SolidWorks 2011 Assemblies Bible – Read Now and Download Mobi

SolidWorks^® 2011 Assemblies Bible^®

Table of Contents

Part I: Introducing Assembly Basics

Chapter 1: Understanding Assemblies

Understanding the Purpose of Assemblies

Identifying types of assemblies

Creating an alternative to multiple assemblies

Creating Assembly Templates

Putting Parts into Assemblies

Understanding External References

Referencing external files in-context

Referencing external files from a part

Summary

Chapter 2: Navigating the Assembly Interface

Identifying Elements of the SolidWorks Assembly Interface

Using the CommandManager and toolbars

Introducing the assembly tools

Using the Heads-Up View toolbar

Using the Shortcut “S” toolbar

Working in the assembly FeatureManager

Working with multiple document windows

Managing open windows

Understanding the Interface for Moving and Mating

Using the Move Component interface

Using the Mate interface

Summary

Chapter 3: Visualizing Assemblies

Manipulating the View

Using arrow keys

Using the middle mouse button

Clicking the triad

Using mouse gestures

Using the Magnifying Glass

Investing in a 3D mouse device

Controlling Appearances

Removing appearances and overrides

Using the Display Pane

Using the DisplayManager

Using Display States

Using Edge and Wireframe Settings

Making the case for shaded with edge display

Using tangent edge display

Using Assembly Visualization

Tutorial: Using Assembly Visualization

Summary

Part II: Working with Assemblies

Chapter 4: Building Efficient Assemblies

Identifying the Elements of an Assembly

Understanding standard reference geometry items

Working with assembly equations

Using an assembly layout sketch

Working with virtual components

Creating assembly reference geometry

Comparing history-based and non-history-based portions of the assembly tree

Understanding parts and subassemblies

Creating folders

Organizing mates

Applying assembly features

Using component patterns and mirror components

Looking at in-context reference Update Holders

Using Smart Fasteners

Applying the Hole Series

Using SpeedPaks

Using ghosts

Sharing self-contained data

Using SpeedPaks with drawings

Using Subassemblies

Creating subassemblies from existing parts

Organizing for performance

Organizing for the Bill of Materials

Grouping subassemblies by relative motion

Organizing groups of purchased components

Depicting an assembly process

Patterning considerations

Using Folders

Creating folders in the FeatureManager

Adding items to existing folders

Reordering items in the tree

Working with Tree Display Options

Showing feature names and descriptions

Showing component and config names and descriptions

Using names other than the part filename in the assembly FeatureManager

Using Component Reference per Instance

Viewing features, mates, and dependencies

Working with Assembly Tools

Using Sensors

Using the AssemblyXpert

Tutorial: Arranging Assemblies

Tutorial: Managing the FeatureManager

Summary

Chapter 5: Getting More from Mates

Applying Mates

Mating through the Mate PropertyManager

Taking advantage of SmartMates

Mating with macros

Mating for Motion

Analyzing degree of freedom

Setting up successful motion

Working with Advanced and Mechanical Mate Types

Symmetric mate

Cam mate

Width mate

Gear mate

Rack and Pinion mate

Limit mates

Screw mate

Path mate

Linear Coupler mate

Hinge mate

Belt/Chain

Editing and Troubleshooting

Editing existing mates

Troubleshooting assembly mates

Troubleshooting warnings and errors

Examining Mate Options

Reviewing Mate Best Practices

Tutorial: Mating for Success

Summary

Chapter 6: Working with Assembly Sketches and Layouts

Looking at the Techniques

Using the assembly layout sketch

Using master model

Using the Layout Feature

Using the Layout workflow

Working with virtual components

Balancing advantages and limitations

Tutorial: Working with a Layout

Summary

Chapter 7: Using Assembly Tools

Placing Parts without Mates

Using the Move Component options

Using the For Positioning Only option

Building parts in place

Using Proximity Tools

Using Interference Detection

Working with Clearance Verification

Using Dynamic Clearance

Working with Collision Detection

Using Physical Dynamics

Using Sensors

Selecting Components

Selecting with a volume

Selecting suppressed components

Choosing hidden components

Selecting parts mated to another part

Selecting internal components

Choosing Toolbox parts

Using the Advanced Select options

Reading AssemblyXpert Results

Using Defeature

Using the Hole Alignment Tool

Working with Large Assemblies

Using special techniques to improve large assembly performance

Using special tools to improve large assembly performance

Summary

Chapter 8: Controlling Assembly Configurations and Display States

Using Display States

Controlling display states and configurations

Using display states with drawings

Using part display states in parts

Understanding Assembly Configurations

Applying configurations for performance

Using configurations for positions

Applying configurations for product variations

Using design tables for assembly configurations

Working with Modify Configurations and the Configuration Publisher

Looking at assembly configuration dos and don'ts

Tutorial: Working with Assembly Configurations

Summary

Chapter 9: Patterning and Mirroring Components

Using Local Component Patterns

Creating local pattern references

Using Mirror Components

Using Feature-Driven Component Patterns

Understanding Other Pattern Options

Tutorial: Creating Component Patterns

Summary

Chapter 10: Modeling in Context

Understanding In-Context Modeling

Working through a simple in-context example

Weighing the advantages of in-context modeling

Anticipating problems with in-context modeling

Identifying alternatives to in-context modeling

Dealing with the Practical Details of In-Context Modeling

Understanding the in-context process

Looking at in-context best practices

Using Other Types of External References

Using inserted parts

Working with split parts

Using mirror parts

Using the Layout Feature

Using the Layout workflow

Understanding virtual components

Balancing advantages and limitations

Tutorial: Working In-Context

Summary

Chapter 11: Creating Assembly Features

Creating Assembly Cuts

Using the Feature Scope

Propagating features to parts

Making Fillets and Chamfers in Assemblies

Creating Weld Beads

Working with Envelopes

Summary

Chapter 12: Using Parametric Links in Assemblies

Using Equations in an Assembly

Tracking external references

Renaming documents referenced by equations

Sharing equations

Driving equations between parts

Following best practices

Using Link Values and Global Variables in Assemblies

Working with Derived Sketches in Assemblies

Using Inserted Parts to Communicate Parametric Control

Summary

Chapter 13: Editing, Evaluating, and Troubleshooting Assemblies

Working with Mates

Listing mates in the Mates folder

Listing mates under the component

Replacing features with mates

Working with the View Mates tool

Using the View Mate Errors window

Using the MateXpert

Editing mates

Editing File Management Issues

Using Save options and Pack and Go

Replacing components

Forming and dissolving subassemblies

Evaluating Assemblies

Using the AssemblyXpert

Identifying FeatureManager symbols

Using the Isolate function

Using Reload

Summary

Part III: Creating and Using Libraries

Chapter 14: Using Toolbox

Understanding Toolbox

Comparing configurators and libraries

Taking a look at how Toolbox works

Using Toolbox

Organizing Toolbox parts in an assembly

Working recommendations

Using the Hole Wizard

Exploring the Hole Series interface

Looking at Hole Series quirks

Tutorial: Gaining Experience with the Hole Wizard and Toolbox

Summary

Chapter 15: Working with Libraries

Setting Up a Library

Building the Design Library

Using the Design Library

Exploring Other Design Library Functions

Using Annotations in the library

Using sheet metal–forming tools in the library

Using assemblies in the library

Routing

Understanding Smart Components

Using Smart Components

Getting started with a simple Smart Component

Auto-sizing Smart Components

Making Smart Components

Getting started with a simple Smart Component

Creating an auto-sizing Smart Component

Managing files with Smart Components

Editing Smart Components

Tutorial: Working with Smart Components

Summary

Part IV: Creating Assembly Drawings

Chapter 16: Creating Assembly Drawings

Combining Parts and Assemblies on the Same Drawing

Dimensioning assembly features

Assigning the document driving the custom properties

Using Multi-Page Templates

Using Views with Special Assembly Functions

Using the Alternate Position View

Creating views of an exploded assembly

Creating section views

Broken-Out Section View

Using Color in Assembly Drawing Views

Setting Up Drawings of Large Assemblies

Using detached drawings

Working with lightweight drawings

Using SpeedPak with drawings

Using draft quality views

Tutorial: Creating a Simple Assembly Drawing

Summary

Chapter 17: Working with Tables and Drawings

Driving the Bill of Materials

Examining the SolidWorks table-based BOM

Retiring the Excel-based BOM

Using Design Tables

Placing Hole Tables on Drawings

Using Revision Tables

Using General Tables

Working with Tables in Models

Tutorial: Using BOMs

Tutorial: Using Hole Tables

Tutorial: Using Revision Tables

Summary

Part V: Using Specialized or Advanced Techniques

Chapter 18: Using DriveWorks Xpress

Introducing DriveWorks Xpress

Exploring DriveWorks Xpress for your products

Aligning expectations with some estimates

Building the Original Model

Automating an Example

Getting Started: Automating a Design

Activating DriveWorks Xpress

Creating a database

Capturing models

Adding features and dimensions

Creating fields for the form

Building rules

Running the example job

Working with drawings

Summary

Chapter 19: Employing Master Model Techniques

Using Pull Functions

Understanding the Insert Part feature

Understanding the Insert Into New Part feature

Using Push Functions

Working with the Split feature

Working with the Save Bodies feature

Tutorial: Working with Master Model Techniques

Summary

Chapter 20: Using Weldments

Sketching in 3D

Navigating in space

Understanding sketch relations in 3D sketches

Creating planes in space

Limiting path segments

Using dimensions in 3D sketches

Using the Weldment Tools

Using the Weldment feature

Introducing the Structural Member feature

Using the Trim/Extend feature

Using the End Cap feature

Working with the Gusset feature

Using Non-Structural Components

Using Sub-Weldments

Working with Cut Lists

Using Cut-List Properties

Excluding and reordering cut list items

Using weld beads and fillet beads in weldments and assemblies

Creating Weldment Drawings

Tutorial: Working with Weldments

Summary

Chapter 21: Using Mold Tools

Working with the Mold Tools Process

Preparing the plastic part for Mold Tools

Inserting Mold folders

Parting lines

Initiating the shut-off surfaces

Parting surface

Tooling split

Using the Core feature

Intervening Manually with Mold Tools

Passing shut-offs

Creating non-planar parting surfaces

Summary

Chapter 22: Working with Large Scale Design

Creating a Walk-Through

Creating a GridSystem

Starting the GridSystem feature

Creating the sketch

Using the GridSystem PropertyManager

Understanding the GridSystem output

Viewing the Grid Components

Transferring Data with the IFC File Type

Summary

Chapter 23: Animating with the MotionManager

Familiarizing Yourself with the MotionManager

Understanding the terminology

Driving an animation

Planning an animation

Identifying elements of the MotionManager

Using display options

Using the MotionManager interface

Formatting output

Using the Animation Wizard

Creating a rotating animation

Creating an exploded view animation

Animating an assembly

Animating the View

Driving the view with key points

Using paths to control cameras

Animating with Key Points

Getting started

Using the timebar with key points

Copying and mirroring motion

Adjusting the speed of actions

Outputting the animation

Animating with Basic Motion

Using gravity and contact

Using motors and springs

Animating a chain and a spring using motors

Summary

Part VI: Appendixes

Appendix A: Finding Help

SolidWorks Web Help

Contents

Index

Search

SolidWorks Forums

Knowledge Base

Software downloads

Release Notes

What's New

Installation and administration guides

PDMWorks Workgroup Vault Debug Guide

FLEXlm End Users Guide

Blogs

Forums

Appendix B: What's on the DVD

Windows versions

SolidWorks versions

Using the author files folder

Using the video tutorials folder

Using the TechSmith Screen Capture Codec

Accessing additional author videos

SolidWorks^® 2011 Assemblies Bible

Matt Lombard

SolidWorks^® 2011 Assemblies Bible

Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
10475 Crosspoint Boulevard
Indianapolis, IN 46256
www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2011 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

ISBN: 978-1-118-00276-6

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, 201-748-6011, fax 201-748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or Website is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or Website may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet Websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read.

