Model Based Definition (MBD) is becoming more and more prevalent in today’s designs. Through SOLIDWORKS MBD and the DimXpert tool, we can add our dimension and tolerance data directly to the 3D model, helping to eliminate the need for 2D drawings, while more effectively communicating our designs. Keep reading to learn how SOLIDWORKS Inspection 2018 now allows us to utilize this information to create first article inspection reports right from the 3D model.
Watch the video below to learn about Inspection Reports from parts and assemblies:
>> Stream the full SOLIDWORKS 2018 Launch Video
What are Inspection Reports for Parts and Assemblies?
Inspection Reports are critical information, such as dimensions, tolerances and other annotations that are instantly recognized and extracted to create a bill of characteristics. Selecting one of the annotations in the characteristics tree displays its inspection information and allows further customization of properties such as the inspection method. It also highlights the corresponding dimension or annotation in the graphics area, making navigation quick and easy.
Once all the inspection characteristics have been collected, a first article inspection report can be easily created using a variety of industry standards or a customized report specific to your organization.
How do Inspection Reports impact your workflow?
SOLIDWORKS 2018 allows us to leverage our 3D designs even further and speeds up the inspection process even more. Plus, SOLIDWORKS also made Inspection more accessible to users with other software. Since DWGs are now fully supported in the standalone application, Inspection documention is now a three-step process consisting of:
- Importing a DWG, TIFF, or PDF file
- Clicking the characteristics to capture them using the new to 2018 Smart Capture tool
- Exporting to create a ballooned drawing and an Inspection Report
Want to see more of our engineers’ top 11 SOLIDWORKS 2018 features? Stay tuned to our blog, or download the infographic below!
