It seems that the newer version of SolidWorks I installed, the more glitches it has, more no responding, more crashes, more chances to make me close and reopen the file for modeling ...
It is the same for my co-workers. I am working on refrigeration area. Can't imagine how people working on automobile industries in using SolidWorks to handle much more parts ...
Thanks for reply. Actually, the performance of the SW2015 in my computer (4 years old) is not a lot different from that of SW2014. Just experienced more no responding, more crashes for less than a month after installing SW2015.
Maybe, just for the sake of sanity, check the video card compatibility. Sometimes that changes from release to release...?
I miss Pro/E - Creo whatever it's called now. Spent 11years on Pro/E 1996-2007 and 5 years on SW 2010-2015
SW has never be overly stable, but I agree it seemed better 2009/10... the faster I click now, the more unstable it is. Just a gut feel.
I wonder if SW has just degraded over time due to the fact it's not the #1 product for Dassault? You can't really serve two masters...
I have found success with playing with graphics drivers, not ness. using the latest drivers. This was the same as Pro/E too. EPDM doesn't seem to affect my 2015 too much, but at times it crashes and have to restart both explorer and SW. File-sizes or how SWs copies the data over and over through parts into Assemblies may explain some stability issues? Like trying to do too much and not fully testing out the releases.
Finally... SW can learn from Pro/E... which used to release two versions per year regardless of quality. Once they made the decision to abandon quick releases (to justify the maintenance??), they released some very stable versions.
Dassault should focus on stability and performance IMHO
SOLIDWORKS 2015 seems to be very touchy when it comes to video cards and drivers. Other programs I've used may be glitchy or show lines incorrectly if I had the wrong driver installed. It seems SOLIDWORKS will flat shut off if it doesn't like something. Not a big deal if you have a fairly new computer but we have computers here that are just over three years old that have video cards that are no longer supported in SW 2015.
A couple years ago at our local roll-out event they informed us about how Solidworks had been somehow re-written to make it faster. They did some demonstrations that showed the increased speed. I wonder if Solidworks was better before that re-write...or maybe I should say it probably WAS better. Something must have been done in the code that made Solidworks more glitchy and prone to crash.
I keep saying that Solidworks needs to follow the Hyundai quality procedure, not the current procedure of voting on enhancements. Hyundai doesn't wait for a huge number of reports of problems before fixing a problem. That is the GM way. Hyundai fixes issues very quickly as they come up. This has resulted in excellent quality and reliability for their cars, and great customer satisfaction. Solidworks carries the same bugs and problems year after year, and nobody fixes them because they don't get enough "votes." That's a flawed way of operating if you want customers to keep using your product.
I totally experience the same thing. There is no concern at Dessault for user experience or productivity--they're just milking a brand until it dries out. In contrast, look at a program like the game "Cities: Skylines": the developer has weekly updates to fix all manner of bugs and incompatibilities. That developer doesn't say "have you tried rolling back your video card driver hurr durr", they say "look a bug, let's fix it."
On the plus side, the original Solidworks team is hard at work on a browser-based cloud CAD and PDM (OnShape) and it looks like it's progressing well. In 5 years, we won't have to deal with Solidworks at all.
We always wait tell SP5 to upgrade and avoid most bugs. Sometimes I second guess it but reading post like this confirms it's a good choice.
As for the worst SW version 2007 was the the equivalent to AutoCAD Release 13. For other 2D veteran's no more explanation is needed. To everyone else I ask one question. How do you think SW surpassed Autodesk for MCAD market share? Answer: A far superior and a STABLE product!
Exactly. That is what I always say in the crash reports and some surveys - fix the bugs first please!
It must be your computer - video or other hardware, I am seeing a lot less crashes since we downloaded 2015 - there is no comparison to 2013 or even 2014, I used to crash at least once a day or more, now it's hardly once a month.
People don't realize what design intent has to do with SW, it's how you start the design process and feature tree management, mostly to avoid issues like you see
What my understand is that the program should be robust enough no matter how users want to use it. Just like a video game, no matter what actions or strategies the players apply, it should keep running till finished.
Wow, you're expectations are higher than I thought let me know when you find that software
Design intent... not the right word. You can accomplish a lot of things in SW using different techniques, some solutions are not ness. the best solution and the tool can struggle, it won't ness. crash but you can have a terrible time trying to undo ppl's choices on who parts/assy were created.