For general information on our other products and services or to obtain technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at (877) 762-2974, outside the U.S. at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011932103

Trademarks: Wiley and related trade dress are registered trademarks of Wiley Publishing, Inc., in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. SolidWorks is a registered trademark of Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books.

About the Author

Matt Lombard is an independent engineering consultant specializing in plastic parts and complex shapes. He also writes a blog on SolidWorks, which you can find at www.dezignstuff.com/blog. Matt lives in the picturesque Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, where he enjoys reading the classics and fishing.

Credits

Senior Acquisitions Editor

Stephanie McComb

Project Editor

Jade L. Williams

Technical Editor

Charles Culp

Copy Editor

Marylouise Wiack

Editorial Director

Robyn Siesky

Business Manager

Amy Knies

Senior Marketing Manager

Sandy Smith

Vice President and Executive Group Publisher

Richard Swadley

Vice President and Executive Publisher

Barry Pruett

Senior Project Coordinator

Kristie Rees

Graphics and Production Specialists

Ana Carillo
Jill A. Proll

Quality Control Technician

Laura Albert

Proofreading

Christine Sabooni

Indexing

BIM Indexing & Proofreading Services

Media Development Project Manager

Laura Moss

Media Development Assistant Project Manager

Jenny Swisher

Media Development Associate Producer

Marilyn Hummel

Acknowledgments

I would like to acknowledge the efforts of the staff at Wiley for their dedication in editing the text of these books. It can be a difficult job making sure that a technical subject is treated properly. I'd also like to thank Charles Culp, the technical editor, for taking the time out of his schedule to make sure the material is accurate. Thanks also to Kim and Zoey, who help with the details in life allowing me to do this kind of work.

Introduction

SolidWorks is a huge, sprawling topic. There is a lot for you, the reader, to know, and for me to write about. As a result, with the 2011 edition, I have taken this book from a single volume of an immense scope to two individual volumes, each still fairly large, one covering parts and part drawings, and the other covering assemblies and assembly drawings. There is some overlap between these topics, but I have tried to divide the material evenly and in a way, that makes the most sense for the reader. Depending on your needs, you will probably find both volumes to be very useful references.

This book is primarily meant as an encyclopedic desk reference for SolidWorks Standard users who want a more thorough understanding of the software and process than can be found in other available documentation. As such, it is not necessarily intended to be a guide for beginners, although it has elements that beginners would find useful. Nor is it necessarily intended as a classroom guide, but I have seen people use it for that as well.

Beginners will find the step-by-step tutorials useful. However, because you are only a beginner for a short period of time, the book is intended to be most useful when you reach an intermediate level, as it takes a more conceptual approach to explaining functionality. I try to help you make the decisions about how to apply the tools to your tasks rather than demonstrating simple tasks that you will never need to do again. You will not learn to model a teapot in this book, because in your work, knowing how to model a teapot will probably not help you. However, you will learn how to make decisions that should enable you to model just about anything you want, including teapots.

To keep the size of the book manageable, I have tried to avoid topics found only in SolidWorks Professional or Premium, although I do talk about these topics when they are relevant.

While the book does point out limitations, bugs, and conceptual errors in the software, and from time to time ventures into the realm of opinion, in every case this is meant to give you a more thorough understanding of the software, and how it is applied in the context of everyday design or engineering practice.

The overall goal of this book is not to fill your head with facts, but to help you think like the software, so that you can use the tool as an intuitive extension of your own process. As your modeling projects become more complex, you will need to have more troubleshooting and work-around skills available to you. Along with best practice recommendations, these are the most compelling reasons to use this book.

Thank you for your interest.

About This Book

You will find enough information here that this book will grow with your SolidWorks needs. I have written tutorials for most of the chapters with newer users in mind, because for them, it is most helpful to see how things are done in SolidWorks step by step. The longer narrative examples give more in-depth information about features and functions, as well as the results of various settings and options.

This book includes many details that come from practical usage and is focused on the needs of professional users, not on student learners. My approach is to teach concepts rather than how to push buttons.

How This Book Is Organized

This book is divided into six parts.

Part I: Introducing Assembly Basics

This part explores basic concepts and terminology used in SolidWorks. You need to read this section if you are a new SolidWorks user, especially if you are new to 3D modeling or parametric history-based design.

Part II: Working with Assemblies

This part takes a deeper look at creating parametric relations to automate changes.

Part III: Creating and Using Libraries

This part examines the functionality within the 2D drawing side of the software. Whether you are creating views, making tables, or customizing annotations, you will find these chapters useful.

Part IV: Creating Assembly Drawings

This part examines several types of advanced techniques, such as surface modeling and multi-body modeling. This is information you won't find in other SolidWorks books, and is explained here by someone who uses the functionality daily.

Part V: Using Specialized or Advanced Techniques

Specialized functionality, such as sheet metal and plastics, requires detailed information. This part includes the topics that are key to unlocking all the power available in SolidWorks.

Part VI: Appendixes

The Appendixes in this book contain additional information, such as the contents of the DVD and other sources of help.

Icons Used in This Book

This book uses a set of icons to point out certain details in the text. While they are relatively self-explanatory, here is what each of these icons indicates:

Caution

The Caution icon warns you of potential problems before you make a mistake.

Cross-Reference

The Cross-Reference icon points out where you can find additional information about a topic elsewhere in the book.

New Feature

The New Feature icon highlights features and functions that are new to SolidWorks 2011.

Note

The Note icon highlights useful information that you should take into consideration, or an important point that requires special attention.

On the DVD

This icon points you toward related material on the book's DVD.

Tip

Each Tip provides you with additional advice that makes the software quicker or easier to use.

The SolidWorks 2011 Assemblies Bible is unique in its use of the following two icons:

Best Practice

The Best Practice icon points out recommended settings or techniques that are safe in most situations.

Performance

Each Performance icon elaborates on how certain settings, features, or techniques affect rebuild speed or file size.

These icons point out and describe techniques and settings that are either recommended or not recommended for specific reasons. Best practice is usually considered very conservative usage, where the stability of the parametrics and performance (another way of saying rebuild speed) are the ultimate goals. These two aspects of SolidWorks models are usually weighed against modeling speed (how long it takes you to create the model).

You should take Best Practice and Performance recommendations seriously, but as guidelines rather than as rules. When it comes right down to it, the only hard and fast rule about SolidWorks is that there are no hard and fast rules. In fact, I believe that the only reason to have rules in the first place is so that you know when you can break them. Parametric stability and modeling speed are not always the ultimate goals and are often overridden when work-around techniques are used simply to accomplish a geometric goal.

Because not everyone models with the same goals in mind, a single set of rules can never apply for everyone. You must take the best practice suggestions and apply them to your situation using your own judgment.

Because I actually use the software in my work, I viewed it from a practical standpoint while writing this book. I approached the software objectively as a tool, recognizing that complex tools are good at some things and not so good at others. Knowing the strengths and limitations of the software is helpful to you. Pointing out negatives in this context should not be construed as criticizing the SolidWorks software, but rather as preparing you for real-world use of the software. Any tool this complex is going to have imperfections. I hope that some of my enthusiasm for the software also shows through and is to some extent contagious.

Terminology

An important concept referred to frequently in SolidWorks is design intent. As a practical matter, I use the phrase design for change to further distinguish design intent from other design goals.

You will need to be familiar with some special terminology before continuing. In many cases, I use a SolidWorks vernacular or slang when the official terminology is either not descriptive enough or has multiple meanings. For example, the word shortcut can mean several things in the SolidWorks interface; it is used to describe right mouse button (RMB) menus as well as hotkeys. As a result, I have chosen not to use the word shortcut and instead substitute the words RMB and hotkey.

I frequently use RMB to refer to right mouse button menus, or other data that you access by clicking the right mouse button on an item. The word tree refers to the list of features in the FeatureManager.

Differences are frequently found between the names of features on toolbars and the names in the tool tips, menus, or PropertyManager titles. In these cases, the differences are usually minor, and either name may be used.

Most functions in SolidWorks can work with either the object-action or the action-object scenarios. These are also called pre-select and select, respectively. The Fillet feature shows no difference between using pre-selection and selection, although for some fillet options such as face fillet, pre-select is not enabled. Most features allow pre-selection, and some functions, such as inserting a design table, require pre-selection. Although you cannot identify a single rule that covers all situations, most functions accept both.

Frequently in this book, I have suggested enhancement requests that the reader may want to make. This is because SolidWorks development is driven to a large extent by customer requests, and if a large number of users converge on a few issues, then those issues are more likely to be fixed or changed. Again, the enhancement request suggestions are not made to criticize the software, but to make it better. I hope that you will join me in submitting enhancement requests.

SolidWorks is an extremely powerful modeling tool, very likely with the best combination of power and accessibility on the MCAD market today. This book is meant to help you take advantage of its power in your work and even hobbyist applications. If I could impart only a single thought to you, it would be that with a little curiosity and some imagination, you could begin to access the power of SolidWorks for geometry creation and virtual product prototyping. You should start with the assumption that there is a way to do what you are imagining, and that you should be open to using different techniques.

