How to get started with software STAR uses.
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Sometimes we stop using things
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SolidWorks (also written as SOLIDWORKS) is a 3D Computer-Aided Design (CAD) program. STAR uses SolidWorks for a large portion of our design work.
SolidWorks is only available for Windows 7, 8, and 10.
If you have a UNIX-based operating system on an Intel/AMD chip, consider dual-booting Windows (see Boot Camp for macOS) or running a virtual machine (the campus provides VMware and a Windows license for free).
You can also use Parallels for macOS or VirtualBox for Linux. Refer to the VMware/Boot Camp setup page for more detailed instructions.
If you have a Mac with an M1 or M2 Silicon processor, you must use Parallels for macOS as Boot Camp is unsupported on these Macs.
You can also attempt to use other means to access a Windows installation like Chrome Remote Desktop.
Before starting, make sure you have a fast, reliable internet connection and enough space on your disk. This process will download roughly 8GB of data.
If you are upgrading from an older version of SolidWorks, do not delete the old version and then download the new version. The old version can be upgraded.
STAR is migrating to the SolidWorks 2023 Student Edition.
Go to: www.solidworks.com/SEK and complete the form (first name, last name, Berkeley email address, select “student team” on dropdown)
Under product information
Select Yes (I already have a serial number)
Choose 2022-2023 version
The serial number is listed in the discord server under #info
Check the #info channel in the club discord for the serial number.
The download link only downloads a ~32.1MB file named SolidWorksSetup.exe. A 7.1GB-18GB download will take place after following the instructions in the installer if a new installation is made.
Make sure you only install Solidworks, and not any of its extra add-ons like Solidworks Electrical. People have had problems in the past when trying to install extra add-ons.
If presented with the option above in the installer, it is recommended to upgrade rather than create a new installation to save space.
On the summary page of the installer, you can select which products you wish to install. At minimum, you will need the 7.1GB SolidWorks package.
Instructions on downloading and installing SolidWorks Student Edition 2023 can also be found here.
If you need more help, this video can help walk you through the process!
For those of you with M1 and M2 Macs, this video can help you with the process. This website may also help. You will need to download Parallels to run Solidworks in a Virtual Machine on your Mac.
You should now have successfully installed SolidWorks! If you encounter issues, please contact a lead before moving on. Uninstalling, rebooting, and trying again can resolve many issues. Now that you've downloaded SolidWorks, head on over to Our SolidWorks Training Tutorials and some of our previous Training Sessions to learn how to use it! You can also learn more about our file-sharing platform here!
This is specifically for Macs
Do this BEFORE any part of the solidworks tutorial if you do not have a windows operating system
This will only work for Intel-based Macs, not for M1 and M2 Macs. For those, you will have to download Parallels. This video will help show the process.
If you've already downloaded SolidWorks onto your mac, just delete it until after you have completed this tutorial.
VMware is a software that is free for Berkeley students that allows you to run windows on a non-windows computer which will allow you to install and run SolidWorks. Bootcamp is a program native (already downloaded) on macs that also allows you to run windows on a mac. Both options have some pros and cons which will briefly be detailed below. If you already know what you want to use, skip to the directions. If you have any questions/problems with the directions feel free to contact Ananya Subramani on the STAR Discord.
Allow you to run the latest version of Windows
Can run SolidWorks
VMware is easier to start up (like starting up a browser or generally opening up an app)
Boot Camp requires you to restart your computer whenever you want to run in a windows environment
Boot Camp requires you to permanently partition your hard drive which cannot easily be changed after it is done.
Partitioning your hard drive here means that some amount of your drive will only be accesible to the windows boot and the rest will be accesible normally
Main thing here is that you can't get more memory/storage if you need it in the windows portion easily
VMware does not require a permanent partition so the size can change
Boot Camp will run SolidWorks more smoothly because all of your RAM can be used
VMware will be able to run solidworks, but it may not be as smooth because you won't be utilizing all of your RAM
My personal reccomendation is to use Boot Camp if you plan to use solidworks very actively, and VMware if you just want to look at files in more detail than grabcad shows. If you have a lot of RAM though, you could probably just go with VMware and be fine
You will need the following things, or the download will probably fail at some point:
Mac made in 2011 or later
exception: 2012 Mac Pro “Quad Core” using the Intel® Xeon® W3565 Processor
OS X 10.11 El Capitan minimum required
You can check this using the "About your Mac" tab in the top left corner apple drop down menu
>50 GB free storage
Start by going to this website: https://software.berkeley.edu/microsoft-operating-system and taking the link for "personally owned devices." You should be able to navigate to this screen:
Click on Windows 10 and add it to your cart. If you want to use VMware, go to step 2.5, if you want to use Boot Camp, check out and go to step 3.
