Inside SolidWorks (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This book takes a process-oriented approach to mastering the ins and outs of SolidWorks 98, one of today's most popular Windows-native, parametric modeling applications. Exercises in each chapter provide hands-on practice opportunities based on design work typically performed with SolidWorks, such as castings, turned parts, injection molding, sheetmetal, surface treatments, drawings, assemblies, and more. Exercise files, plus five additional chapters covering advanced features and functions, are contained on the CD-ROM that accompanies the book.

About the Author

David Murray is Training Manager for CADimensions, a computer-aided design software, hardware, and networking solutions provider based in East Syracuse, NY. Murray, a Certified SolidWorks Instructor, is the author of the first two editions of Inside SolidWorks and contributing writer for Solid Solutions magazine. He is widely regarded as one of the most prolific SolidWorks authors in the CAD industry.

Product Details

• Paperback: 508 pages
• Publisher: OnWord Press (Acquired Titles); 1 edition (November 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566901847
• ISBN-13: 978-1566901840
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,873,180 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

117 of 119 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great introduction to a lot of nuances in the software, August 12, 1999

By A Customer

People who go to the SolidWorks user group on Deja News know Dave Murray as a regular poster who really knows his stuff; his book confirms the breadth of his knowledge, and does it in the same easy to access style that he writes with to the newsgroup. I had been a 40+ hour a week user of SolidWorks for over a year when I ran across Inside SolidWorks. Reading this book got me excited, because even after all of my time with the software (with tons of experimentation and late nights attempting to create 'challenging' parts) this book opened my eyes to a lot of stuff that I would have never thought to try on my own and would otherwise have had no real good reason to know. Every few pages I ran across a little nugget that increased my productivity, or encouraged me to try something I didn't know was possible. Though the majority of it will be review, I think that advance users will get their 50 bucks worth just out of learning a few things that will get them home a little earlier. (note to advanced users: don't expect to learn much new stuff about sweeps, lofts, or filleting. In depth details on these black arts are beyond the scope of this book)

It's beginners, however, that will realize the greatest benefit. After doing the standard 30 minute jump start tutorial, I would recommend that a new guy put aside the tutorial book that comes with the software and instead spend their time digging into Inside SolidWorks. It does a very clear job of introducing the software (especially the mindset required for modeling with a feature based modeler), with a special focus on how to avoid the standard problems and sidestep the pitfalls that new users usually encounter. I wish that I had Inside SolidWOrks when going through the steep part of my learning curve.

The big disappointment with the book? Like most SolidWorks tutorials, this book almost completely sidesteps the most challenging and potentially rewarding part of using the software: building parts in the context of an assembly (what is often called the 'top down' method). An extra chapter on 'in context relationships', good modeling practices when building parts from inside assemblies, and a good introduction on how parametric relationships can make or destroy your parts would have made this a five star book. Every user who builds from the top down knows the crushing pain of moving a component in an assembly and seeing the feature trees of some or all of his/her components turn red with rebuild errors (the guy I sit next to refers to this phenomenon as seeing his screen fill with blood); I would have liked to see the author tackle this complicated issue with the same thoroughness and competence that he approaches all of the other subjects

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not a very good Reference book, January 2, 2006

By	P. Perk - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Inside Solidworks (Paperback)

I have learned three CAD systems; AutoCAD, Pro/E, and SW in the past six years. By far, SolidWorks is the easiest and the finest product in my opinion. I have read numerous CAD instructional manuals, books, and taken countless instructional classes.

I have been using SW for two plus years, and I needed a hard copy of various commands and procedures for a quick reference, namely a reference book. As one reviewer stated, "This is the big fat reference book." The author stated, "this invaluable how-to and reference manual clearly marks functionality specific to SolidWorks 2006 for users who have not yet upgraded to the latest release."

The book is fairly clear and concise in certain areas, but is lacking big time in others; "under explained sections and unfriendly syntax. The way the book provides information is very bewildering and chaotic. There are few major changes between 2005 and 2006, but there was a major change in the Hole Wizard that was not captured in the book. I wonder how many other changes are missing?

I would not advise this book as a reference book, or a SW book for any serious user.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not even for free, July 22, 2003

By	Nedi Bourne (West Kingston, RI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Inside SolidWorks 2003 (Paperback)

I obtained a copy of this book for free. I read the reviews:
"This book is full of errors when it comes to SolidWorks 2003".

"One feels the author was too lazy to create a real world set of examples and instead loves to hear himself expound on his CAD knowledge (which sadly is very faulty)".

"Why do people buy a book like this"?

But, it was free. I know now why the person gave me the book... It was not worth the time I spent looking through it. Do not make the same mistake I did. This was not a helpful or useful book.