Because I wrote this book to help you look beyond simply asking what different buttons do, I hope that it will help you develop an intuition for thinking like the software. Jeff Ray, CEO of the SolidWorks Corporation, has said that the goal is to make the software as “intuitive as a light switch.” While most people will agree that they have some work left to achieve that particular goal, I believe that approaching the interface intuitively, rather than attempting to remember it all by rote, is the best method. Good luck to you.

Contacting the Author

If you want to contact me, to ask a question about the book's content or to make a suggestion for improving future editions, the best ways to do this are through e-mail ([email protected]) or my blog (http://dezignstuff.com/blog). On the blog, you can leave comments and read other things I have written about the SolidWorks software, CAD, and engineering or computer topics in general. If you want to contact me for commercial help with a modeling project, my e-mail address is the best place to start that type of conversation. I always look forward to hearing what real users think about the material.

Thank you very much for buying and reading this book. I hope the ideas and information within its pages help you accomplish your professional goals.

Part I: Introducing Assembly Basics

In This Part

Chapter 1
Understanding Assemblies

Chapter 2
Navigating the Assembly Interface

Chapter 3
Visualizing Assemblies

Chapter 1: Understanding Assemblies

In This Chapter

Why use assemblies

Creating assemblies

Positioning parts into assemblies

Working with external references

This chapter serves as an overview of some of the different tools and techniques that are available to SolidWorks users in assemblies. Most importantly, this chapter discusses the various purposes that you might have for creating assemblies. The second emphasis of this chapter is to help you understand various methods for using external references. More than anything, this chapter prepares you for important decisions that you will need to make relating to your modeling methods in SolidWorks found throughout this book.

If you take the SolidWorks training class from a SolidWorks reseller, all assemblies seem to take the same form and have the same function. You may then take this way of working back to your office and start applying it there. However, if you do this, you could be missing out on many other ways of using assemblies. While SolidWorks definitely seems to have a certain orthodoxy in mind for the assemblies functionality, there are actually an array of techniques that you can use to achieve a wide range of goals.

This chapter helps you identify some of the ways in which you can apply SolidWorks assemblies functionality to accommodate your goals and your workflow style. You are encouraged to experiment and evaluate some of these methods to find out what suits your needs best. You don't have to accept the established techniques. In fact, as you will see in this chapter, the established techniques tend to be less efficient, and especially less robust, than some alternative methods when you start making changes to your assemblies.

A lot of these alternative methods have been developed by many different users of other CAD packages over the years and have become universal to some extent. They have been adapted to SolidWorks use in different forms.

Understanding the Purpose of Assemblies

In the physical world, assemblies exist for several reasons:

• Separating materials

• Allowing relative motion

• Reducing material

• Allowing for different manufacturing techniques

• Allowing for disassembly or repair

In a CAD model, you need to follow these physical-world reasons for making individual parts and putting them together in assemblies, but CAD models can also have additional requirements. Independent of the reasons stemming from physical-world requirements, CAD assemblies might have some unique reasons for existing:

• Depicting an assembly process such as order of operations

• Specifying dimensional assembly relationships and tolerances

• Establishing clearances and limits of motion

• Visualizing motion and spatial relationships between parts

• Designing parts in-context

• Creating a parts list for assembly (Bill of Materials, or BOM)

• Creating a parts list for purchasing

• Automating data entry through PDM (product data management)

• Staging renderings

• Creating data for downstream applications such as animation or motion analysis

You can probably come up with a number of additional reasons for making CAD assemblies. In fact, almost as many reasons exist for making assemblies as there are people making those assemblies.

If you are trying to drive product development with a single top-level assembly, you might run into situations where the various functions of the assembly start conflicting with one another. For example, you might have an assembly where a part flexes. It is difficult or impossible to make flexible parts work effectively in SolidWorks with dynamic assembly motion. Another situation might be in-context relations where the parent and child components move relative to one another. Or maybe you need an assembly for a rendering and the assembly has to have multiple instances of in-context components, which can be tricky to manage. You get the picture. You can't always do everything with a single assembly.

It is certainly possible to have multiple assembly files for a single product. In fact, in some cases, it may be necessary. Rendering is probably one of the most common reasons for you to create a new assembly. Conflicts between external references and motion are another common reason to create a new assembly document.

Identifying types of assemblies

The average SolidWorks user thinks an assembly is a collection of parts put together with mates that position parts and may also allow motion. In this kind of assembly, you might use patterns, configurations, in-context techniques, and so on. The goal of the assembly is probably to simulate reality in the way it looks and moves.

Driving an assembly with base part and mates

This is considered “orthodox” SolidWorks assembly usage, and is the way the SolidWorks training materials describe creating assemblies. Insert a part or subassembly at the origin, which becomes fixed in place automatically, then start mating parts and subassemblies to the base component and add on from there.

This is the most frequently used assembly type in SolidWorks, but this type is also the most prone to failure, and the least likely to allow for relationships to exist between the parts. If you have been doing this kind of work already, and have made changes to the parts and watched the assembly update, you know that there are all sorts of things that can go wrong with this arrangement. Mates coming into conflict, flipping direction, or losing references are the most common errors that you might see when mating parts directly to one another in an assembly.

It is hard to imagine an assembly in real life where the parts don't depend to some extent on one another for their size or shape. So having a SolidWorks assembly where each part is modeled independently doesn't reflect real-world design intent very well, nor does it really use the advantages of parametrics and associativity that are touted so much in SolidWorks.

It is difficult to criticize an assembly modeling method that has been used for so long by so many people, but the high failure rate of mates attached to edges and faces speaks for itself. This is a problem that SolidWorks has tried to solve for many releases of the software, but the failure rate hasn't changed much, if at all. You may find that the software even tries to hide certain types of mate errors to make them easier to ignore.

The difficulty arises from the underlying methods built into the software. All of the faces and edges of parts are created using a history-based modeling system. Each feature is created in order, in a recipe for creating the final piece. The assembly, however, is generally not history-based. So mates attach to faces. If the faces change in such a way that the mate can't attach anymore, the mate fails. If the faces change in such a way that the way the mate works changes, parts can move in a way you don't expect. If you add fillets, or draft, or split a face to add color, or do any of a number of things that change the way the software internally identifies the faces or edges, then the mates you have applied will either fail or change the way it locates or allows parts to move.

The bottom line for the method of mating to base parts is that it is unreliable through changes. Of the methods that are presented in this book, this is the most common yet least reliable method. This is not the fault of the software, but of the method. The reason this faulty method is the most popular is because it is the easiest, and requires the least planning.

When SolidWorks first appeared on the market in the mid-1990s, it became very popular not only because it was inexpensive but also because it was much easier to use compared to products such as Pro/ENGINEER. Pro/ENGINEER taught methods for putting parts and assemblies together that were tedious but worked better through changes.

As an example of where you might use this kind of assembly, think of a robotic arm. Figure 1.1 shows an assembly that was created with bottom-up techniques and was assembled with face-to-face mates.

FIGURE 1.1

Mechanical parts using mates to locate and enable motion

But if you were to create, say, a scale model of a car, as shown in Figure 1.2, the method of independently designing each component, especially something like body panels, and then mating them together wouldn't make much sense. Other methods in the other types of assemblies shown later in this chapter will help with this type of design.

FIGURE 1.2

Considering how you would design the parts of a scale model car

It would be difficult or impossible to design the body panels of the car such that they fit together well and looked smooth next to one another using the bottom-up with mates method.

Driving an assembly with sketches and planes

One way to avoid the potential pitfalls of mating to a base part is to replace the changeable faces and edges with items that are more stable. The stability hierarchy listing items from the most to the least stable looks like this:

• Assembly or part origin

• Assembly or part standard planes

• Reference geometry (plane, axis, point)

• Reference geometry from inserted parts (from using the Insert⇒Part command)

• Sketch lines and midpoints

• Sketch endpoints

• Surface model faces

• Solid model faces

• Edges and vertex points

• In-context items

• Reference geometry

• Faces

• Edges

An easier way to remember this without memorizing the list is that the more parents something has, the less reliable it is as a reference. This becomes more applicable if external references are involved, such as inserted parts or an in-context situation. Edges created by fillets or chamfers are lower on the list of stable references than other edges.

There is no clear answer to the question, “Is this reference stable enough?” It is entirely possible for you to be completely successful using in-context edges for all your model references. In order for that to happen, you would have to plan your model very well and avoid any big topological changes (changes to the number or function of faces) to the model.

Cross-Reference

Chapter 10 covers in-context modeling in more depth, and Chapter 19 covers inserted parts.

When you are building a part, selecting references from near the top of the previous list can be challenging, especially when faces and edges are so easy to use. You need to evaluate how much editing and rework you think you will generate when changes that you haven't necessarily planned on have to be made. Much of this ties into the design intent discussion from the SolidWorks 2011 Parts Bible.

Now consider the two examples mentioned in the last assembly modeling method — the robot arm and the model car. You could design the robot easily with the sketch layout, but simulating the motion in 3D would be difficult if you did it in conjunction with the sketch. The model car would still be difficult to assemble, and if you were just using sketches as the references between parts, it would be difficult to design the body panels such that they fit together smoothly.

Modeling parts in place

In-context design is discussed in more detail in Chapter 10, but here you will get some idea of what to look forward to, and why this book isn't just about in-context design by itself. Modeling parts in the context of an assembly that contains other parts enables you to make relationships between the parts. Those relationships are managed by the assembly. The parts have to be arranged spatially with respect to one another, and the references to the files must also be managed.

When you see a sales demonstration, the technique of using edges of other parts from the assembly to make a new part looks very compelling, especially when you make a change to the other part and the new part updates as well. It's hard to argue with that kind of functionality. But the price you pay for that sort of associativity is that you have to manage the relationship between three files: the parent part, the child part, and the assembly. And further, within the assembly, the relationships are made between specific instances of the parts, so if you have multiple instances of each, you have to do something to remember which pair of parts is the driving pair.

Also, model history with parts does not work the same with assemblies. The relationship between the parts does not have any memory, so if you started the in-context relationships before the parent part was complete, and then put fillets over the edges that you had referenced, your in-context references would fail.

Take another look at the robot arm and the model car examples. Using in-context methods, you could certainly design the robot arm, but again you might run into some problems with getting it to move correctly while maintaining the references. However, with the model car, getting the parts in the right place wouldn't be any problem because you would be modeling the parts in-place. On the other hand, you might be able to get the shape to flow smoothly, but it is still doubtful. In-context modeling can copy 3D surfaces between parts, but for an improved workflow for this type of work, you will have to read further into this chapter.