From the same place you should be in step 2, go to the VMware tab and download VMware Fusion 11.x (for Intel-based Macs). You should get to this screen:
Add VMware to your cart and check out.
In the details of your purchase that you made in step 2, there should be a windows license number, you will need that.
My screenshot doesn't have a Windows license number because it's been more than one month since I "bought" it but yours should.
Once you have access to that license, navigate to this site: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/vlacademicwindows10iso
Select the proper language, and download the 64-bit version
VMware users, go to step 4, Boot Camp users go to step 5
Download VMware fusion from the cart and open and install the application. When it asks for a number during the setup process, enter the serial number that I blacked out in my screenshot.
Once you see this screen, drag the windows 10 iso file into the place where it says install from disc/image (the default name for the downloaded file is shown below)
From here, just go through the installation steps and once you have your virtual machine configured and you can access the internet, go back to the solidworks installation guide and follow those steps *in* your virtual machine.
Using the spotlight search or some other search bar on your mac look up "Boot Camp Assistant" and open the app. You should see the following screen.
From here, hit continue and you should be able to choose your partition size, with the minimum being 42 GB, which should be fine, but if you are willing to dedicate more space to a Windows partition, go for it.
Once you've completed the installation process, you can boot into your windows partition by restarting your mac while pressing the "option" key.
Once you are in your Windows partition, you can go back to the SolidWorks installation guide and download SolidWorks.
How to install and run OpenRocket with as few issues as possible.
OpenRocket is an application that uses Java (Version 6 or later) to run. Mac OS generally comes with Java and will update it automatically. For Windows machines you may have downloaded Java for some other application already. To download the most recent version of Java, click here.
OpenRocket is free to download and is available here. Once at the site, click to download the most recent version. The download should be fairly quick and you can run the file immediately once downloaded, so long as Java is installed.
If you have any issues with running OpenRocket, or just want a slightly easier and improved experience, Neil W.'s post on The Rocketry Forum hopefully has you covered. Read the post for more detailed information, or simply get started in OpenRocket by downloading and running from the links below.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/dfpo0pzztgsscqf/OpenRocket-15.03-installer.exe?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/33o53vlle5b0uex/OpenRocket-15.03.dmg?dl=0
3D model file-sharing!
Starting this year, STAR will be using SolidWorks PDM for version control and file sharing for 3D models. Once everything is set up on the server side, we will update this page on how to access PDM and get it set up!
Straightforward version control for CAD
GrabCAD Workbench is an online platform to share CAD files and collaborate on projects, featuring version history tracking. It integrates directly with SolidWorks with a toolbar add-in and a desktop application.
If you already have a GrabCAD account, you can skip this step.
GrabCAD Community and GrabCAD Workbench accounts are the same
Creating a GrabCAD account is a straightforward process, first naviagte to:
In the company details section, choose job level as "Student" first before filling anything else out. The company name section should change to school name; type "University of California, Berkeley" (or some variation thereof) in the text box.
Proceed through the signup process.
Be sure to go to your email to confirm the account.
You've now successfully created a GrabCAD account!
Message the email you used to sign up for GrabCAD to the Operations Lead (@mcelly#1609) along with a copy of the previous paragraph on naming to obtain an invitation to STAR's GrabCAD page. Let them know which projects you need access to, if possible.
The GrabCAD Workbench desktop application allows you to sync CAD files from your projects so that you have a local copy on your computer. It also installs the companion SolidWorks toolbar.
Navigate to the following link to download the installer:
Continue through the installation process. After completing the installation, be sure to log in with your GrabCAD account.
You've now successfully installed the GrabCAD Workbench desktop application!
STAR parts currently follow the set naming convention outlined at found under Tutorials --> Operations --> SolidWorks file conventions. All parts in STAR GrabCAD projects created after 2019 must follow this format. If you have questions, just ask in #operations!
You may want to unsubscribe from Workbench emails here (there are a lot!):
ANSYS Student is an ANSYS Workbench-based bundle of ANSYS Mechanical, ANSYS CFD, ANSYS Autodyn, ANSYS SpaceClaim and ANSYS DesignXplorer.
