Review on SolidWorks 2008 for Designers, by Sham Tickoo

After reading through the different chapters of this book and solving a few of the tutorials and exercises included in it, I can affirm without a doubt that it’s excellent as a first textbook for students of all levels and/or a first book on SolidWorks for the beginner and self-learner. It is clear, well organized and, while it goes straight to the point (which is something really good about it) and doesn’t get too deep into any particular tool or command, it still manages to include advice on best practice and what not to do, by means of notes and quick tips all throughout the book. I like that a clear explanation on how to use the different tools and commands is provided first, before using the tools in a tutorial. It is so much easier to understand this way than when tools and commands are introduced for the first time in the middle of a tutorial! Another great thing about this book is that is packed with illustrations.

Chapter 8 is really good, especially the part about fillets and chamfers. However, this chapter could use a few examples on how or when to use the knit surfaces option when mirroring surface bodies, since it is only mentioned briefly.

Chapter 10 has really great explanations on how to use loft and sweep with a path and multiple guide curves, but there isn’t a tutorial or exercise on lofts, advanced sweeps/lofts, or on split lines to add a little more clarity. The book could surely benefit from it.

Chapter 11 includes explanations on how to use advanced modeling tools such as shape, flex and deform. While the theory is great, once again it would be really useful if it also provided with real life examples and more insight on how and when these tools are used, as well as a few tutorials and exercises for these particular tools.

Chapter 12 is awesome for understanding mates and how to apply them. I really liked the tables included for every mate and that illustrate all the different possible combinations between components and how to apply the mates. A big disappointment about this same chapter, however, was the fact that top-down modeling was only briefly introduced and no tutorial or exercises provided any further explanation or insight about it.

Chapters 14 and 15 deal with the basic and most essential knowledge you will need to get started with drawings. Same as every other chapter in the book, it doesn’t go into great detail, but it’s still a really good place to start for the beginner.

The book includes a brief chapter with the basics of sheet metal, but does not include anything about animation, COSMOSXpress, smart components, blocks, layout sketches and other advanced topics. That’s the reason why, although I still consider the book as a really great text and valuable tool for learning SolidWorks, I would only recommend it for the beginner and the student. This is not a book for the intermediate or advanced user.

~Thanks for the book review Gabi!