An example of a part where modeling in-context works well is a table with legs, as well as a fixture that sits on the table, as shown in Figure 1.3. The in-context work lines the holes up between the parts. There is no relative movement between the parts, and the individual parts are not likely to be used in other assemblies.

FIGURE 1.3

Using the in-context method to its best advantage

The ideal situation to use in-context techniques is when two parts are assembled face-on-face, the shape of the contact faces are the same or offset, and there is a set of holes used for fasteners. Complex shapes are generally not a good candidate for in-context methods. The main point is that there is no relative motion between the two parts.

Modeling parts as multi-bodies

Another method you can use to model parts is to start the models in a multi-body part. It is not recommended to use this method for creating finished parts as multi-bodies, but getting some of the major parts on an assembly started as a single part and then breaking them out into individual parts for details can be a very effective method.

Say you are modeling a riding lawn mower, and you need to create the plastic cowling on the front of the mower. The cowling is made up of multiple pieces because some of them are different colors, and some are transparent. The complex shapes of the cowling encompass multiple parts. If you were to model one part, and then try to model another part independently that shared some of the same shape, it would be very difficult or impossible to get the shapes to match acceptably.

One answer to this problem is to create the shape in a single part, then break the single part into individual bodies, and then save the bodies external to the original part. When you put these parts back together into the assembly, each part can be placed so that its origin matches with the assembly origin. Because the parts all started from the same part, they will all share the same origin. This makes putting the parts back together much simpler. It makes assembly for motion more difficult, but parts that have a shape in common are more likely to be fixed with respect to one another.

Multi-body modeling has advantages over in-context modeling in that it reduces external references (although saving bodies out as parts creates an external reference), but it also has some drawbacks. If you were to take all the features of individual parts and stack them into a single feature tree in a single part, you would probably be unhappy with the result. By making all of the features for all parts within a single part file, you make troubleshooting much more difficult, and rebuild times are dramatically increased. Add to this the inability to reuse parts, do individual revision management, or perform simple assembly operations such as dynamic motion, exploded views, or BOMs, and following the multi-body method through to finished parts becomes very unattractive.

The best option for using multi-bodies to create parts for an assembly is to start the parts in multi-body mode, and then as soon as the inter-body references are no longer needed, transition the bodies to separate parts.

Multi-body modeling may not do so well when parts are repeated, or where purchased components represent a large percentage of the total parts. While you do have mate-like functionality for placing bodies within a multi-body part, it is probably not the best use of this method. Figure 1.4 shows a product that is designed as a multi-body part but involves many difficulties because of reused parts and hardware.

FIGURE 1.4

Reusing parts is not a strength of multi-body methods.

Revisiting the test for each method, you would find that the robot arm is well suited to being designed as a multi-body part and then reassembled with mates in an assembly. In fact, the multi-body method is probably the best method for this type of work, maintaining references between parts, and then assembling the parts into an assembly mechanism with motion.

The model car, with its shape that flows between parts, would still be awkward, although it could be done as individual parts. You will now look at the last method to see if this helps with the car model.

Inserting a master model

You will learn about the master model technique in Chapter 19. In a nutshell, a master model is a single part where you place sketches, reference geometry, surfaces, and maybe some solids, and then insert that part into other parts to use a reference to build each individual part. Using this technique makes in-context work unnecessary, and eliminates some of the dangers of creating too many features in a multi-body part.

You assemble parts in this manner the same as with the multi-body part method. Take each part, and drop it into the FeatureManager of the assembly. This aligns the part origin with the assembly origin, and because each part was built from the same master model, all parts share the same origin.

Take another look at the robot arm and model car examples. The robot arm may be a little awkward using this method, but it works. The multi-body method is probably best for this type of design.

On the other hand, the master model method brings real power to projects such as the model car. You can design the entire outside of the car as if it were a single part, and then break it up into individual parts. In Figure 1.5, notice how some parts that will be manufactured as a single part can be easily pulled off of the master model. Sketches within the master model can help define breaks between parts and even if there is relative motion — for example, with the doors.

FIGURE 1.5

Pulling parts off of the master model

Excluding some parts

Methods such as those mentioned previously are great for any part that is unique to an assembly, but should not be used for library type parts. If you have a part that will be used in more than one assembly, it should not have any external references. To be clear, all of these methods create external references except bottom-up assembly (where parts are modeled individually, and then assembled to one another or to a skeleton).

Any library parts that you have, or standard hardware such as nuts, bolts, washers, and so on, should not be modeled with references, nor should you use them in multi-body parts.

Without sounding against multi-body modeling, several SolidWorks users think eliminating the distinction between assemblies and parts would be a good thing. That point of view works for only the simplest small assemblies with simple parts. It's easy to come up with situations in which the tree management tools required to maintain models built using that philosophy through changes do not even exist in the software.

Creating an alternative to multiple assemblies

It may seem very inefficient to re-create or copy assemblies for different uses. In Chapter 8, you will learn about another way: using assembly configurations. If you are already familiar with part configurations, assembly configurations work on a similar principle. Assembly configurations are a great tool with a lot of theoretical benefits and practical limitations. As with most other functions in SolidWorks, when you need to create assemblies for multiple purposes, you may find that assembly configurations meet your needs. Or you may find it easier to just save out a copy of the assembly, knowing that changes for the sake of rendering do not diminish the usefulness of the data for something like exploded views, or managing external in-context references.

Creating Assembly Templates

When you have assemblies with different purposes, you may also need multiple assembly templates. One example of using assembly templates to help reuse work is saving an animation in a template. If you save an assembly template that contains a default turntable animation, then you can put other assemblies right into the turntable template and you've got an instant display animation. (Animation is covered in detail in Chapter 23.)

Another example of a useful assembly template would be a rendering setup with environment, background, and lighting. Putting a part or assembly into the template before doing a stock rendering can help you standardize renderings and work through them more quickly.

The steps to create an assembly template are similar to those for setting up a part template:

1. Specify a custom location for all your templates. You can do this at Tools⇒Options⇒File Locations⇒Document Templates. You should save it in a location such as D:/Library/Templates/. For a group of users, you may want to use a network location so you can share the templates.

2. Start with an assembly that has most of the settings you intend to use.

3. Add whatever animation, scene, or light settings you want. You may have to add a dummy assembly to get the settings right, and then delete it before saving it as a template.

4. Set the options in Tools⇒Options⇒Document Properties the way you want them. Pay special attention to the Drafting Standard, Units, Model Display, and Image Quality settings.

5. Rename the standard planes as appropriate. If your assembly template is bound to be used for injection mold tooling, you may name planes to establish the Parting Plane. If you are creating architectural assemblies, you may have planes called Plan View, Side Elevation, and North Elevation.

6. Make sure the custom properties (found at File⇒Properties⇒Custom) for the assembly template are set the way you want them. Remember that you can use Tags in some ways like custom properties. In fact, custom property settings might be a reason for making separate assembly templates. You might have a different set of custom properties for a tooling assembly used in manufacturing as opposed to a product assembly that is shipped to customers. You may also choose to change the default settings for showing annotations such as cosmetic threads and shaded cosmetic threads (click the right mouse button (RMB) on the Annotations folder in the Feature Manager and select Details for these options)

7. When you have all of the document-specific settings the way you want them, save the assembly file as a template. Choose File⇒Save As, and SolidWorks directs you to the folder where you have specified that your templates will go.

Figure 1.6 shows the Tools⇒Options⇒File Locations interface where you should set your templates' locations.

FIGURE 1.6

Establishing the location of your templates

Using assembly templates is easier than creating them. To choose from a number of assembly templates, you have to use the Advanced interface on the New Document dialog box. If you use the Novice interface, you can only choose the default templates.

If you want to use only a single assembly template, and set that one as the default, first save the template to a location as described previously, and then set the default assembly template at Tools⇒Options⇒Default Templates.

If you would like to devote an entire tab of the New Document dialog box to just assemblies, then in Windows Explorer, in the folder specified in your template locations, create a new folder named Assemblies or something relevant. This folder name will show up as a tab in the Advanced interface for the New Document dialog box.

Note

The Novice interface displays a button that says Advanced, and the Advanced interface displays a button that says Novice.

Figure 1.7 shows the Novice and Advanced interfaces.

FIGURE 1.7

Starting a new assembly from the Novice and Advanced interfaces of the New Document dialog box

Putting Parts into Assemblies

When you are building an assembly, several ways exist to put parts into assemblies:

• Choose Insert⇒Component

• Drag and drop from Windows Explorer

• Drag and drop from other SolidWorks windows

• Drag and drop from the Design Library window

• Ctrl+drag to add a second instance of a part that is already in an assembly

• Create an assembly from a part

• Create a part in-context

The first part that you put into an assembly is always fixed (meaning locked into position). When parts are fixed automatically, the origin of the part is always located at the origin of the assembly, but parts may be manually fixed at any location in the assembly.

After the first part, any additional parts you put into the assembly will either fall where you drop them if you drop them in the graphics window or be positioned at the assembly origin if you drop them into the FeatureManager.

One of the most valuable methods is to use SmartMates and Mate References. SmartMates enable you to Alt+drag a part by specific geometry on the part and drop it onto specific geometry on another part; a mate is then automatically created between the parts. SmartMates do take some practice, but they help you save a lot of time and frustration when putting an assembly together from parts. Mate References are similar, except that you have to set them up beforehand (and so they work best on library type parts), and they enable a part to snap into place when you drag it into an assembly.

Understanding External References

External references are one of the most time-consuming aspects of assemblies, and all assemblies and assembly replacement techniques have them. An external reference is any reference to a file outside of the current file. So in its simplest form, part files in an assembly create external references, because the assembly references the parts.

You can easily recognize external references of all kinds by the -> symbol following a feature in the FeatureManager. Figure 1.8 shows a portion of an assembly FeatureManager that contains the symbol. You can also find this symbol on externally referenced features within a part.

FIGURE 1.8

The external reference symbol on a sketch and a feature

Referencing external files in-context

In-context techniques are all about external references. External in-context references in an assembly occur when one part in the assembly has some sort of geometrical reference to another, such as offsetting an edge of a part, using a vertex of a part with a coincident sketch relation, or using a face of another part as a sketch plane. All of these references are saved in Update Holders that reside in the assembly FeatureManager, but SolidWorks hides them by default. Figure 1.9 shows a simple assembly FeatureManager with a single Update Holder. You can show the Update Holders in an assembly by right-clicking the top level name of the assembly in the FeatureManager and selecting Show Update Holders.

