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Sam · Guest

Has anybody tried running solidworks on a tablet pc? I am slightly
interested in getting one for personal use and I would load solidowrks
on it but for only for very light usage, not for heavy work or for
production work. What are the benefits to using a tablet pc?

Sam

Richard Doyle · Guest

Sam,
I've got an old Motion 1200 that runs SolidWorks "okay". The 1200 was
an 866Mhz, I had a gig of ram on it. Small assemblies, prismatic parts
- nothing heavy duty. The biggest issue is the pen input, using the
"pop-up" keyboard is very slow for placing numbers in dialog boxes
(dims, mate values, etc). Once you've used it for a while, you get
better at it, but I would NEVER try to complete a drawing for example.

There are some good things about the tablet though. The pen is great
for view manipulation (pan, zoom, etc), and for copy/dragging parts
from the tree - you can set up the button as a ctrl key. And eDrawings
is pen-enabled - that's my favorite use for the tablet.

For personal use the tablets are great, especially programs like
"journal". The portability is a great feature, and battery life is
getting much better on some of the new models. If you get one, people
will want to try it out. They'll take the tablet from you and "hover"
their hand over the screen, trying hard not to touch it because they
are afraid of breaking it. Take it back from them and bang the glass
hard a couple of times - then hand it back and tell them that it's just
like a piece of paper. The look on their face is always good for a
laugh or two.

There's a good discussion group for Tablet PC's at -
http://www.tabletpcbuzz.com/ - even some SolidWorks users there.

Richard

Bonobo · Guest

But if you want 100% functionality, in something not much larger than a
tablet...and you want it so you can properly communicate when you need
to for 'jobs that pay'...a tablet won't quite cut it if I guess right.

I use a Dell M60, and it really is not limited in what it can do unless
you are trying to design a machine assembly which will also stretch a
maxed out desktop. Any laptop with about the capability of the newer
M70 will not let you down, though the price will run somewhere from
$2500-4500 depending on vendor and options.

It will be a lot easier to use and you will get the results to your
customer, collaborator, or vendor more quickly, and there will be no
functionality limits.

I decided to work exclusively on my Dell Laptops and leave the desktop
behind, (for my plastic parts and tools) starting about 4 years ago,
and have not seen any negatives of consequence for my work...only
positives.

The new 1900 pixel wide screens now available make the model views
incredibly detailed and understandable, and with a SWks compatible
nVIDIA video card, there is no jerkiness in normal display work and
part rotations, even when some fairly complex assemblies are used.

Bo

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