SolidWorks and SAE

[Chris M.]

DS SolidWorks Corp. is offering sponsorship to all SAE and Formula teams. Please watch the following:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mbu-v7NsUI

[Jersey Tom]

Hoosier, huh?

I see how it is...

[Chris M.]

SolidWorks Education department now has a new series of videos for SAE Teams. Please have a look at:

http://www.youtube.com/view_pl...t?p=38088C14E31FAF31 (http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=38088C14E31FAF31)

[Chris M.]

More SAE videos have been added. Please watch at:

http://www.youtube.com/view_pl...t?p=38088C14E31FAF31 (http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=38088C14E31FAF31)

[SamB]

I assume its the version which has 'Eductaional use only' on drawings and screenshots?

[Chris M.]

Yes it is and this can all be done with the SolidWorks Student Edition. Sign your team up at www.solidworks.com/fsae (http://www.solidworks.com/fsae)

[HoggyN]

If anybody is using the current version of Solidworks Student Edition and is considering upgrading to Windows 7, then think again... it's not compatible.

Or does someone know better?

[DonMolina]

Originally posted by HoggyN:
If anybody is using the current version of Solidworks Student Edition and is considering upgrading to Windows 7, then think again... it's not compatible.

Or does someone know better?

It's not officially supported (MS and DS are Golden Partners and are pretty pedantic about that stuff) but I have tried my student 2009 version with Win7 Ultimate and so far had no problems.

Just be sure to install x86 (32-bit) because I don't think the Student version runs on 64-bit.
And if it's Win7 it has to be Pro or Ultimate (for whatever reason - probably some plugins are required for SW to run that are simply not available at lower tier Win versions).

Hope that helps http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

[TorqueWrench]

I am running the student edition on x64 7 with no problems.

[DonMolina]

Originally posted by TorqueWrench:
I am running the student edition on x64 7 with no problems.

Oh that's some really good news. Im looking to get a license for my PC and also upgrade my C2D Dual Core to a Quad Core and another 2 GB of RAM for good measure (6GB total). It still ain't a Xenon based workstation, but at least I should take the most out of it, right?
And later on the Precision Mobile will come (/love mode ON).

But here (http://www.studica.com/products/product_detail.cfm?productid=59984&p_name=SolidWorks-2009-2010-Student/Faculty-Edition) says that 64-bit is not supported, and I held back on the upgrade...

[HoggyN]

Thanks for the replies. After a bit of digging I found some useful info on the solidsolutions.co.uk website.


Windows 7 Compatibility:

1. SolidWorks EDU products 2010-2011 academic year (Education Edition, Student Edition, and Student Design Kit) will officially support the Microsoft® Windows 7 operating system. This new release is planned in the spring of 2010.

2. SolidWorks EDU products 2009-2010 are officially supported on Windows XP and Vista. While the SolidWorks EDU products 2009-2010 installation is not prevented on Windows 7, the products are not officially supported. This means that they have not been fully validated by QA and therefore the full scope of potential issues is not known. There will not be any SolidWorks product updates available for any Windows 7 specific issues. For an optimal experience with the SolidWorks EDU products 2009-2010, it is recommended that a user install on Windows XP or Vista.

3. Below is some general information of running SolidWorks EDU products 2009-2010 on Windows 7.

a. Since the graphics drivers included with Windows 7 do not support accelerated OpenGL, many SolidWorks features are not available. Running SolidWorks on Windows 7 requires a supported graphics driver for RealView graphics.

b. Running the 64-bit version of SolidWorks on the 64-bit version of Windows 7 requires Microsoft Office 2007 for full support of tables.

c. The 64-bit version of SolidWorks on the 64-bit version of Windows 7 does not display tables for SolidWorks files containing Microsoft Office 2003 components.

d. Certain SolidWorks dialogs may have missing information or buttons

e. Running SolidWorks in Windows 7 Compatibility Mode might help with some stability issues

Note: Running SolidWorks in Windows 7 Compatibility Mode:

1. Right mouse click on the SLDWORKS.exe file in the installation folder

2. Choose the Compatibility Tab and select “Run this program in compatibility mode for:” Windows Vista or XP

[Adambomb]

We are currently running the 2009-2010 version on our new powerhouse CAD computer with 64-bit 7 professional. Used the Vista 64-bit install disk. It works just as well as it does on my box at home running XP-64 (as in occasional lockups, but tolerable...just save often!).

