download the Sessions

If you missed Digital DriveWorks World, or want a recap, you can now download the technical training sessions.

Watch them at a time that suits you, and at your own pace.

Read Glen’s Automation Feature in April’s DEVELOP3D Magazine

In this month’s DEVELOP 3D magazine, DriveWorks CEO Glen Smith, talks all things automation and the benefits of going digital.

This is the first in a series of articles by Glen that will be featured every month in the DEVELOP3D magazine.

In the April edition of DEVELOP3D, Glen talks about what can be achieved with automation and the multiple benefits automation brings.

Glen explains how automating time-sensitive and often repetitive activities means businesses have more time to focus on innovation, adding value to their products and improving throughput. 

“By automating time-sensitive and often
repetitive upfront activities, companies have
more time to innovate and
add value to product designs.”

“In this global market, you may need to travel.
And let’s not forget the need to reduce your
carbon footprint – now imagine if your process was digital and automated.”

“What this means is there is now a way of doing business anywhere.
No geographic restrictions.
A worldwide market.”

DEVELOP3D Magazine is free to read online, read the full article on page 17.

DriveWorks Certifications

Add to your DriveWorks knowledge and get certified

There are three DriveWorks Certifications, ranging across all three DriveWorks Products, starting from DriveWorksXpress, to DriveWorks Solo and then on to DriveWorks Pro.

Our Certifications, created by our DriveWorks Technical Experts, test your capability and understanding of the training. They are a great way to demonstrate your DriveWorks knowledge and skills.

The DriveWorksXpress and DriveWorks Solo Certifications are open to everyone. You can learn and get certified online anytime.

DriveWorksXpress Associate

Demonstrate your SOLIDWORKS design automation skills

The DriveWorksXpress Associate is the first level of DriveWorks Certification. The DriveWorksXpress Training and Certification is a free certification for all engineering and design professionals who have access to SOLIDWORKS.

Follow the online training and take the certification to become a Certified DriveWorksXpress Associate in just 3 steps, in 3 hours.

Improve your SOLIDWORKS skills and design automation knowledge.

Embrace design automation and use DriveWorksXpress inside SOLIDWORKS to save time, reduce errors and improve quality.

DriveWorks Solo Certification

Take your design automation knowledge further

The DriveWorks Solo Certification is available to anyone with a DriveWorks Solo licence, including the 30-day free trial.

The certification is a great way to get off to the best start with your DriveWorks Solo design automation projects.

Strengthen your DriveWorks Solo skills and push your DriveWorks projects further.

Get certified online for free in just 3 hours. Take your design automation & SOLIDWORKS skills to the next level.

Try DriveWorks Solo free for 30 days – download the trial and make the most of your 30 days by learning and getting certified.

Why Get Certified?

Expand your knowledge and achieve more with DriveWorks Certifications.

Benefits

Upon completion of a DriveWorks Certification, you’ll receive a certificate and a logo which you can include on your CV, job applications and email signature.

Make the most of your DriveWorks software by developing your skills and knowledge with DriveWorks Certifications.

Discover unused DriveWorks functionality that can help to improve your DriveWorks projects.

Boost productivity by gaining the skills and knowledge to deal with day-to-day challenges.

Push your DriveWorks projects further and maximise ROI.

Learning Resources

Helping You to Help Yourself

No matter which product you’re learning about, there are free online learning resources available to help you on your journey to achieving a DriveWorks Certification.

DriveWorksXpress Resources

Get the most out of your free software with webinars, video clips, sample projects, forums, tutorials and a free training and certification program.
Activate DriveWorksXpress inside SOLIDWORKS now to start automating.

DriveWorks Solo Resources

Webinars, videos, sample projects and online training to make your journey with DriveWorks Solo a success.
Get a head start and try DriveWorks Solo free for 30 days.

Get certified and expand your knowledge and demonstrate your expertise.

Get Involved with Digital DriveWorks World

Digital DriveWorks World 2020 starts on Monday at 10am BST. Don’t miss out on the chance to join us for 4 days of online technical presentations and hands-on sessions, presented by the DriveWorks team.

Get involved in conversations with other DriveWorks users, share ideas and exchange tips and tricks.

New live sessions and downloadable content will be added every day next week.

Here’s how you can get involved and join us.

Digital DriveWorks World Learning Portal

Digital DriveWorks World 2020 is a value-added event for DriveWorks Pro Customers with Subscription and DriveWorks Reseller Application Engineers.

The easiest way to get involved with Digital DriveWorks World 2020 is through the learning portal in the DriveWorks Community.

The learning portal has everything you need to join Digital DriveWorks World.