FIGURE 1.9

Displaying an Update Holder that keeps external reference information

To view the contents of the Update Holder, right-click the Holder or any part or feature that contains external references, and select List External References from the menu. The information stored in the Update Holder shown in Figure 1.9 is shown in Figure 1.10.

FIGURE 1.10

Showing the contents of the Update Holder

In the example shown in Figure 1.9, four edges of Part1 are offset into Part2. Also, the Part2 sketch into which the edges are offset uses a face of Part1 as the sketch plane.

Note

The Insert the features of the original part(s) if references are broken option in the External References For dialog box does not apply to assembly in-context situations. It only applies to inserted parts (what the Help system calls “derived parts”). Inserted parts are also external references where references can be broken. You will find more information on this topic in the next section.

Each Update Holder holds the external reference information for a single feature. If a sketch and a feature have different external references (for example, the sketch might reference face edges, while the feature might reference a vertex in the other model for an Up To Vertex end condition), there will be a different Update Holder for each. The external reference information has several components:

• The name of the assembly where references are made

• The configuration of the assembly where references are made

• The feature where the reference was created

• The type of entity that was referenced, and which part it is in

• The part from which the reference was created

Referencing external files from a part

Chapter 19 is all about referencing external files from a part. As a preview of what you will see in that chapter, you can insert one part into another part to use in a number of ways, such as the following:

• A starting point, for example, adding secondary operations to a cast part

• A tool, for example, using the Indent feature to create a clearance for an interfering part

• A Boolean operator, for example, to subtract one part from another

• A set of reference geometry, for example, inserting the surface of a car door to create the outer skin of the door

To create these external references, SolidWorks provides four different features or functions:

• Insert Part

• Insert Into New Part

• Split

• Save Bodies

External references within parts can be broken in the same way that in-context relations can be broken. External references in parts have just one fewer component compared to assemblies — parts obviously do not list an assembly where the reference was created.

For parts, two different kinds of external references exist: inserted parts (on the left in Figure 1.11) and stock parts (on the right in Figure 1.11). Figure 1.11 shows these two types of references inserted at the top of different part FeatureManagers. Notice that they both have the in-context external reference symbol (->) after the first feature.

FIGURE 1.11

Two kinds of external references in SolidWorks parts

The inserted part allows you to bring across planes, sketches, features, and even the entire part if you want, but on the down side, it forces you to bring all bodies to the new part (you can select solid or surface, but you can't select which bodies). The stock feature enables you to select which bodies you bring to the new part, but it only allows you to bring solid bodies (not surfaces) and does not allow you to bring reference geometry, sketches, or features.

Summary

If you have taken the SolidWorks training classes, even the advanced training classes, you may not have seen the entire range of what you can do with SolidWorks assemblies. Keep an open mind about being able to accomplish more by using assemblies that are built for different purposes.

External references in assemblies tend to intimidate a lot of users, but if you know where to find the necessary information, and how to handle the data, you can have complete control over your assembly models, and you don't have to be afraid of techniques such as in-context or master model.

Chapter 2: Navigating the Assembly Interface

In This Chapter

Discovering elements of the SolidWorks interface

Exploring the interface

The SolidWorks interface for working with assemblies offers a wide range of tools. You will often find more than one way to do almost everything. Most of the tools are the same as those found in the general parts interface, but this chapter will show you special techniques for using these tools to make your job easier with assemblies.

Once you have mastered the various interface elements and customized your SolidWorks installation, working with assemblies becomes much more efficient and satisfying. Your command of the interface will come with practice and experience. Many existing users may discover features in this book of which they were not aware, even though they have used the software for years.

Each interface element identified in Figure 2.1 is explained in detail within this chapter. You won't see all of the elements shown in Figure 2.1 at the same time; the figure was assembled to show as many interface elements as possible.

FIGURE 2.1

Elements of the SolidWorks assembly interface

Identifying Elements of the SolidWorks Assembly Interface

Most of the elements of the assembly interface are the same as the part interface. (You can find a complete description in the SolidWorks 2011 Parts Bible.) This chapter describes the elements of the SolidWorks interface that are either unique to assemblies or vital to the assemblies' functionality.

Using the CommandManager and toolbars

Remember that the CommandManager saves settings for parts, assemblies, and drawings. This means that it may have different tabs when you are in each of these document types, and you can set each type to have the features and functions that you need.

The CommandManager is less useful in assemblies than it is in parts. Of course, everything depends on what you plan to do in assemblies, but most users generally use fewer tools in assemblies than they do in part documents. In parts, it is common to use the Features tab as well as Sheet Metal, Weldments, possibly Surfaces, and some other CommandManager tabs. In assemblies, the Assembly and Evaluate tabs are the most relevant.

When you edit a part in the context of the assembly, the assembly CommandManager turns into the part CommandManager with some additional tools. Figure 2.2 shows the CommandManager in an assembly when editing a part (with large icons and text removed).

FIGURE 2.2

The CommandManager when editing a part in the context of an assembly

One of the most common mistakes when editing parts in an assembly is to forget which mode you are in — Edit Part or Edit Assembly. Notice the ghosted Edit Part icon where the sketch Confirmation Corner goes (upper-right corner). Also notice that the Edit Part icon in the Assembly toolbar appears depressed. If you have room in your interface, the name of the assembly or the part shows on the title bar. Figure 2.2 shows the interface at a low resolution (1024 x 768), and only part of the height. At this resolution and with the menus pinned along with the title bar toolbar, there is little room for the filename.

Notice that the first five icons on the left side of the CommandManager in Figure 2.2 are assembly tools. They are, respectively,

Edit Component

No External References

Hide/Show Components

Change Transparency

Assembly Transparency

Notice that the Hide/Show Components and Change Transparency icons are nearly indistinguishable. On the interface, the transparency icon is ghosted somewhat. Remember that tool tips can be a very effective way to remember what various icons in the interface signify until you have learned them thoroughly.

Introducing the assembly tools

The tools on the Assembly toolbar are not all available by default, and if you are new to SolidWorks, or are experienced with the software but only use assemblies superficially, you may not be familiar with all of the available tools. The names of the tools are listed in Table 2.1, as displayed in Tools⇒Customize for the Assembly toolbar.

Notice that the small New Part icon is different from the large icon; the small version looks very much like the Smart Fasteners icon. All of these tools are covered in depth throughout this book. You can use the index to find where each topic is covered in detail. Chapter 7 is devoted exclusively to using the Assembly tools.

Using the Heads-Up View toolbar

The Heads-Up View toolbar appears along the middle of the top edge of the graphics window. Figure 2.3 shows the default arrangement of the Heads-Up View toolbar, and it is shown in relation to the rest of the interface in Figure 2.1. This toolbar is not configurable for each document type. It is either on or off, and the icons on it remain the same for parts, assemblies, and drawings.

FIGURE 2.3

The Heads-Up View toolbar

You can customize the Heads-Up View toolbar by using the Toolbars dialog box (Tools⇒Customize⇒Toolbars). Customization includes turning the Heads-Up View toolbar on or off and adding or removing buttons. If you have multiple document windows or multiple viewports showing, the Heads-Up View toolbar only appears in the active window or viewport. This toolbar often overlaps with other interface elements when several windows are tiled or if the active window is not maximized. If it is pulled out of the FeatureManager, it can run into the PropertyManager, as well as the Confirmation Corner or the Task Pane.

Using the Shortcut “S” toolbar

The Shortcut toolbar is also known as the “S” toolbar because by default, you access it by pressing the S key. You can customize this toolbar for each document type and another toolbar for sketches, so it can have different content for sketches, parts, assemblies, and drawings. To customize the “S” toolbar, right-click it when it is active and click Customize from the right mouse button (RMB) menu, as shown in Figure 2.4.

FIGURE 2.4

Right-click the Shortcut “S” toolbar to customize it

Many people claim to have customized the “S” toolbar to such an extent that they have been able to remove the CommandManager and all other toolbars from their interface. This may be true if you use a limited number of sketch entities, sketch relations, and feature types, or if you make extensive use of flyouts on the “S” toolbar. However, if you work with a wide range of tools (say, surfacing, sheet metal, and plastic parts), you may need some additional toolbar space. It is completely possible to have access to most of the software's functions with the “S” toolbar and either the Menu Bar toolbar or the CommandManager. The CommandManager gives you the most flexibility, but it also requires the most space.

Working in the assembly FeatureManager

The FeatureManager in assemblies has some special working modes (see Figure 2.5). It does many of the same things that the part FeatureManager does, but because it manages parts rather than features, you can expect some differences.

You will also encounter some special icons in the assembly FeatureManager. Here is a list of some of these icons; they will all be explained in more detail throughout this book.

FIGURE 2.5

The FeatureManager for a simple model

• Lightweight and Hidden Lightweight. Lightweight components have data loaded from the assembly only. Hidden Lightweight have the data loaded but are not visible.

• Out-of-Date Lightweight and Hidden Out-of-Date Lightweight. Out-of-date lightweight parts exist when changes have been made to the original part, but it hasn't been reloaded yet into the assembly. The symbol notifies you that what you see in the assembly may not represent the current state of the part.

• SpeedPak. SpeedPaks are derived configurations that use only body or face geometry (no parametrics) to display parts and subassemblies within upper-level assemblies. You will learn more about all of these techniques later in this book.

• Envelope. An Envelope is a part in an assembly that is not counted toward the Bill of Materials (BOM) or mass properties. Its primary function is to designate an area for selection. It could designate the range of motion of an operator or piece of machinery, or an area where noise may be above a certain decibel level. Envelopes are intended to be used as part of the Advanced Component Selection that you can access through the menus at Tools⇒Component Selection⇒Advanced Select.

• Update Holders. Update Holders contain the information about external references in assemblies where in-context references have been made. They are hidden by default, but you can show them by right-clicking the name of the assembly and selecting Show Update Holders.

• Flexible Subassembly. SolidWorks solves assembly mates within the assembly document by default. This means that any mates (and motion) associated with a subassembly will not be solved in the upper-level assembly. If a joint is in a subassembly and you want it to move while displayed in the upper-level assembly, you must make the subassembly a flexible subassembly, using the Component Properties dialog box.

• Display Pane. You can open the Display Pane flyout from the FeatureManager by clicking the double arrows at the top-right corner of the FeatureManager. The Display Pane helps you to visualize where appearances, display styles, or hidden bodies have been applied in a part document and where appearances have been applied at various levels (overrides) in an assembly document. The Display Pane is helpful when you're looking for colors that are applied to the model at some level other than the part level.

• Rollback Bar. The Rollback bar at the bottom of the FeatureManager enables you to see the part in various states of history. You can add features while the Rollback bar is at any location. You can also save the model while it is rolled back.

