Annoyed, highly, again

[MichaelBrenden]

The thing I notice about SW is its infallible tendency to get itself so tied up in a knot that escape is totally impossible - I'm constantly battling SW to make it do something that seems so simple yet it's so difficult because it's beyond reasonable grasp -- just like how French phrases are all backwards and out of order, compared to English, so too does SW backwards seem and order quite out often of (harming its otherwise yumminess).

Today's example:

Import DWG from AC as 2D sketch.

Of course the 2D-3D tools wrap the projectection in reverse from what I want, leaving it impossible to correct w/ the simplistic 2D-3D toolbar. One knot.

Next is inability to remove the "Model" "sketch" from the "Model" and an inability to change the sketch plane. I used quotes because a sketch that has no plane is not really a sketch (since mere mortals can't make a sketch WITHOUT a sketch plane). Yet SW sure can, and does, and then it locks you with inability to change the sketch plane. My "sketch" is stuck on the "Model" and does not even show the (right-click) option of "Edit Sketch Plane" - it's just not there. So I can't move the holes "sketch" to attach it, say, to the face it drills through - it just projects from never-never land called "Model".

I find SW doing **** like this constantly. It constantly has all these goofy little rules and secretive changes, and I'm constantly left grasping and annoyed.

Now, AC is truly much worse. I'm looking forward to trying Inventor.

Honestly I'm finding it's better just to start over, that the DWG import tools in SW really don't result in primary objects that resemble anything you can create yourself - the result of importing and using the 2D-3D tools is half-assed and difficult to edit later -- in my case tonight, locked out of being able to move the sketch plane...easier faster just to break out the ruler and calipers, throw away the old AC file, and start completely over. Seriously. And this is hardly the first time.

[MichaelBrenden]

Since that was just a needed venting, here's a question someone may know --

Start from import DWG into 2D, so I don't have a real model, I have an imported "Model" that's been generated by SW as some nebulous thing (i.e., no clear origin, no obvious sketch planes, line segments that can be magically "folded" by the 2D-3D toolbar, etc.)

From the "top" of the "Model" (which is removed by several inches above the model extrusion, which was created from the "left side" of the "Model" magically-folded projection -- look how ridiculous this is already, those are SW's special words and terms), I've used the "project cutout" button (far right) of the magic 2D-3D toolbar, using cut from face (of the resulting model) up to next face (of the resulting model). This works, there are holes in the model that are magically projected from the "top" of the "Model" (i.e., imported 2D DWG).

What I need is to somehow get a sketch of the holes on the face of the model, just exactly as would exist had I (more wisely) just drawn this whole thing from scratch by myself without any import or magical but confusing 2D-3D tools.

Convert Entities in sketch mode (of either the "Model" or the resulting 3d model itself) does not seem to work. I just need to project the holes made in the part onto anything that can then be edited normally, because ultimately (and I think reaosnably) I'd like to delete the original "Model" that was imported from DWG. If I delete it now, the "sketch" (i.e., "top" of "Model") that is creating the holes in the resulting 3d model goes away, screwing everything up.

Why do I feel like a pretzel? It often feels like using SW requires thinking in some unusual and tipsy manner... I'm sure the answer is so ridiculously easy. But it's so ridiculously not obvious.

[MichaelBrenden]

Another Martian thing -- adding dimensions to the imported sketch shows 0.1" in the drawing, but 4.0" in the modify popup box (during dim entry). WTF is going on with SW 2012 import??

[MichaelBrenden]

This thing is a disaster of complexity. Deleting the "top" of the "Model" of course deletes everything, except for the holes sketch that I managed to project onto a model face (using Convert Entities) and also the left-side sketch that I traced out from the 3d model that was magically projected from the 2D-3D magic toolbar. Now, however, somehow, the "sketch" exists perpendicular to the sketch origin. As far as I know, this is a situation that is completely impossible to get into when doing this traditionally, i.e., not importing from DWG. I could be a total moron, but IMO this thing is a total waste of time and I'm off now to make a new drawing from scratch using calipers and ruler. Good grief. C'est la vie.

[JD Mather]

... has all these goofy little rules and secretive changes, and I'm constantly left grasping and annoyed.

I'm looking forward to trying Inventor.

Inventor has it's own set of rules. Be sure to sign up for a class and get professional training from an expert.

[stevsmith]

How many practical hours do you have using Solidworks?
Have you had training?

or, has anyone actually shown you how to do what you are trying to do, or are you experimenting to get the finished results you require?

[MichaelBrenden]

A few days of cooling off show how hot and venting I was. Sorry about that, guys, and thanks for your attention. Thought I'd follow up since nobody likes dangling forum posts. The biggest problem with SW is that it's so damn good at what it does that the few things it doesn't do super well (or deeply) seem annoyingly and disproportionately painful. I did get the object half-imported and redrawn with help from the DWG, but instead of "folding" the "side" (of the portion of the DWG showing the "side") using the SW 2D-3D toolbar (and ending up with what still seems logically to me as lines drawn in an "impossible" Z dimension that I can not seem to otherwise create or manage outside of the 2D-3D toolbar), I ended up simply measuring the important distances (on the "side" and "top" DWGs) and then extruding from the SW 2D-3D "front face" as needed, and then deleted everything else that was imported. It's a tough job this conversion. End result in SW is perfect (and is out for quotes right now)...I'm still missing some hair clumps tho... My training consists of the excellent SW Professor series, the SW help, and many hours watching youtube and pressing on through.