From the portal you can register for upcoming live sessions, join live sessions as they happen, download technical training sessions and chat with the DriveWorks team and other DriveWorks users.

New live sessions and downloadable content will be added to the portal every day so keep checking back to make the most of the event.

Of course, the portal is a DriveWorks project created using DriveWorks Pro!

Join Us from April 20th

Get Prepared Today

2. Sign Up for Live Sessions

If you haven’t already created your account, create your account before Monday to avoid any delays in accessing the sessions.

We are excited to announce the release of DriveWorks 18.

DriveWorks 18 delivers brand new features and enhancements in the following areas:

Design Automation & PDM

Usability & UX

Scalability

DriveWorks 3D

Industry leading SOLIDWORKS automation 

New and updated generation tasks, functions, model reporting and PDM tasks to utilize the full potential of design automation in DriveWorks.

Making DriveWorks even easier to implement

Focused visual updates and enhancements add further functionality to user-friendly improvements across DriveWorks.

Cloud support and enterprise deployment

Suggestions and revisions from users in the DriveWorks Community and our developers support progressive simplification and management of enterprise wide deployment.

Configure custom products in 3D on any device

Animation for 3D model previews, enhanced performance. Increase your models interactivity with Sprites, VR and accurate surface reflections.

Join Our What’s New in DriveWorks 18 Webinars

We’re hosting a What’s New DriveWorks 18 webinar series. Join Glen Smith, DriveWorks CEO, as he takes you through all of the new features and enhancements in DriveWorks Pro 18.

What’s New in DriveWorks 18

Design Automation & PDM

Thursday 30th April

What’s New in DriveWorks 18

Usability & UX

Thursday 7th May

What’s New in DriveWorks 18

Scalability

Thursday 14th May

What’s New in DriveWorks 18

DriveWorks 3D

Thursday 21st May

Download the Latest Release Now from the DriveWorks Community

DriveWorks Resellers and Customers with an Active Subscription Support Contract can download DriveWorks 18 from the DriveWorks Community.

Here’s what you’ll need to download the latest release:

• A DriveWorks Community Account, you can create an account if you don’t have one or reset your password if you’ve forgotten it.
• Pre-Requisites can be found in our Online Documentation.
• DriveWorks 18 License Codes have been provided* so you can test and familiarize yourself with the new features and funcationality before upgrading your production environment to the new release.

*If you’re a DriveWorks Reseller AE, your DriveWorks 18 demo codes have been emailed to you. If you’re a DriveWorks customer with active subs, your codes have been sent to your reseller who will pass them on to you. If you haven’t received your DriveWorks 18 license codes yet, please email us.

Important Information

• We have tested the updates rigorously across Windows Operating Systems and latest versions of SOLIDWORKS to test compatibility.
• As with any upgrade, remember to take a back up of your data!
• The download should take no more than 30 minutes.
• If you are working in a multi-user environment make sure you upgrade all of the DriveWorks Modules e.g. DriveWorks Administrator, Autopilot, any DriveWorks User licenses, DriveWorks Live and DriveWorks Pro Server.
• Make sure you have your DriveWorks 18 license keys to hand. We issue new license codes for each new major release so you can get to know the new functionality and TEST before you use it in production.
• New DriveWorks 18 licence codes have been sent to DriveWorks Resellers for all companies with an active subscription support contract. If you haven’t received your codes yet please check with your reseller.
• More information is available in our Online Help File.

Working from home is giving us all a chance to continue our learning and make the time for those things we normally wouldn’t be able to fit into our busy schedules.

In the DriveWorks team, we’re taking this as an opportunity to learn, improve, create and innovate.

In these uncertain times, it’s heartwarming to see that through it all, the SWUGN community are also staying connected digitally and sticking together – from a distance of course!

Virtual SWUGN Meetings

Whilst all in person user group meetings have been postponed, SOLIDWORKS is working with user groups across the world to ensure everyone stays connected virtually and continue to share exciting and innovative content.

A series of SWUGN Virtual Events have been set up, covering a range of topics. Users can learn SOLIDWORKS tips and tricks, plus information on the latest products, features and technology.

The SOLIDWORKS Certification Game, Surfacing for Beginners and Productos Xpress – including a look at DriveWorksXpress – are just some of the sessions you can be a part of.

Check out the full list and register on our events page.

DriveWorks Technical Resources Available for SWUGN

We have lots of free online technical resources for you to use during your meetings, or anytime in between to top up your knowledge.

DriveWorksXpress Training and Certification Program

What better time to start learning about design automation and add an extra qualification to your resume too!