• FeatureManager Filter. One of the most useful elements of the FeatureManager is the FeatureManager filter. The filter resides at the top of the FeatureManager. If you type text in the filter, SolidWorks searches part names, descriptions, tags, comments, document properties, mates, and configuration names for matching text, and only shows matching components in the window. The filter is very useful for quickly finding parts, features, mates, or anything else that shows up in the part or assembly FeatureManager.

Working with multiple document windows

You may sometimes have the luxury of working on a single part at a time, but more often you will have several documents open at once. Fortunately, SolidWorks has several methods for dealing with “information overload,” to help you sort through it all.

Managing open windows

Like most Windows applications, SolidWorks can arrange the open document windows in one of several ways that are available through the Window menu (see Figure 2.6):

• Cascade. This is most useful for accessing documents that are to be edited one by one.

• Tile Horizontally. This is most useful for wide and short parts.

• Tile Vertically. This is most useful for tall, narrow parts, or documents where you want to compare items in the FeatureManager.

• Arrange Icons. When windows are minimized to icons, this menu selection arranges the icons neatly, starting in the lower-left corner of the window.

FIGURE 2.6

The Window menu

The images in Figure 2.7 are meant to show the arrangement of the windows, not the content of the windows. Also, remember that you can use the F9 key to close the FeatureManager; the F10 key to remove the toolbars to create extra interface space when arranging several windows in the graphics window; and the F11 key to remove portions of the interface and enable you to work full screen.

FIGURE 2.7

Window arrangements: Cascade, Tile Horizontally, and Tile Vertically

Understanding the Interface for Moving and Mating

Moving and Mating operations are exclusive to assembly documents and so have some unique interface elements. For the easiest type of moving parts that are set up for dynamic assembly motion, there is no interface at all. You just select the part and drag the cursor. This type of moving is not always as precise as you might need, so SolidWorks enables other types of moving with different interfaces.

You can prevent the motion of components while dragging by turning off the option found at Tools⇒Options⇒Assemblies⇒Move components by dragging. This option is turned on by default.

While moving a part with the default (select) cursor, you can choose some options from the RMB menu to help you move the component. Figure 2.8 shows a portion of this RMB menu.

FIGURE 2.8

Selecting other options for moving parts in an assembly

The Move option simply opens the Move Component PropertyManager, where you can access the options and controls shown later in this section.

The Move With Triad option brings up a triad with wings and concentric rings, shown in Figure 2.9. This may seem confusing at first, but its function becomes clearer as you use it.

FIGURE 2.9

Using the triad to move components

The arrows enable you to move parts along that direction only. The rings enable you to rotate the part around that direction only. The flat “wings” between the arrows enable you to move the part in a plane parallel to the flat wing. To use these wings correctly, you must sometimes reposition the view so you can see the wing properly in order to select it.

The small, blue ball at the center of the triad enables you to move the triad to a more convenient location. It does not snap to any geometry. Moving it only gives you a better view or makes it easier to select parts of the triad without selecting something in the background.

Using the Move Component interface

The Move Component tool enables you to move parts in an assembly using various methods. Figure 2.10 shows the interface for this tool.

SolidWorks allows you to move parts in assemblies using the following methods:

• Free Drag

• Along Assembly XYZ

• Along Entity

• By Delta XYZ

• To XYZ Position

All of the following movement options are available for both translation and rotation.

FIGURE 2.10

Available options in the Move Component interface

Free Drag

Using the Free Drag option is the same as just dragging parts with the cursor without using the Move Component tool at all. When you drag a part with open degrees of freedom in the assembly graphics window, you might notice that the Move Component icon in the assembly toolbar momentarily depresses.

Free Drag exists as an option in the Move Component PropertyManager because several options can be used in conjunction with Free Drag that give you a wider range of capabilities, such as collision, clearance, and physical dynamics.

Free Drag enables the part to move according to whatever open degrees of freedom have been allowed by the mates. This concept is dealt with in more detail in later chapters.

Along Assembly XYZ

The Along Assembly XYZ option displays a small triad on the screen, shown in Figure 2.11.

This interface only allows you to move the part along one axis at a time. You can try to free-drag the part, and you will most likely move the part in the direction you want if you bring the view into an orientation such that the direction you want to move is parallel to the screen.

To ensure that you are moving in a particular direction, you can click the cursor near one of the X, Y, or Z legs of the triad. There is no cursor snap, nor does one leg change color, so you can't really be sure that you are going to move a part in a specific direction until you see the part actually moving. This is not as reliable as the Move With Triad option.

FIGURE 2.11

Using the triad with Along Assembly XYZ

Along Entity

If you want to move a part in a particular direction that is not aligned with the coordinate system of the assembly, you can use the Along Entity option. This requires you to have an edge, axis, or sketch line that goes in the direction you want to move the part.

By Delta XYZ

You can use the By Delta XYZ option to move a component when you know the specific distance and direction you want to move the selected parts. Figure 2.12 shows this PropertyManager along with the same triad from the Along Assembly XYZ option.

FIGURE 2.12

Moving a component using the By Delta XYZ option

To XYZ Position

This PropertyManager, like the other Move Component PropertyManagers, doesn't have a selection box to show you what is selected. If you use this option to move a component, then the component's origin is moved to the specified XYZ point unless you have a point on the model selected, in which case that point is moved to the specified XYZ point. Figure 2.13 shows the To XYZ Position PropertyManager.

FIGURE 2.13

Using the To XYZ Position option to move a part

Selecting Move Component options

Not all of the options in this panel of the Move Component PropertyManager apply to all movement methods. The three options are

• Standard Drag

• Collision Detection

• Physical Dynamics

The Standard Drag option simply refers to dragging parts visually on the screen.

Collision Detection allows parts to move until they interfere with another part. When the parts touch, SolidWorks makes a sound. The performance of this type of movement is highly dependent on the complexity of shapes in the assembly and your hardware specifications. Figure 2.14 shows the PropertyManager options for Collision Detection.

Physical Dynamics is like Collision Detection except that when parts touch, instead of stopping, they push the other parts. You can use this type of motion if you have an assembly where the parts are not highly constrained. You need to remember that it does not take into account factors such as momentum, material properties, or anything other than contact and mates.

FIGURE 2.14

Using options for Collision Detection

Dynamic Clearance

Dynamic Clearance is an option in the Move Component PropertyManager that you can use while moving parts by dragging. It works by placing the minimum clearance dimension between parts when one of them is being dragged. You can use Dynamic Clearance in conjunction with other options in the Move Component PropertyManager. Figure 2.15 shows the Dynamic Clearance panel of the Move Component PropertyManager.

In the Advanced Options panel, the Highlight Faces option highlights the faces that would collide or are being measured between for minimum clearance. The Ignore Complex Surfaces option tells SolidWorks not to calculate complex faces; this speeds up calculations in situations where speed is a problem.

Using the Mate interface

The SolidWorks Mate interface works slightly differently from some of the other functional interfaces. Normally, you get into a rhythm with the button pushes and keyboard strokes, but the Mate interface slightly breaks up this rhythm. The SolidWorks developers set up the interface based on the assumption that you are going to make multiple mates every time you use the Mate PropertyManager.

Considering workflow

The normal workflow for tools is that you use the tool, and when you click the green check mark icon, the interface closes, unless it is a feature that has the pushpin in the PropertyManager, and you have the pushpin pushed. In this case, it keeps the interface open so you can do multiple iterations. For example, the Offset Entities PropertyManager, shown in Figure 2.16, has a pushpin.

FIGURE 2.15

Using the Dynamic Clearance option with Move Component

FIGURE 2.16

Comparing the Offset Entities interface to the Mate interface

Here is the workflow for the Offset Entities PropertyManager without using the Push Pin feature:

1. Within a sketch, preselect an edge (you can also select the edge after Step 2).

2. Click the Offset Entities toolbar button.

3. Set the options.

4. Click the green check mark icon.

When you click the green check mark icon, the PropertyManager closes.

Now here is the workflow for the Offset Entities PropertyManager using the Push Pin feature, which allows you to perform multiple offset operations:

1. Within a sketch, preselect an edge (you can also select the edge after Step 2).

2. Click the Offset Entities toolbar button.

3. Click the pushpin.

4. Set the options.

5. Click the green check mark icon.

6. Make another selection set.

7. Change the options.

8. Click the green check mark icon.

9. Repeat Steps 6, 7, and 8 until you are done.

10. Click the green check mark icon again.

The Mate interface, shown in Figure 2.17, has a pushpin for the PropertyManager, but not for the Mate function; to close the Mate function, you need to click the green check mark icon twice (and make the second click when there is nothing selected in the interface), or click the red X. So the Mate feature works like Offset Entities if the Offset Entities pushpin were always pushed in. This is why the Mate workflow is not standard — because it assumes that you want to use the pushpin, without giving you the option.

Looking at the rest of the Mate interface

In all fairness, there is more to the story about the Mate interface than just a little interface inconsistency. Some tools exist that help you get through the mates quickly.

RMB OK

Possibly the single biggest time-saver in the Mate interface is the RMB OK feature, which allows you to simply click the RMB to apply the mate and move on to the next selection. It's fast, and once you get used to it, you will wish the rest of the interface had this little gem. Some other features have it and some don't.

Multiple Mate mode

The icon for Multiple Mate mode is in the Mate Selections panel, shown in Figure 2.18. With Multiple Mate mode, you select one entity that you want to mate several parts to, such as a center plane that all the parts in an assembly use to line themselves up.

FIGURE 2.17

The Mate function does not have its own pushpin — it behaves as if the pushpin is always pushed in.

The workflow for this tool is as follows:

1. Initiate the Multiple Mate tool.

2. Click the Multiple Mate Mode icon.

3. Click the common entity that you want to mate other parts to.

4. Click each entity that you want to mate to the common entity.

5. Use the RMB OK feature to continue, or click the green check mark icon twice to exit the feature.

FIGURE 2.18

Using Multiple Mate mode

Mate shortcut bar

The Mate shortcut bar, shown in Figure 2.19, brings most of the options from the Mate PropertyManager out to where your cursor is. This shortcut bar makes it easy to change mate types, enter a distance or angle value for a mate, or flip the direction of the mate.

FIGURE 2.19

Selecting options with the Mate shortcut bar

Summary

SolidWorks assemblies have a lot of functionality and settings that are not found in other document types. The interface remembers settings for different document types, which saves you time when switching between parts and assemblies. The features mentioned in this chapter are described in more detail throughout this book.