This can lead to performance issues more then stability issues I think (like a helical thread on a bolt/nut etc...).
Design Intent, as first described by Pro/E well before SW, is crucial to the success of the tool.
And AutoCAD 13 - ya that version blows. Don't mistake though that SW didn't overtake AutoCAD b/c it's a more stable tool... 3D has overtaken 2D as a method of choice to design, and SW is a good entry level tool more most companies.
I used to work on Unigraphics, which is more robust program as I see. Usually, it only crashes or does not response when running out of memory.
Untrained or less experienced users cause more crashes in SolidWorks? That is unacceptable for me.
I have had some things happen that were less than what I expected. I have also had things go toward the positive most times.
I would suggest that anyone experiencing problems take the time to specify the problem as succinctly as possible. A careful explanation of the problem will help get a more satisfactory resolution than generalities.
Please let us help solve your problems.
HA HA!!
I just got a call from a local VAR asking me if I wanted to renew my expired subscription with them. I stopped them while they were hyping all the new features available, and told them the real world hindered use of SW is far more impacted with the numerous glitches, bugs, and down right agonizing sluggish responsiveness than any significant lack of bells and whistles. The already existing bells and whistles should be able to actually make some noise before they try and partially deliver more. As I hung up, SW sent me the latest community activity with this lovely thread.
Hey SW, fix my noted bugs dating as far back as 2008, promise not to undo it again in the next SP, then maybe you can earn some of my paycheck if you also stop making me look bad in front of my customers as I try to explain to them it is normal to see a crash followed by a note that "Solidworks has stopped working," and how they should feel comfortable their money is being well spent on competence.
No, I do not hate the software, actually still use it as my primary, I am just frustrated with years of no resolution and the perceived cold shoulder since I only have one seat.
SW please earn my support again.
I have found fewer crashes (but still too many!) now but it may also be because I upgraded my complete system not long before switching to 2015. The new hardware helped with 2014 but the other half of the equation was going to 2015 which fixed some issues I still had with 2014.
That said, I still have a big issue with things like consistency and response speed. Over the past year I've decided to submit 90% of my 'issues' to my VAR and they've been hard at work trying to answer my concerns. They respond very quickly however I have to report that far too many times they don't have a good answer for me even when they go back to solidworks for answers!
To date I have over 20 outstanding issues still on the books and from the list of service requests out there I see this is just a drop in the bucket.
If SW truly uses a voting system for fixing bugs then I don't feel there is hope for this developing into a solid product for my mechanical design needs.
I am a heavy user of the solid modelling environment developing complex mechanical systems and was informed that Solidworks was the tool capable of handling this. In my humble opinion it is not yet there.
have you had a look at onshape, ?
Onshape is a cool program, but since it doesn't have sheet metal, surfacing or even drawings yet, it's not a substitute for SolidWorks.
I was feeling your pain about crashes more often with new versions. Then I had a thought about all the things my computer is doing above and beyond running just an operating system and SolidWorks. I thought about all the "stuff" our IT department pushes into and forces our machines to prioritize. How old is the operating system core that most of us are using Windows 7, from 2007-ish? I know my Workstation is solid good hardware, but it got to the point where it regularly would not respond to keyboard strokes and mouse clicks. This happened weather SolidWorks was running or not. But it is more likely to happen inside SW because the program needs resources that it is not allowed to have priority with.
I have seen it now at 5 different companies over the last 10 years. IT departments don't understand how to build and maintain a high performance CAD workstation. They treat them exactly the same as the secretary's PC that she plays Solitaire on.
I re-built a workstation from a Dell T3600 that was left behind after another employee left. It was completely wiped and built with Windows 7, Anti-virus, MS Office, SolidWorks, and Chrome. SolidWorks works perfectly on a 3000+ part assembly occupying 8+GB of working Memory. Then I installed WebEX, for a meeting and found issues with SolidWorks. I believe video sharing capable software drop hooks between the CAD system and the Video Card drivers. If you have WebEx and Skype or comparable screen sharing, expect to have glitches. I removed WebEx and cleaned up after it and my system has returned to Hyper-performance.