To download ANSYS Student, navigate to https://www.ansys.com/academic/free-student-products. Scroll down and select ANSYS Student, then click on the Download ANSYS Student 19.1 button that appears below.
After the folder finishes downloading, unzip it with your favorite unzipping tool and navigate to the new folder. Then, open a file found inside the new folder labeled Setup.exe. Click the Next arrow in the bottom right corner as you progress through the setup. Once installed, you can open ANSYS by searching "Workbench 19.1" in your computer's start menu.
We have experienced an issue once where the workbench application did not install. In this case, delete the ANSYS program file in your C drive and repeat the process above.
CURRENTLY UNDER EVALUATION. INSTRUCTIONS ONLY AVAILABLE FOR CONVERGE STUDIO (PREPROCESSOR) AND NOT CONVERGE (SOLVER).
Refer to deprecation note in [deprecated] Connecting to CalSTAR's Server.
Converge CFD is a particle-based fluid dynamics solver. It is currently being evaluated by the Simulations team for full team usage. More details about the software can be found here.
There are actually two programs relevant here: CONVERGE and CONVERGE STUDIO. Both are included in our license. CONVERGE is basically the actual solver. CONVERGE is the program that will run your processed input files and return the simulation. CONVERGE STUDIO is a pre-processor where you can view geometries, set boundaries, set simulation options, and export these as input files for CONVERGE. CONVERGE STUDIO is also capable of running CONVERGE in serial, and validating the exported inputs with CONVERGE.
Click here for Converge CFD's Downloads page. You will need to make a new account, or log in with your preexisting account. Upon logging in, a file directory page will be shown.
Select CONVERGE_2.4, then CONVERGE_Studio, then download the appropriate file for your operating system.
There are no special instructions for installation. Simply run your downloaded file and follow the on-screen prompts.
It will be helpful to make a note of your installation directory, as you will need it for licensing.
Since the software is no longer in use, and the license file has been requested multiple times by persons clearly not on the team, the license file is now unlisted and private. Please contact your current leads if you really must use the license file.
The license file can only be downloaded when signed into Google Drive with a berkeley.edu account.
Copy or move the 'license.lic' file into the license folder in CONVERGE Studio's installation directory. For Windows, the default location is
The file MUST be named license.lic or CONVERGE Studio will be unable to locate the file.
The license for Converge CFD is a floating license. This means you must be connected to a licensing server in order to use the software. For CalSTAR, the licensing server is our only server, the PDM server. For instructions on connecting to the server, click here.
Once the license.lic file is copied into the correct directory, and you are connected to the server, simply launch CONVERGE Studio.
You must stay connected to the server while working in CONVERGE Studio. The program will perform a license check out/verification every few hours. This includes simulations. You must be connected during a simulation or it will be terminated after the next license check. Terminated sims can be restarted via the restart file.
For floating licenses, only 5 simulations can run at a time across ALL computers. Please make sure with the Simulations Lead that no other critical sims are running before you start yours.
At the time of writing this, the GrabCAD SolidWorks add-in is not supported for SolidWorks 2019. You will still be able to change and sync local files to GrabCAD projects, albeit less conveniently.
Upon being added to CalSTAR on GrabCAD, you'll be able to see all our projects.
In order to access these projects locally, first create a folder anywhere in your existing files. (When you downloaded GrabCAD, it by default should have created a "GrabCAD" folder in Documents.)
While the name of the folder does not matter, for clarity, you should name it with the same title as the GrabCAD project you are trying to sync to.
In the GrabCAD Desktop App, you'll have the option of manually connecting a project. Select that option, select a project, and link it to your recently created folder.
In the Desktop app, if you have successfully connected a project to your local folder, you'll be able to see the status of both the local folder and the online Workbench. If the Workbench panel is blue, that indicates that other people have made changes to files within the project and you will need to download these updates.
If the Workbench panel is black and not blue, you do not need to do anything and are completely up to date.
Hover your cursor over the Workbench panel and click to download.
Make sure all changed files are selected and click Download Selected. After all of the updates finish downloading, you should see a green box pop up both in the Desktop app and in the bottom right corner of your screen that says the downloads have finished.
To open a file for use with GrabCAD, click on the Open Folder button in the Local Folder panel, then double click on the desired part in the pop-up file browser. Other methods of navigating to the part are not guaranteed to work (although they may if your files are reasonably organized and you know for certain you are accessing a GrabCAD synced file).