Chapter 3: Visualizing Assemblies

In This Chapter

Customizing the view

Controlling part visual properties

Using Display States in parts and assemblies

Using the Apply Edge setting to create boundaries

Sorting or displaying in an assembly

Using assembly visualization tutorial

With assemblies, even more than with parts, the ability to visualize the geometry is highly important to the success of a modeling project. Between manipulating the view and manipulating the model, you have to be able to see all sides of geometry. Add to that section views, transparency, and mixed-mode display with shading and wireframes, and you have some extreme visualization power at your fingertips.

Manipulating the View

Whether you are working in parts or assemblies, manipulating the view is one of the most important and frequent things that you will do in SolidWorks. You can customize and disable the Heads-Up View toolbar, shown in Figure 3.1, by using the same method that you use for all other toolbars, through the Tools⇒Customize dialog box.

Tip

Some mouse drivers change the middle-button or scroll-wheel settings to do other things. Often, you can disable the special settings for a particular application if you want SolidWorks to work correctly and still use the other functionality. For example, the most common problem with mouse drivers is that when the model gets close to the sides of the graphics window and the scroll bars engage, the middle mouse button (MMB) suddenly changes its function. If this happens to you, you should change the function of the MMB to Middle Mouse Button from its present setting.

FIGURE 3.1

Use the Heads-Up View toolbar to easily access most visualization tools.

Using arrow keys

You can use the arrow keys on the keyboard to manipulate the view in predictable and controllable ways. You can use the Shift, Ctrl, and Alt keys to customize this behavior.

The arrow keys enable you to rotate to the following views:

• Arrow. Rotate 15 degrees. To customize this setting, choose Tools⇒Options⇒View.

• Shift+arrow. Rotate 90 degrees.

• Alt+arrow. Rotate in a plane flat to the screen.

• Ctrl+arrow. Pan.

Using the middle mouse button

Most, if not all, mice sold today have middle mouse buttons (MMB), usually in the form of a clickable scroll wheel.

The MMB or scroll wheel has several uses in view manipulation:

• MMB alone. Rotate.

• Click or hover on edge, face, or vertex with MMB, and then drag MMB. Rotate around selected entity.

• Ctrl+MMB. Pan.

• Shift+MMB. Zoom.

• Double-click MMB. Zoom to fit.

• Scroll with wheel. Zoom in or out. To reverse direction of the zoom setting, choose Tools⇒Options⇒View.

• Alt+MMB. Rotate in a plane flat to the screen.

Clicking the triad

The triad in the lower-left corner of the graphics window gives you another great way to manipulate the view. You can click any leg of the triad, and the view rotates such that the leg you clicked points straight out of the screen. Shift+clicking an axis rotates the view 90 degrees about that axis. Alt+clicking an axis rotates the view 15 degrees about that axis. Using Ctrl in combination with either Shift or Alt reverses the direction of the rotation.

When you move the cursor right over the axis you want to click, the axis appears highlighted in yellow. Figure 3.2 shows the triad in action.

FIGURE 3.2

Using the triad to rotate the view

To summarize this method:

• Click axis. Axis points out of screen.

• Double-click axis. Axis points into screen.

• Shift+click axis. View rotates 90 degrees around axis.

• Ctrl+Shift+click axis. View rotates 90 degrees in the opposite direction.

• Alt+click axis. View rotates 15 degrees around axis.

• Ctrl+Alt+click axis. View rotates 15 degrees in the opposite direction.

Using mouse gestures

Mouse gestures are an interface method that you can customize to do anything a SolidWorks toolbar button can do, but by default, this method controls view orientation. Figure 3.3 shows the default configuration of the mouse gesture donut.

FIGURE 3.3

Click+drag the right mouse button (RMB) to access the commands on the donut.

It may take a little time for you to get used to the interface. It works best when you understand what the commands are before you use them, so that you can invoke the Top View command in a single motion. It does not work well if you have to initiate the interface with a very short RMB drag, and then drag again to select the command. For this reason, it might be better to limit the donut to four commands rather than eight, and set it up intuitively such that the top view is an RMB stroke up, a right view is an RMB stroke to the right, and so on.

You can customize the mouse gesture donut by selecting Tools⇒Customize⇒Mouse Gestures. This works like the Keyboard (hotkey) customization, where you can turn gestures on or off, set the mouse gesture donut to four or eight sections, and change the icons on the donut.

While the icons you put on the donut are not limited to view manipulation commands, this particular interface appears to work best when you use it for view manipulation.

Using the Magnifying Glass

You can invoke the Magnifying Glass by pressing the G key, and dismiss it when you select something or when you press Esc. To change the hotkey it is associated with, choose Tools⇒Customize⇒Keyboard. Magnifying Glass is listed in the Other category. The Magnifying Glass allows you to magnify a small area of the view so that you can make a more precise selection.

The magnified area follows your cursor as it moves, and you can zoom in and out by scrolling the MMB. Ctrl+MMB-dragging keeps the Magnifying Glass centered on the cursor. Pressing Alt and scrolling the mouse wheel creates a section view parallel to the view. Figure 3.4 shows the Magnifying Glass in operation, cutting a section view through an assembly.

FIGURE 3.4

Using the Magnifying Glass with the section view

The Magnifying Glass shows up automatically for certain sketch repair operations. It does not have a permanent home in the menus or on the toolbars. You can only access it through the G shortcut key, so the only place you will see it listed is in Tools⇒Customize⇒Keyboard⇒Other.

Note

The intended purpose of the Magnifying Glass is to select small items. You may use it to magnify parts of your drawing, but remember that it will disappear as soon as you select something.

Investing in a 3D mouse device

There is no better way to manipulate the view of a 3D part than using a 3D mouse device such as those sold by 3Dconnexion. Other manufacturers offer similar devices such as the SpaceController and Asteroid. These devices allow you to manipulate the model on the screen as if it were in your hand. They are also very appropriate to use with assemblies, as you can use them to manipulate underdefined parts in the assembly.

Some 3D mouse devices also have a good number of programmable buttons that you can use for fast access to functionality such as section view, the “S” toolbar, or the Magnifying Glass.

Controlling Appearances

Appearances in SolidWorks have undergone a huge transformation since the 2007 release. Previous to that, color controls had been difficult to access; at one point, they were buried four levels deep in RMB menus. After a decade of development, SolidWorks 2007 finally consolidated the color interface. But then SolidWorks 2008 completely changed how you control the visual properties of parts. Figure 3.5 shows the Appearance PropertyManager (note that the default appearance is labeled Color).

The Advanced configuration of the Appearance PropertyManager (activated by clicking the Advanced toggle button at the top of the window) has three additional tabs, named Mapping, Illumination, and Surface Finish. These parts of the Appearance PropertyManager are shown in Figure 3.6. These options offer you a wide range of flexibility for altering the appearance of the part.

FIGURE 3.5

The Appearance PropertyManager

When part appearances are applied in an assembly, you have to consider the override order. Override order is the hierarchical order in which one appearance overrides another. For example, an appearance applied to the assembly overrides all other appearances that might be applied. An appearance applied to the part in its own window will be overridden by any other applied appearance. The hierarchy of overrides looks like this (from weakest to strongest):

• Default appearance

• Part

• Body

• Feature

• Face

• Component

• Assembly

When you apply an appearance to a part in the assembly, the popup toolbar that allows you to define the override level at which you would like to place the appearance looks like Figure 3.7.

FIGURE 3.6

The Appearance PropertyManager has several tabs for other properties.

FIGURE 3.7

You can use these override options when applying an appearance to a part within an assembly.

The icons on the toolbar from left to right are Face, Feature, Body, Part, and Component. The component is just a part or subassembly within an upper-level assembly. You cannot apply an appearance as a subassembly component; it is either the part or the entire subassembly.

Removing appearances and overrides

Just as important as the ability to apply appearances is the ability to remove appearances. Figure 3.8 shows the front face of the truck cab selected and accessing the Appearances drop-down list. From the drop-down list, you can see that the feature called Split Line1 has a black color (appearance override) applied, while the part has an orange color. The red X symbol to the right of each appearance icon enables you to remove that particular appearance.

Another method to remove appearances is to use the Appearance PropertyManager, shown in Figure 3.5. Notice that below the selection box is a grayed-out button that says Remove Appearance. If your selection has an available appearance that can be removed, this button becomes activated.

If you remove an appearance, SolidWorks will use the next applied appearance on the previously mentioned hierarchy list. So removing an appearance applied to a feature causes the appearance applied to the body to be displayed; in this case, no appearance was applied to the body, so it goes next to the part. Because the part color is orange, removing the black cab color causes the faces of the cab to change from orange to black.

FIGURE 3.8

You can remove appearances and overrides.

If you remove all appearances from the part, SolidWorks reverts to the default appearance. You can change the default appearance by right-clicking an appearance in the Task Pane and selecting Set as Default Appearance, as shown in Figure 3.9.

The option at the bottom of the drop-down list in Figure 3.8, Remove All Component Appearances, removes any appearances applied at the component level. In the drop-down list shown in Figure 3.8, you can't see any component-level overrides; you can only see the appearance applied to the dump truck chassis at the part level (in the part's own window).

If, however, you look at the assembly colors using the Display Pane, you can see this additional level of information.

Using the Display Pane

The Display Pane flies out from the right side of the FeatureManager via a set of double arrows at the upper-right corner. It displays a quick list of which entities have appearances, transparency, or other visual properties assigned. It also shows hidden parts or bodies for assemblies and multi-body parts. The Display Pane is shown in Figure 3.10.

FIGURE 3.9

Setting a default appearance

FIGURE 3.10

Use the Display Pane to sort out appearances problems.

Notice that in the second column from the right, in the last row (the Fuel Tanks component), the Display Pane shows two triangles. The upper-left triangle indicates an appearance override. The part color is gray, while the component override is yellow.

The Display Pane also shows that the Truck Layout Master Model part is hidden, and that the Truck Body part is displayed in wireframe.

The Display Pane is not just a billboard that shows the state of visual properties of parts in the FeatureManager; you can also use it to change the settings. If you click any of the icons following part names in the FeatureManager, you can change the Hide/Show state and the display mode (such as shaded or wireframe), as well as add or remove overrides and even transparency. For visualization, the Display Pane is one of the most useful interface developments added to SolidWorks.

However, the Display Pane doesn't show you everything you need to know. For even more visual and display information, you need to use the DisplayManager.

Using the DisplayManager

You can access the DisplayManager through a tab at the top of the FeatureManager area, next to the ConfigurationManager tab. Figure 3.11 shows an example of what you will see when you open the DisplayManager.