We can't all do what I did and bust away from IT's all powerful control. Most of us are just users within the companies system. Know that the software you are using is the finest PC based CAD I've worked with (I also manage CREO/ Pro-E and NX for our division). If you can't build and manage your own system, at least recognize that SolidWorks may not be entirely to blame for the issues you experience.
You lost me at "finest". No disrespect, but 3000+part assy that prob. takes 5min to open etc...
Be fair, finest!!?? Almost as if you are saying best package ever. I agree about your IT thoughts, and other software installed can hurt a clean install.
NX I agree is not the finest... but you calling SW "The finest PC based CAD..." in-spite of ppl's honest comments, made my day.
I have no beef with SW (it gets the job done - slowly)... but I've been in 3D (100%) since 96 and from a purely capabilities and performance standpoint... SW is Fine... but saying it's the Finest? I'm in a nxt generation // universe...
IMHO of course, don't mean to start more downward spiraling threads, then again... maybe I do
Although I don't have WebEx or Skype or anything similar installed on my computer, I think your comment is reasonable. Thank you for your thoughts.
Hi @Yang Zhang:
I use to think the same thing. My biggest issue was that Solidworks will crash if the GPI is 10,000.
There is of course a lot of reasons for problems, such as other programs interfering, or older hardware parts. Try these steps to fix issues.
1)Make sure you don't have any add-in turned on that you are not using, the more add-ins the more issues, I just turn an add-in on right before I use it.
2) Run a solidworks RX. Start>all programs> solidworks (year)> soldworks tools> soldiworks Rx, then click on the Diagnostics tab. Make sure your diver is up to date, and resolve any issues you see.
3) Make sure windows is up to date (other wise the computer will just have issues)
4) Run a disk Cleanup, and then run a defragment.
5)Check you windows ratings. Go to Start> right click computer and select properties> and under the system section, click the link beside ratings and run a windows test. This will tell you where you weaker hardware is, so if you need to replace something you can. I ahve a cheap harddrive so my rating is a 5.9 but I do not get glitches, I do crash but that is due to the GPI overload.
6) If you can, work with SP5. The last version means fewer bugs, you might find it worth it to use solidworks 2014 sp5 before you use solidworks 2015 2.0, due mainly to bugs.
7) Clean up your solidworks back up.
8)If nothing is fixing it, try doing a clean uninstall of solidworks. I have had to re install solidworks.
9) In extreme issues you may try saving what needs to be saved and wiping the computer, this will fix registry issues, and hidden programs causing issues, and open up room on your computer.
Before you try 7-9, see if there is anything you can do in the way you build it to make it work faster. Try to
2) Don’t model everything if you can help it.
3) Use configurations at all times.
4) Don't mate to much. Try mating to primary planes or use minimal mates
5) Use Lightweight models where you can.
In short Solidworks is a lot like a car, it needs tune ups , the better the parts the better you will be, and one must always use it as it was intended. Unless a car is designed for it, a car must stay on the road. Well solidworks was designed in a way so when you put it together you can do great things, if you try to do a lot of mates with no subassemblies, and no configurations, you may be looking at a bumpy ride. The program has its bugs and limitations, every cad software does. When my company first got solidworks it didn't even do all that it claimed, and with bug fixes it was corrected. The program has its limits, but the more you work with it the more you will learn how to get what you want out of it.
Excellent point about the GDI max issue. You can track your GDI Objects in Task Manager by adding the GDI Objects column to your processes tab. Win XP used to have a hard limit on 32 bit programs and would cause SolidWorks Explorer (was 32 bit) to hard crash every time it hit 2,000 GDI Objects.
On your SolidWorks settings, General, I recommend disabling the "Show thumbnail graphics in Windows Explorer". If you monitor your GDI Objects you will see that every time you open a new directory, WE will retain each image as GDI Objects. And since WE never closes, it will continue to build and build until it crashes.
Cheers,
Kevin
What version? If newer version and using an older computer, a hardware upgrade may be necessary. When going from SW2008 - SW2009, I had a pretty profound performance difference between the two on the same computer. I upgraded hardware and everything was pretty good until upgrading from 2013 - 2014. I started noticing a performance difference again. Before I install 2015, I am going to upgrade my computer again.