We have been using SW2011 for just about 1 yr now. What reasons do others use to upgrade to the newer version of the software. We are very new to 3D in general. When do others upgrade? Coming from a 2D world, I usually lagged by one version to ensure most problems are addressed.
No matter which SP is current, one should upgrade to the latest version only after it has been thoroughly tested on a computer which will be used in production but only with a copy of the company's specific products.
David,
I would argue that you should consider upgrading only when there is a benefit in the new version that justifies the expense of the upgrade and the time lost to testing, installation, and learning. That benefit might be compatibility with your customers' or vendors' models, otherwise, you should be waiting for functionality that is worth the costs to you. If you decide that it's time for an upgrade, I'd strongly recommend waiting for as many service packs as you can. Unless I absolutely have to upgrade, I always wait for SP5.
Regards,
Walter
I agree with Kevin that the new version needs to be tested to verify that it works on your machines.
I like to upgrade early. If you find a problem that did not turn up in testing SolidWorks has time to fix it in one of the service packs. I have had instances where we updated late in the year and the problems did not get fixed because SolidWorks had already released the next year’s product. I have also had problems when we updated early in the year and the problem was fixed in the next service pack.
Dan Miel
SW 2011 SP3
Since we are project based, our changeover is a bit easier. As someone starts a new project, they can use the new version - we don't all have to change at the same time. So I generally participate in the beta testing to see how the new version is coming along. That way I can test it on our stuff the way we like to do things and there is still a good likleyhood of problems getting fixed in time for us to use it for production work.
Once SP0 is released, I usually start using it first, then add others as needed. But I will generally get everyone on board at least by SP1 or 2. Only once have I been bit by a bug that way and there has always been new stuff that was beneficial to us. For example, for 2012 you can now double-click a part in an assy to change its dims even though it may not be the active config of that part file. That's an hourly time saver for us. For users that have large part files (many features) the freeze bar will be an instant time saver.
So I'm on the upgrade early side of the discussion because I have probably already been testing it with our stuff.
WT
We always like to work with the latest version, as many of our customers are using the latest release of SolidWorks.
All of our production areas get upgraded first. I wait until CAMWorks and Esprit have released versions that are compatible with the latest release of SolidWorks. We do our change over in November/December time frame as that is typically when Esprit and CAMWorks has been upgraded.
After all of our production areas are upgraded, then we upgrade engineering. This assures that all our downstream users can open our files. We use solid models extensively in our manufacturing/inspection processes.
I also particiapte in the beta program and have a good handle on any issues with a SolidWorks release. Have not had any surprises with a release.
Cheers,
Anna
We used to upgrade when the SP 3.0 but did often get some bug/ problems that we missed during testing.
We are currently on 2011 SP 5.0 and that relase works fine for us, so we will not update some time soon.
David,
Welcome to the forum.
My general rule of thumb is we wait to about FDebruary after the new release
or SP 3.0 which ever comes first. Ususally by then most of the new bugs and major ones
are ironed out. But I am sure you will get a vast variety of perspectives. But my advise to you is keep monitoring this
forum and see what kind of issues crop up. If just little ones and nothing major maybe you will feel
it is ok to do it sooner.
Hope this helps.