The DriveWorksXpress Training and Certification is a free certification for all engineering and design professionals and students who have access to SOLIDWORKS.

Become a Certified DriveWorksXpress Associate in just 3 steps, in 3 hours.

Gain new skills to add to your résumé and automate your designs to save time and reduce errors.

DriveWorksXpress Getting Started Webinars

Join our free 1-hour webinar for a step by step guide, taking you through the first steps to automating with DriveWorksXpress.

The webinar shows you how to set up a DriveWorksXpress Project from start to finish.

Anyone can sign up to watch the webinar as normal, or if you would like to watch the webinar together as part of your meeting, get in touch with us and we’ll provide direct access to the webinar for you to watch virtually with your group at a time that suits you.

DriveWorksXpress Tutorials, Sample Projects and More!

There are many more learning resources and training materials online. The best thing is, you can access them from anywhere.

Sample Projects

Download DriveWorksXpress Sample Projects. Each one is set up and ready to run inside SOLIDWORKS. Open and explore the project to learn how the rules have been set up.

How to Videos

Watch our DriveWorksXpress How to Video Clips to learn how to capture parameters in your SOLIDWORKS Model, create an input form and build rules to generate new variations.

Training Tutorials

Learn how to use DriveWorksXpress by following these tutorials. There are a selection of tutorials showing different models, providing inspiration for how automating your own designs in SOLIDWORKS.

Connect With Us

Read the latest updates from the DriveWorks team on our blog and connect with us on social media to stay updated on product information, events and learning opportunities available to all SOLIDWORKS User Groups.

Let’s connect so we can share your news and updates too.

Configuring a Custom Cupboard

The furniture industry is one of many industries that can use the power of 3D for online sales and digital manufacturing.

Offering customisable products is a growing opportunity for many. Furniture designers and manufacturers using DriveWorks rules-based software can embrace digital transformation to improve customer experiences and make selling these custom products quicker, easier and more profitable.

The DriveWorks Live website has many examples showing the latest DriveWorks technology in action. Anyone can use the online configurators, created using DriveWorks software.

In this blog, we’re using one of the examples and following the quick and easy steps to configure a custom cupboard online.

With DriveWorks 18, our team have added lots more 3D capability to bring the furniture to life. We’ve positioned the cupboard in a scene to give it context and a more realistic feel.

I’m going to step through a series of options to specify the size of my cupboard. I’ll enter measurements for the height, width and depth, and then select the material that I want my cupboard to be made from.

With every change I make and every option I select, DriveWorks software is working in the background to update the model on screen, update selections and show an up to date price throughout. Once I’ve completed my selections, DriveWorks will create all the manufacturing details automatically. That includes the SOLIDWORKS 3D parts, assemblies and drawings, cut lists, BOM and much more.

Realistic 3D

The cupboard in this configurator example is shown in a realistic house interior 3D scene. The scene uses many of the 3D features in DriveWorks to add more visual interest to the configuration experience.

Screen-space reflections create a more realistic visual appearance, reflecting the walls, furniture and decorations on the floor and the cupboard.

Lighting effects such as Ambient Occlusion and Bloom are used to give realistic dark contrast and highlights.

An environment map has also been added to this scene, enabling glossy reflectiveness to appear on various surfaces, especially the wooden finish cupboard.

The glass appearance feature in Driveworks is used on the glass panels on the cupboard doors, giving them a shiny appearance, so they stand out and look more visually appealing.

Diffuse textures, specular textures and normal maps are crucial to creating a visually appealing scene.

The combination of all the 3D effects together adds high-quality realism to the configuration experience.

Changing Dimensions

The DriveWorks Form Designer has many different Form Control options you can use to make it easy for anyone to configure your products.

For changing dimensions, this example uses slider controls with a text input, as well as options for incrementally increasing and decreasing the values.

There are minimums and maximums set for each value, controlled by rules in the background.

As the height, width and depth changes, the model updates and you can immediately see the new configuration in the room.

DriveWorks technology has fully automated the SOLIDWORKS model and makes the changes upon input.

With every change made, the price and the details in the bottom right corner are updated to reflect the latest selections.

Choosing Materials

There are many DriveWorks Form Control options for displaying material and colour options.

This cupboard configurator has 4 material options – maple, beech, mahogany and gloss. When choosing gloss, a colour wheel appears to allow the user to choose from 6 colour options.

As a material is selected, the cupboard is updated, and the pricing reflected.

Selecting Door Style

There are 3 door styles available to choose from – flat, glass or shaker.

When choosing any of these options, the model is updated again and the price is adjusted.

