What’s New in DriveWorks 20 – Design Automation
What’s New in DriveWorks 20
DriveWorks 20 delivers brand new features and functionality across the key areas of DriveWorks, Design Automation, Scalability, Usability & UX, DriveApps and DriveWorks 3D.
DriveWorks 20 includes new additions and updated enhancements that have been suggested by the DriveWorks Community to enhance the capabilities of what has been possible with previous releases.
Discover new additions and updates that have been delivered in this latest release.
Design Automation & PDM
Industry leading SOLIDWORKS automationÂ
New and updated features to utilize the full potential of design automation in DriveWorks.
Scalability
Cloud support and enterprise wide deployment
Continued development to support the management of an enterprise wide deployment.
Usability & UX
Making DriveWorks even easier to implement
Focused visual updates and enhancements add further functionality and user-friendly improvements across DriveWorks.
DriveWorks 3D
Configure custom products in 3D on any device
Improvements to make interactive 3D visualizations, for the desktop and web, realistic and performant.
What’s New in DriveWorks 20
Design Automation
Pre-Close Generation Task Sequence
Some time ago we extended the ability in DriveWorks to drag in a Generation Task Pre-Drive and Post-Drive. In DriveWorks 19, we extended that functionality significantly by adding Pre and Post-Copy and then Post-Close Generation Task sequences, giving you more control over the files you are generating.
Since implementing these new features, there was still one sequence we hadn’t added and that was Pre-Close. In DriveWorks 20, we have added a Pre-Close Tasks feature to run after the Finish Up sequence. This takes place after DriveWorks has done the Post-Drive, driving additional file formats, file saving and driving any required drawings.
This allows you to perform additional Generation Tasks after a file has been fully driven but before it has been closed. An ideal use case being the new Pack and Go Generation Task.
New Generation Task – Re-jog Ordinate Dimensions
Positioning dimensions is one of the jobs that can take the most time when creating a perfect drawing. For anyone who uses Ordinate Dimensions on your drawings, you will see that when you drive them through DriveWorks those dimensions can overlap each other following generation. In DriveWorks 20, we have added the ability to re-jog ordinate dimensions automatically using the new Re-jog Ordinate Dimensions Generation Task.
This Generation Task will run the SOLIDWORKS ‘Re-jog Ordinate’ command on the specified dimensions, automatically Re-jogging Ordinate Dimensions to tidy up overlapping Ordinate Dimensions following generation.
When setting up the Ordinate Dimensions, you will only need to use one dimension, if it’s part of that ordinate dimension set, then they will all get re-jogged. Using this Generation Task is a quick and easy way to line up all your Ordinate Dimensions and let SOLIDWORKS do the hard work.
New Generation Task – Replace View Component Reference
In DriveWorks 20, we have added the ability to replace a component in a view. This Generation Task updates the model reference of one or more views.
This task can be used to re-reference the component being shown in a drawing view.
With two properties, this Generation Task is easy to set up. The first property is the view, and the second one is the model you’re driving.
In the example to your right, you can see the table is paired with a chair. We have a separate sheet that has the views of the chair that isn’t being driven, it’s just been referenced. We can now swap that in and change the component that’s referenced in the view, on a view by view basis.
New Generation Task – Set View Relative Position
This new Generation Task sets the position of a view relative to its sheet or relative to another view.
This allows you to have more control over positioning views relative to each other and the sheet. It also simplifies Drawing View Position automation.
Positioning views is something we’ve been able to do for a long time inside DriveWorks. Normally, you position the view by driving the top and the left position on the sheet. We then added a Generation Task allowing you to rescale a view. We then added a Generation Task to position the view.
The purpose of adding this Generation Task is about setting the view relative to something else. Something else is either the sheet or another view. Although referencing a sheet might seem quite straightforward and something we could already do driving rules for it, this new task allows you to relatively position views and gives you even more control over the Drawings you generate.
New Generation Task – Pack And Go
This new Generation Task added in DriveWorks 20 will perform a SOLIDWORKS Pack and Go on the component it has been applied to.
This gives you the ability to automatically create a distributable set of newly generated models before the new assembly is closed.
Now you have the ability to take what you have done and package it all up ready to send over to someone. This means, you can now take a model with its accompanying files and drawings and create a zip file of it. This zip file can also be easily stored and used for backup purposes.
New Generation Task – Set Annotation Position(s) By Distance
During DriveWorks World 2021, we received an enhancement request to give the ability to Set an Annotation Position by Distance.
We’ve had the ability to position dimensions for quite a long time in DriveWorks by capturing them. However, usually, that was about putting them back where they originally were relative to the left, the right, the top or the bottom of the view. Quite often, that wasn’t enough. We then added a Generation Task to be able to set an Annotation Position by a percentage of a view. Allowing you to set it a percentage of the way along.
This new Generation Task gives you the ability to have even more granular control over Annotation Positions.
Updated Generation Tasks – Set Annotation Position(s) by Percentage
Set Annotation Position(s) was added in a previous version of DriveWorks.
The previously named Set Annotation Position(s) has been renamed to Set Annotation Position(s) by Percentage. This is to help differentiate between the two types of set Annotation Position task: Set Annotation Position(s) by Percentage and Set Annotation Position(s) by Distance.
Please note: Older Set Annotation Position(s) Generation Tasks will perform as normal with their type being updated to the new name.
Download DriveWorks 20
DriveWorks Resellers and Customers with an Active Subscription Support Contract can download DriveWorks 20 from the DriveWorks Community.
Find out what you’ll need to download the latest release.
