SolidWorks 2011 Parts Bible - Matt Lombard [326]
The sites listed here are run by individuals, lack advertising, and contain information created by the owner of the site. They are my favorite types of places to find information. Even though most of these folks are not professional HTML coders, the information is useful and presented well.
• Rob Rodriguez (www.robrodriguez.com) features rendering topics. Rob used to host the PhotoWorks rendering contest, but that has moved to http://rendercontest.com/.
• Paul Salvador (www.zxys.com) has some nice models and images.
• Edgar Gidoni (www.ragde3d.com) is a prolific creator of beautiful SolidWorks models, and he writes nice step-by-step tutorials, many of which are free.
• Stefan Berlitz (http://solidworks.cad.de) is the unofficial German SolidWorks site. If you read German, this site is loaded with great information. Although it does contain some advertisements, I still consider it a non-commercial site.
• Scott Baugh (www.scottjbaugh.com) has several sample models and a section on tips.
• Mike Wilson (www.mikejwilson.com) has some amazing things posted to his site that he has done with SolidWorks. They are great models from which to learn. The site has not been updated for some time, but the models and techniques shown are fascinating.
Appendix B: What's on the DVD
In This Appendix
Reviewing the system requirements
Troubleshooting during the install of the DVD
Extract the contents of the file to your hard drive in a location that is easy to access. The DVD contains example and tutorial parts, assemblies, and drawings, as well as templates, macros, and tables as appropriate for each chapter. The files are organized within folders for each chapter and are named for the chapter and the function they demonstrate. Some of the files are starting points for tutorials, and some are finished models meant to be examined.
If you make changes to files, I recommend that you use the Save As command (File⇒Save As) to keep the original file intact. You also can retrieve originals from the DVD again if needed.
The DVD also includes several video tutorials. The videos are narrated, and offer another learning option to the print-only tutorials found in the book. The videos do not duplicate the print-only tutorials.
Caution
I do not recommend that you open files directly from the DVD or from the Zip file, because SolidWorks will respond with messages about read-only files.
System Requirements
Make sure that your computer meets the minimum system requirements listed in this section. If your computer doesn't match up to these requirements, you may have a problem using the contents of the DVD.
Windows versions
These requirements apply to Windows XP Professional, Windows Vista, and Windows 7:
• Intel and AMD processors, single, dual, or quad cores
• 1GB RAM minimum (2GB recommended)
• Virtual memory twice the amount of RAM (recommended)
• A certified OpenGL workstation graphics card and driver (Check the SolidWorks Web site for details: www.solidworks.com.)
• A mouse or other pointing device
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 minimum (IE 7 recommended)
• A CD drive minimum (DVD drive recommended)
For more details about the system requirements for SolidWorks 2011 and a list of certified graphics cards and drivers, visit www.solidworks.com.
Some older systems that run Windows XP Professional may not be compatible with Vista. Any hardware that runs Vista and most hardware that runs Windows XP should be able to work with Windows 7. For the latest information on system compatibility with Microsoft operating systems, visit www.microsoft.com. At this time, SolidWorks does not run on any non-Windows operating systems such as Mac OS X, Linux, or Google Chrome OS.
Realistically, you will never be satisfied with minimum requirements. If you are using PhotoWorks, PhotoView 360, or any simulation (Finite Element Analysis, or FEA) software, multiple processors or multiple cores are advantageous. Multi-body modeling makes use of multiple cores but also takes advantage of higher processor clock