This is just the start of what could be added to a cupboard configurator, you could also add options for number of doors, number of panes of glass, number of shelves, adding a lock – the possibilities are endless.

DriveWorks is flexible and scalable so you can start with the basics and add to it.

Interactive 3D

To improve interactivity and responsiveness, this cupboard example includes animation.

The doors open and close when clicked, or when using the Open/Close Doors button at the bottom of the form.

Whilst this doesn’t make any changes to the configured product, it gives the user a more interesting configuration experience, and is a good way to allow a clearer view of the product interior.

As you make changes to the cupboard, the transitions are smooth thanks to more animation. This smooth transition makes it much easier to see the difference each selection makes, for example when changing dimensions, the cupboard size updates as you move the slider.

3D is a key feature in DriveWorks and there are many other ways to make models interactive.

For example, in this cupboard configurator, you could add the ability to move and position shelves and handles based on where the user clicks on the model.

Adding Accessories

There are three handle options in this example and with intelligent rules and logic inside DriveWorks, if the colour of the model changes, the colour of the handle changes too.

Order Review

After following through each step on the easy to use forms, I now have a completed cupboard design.

In the review section, there are documents showing details of this custom order. There’s a cover letter, quotation, bill of materials and the cut list.

This is a great opportunity to review all of the selections made and at this point, it’s really easy to go back and make any changes to the custom design.

You can see how each document is unique to this specific order. DriveWorks has even calculated the number of dowells, screws and pins needed and assigned a number to each document.

There are sales documents and manufacturing documents displayed here. If your configurator is customer facing, you might not decide to show these details at this stage.

However if your sales teams or dealers and distributors are using your configurator to sell your products, the manufacturing documents are useful at this point.

Remember, this is just an example and you can set up your configurator to suit your products and business needs.

Automated & Custom Outputs

Once finished, we hit the ‘Complete’ button on the form and the order is submitted.

DriveWorks immediately generates the order-specific sales and manufacturing documents.

A cover letter and quote are both sent via email to the customer and the sales team.

A fully dimensioned drawing is generated automatically, saving valuable engineering time. The Drawing, Bill of Materials, Cut Lists and other files are sent to the manufacturing department so manufacturing can begin.

As the rules, logic and engineering knowledge have already been entered into DriveWorks, manufacturing can begin without engineers checking every detail and making changes to the design.

Rules mean customers, sales teams and distributors can only configure products that can be manufactured and the calculated outputs are correct.

The process is fully automated to reduce errors, improve quality and allow product designers and engineers to focus on innovating and improving.

Flexible, Scalable and Easy to Use

DriveWorks is versatile, fully customisable and easy to use so you can build a product configurator that suits your needs.

This cupboard configurator is just one example of how DriveWorks can be used and shows just some of the functionality available.

Have a go with this example, and see the many other product and industry examples at www.driveworkslive.com

Once you’ve explored how DriveWorks looks from the front end, head to the Technology section to take a look under the hood at the underlying technology inside DriveWorks and the functionality used to build a Design Automation and Sales Configurator solution.

Download a 30-Day Free Trial and See What’s Possible With DriveWorks Solo.

Eliminate Errors

DriveWorks rules based SOLIDWORKS® automation eliminates errors and expensive, time-consuming design changes.

Save Time & Innovate More

Automate repetitive SOLIDWORKS tasks and free up engineers to focus on product innovation and development.

Easy to Set Up, Maintain and Use

Deliver custom products faster and with greater accuracy, without using complex macros, design tables or code.

Download and Use DriveWorks Solo Free for 30 Days

Follow the 3 easy steps below to download the DriveWorks Solo 30 Day Free Trial and see the functionality for yourself.

Take The DriveWorks Solo Certification 

Take your knowledge further and validate your skills with the New DriveWorks Solo Certification

We have released a brand new DriveWorks Solo Certification. It’s available to anyone with DriveWorks Solo, including the 30 day free trial.

The certification is a great way to get off to the best start with your DriveWorks Solo design automation project.

The DriveWorks Solo Certification takes just 3 hours to complete, get certified and get the most from your 30-day free trial.

It’s completely free to complete the certification and take your knowledge further.

Build on your DriveWorks knowledge and skills and become more successful with your own DriveWorks projects.

Add an extra qualification to your resume and reduce repetitive tasks with DriveWorks Solo.

Learning Resources

Use the many resources we have available to help you get the most from your 30 day free trial.

Training Tutorial

Download the free Training Manual to learn how to use DriveWorks Solo step by step. There is also a training video for each lesson to make it even easier.

DriveWorks Community

Meet other users, share tips and tricks and find solutions in the DriveWorks Community. Get involved with the forums, watch how-to videos and download the training tutorial.

