Recognize differences between models, use "Compare Geometry" in Solidworks
After yesterdays blog post Engineering change, use “Change Recognition” in MastercamX4 it would only be right to also look at a somewhat similar feature in Solidworks.
Compare models
Compare Geometry Is as I wrote above this is a utility feature, it will compare two parts (or two configurations of the same part) and identifies differences between two versions of the same part. It will show you Modified Faces, Unique Faces and give you a Volume Comparison. So now you should have an idea what this tour brings, so lets get Utilities turned on if not already.
Compare Geometry has different options as it will let you choose between standard units such as inches, nanometers, tolerances and Colors such as blue, red, yellow, yeah….. you get the idea.
The Compare Geometry data (had it minimized in last screen shot) will give a detailed overview. a couple of cool features are “ReCompare” (nothing special, but just handy thoughtful tool) and the “Save Report…” that gives you a pretty darn cool HTML report full of details.
Conclusion Compared to Mastercams “Change Recognition” Compare Geometry is much easier to get comfortable using, but its also a much simpler function. I have already said it twice, this kind of function should be a standard function in Solidworks. For me “Compare Geometry” have become 1st step when I receive revised Solidworks models from costumers.