[BFHammer]

Don't use Solidworks very often and am currently on 2008.
Also, still on Velocity4. Times are tight and I never thought the license $ was worth it.

However, I just quoted a job from pdf prints, won the job, and was sent all solidworks models (35 of them)
I stupidly installed the 2012 batch file last year to load solidworks 2012 files, converting them to surfcam.
Unfortunately this design firm we're working with runs SWX 2011 and the conversion program is not backwards compatible!!!!
Can't find the install files to go back. Anyone have them or know where I can get them?

The 2012 file was a *.bat that was to be unzipped to the c:\temp folder and installed from there.
Can't find any earlier versions. (This happens too often and I don't want to keep asking customers to spend time saving as parasolids)

TIA

[dholby]

Today Surfcam 2014 comes with Solidwork and Step file converters standard.
License update may now be worth it.

[BFHammer]

I'm trying to load a Solidworks 2011 file. I updated the converter some time ago to 2012, now it says it can't translate an older SWX file.
Not backwards compatible. I'm looking for the 2011 converter if anyone has it in their archives.
If I upgrade anything it will be Solidworks. Paid Surfcam maintenance for years and never felt I got my money's worth.

[machinster]

Times are tough all over, get on a payment plan, SurfCam will help you out with that as they do for many of their customers.

Other options are to buy SolidWorks ($5,000)... If you can't get enough money out of your work to do your work properly then you are either doing something wrong or you are in the wrong line of work.

I'm just saying...

[marine1775]

So I am just saying if you are trying to start or run a business as debt free as possible you have to explore all options. Being a long time Surfcam user I can say Velocity 4 was about as good as it got from Surfcam compared to recent versions. So if it is not broke don't fix it. I keep up with my maint. only because it is a good selling point to customers. What if I told you that you could open up native Solidworks, Inventor, ProE, Catia, STP, IGES, and Parasolid files for only $20.00 a month no obligation no contract pay as you go by the month. There is no need to by expensive file translators. The link is below:

https://forge.localmotors.com/design1/

The software is Solid Edge design1 from Siemens purchased through Local Motors first 30 days are free. Also, Surfcam 5.2 and 6 will open native Solid Edge files without purchasing translator not sure about V4. Or you can save the files as parasolid after opening in Solid Edge.

Of course it has limitations but again explore your options you can purchase subscriptions that are more expensive but more capable. I prefer Solidworks but I run a part time CNC consulting business and I can't afford Solidworks right now. I hope this helps!

[BFHammer]

Wow, thanks and I will check it out. 288 views of this thread and nobody had the 2011 translator files.
This seems like a viable alternative. Might even forward to my nephew who just got accepted to MSOE.

I get a lot of solids sent with no drawings. Kids coming out of engineering schools these days are getting really lazy.
They don't know how to dimension or tolerance stuff anymore. They get a little pissy when I ask for drawings or ask them to convert to parasolids.
Even when they do it the drawings are so bad that I started a collection and plan on emailing them along with a letter to some college deans.
A large manufacturing company regularly sends co-op students to me. I give them a lot of grief, it's fun. "I know it looks cool with all the fillets but you just tripled the cost"

The problem I have is that when converting to parasolid format, it strips out the info like whether a hole is threaded or not? Native solidworks can tell me.
Does Solid Edge conversion keep that or is it a "dumb solid"

Again, thanks for the help.

[marine1775]

Yea we run into the same problem. What drawings you do get the dims are all over the place. One of our customers is a world wide, multi-billion dollar a year company and all of their engineers are sending sketches made in google sketchup. I am like really!! And what working models or drawings we do get from them they have to go to their plant in India to have their ideas modeled and drawings made and that takes forever.

Unfortunately Solid Edge will not import the feature tree from Solidworks. But that goes back to the designer or engineer to at least provide a model with a print that has the needed info. I guess we are suppose to get the info we need through osmosis!!

[dholby]

Wow marine 1775, This is the same problem we all have. 3D prints ( solids or surface ) is all that most Company's are sending today. A hard copy is not sent out any more,and on the rare occasion
I do get a hard copy with half ass dims on it, there is a foot note on the print " All ref points or dims to be found from 3d data".
One of the best files I got was from a automaker, only 3d files, 6 months after the tools were made a hard uncontrolled print as send out, there was changes made and data points were noted.
It was fun talking to the customer that there files where not to a uncontrolled print but to there 3d prints. But in the end the 3D files won.

[moldcore]

If you still have the PDF files that you quoted from then why not use those to locate the tapped holes? Without some kind of “print” how does the manufacturer convey design intent, i.e. tolerances, concentricity, true position, materials, heat treat specs, etc.? Solids are great for programming but it’s only one of many items needed to get the job done. Even with a correct solid version your still going to need drawings. We use Parasolid or Step for most of our translating although Step has been suspect lately.

[marine1775]

moldcore, I agree the model is only part of the equation! Sometimes I think I need to start offering drafting services to these companies LOL!