Videos

Head to the DriveWorks YouTube channel for an in-depth look at DriveWorks Solo with useful how-to videos and sample project walk through videos.

Webinars

Join the DriveWorks Solo Getting Started and DriveWorks Solo Online Training webinars to learn more, ask questions and get up and running quickly.

Sample Projects

Learn about DriveWorks Solo by downloading the sample projects and picking them apart to discover how each one was constructed and what it can do. Each project comes with a useful walk through video and a PDF with the key facts.

Online Help File

The DriveWorks Help File is packed with valuable information so you can find answers to your questions and learn what’s possible, following best practices and picking up tips and tricks. The search function makes it really easy to find what you’re looking for.

Little Book of Rules

Filled with examples of the rules used to automate designs with DriveWorks and a guide to the syntax you can use. Buy the Little Book of Rules here or tell us what you have achieved with DriveWorks and we’ll send you one for free.

ROI Calculator

Calculate ROI for DriveWorks Solo, based on automating one of your own products. It accounts for the cost of the software, the time it will take to implement and the savings that can be made and how soon you will benefit.

DriveWorks Solo Sample Projects

Download and explore our DriveWorks Solo Sample Projects to get started quickly and get inspiration for your own DriveWorks Solo projects.

DriveWorks World Goes Digital

Due to the global coronavirus situation, we made the very difficult decision to cancel DriveWorks World 2020.

The technical sessions we run at the event are extremely valuable and are part of our commitment to Helping You to Help Yourself.

We wanted to make sure you could still learn from the valuable content our technical team have worked hard to create, so we’re making the technical training sessions available online, free of charge.

Join us for Digital DriveWorks World 2020 – four days of online technical presentations and hands-on sessions.

The sessions are available to all DriveWorks Pro Customers with Subscription, DriveWorks Resellers and DriveWorks Partners. Even if you weren’t registered for DriveWorks World 2020, you can still join us for the digital version of the event.

Digital DriveWorks World will run April 20th-23rd 2020.

Find out more about the agenda and how to access the Digital DriveWorks World 2020 content below.

Joining Digital DriveWorks World 2020

You can access the sessions from anywhere. All you need is an internet connection and a DriveWorks Community account.

Glen will introduce the day’s sessions with a webinar at 10am and 4pm BST, make sure you sign up for these below.

Following the introduction webinar, the day’s technical sessions will available to download from the DriveWorks Community so you can watch the sessions at a time that suits you. You can pause and rewind the session to make following along easy, and we’ve created useful hand outs for each session too.

Monday, 20th April

DriveWorks Pro Essentials Training

Glen Smith, DriveWorks CEO, will kick off the first day of Digital DriveWorks World 2020 with a webinar at 10am and 4pm BST.

Learn more about how the DriveWorks World online technical sessions will run, how you can access the content and what you can expect to learn on day one of Digital DriveWorks World 2020.

Following Glen’s introduction, the DriveWorks Pro Essentials Training will be available to download from the Session Library in the DriveWorks Community.

Tuesday, 21st April

What’s New in DriveWorks 18

Since we can’t all get together for a physical What’s New event this year, we’re running an online session as part of Digital DriveWorks World 2020.

Glen will present this online What’s New in DriveWorks 18 session, exploring the latest features and functionality in DriveWorks 18.

This latest version has new features and enhancements for everyone. Learn about what we’ve added and how to make the most of the latest release whilst picking up tips and tricks on how best to apply and use the new functionality.

Wednesday, 22nd April

DriveWorks Pro Advanced Sessions:
Part One

Glen will introduce the first set of Advanced Sessions at Digital DriveWorks World 2020 with a webinar at 10am and 4pm BST.

Learn more about how the online Advanced Sessions will run, how you can access the content and what you can expect to learn from the sessions.

Following Glen’s introduction, a total of 16 Advanced Technical Presentations and Hands-On Sessions, presented by subject experts, will be available to download from the Session Library in the DriveWorks Community.

Thursday, 23rd April

DriveWorks Pro Advanced Sessions:
Part Two

Join us for the final introduction webinar of Digital DriveWorks World 2020 with Glen at 10am and 4pm BST.

Learn more about the online Advanced Sessions and what you can expect to learn from the sessions.

Following Glen’s introduction, another 16 Advanced Technical Presentations and Hands-On Sessions, presented by subject experts, will be available to download from the DriveWorks Community. After Glen’s introduction, log in and access the training sessions in the Session Library.

If you have any questions about accessing the sessions, please get in touch with us at events@driveworks.co.uk