If you do not lock the file you are working on, you may create file conflicts and lose changes!
Work on the file for as long as necessary. It is good practice to save and upload with every major revision, even if you will be working for quite a while on the same part.
It should not require SolidWorks crashing and you losing all your progress in order for you to learn the importance of saving often.
After saving the file with changes, we are now ready to upload. Save the file and return to the Desktop app. You should now see that the Local Folder panel is highlighted blue. Hover your cursor over the panel and click to upload.
In the upload tab, you will be prompted to include a comment describing the upload. Write a descriptive message detailing exactly what you have changed since the last version.
When you are done with this, press the Upload Selected button to complete the process (by default, all changed files should be selected). As before, a green box will pop up notifying you when the upload is done.
If you don't plan on making any more edits in the current session, go back to the online Workbench and unlock the file by right clicking.
You're all done. Again, make sure to unlock the file when you're all finished editing it!
Before starting, make sure you have completed your installation of GrabCAD Workbench. If you have not, please finish the instructions :
Before working or making any changes to a file, first lock the part in the online GrabCAD Workbench by navigating to the part and right clicking. More documentation on locking can be found .
How to Connect to CalSTAR's Server for Maintenance, Solidworks Workgroup PDM or Converge CFD Licensing
As of August 14, 2018, CalSTAR's Microsoft Azure Server has been taken offline indefinitely. The server's primary role was to serve as a PDM host, a task taken over by GrabCAD. Its secondary task of hosting Converge CFD license validation was deemed to not be valuable enough to justify continued payment for the server.
In order to use Solidworks Workgroup PDM or Converge CFD, you must be on the same network as our server. Since we cannot physically connect to the same wifi or ethernet connection, we will be setting up a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to link your computer and the server.
As a very generalized example, you can think of a network as a small town, with roads connecting houses and stores. Being in the same town (network) allows you to use the roads to go from your house to the store and back (exchanging files and information with the server).
Staying with this example, a separate network would be the equivalent of a town on the other side of a river. The two towns can not interact with each other. You cannot drive from one town to the other, a home in one town cannot visit a store in the other.
This is representative of your computer and the server right now. The server cannot interact with your computer, and your computer cannot interact with the server. To have any interaction between the two towns (your computer and the server), a physical connection must be made. In our example, this would be the equivalent of building a bridge across the river. You must plug your computer into the same internet (ethernet/wifi) as the server. This is not possible since Microsoft owns the server and it is probably miles away from you.
What we will be doing in this guide is setting up a Virtual Private Network (VPN). In our two-town example, the VPN is basically a quick and temporary bridge connecting the two towns. The VPN will make it seem as if the two towns are one, connected with the same roads. This lets the server communicate with your computer and vice versa. This is necessary in order to share files between the computers (essentially what the PDM and license check does).
In order to set up the VPN with our server, you must install a VPN Client. The following two programs have been known to work well:
Choose one and download the version for your operating system. Read the notes below for your chosen program.
Configuration files for both programs can only be downloaded when signed into Google Drive with a berkeley.edu account.
Make sure you are downloading the SoftEther VPN Client under Select Component
When installing, make sure you are installing SoftEther VPN Client and NOT the Manager (Admin Tools Only)
Proceed with the rest of the installation.
Launch SoftEther VPN Client Manager
Select Virtual Adapter at the top of the window, then New Network Adapter
Click OK (Name should be prefilled as VPN)
Once finished, click Connect at the top of the window, then Import VPN Connection Setting...
Locate and import the 'pdm2.vpn' file you downloaded earlier (probably in your downloads folder).
Select the new connection PDM2 and login with the provided credentials.
When installing, leave the default options checked (select them if unchecked):
OpenVPN User-Space Components (grayed out)
OpenVPN Service
TAP Virtual Ethernet Adapter
OpenVPN GUI
Options in Advanced can be modified as you wish
Configuring After Installation
Launch OpenVPN GUI
For Windows, after starting OpenVPN, the OpenVPN GUI shows up as a computer-with-lock icon in the system tray (icons near the clock and date)
Locate the OpenVPN GUI icon in your system tray, and right click it.
Select Import File...
Locate and import the 'pdm2.ovpn' file you downloaded earlier (probably in your downloads folder).
Click OK
Right click the OpenVPN GUI icon.
Select Connect and login with the provided credentials.