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Engineer Project

United States
October 29, 2016

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This material should be taught with SolidWorks open and demonstrating each point with the examples provided.

This course should not be taught reading from a PowerPoint presentation.

Files are provided for all examples; however, the examples should generally be drawn in front of the students from scratch.

Do not walk through this material note for note. Linger on important points, explore the process of creating each example, explore menus, pull in real life examples and discuss advantages and disadvantages of different features and methods. Do one thing in multiple ways.

Approximately half of each session should be devoted to solid modeling under the guidance of the instructor.

1.1. Introduction

Students should come into this class with strong knowledge of SolidWorks practices. There should be little need to dwell on introducing the software.

1.1.1. Purpose and motivation

a. These techniques can make tasks that would be difficult or impossible with basic techniques relatively easy.

b. Weldments are a revelation for frame type designs maximize use!

c. Sheet metal tools can help with the design and manufacture of sheet metal parts, for instance, automating k factor/bend deduction calculations

d. Surfacing tools allow you to dig deeper into models to create extremely complex shapes.

e. Additionally, we’ll cover a bit of design for manufacturing. Knowing this is what will make your designs realistic.

a. Sheet metal

b. Machined parts

c. Plastics

d. Composites

1.1.2. SolidWorks Resources

a. Show the webliography

Example: Log into the SolidWorks forum ( Google a SolidWorks question, e.g., “valid SolidWorks design table parameters”.

1.2. Top down design

Top down design is powerful, but has to be used sparingly in multi-user environments. Top-down techniques are rarely appropriate for configuration-controlled environments or environments where design reuse is common. They can be very difficult for follow-on users to unwind. They can also be unstable, flaky, and prone to errors.

1.2.1. Multi-body parts/master model

a. Fast and stable compared to in-context design

b. Can create BOMS, as in assemblies

c. Cannot design mechanism as multi-body parts because dynamic assembly motion is impossible

d. Can assign different materials to different bodies

e. Complex, interrelated assemblies not a general substitute for assemblies

f. Plastic parts, such as computer mouse, that are designed as a whole then split into bodies for molding

g. Can split bodies into parts, which remain driven by the master. Can then re-assemble driven parts into separate assembly. Use one part to drive one or more other parts

h. Body copies and body patterns are very fast

i. Can limit feature scope of cuts or merged extrudes to certain bodies

j. Multiple bodies can result from disjoint bodies, cuts, splits

k. To get a BOM in a multi-body part must use weldment cut list

l. Insert one part into another

m. Insert the current part into a new part, or insert mirrored part into new part

n. One way street. Changes to the master model propagate to the parts. But changes to the saved-out parts do not propagate back to the model.

o. Can make multiple parts from the same body: insert\feature\save body.

Example: ExampleAirPiston.SLDPRT. Develop this model from scratch. Split out the bodies, save as driven parts and reassemble. Leave out the spring for now. Note that the split feature has to be at the bottom of the tree, or later features will not be reflected in the split out parts.

1.2.2. In context modeling

a. Part sketches driven by assembly geometry

b. Virtual components exist entirely within assembly could be saved out as separate parts

c. Do not make in context features on parts that are not fully-defined including mechanisms

d. Will lose all references when saving an assembly do not start in-context modeling on unsaved assembly

e. Disadvantages

i. Long rebuild times

ii. Difficult to understand even for the person who created it

iii. Frequent lost references and broken models may defeat purpose

iv. Configurating in-context models is very difficult

f. Can lock or break references at the part level

g. Can have multiple contexts don’t do this

h. Do not mate to in-context features

i. References should always go up the tree extend this to its conclusion and consider a layout or skeleton sketch

j. Hole series

Example: ExampleIncontext.SLDASM

1.2.3. Layouts Layout sketch

a. Sketch to guide assembly from the top down

b. Not really a SolidWorks feature, just a good idea somebody had

c. Can mate bottom-up parts to the sketch or build parts top-down in place

d. In-context references to assembly sketches are more reliable than in-context references between parts. Consider the path to ground

e. No dynamic assembly motion

Example: ExampleLayoutSketch.SLDASM. This is a crank-rocker put together using the layout sketch workflow. Show how the sketch has dynamic motion but the assembly does not. Layout feature

a. Insert a layout feature, which is a 3D sketch

b. Create mechanism components in the sketch, convert each to a block

c. Create parts from blocks

d. Allows dynamic assembly motion

e. Not widely used

f. Unstable, difficult to use

Example: ExampleLayoutFeature.SLDPRT Draw the crank rocker with a layout feature. Note that it is an unstable catastrophe.

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