I've only had time to do limited testing on the new lightweight Weld Bead functionality in Assemblies & Parts, but I have a few initial thoughts. (Disclaimer: I am by no means a welding expert)
1. Types of Weld Beads
The shape seems very generic. When attempting to apply this annotation bead to a v-groove it is difficult to fill the contents of the V-groove in certain geometry instance without having the Weld bead protrude out the other side. Can we we get more controll over the shape of the weld bead? Perhaps the centerline path of the bead can be adjusted?
2. Appearance of Annotation near end faces.
Graphically, the way the annotation bead "blends" in with end faces looks very...well I'll say it...UGLY. (Not trying to hurt the feeling of anyone who worked on this...I'm very appreciative of the feature, we just need to work on the appearance a bit. ) You can remedy this if you offset the start point and shorten the length of the bead. Having to do this for every bead is very inefficient and calls into question whether or not the usage is worth the time.
Here is a picture that demonstrates points, 1 & 2
You can fix the graphics with Start Point & length adjustments...
3. Weld Bead types
I was REALLY hoping that we would be able to select from at least a few weld bead types. I could see the selection resulting in some slight changes to the shape of the annotation bead and along with application to the default values of the weld bead drawing annotation symbol. Here is a list of some of the weld types that are common.
image derived from this source: http://www.me.metu.edu.tr/courses/me114/Lectures/loc_key_spr_riv_files/weld_types.gif
Just found one more to add to this. I would like to be able to apply the new bead type on the edge of two tube square tubes. An example is shown below:
Thats all for now.
Ricky Jordan
SolidworksSolidworks 2011 Beta