No issues with graphics performance either; I have a hard time believing that 7 doesn't support accelerated OpenGL...that would be a nail in the coffin in terms of running a lot of engineering software.

[Adambomb]

Originally posted by Adambomb:
No issues with graphics performance either; I have a hard time believing that 7 doesn't support accelerated OpenGL...that would be a nail in the coffin in terms of running a lot of engineering software.

Just had one more thought on this...IIRC OpenGL drivers usually come with your graphics card drivers...so in other words as long as your display drivers are correct, no worries. But then again that's always the case http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif .

[t21jj]

Originally posted by Adambomb:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Adambomb:
No issues with graphics performance either; I have a hard time believing that 7 doesn't support accelerated OpenGL...that would be a nail in the coffin in terms of running a lot of engineering software.

Just had one more thought on this...IIRC OpenGL drivers usually come with your graphics card drivers...so in other words as long as your display drivers are correct, no worries. But then again that's always the case http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif . </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

+1 I'd never run the windows default drivers.

[BMH]

To the teams sponsored by SW, how often, and when do you guys re-apply for sponsorship with them? I'm assuming that since this season/year is wrapping up, a lot of teams are re-applying this summer? Thanks!

[RollingCamel]

I've got the student 2009-2010 version. Crashes a lot on my laptop when it becomes memory hungry.

Needs more ram and faster hard-drive.

[Dash]

BMH,
We actually reapply during the first semester or so in the fall every year. So long as you always have a copy, I don't see why you would need a specific time to try and get the new version. Old files can always be opened with the newer version!

[Adambomb]

We've always sort of made it a habit to get the order in a couple weeks before classes start every year, not sure exactly when the new version is released but we mostly just try to keep our stuff on schedule with the rest of the university computers (which generally get the new version installed some time over the summer).

One more update on Win7 and 64 bit compatibility: We now have 2 of our computers running 64 7 pro; the one I mentioned earlier appears to have become less buggy, I'm guessing through Windows updates. The second one is running just as solid as any XP 32 bit machine. Since then I've also put it on my new laptop running 64 bit 7 Home Edition (not supposed to work, I know http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif), but it has performed absolutely flawless.

My XP 64 bit machine at home, however, is a different story. Pretty much as long as I've had it on there I've gotten the habit of always opening Solidworks 3 times, as you have a pretty reliable 1/3 chance of it making it all the way open (and with a quad core it really doesn't take any more time). It has also gotten a lot buggier, and is a huge pain to work with right now. But then again, XP-64 was sort of a bastard child to begin with. One of these days I'll really have to get around to putting 7 on it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Also, a good friend showed me this little trick, which should be great for all us poor college students trying to get the most out of our non-workstation graphics cards:

Nvidia GeForce to Quadro Soft-Mod (http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=539&pgno=0)

From what I hear it works on most 5000-8000 series Nvidia GeForce graphics cards. I've got it working at home on my XP-64 box with a 7900 GS, one in the lab running XP-32 with an 8600 GT, and one running 7-64 with an 8600 GT.

The deal is that most Quadro cards use the same GPU as GeForce cards. There are different numbers of shaders, bla bla bla, but the Quadro drivers, which have hardware acceleration optimized for OpenGL (as opposed to DirectX), can be made to work on the GeForce gaming cards, which cost about 1/10 to 1/3 as much (big deal when talking $40 compared to $450!).

Basically you're changing the card's ID in software from a GeForce card to a Quadro card (example, my GeForce 7900 GS is now listed as a QuadroFX 3500, both use the G71 GPU; GeForce 8600GT is now a QuadroFX 1700, both use the G84 GPU). After you've done that you can install Quadro drivers. Performance increases in Solidworks have been reported as up to 300% (not sure how to benchmark it, but mine does seem about 3 times faster now). Another cool deal: Realview graphics are also unlocked. http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_cool.gif