Smart Fasteners

[TateJ]

We already had our hardware strategy set-up before SMART FASTENERS came about. We have all our hardware modeled & each part has configurations for all the materials & our part numbers in the CUSTOM PROPERTIES. In other words - we're "good to go". But I'm curious about these. Before I invest the time to learn all about them - I'm wondering if anyone can give me reasons to switch all this over to SMART FASTENERS. What are the goods, bads & uglies here? just spend a very few minutes looking at a tutorial, but I have some work that needs getting done. I suppose I could have our VAR drive over a give a demo, but why not ask the "real" experts...

Thanks.

tatej usfilter.com​

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

I don't use SF, but I don't believe you can just "switch over" all the existing parts you have created. I believe you will have to recreate all the hardware or at the very least modify the existing hardware to include "Insertion points".

I stand to be corrected though if others know differently.


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[DesignSmith]

Smart Fasteners helps if you have through bolted parts where design changes often affect part thickness, or if you often have shallow blind tapped holes.
It will automatically steer you towards having standard lengths, and will flag the fasteners when a part design change invalidates the fastener length in the assembly.
It also helps by keeping the mates intact if you ever need to change head type or fastener size & length. (size changes can be made on the fly without deleting and re-inserting)
However, if you have multiple users working on 1 assembly, or large groups working from the same fastener library; you must set up the Toolbox library per the instructions for multi-user access. (SW parts are not inherently multi-user files like databases are...) Otherwise the potential file collisions will have you cursing each other and the software.

If you are not already using prior version Toolbox hardware for your fastener library, there is no way to convert your parts into Smart Fasteners that are ready to use. At some point you will need to re-enter your existing configuration information into the Toolbox library database.


DesignSmith

http://www.DesignSmith-Services.com

 

[bluesman0007]

I've searched... can anyone direct me to the instructions for setting up the toolbox for say two users so we don't get the "can't find the correct fastener...." you know how it goes. Pulling up an assembly from another computer and the fasteners are seldom correct. Thanks in advance.

 

[Drewd]

I just did this yesterday...

1.Copy the "Solidworks Data" folder from your local drive (C:\Program Files\Common Files\) to a shared drive.

2. For each solidworks machine, you will need to edit the toolbox.ini file (C:\Program Files\SolidWorks\Toolbox) on that workstation to point to the "Solidworks Data" folder on the server. change the "ToolboxPartFolder=" from existing to point to the shared folder.

One minor problem. Each user's toolbox files have probably been customized. They will have to reenter thier parts in the shared toolbox. But in the long run it should be better.

I hope this helps,

Drew

 

[SBaugh]

http://files.solidworks.com/Supportfiles/Toolbox_Multiuser/2005/English/toolbox_installation.htm

Regards,

Scott Baugh, CSWP
3DVision Technologies

http://www.3dvisiontech.com

http://www.scottjbaugh.com

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[TateJ]

It seems that SMART FASTENERS does way more that we'll need. 95% of the time I use hex head cap screws, nuts & washers - nuttin' fancy. Also the hole sizes are well esatablished & never change. Occasionally the material changes & we simply switch configs in the hardware. I suppose there'd be very little value added for me to switch over to the smart ones. But - if my work load drops enough for me to start scavenging for work - then I could justify spending a good bit of time on it.

Thanks for all this good advise, though...

tatej usfilter.com​