FIGURE 3.11

Opening the DisplayManager

The DisplayManager contains information on three types of visual data in SolidWorks: Appearances; Decals; and Scene, Lights, and Camera. Some of this information is redundant, as it is shown in both the Display Pane and the Appearances callouts in the graphics window. But it is also presented in a unique way.

Controlling Appearances with the DisplayManager

Appearances can be displayed in three different ways in the DisplayManager: by history, alphabetical order, and hierarchy. You can control this option by using the Sort Order drop-down list at the top of the panel window. Figure 3.12 shows how the History option assigns appearances to parts and features. This enables you to edit the appearance for an entire selection of geometry at once. You can also add to the selection set using the RMB menu option Attach To Selection.

FIGURE 3.12

Sorting the appearance assignments by history

The “history” means that the appearance assignments are sorted in chronological order based on when the materials were assigned to the various parts. There is no reordering as in the history-based feature tree in parts. You might use this feature to keep track of which appearances were edited or added most recently to help you access them.

The Alphabetical listing just lists the appearances alphabetically. This is a great way to group similar appearances together, even from various parts in an assembly.

The final sorting option is Hierarchy. This is the most useful of the three (with the History sorting being second). You can see how it lays out the information in Figure 3.13. Hierarchical sorting organizes the appearance assignments by the override list given earlier in this chapter, namely Components, Face, Features, Body, and Part.

FIGURE 3.13

Sorting appearances by hierarchy

Applying decals

The second item that the DisplayManager manages is decals. You can apply decals to parts or components at the assembly level. Each decal is listed separately, and indented underneath the decal is the geometry to which it is applied. In the example in Figure 3.14, two decals are applied to the truck, one at the assembly level and one at the part level. This is reflected in the way the decals are listed in the DisplayManager.

FIGURE 3.14

Using the DisplayManager to manage decals

You can get a preview of the decal if you hover the mouse over the name of the decal in the DisplayManager panel, as shown in Figure 3.15. Decals can be hidden or deleted from the RMB menu. You can also hide decals from the View menu.

FIGURE 3.15

Displaying previews of decals and RMB options for decals

The examples in these images use sample decals that install with the SolidWorks software. The samples are stored by default at C:\Program Files\SolidWorks Corp\SolidWorks\data\graphics\Decals. If you want to make your own decal, you should first create a custom location, not in a SolidWorks installation path, where you store all your custom decals; in fact, any decal (even a sample decal) that you use on your models should be stored here.

To establish a location for custom decals, go to Tools⇒Options⇒File Locations, and select Custom – Decals from the drop-down list, as shown in Figure 3.16.

FIGURE 3.16

Establishing a library location for custom decals

With this item selected, browse to your established library folder for other custom items, and add a new folder for decals. You can add multiple locations if you need to do that. These locations show up in the Decals section of the Appearances tab on the Task Pane.

Note

All of the sample decals use a *.p2d extension, which stands for PhotoWorks2 Decal. PhotoWorks2 is now a defunct product, and it is no longer required to apply decals. If you try to drop common image types into the Task Pane directly by dragging from Windows Explorer, SolidWorks gives you an error. Once you get the images converted to *.p2d, you cannot easily convert them back to a common image type.

A Word on Decal Masks

Many sources of information assume that you know what a mask is and what it does, but SolidWorks users are typically mechanical designers and engineers, not graphic designers. Following is an explanation of the mask technique.

Images are saved in files as rectangular-shaped data. All image files cover the geometry of a rectangle of some size or shape. But you don't always want to apply an image as a decal that is purely rectangular. Look at the warning decal from the earlier dump truck example. The sign is triangular, but you are still working with a rectangular image. The figure below shows two different applications of the warning decal, one with a mask that blocks out the unneeded area and one without a mask.

Warning decal with mask

Warning decal without mask

A mask is essentially a black-and-white image that removes or blocks out the background of another image. The mask is black where you don't want the image to appear, and white where you want the image to show. This figure shows how the mask on the warning decal works:

Warning decal mask detail

You can create masks with many photo-editing software packages, such as IrfanView (www.irfanview.com). Change the image to a black-and-white picture (Image⇒Decrease color depth⇒2 colors), and then invert the colors to get the mask (Image⇒Negative). You need to save the mask file to the same directory as the decal. The following progression of images demonstrates this process.

Creating the final decal

To create a new decal, right-click in the Decal area of the DisplayManager and select Add Decal. Click the Browse button to browse to the image file you want to use as a decal. SolidWorks accepts the following image types to create decals:

• bmp

• hdr

• jpg

• jpeg

• png

• psd

• rgb

• tga

• targa

• tif

• tiff

The application of decals in the assembly seems to have several quirks. Sizing the decal may move it unpredictably, and it seems to project onto all faces rather than just a single face. When the decals are applied on the part level, results are much better.

Controlling Scene, Lights, and Cameras

The Scene, Lights, and Cameras feature has been covered in the SolidWorks 2011 Parts Bible in sufficient detail that it isn't covered in this book. The only thing that needs repeating is that the scene is now a document property, and overrides scene or background settings from previous versions. If you prefer a plain background to one of the standard SolidWorks scenes, use the setting at Tools⇒Options⇒Colors, and make sure the Plain option is selected.

Creating a walk-through

A walk-through is an animation that simulates what a person would see as they walk through a large-scale design. It was developed primarily for the new architectural tools that are being added to SolidWorks, but it may also be appropriate for certain types of equipment, facility, or site design. Like much of the new functionality that SolidWorks has introduced, some seemingly crucial tools you might need to be successful with the Walk-through feature remain to be developed and implemented. The 2011 release is the first one that offers the Walk-through feature, so you should see a more complete offering in the next release.

This chapter looks at the very large dump truck, which is a good example of equipment design where a walk-through can be useful. To access Walk-through, go to View⇒Lights and Cameras⇒Add Walk-through. Figure 3.17 shows the walk-through area of the DisplayManager along with the model used for this example. You can do walk-throughs using an interface to direct an avatar, or you can drive the camera along a sketched path. The sketched path method has some overlap with MotionManager animation, which is covered in Chapter 23. Walkthrough is also part of the Large Scale Design, which is covered in Chapter 18.

FIGURE 3.17

Using the DisplayManager to create a walk-through

The interface for the walk-through consists of two elements — the PropertyManager and the horizontal toolbar; the initial setup is controlled by the Walk-through PropertyManager, shown in Figure 3.18.

In the PropertyManager, you select a base plane that acts as a floor, and then establish a camera height to simulate the height of your eyes off the floor. If you intend to drive the walk-through using a sketch, you can select the sketch elements in the Motion Constraints selection box. For the most fluid motion, you can use splines. You can also use 2D or 3D sketches.

FIGURE 3.18

Using the Walk-through PropertyManager for the initial setup

Capturing the walk-through requires an interface that is significantly different from other SolidWorks tools, as shown in Figure 3.19. While the interface and documentation refer to an “avatar,” you will not see any sort of virtual manikin walking through the model, except in SolidWorks sales demonstrations.

FIGURE 3.19

Using the special walk-through interface

Once you are in this mode, the scroll wheel on your mouse works backwards from standard SolidWorks functionality for zooming.

On the DVD

The dump truck files used for this example are on the DVD. This is a good model for practicing.

Here are the steps to create a walk-through:

1. Select a suitable model, preferably one with an interior that you want to virtually wander around inside. This feature works best with models on the scale of buildings.

2. Click the DisplayManager tab in the FeatureManager area.

3. Click the Scene, Lights, and Cameras button.

4. Right-click the Walk-through entry in the list, and select Add Walk-through.

5. Establish a floor or vertical direction using a plane, planar face, edge, or axis, and indicate which end is up. Also, establish the height of your eyes above the floor with a sketch plane for the path.

6. If you are using a sketch path, select the sketch segments in the Motion Constraints selection box.

7. Click the Capture Walk-through button. If you are using sketches to drive the motion, just click the Forward button on the interface, and the camera “walks” along the path. If you are not using sketches, use the arrows on the interface to make the camera (called an avatar in this interface) move.

8. Generate and save the video using the controls on the toolbar.

Using Display States

One of the most commonly used and powerful visualization aids available in SolidWorks is the display states functionality (see Figure 3.20). Display states is simply the ability to save different arrangements showing parts shaded, shaded with edges, in wireframe, with hidden lines removed (HLR), with hidden lines in gray (HLG), or to change colors or hide parts entirely.

FIGURE 3.20

Display states in an assembly

Display states are a great alternative to configurations when it comes to efficiency and speed. Configurations and display states are covered in more detail in Chapter 8, but to summarize the difference, configurations require more processing power (rebuild time) and data storage (file size) than display states. If you are in the habit of making configurations for assemblies just to change the visual characteristics (including Hide/Show), you should consider using display states for that instead.

In addition to being able to use display states to differentiate parts in an assembly, you can use display states for bodies within parts. These capabilities are discussed in this chapter because display states are an extremely valuable tool for visualization in both parts and assemblies.

You can find display states in the lower half of the ConfigurationManager. Notice in Figure 3.20 that the settings you change in display states are also recorded in the Display Pane. To add a display state, right-click in the Display States section of the ConfigurationManager. To activate a different display state, just double-click a grayed-out state.

Using Edge and Wireframe Settings

Using edge and wireframe settings for displaying assemblies can be a very effective way to make interior assembly parts more visible without some of the visual confusion that transparent parts sometimes create. In hand-drawn illustrations, artists often use line drawings to simplify the display of parts, and to some extent you can borrow from that technique within SolidWorks.

For example, the bicycle derailleur assembly shown in Figure 3.20 makes use of wireframe and transparency, as shown in Figure 3.21 in a different view. While a transparent part shows what is behind it, it is still more distracting than a wireframe part. Moreover, wireframe parts can be shown with hidden edges removed or hidden edges visible. As a result, wireframe display offers more options.

FIGURE 3.21

Combining display modes can be very effective in visualizing an assembly.

Making the case for shaded with edge display

Years ago, using shaded display with edges slowed computer performance noticeably, but with the development of modern hardware (and to some extent software), adding edges to the shaded display does not slow down performance to the same degree. It makes the display clearer and helps you interact with the parts better. With edge display turned on, you can see where the faces are broken up without any highlighting.

You can use the setting that displays the wireframe and edges, choosing a similar shade as the actual shaded part. There are several reasons for using this setting. The first is that when you change between shaded and wireframe modes, the part doesn't change color, and not all of the parts in the assembly turn black. The default setting for SolidWorks parts is that the wireframe is black, and the edges displayed in Shaded with Edges mode are also black. Having the edges and wireframe colors follow the shaded color just makes a lot of sense.

The setting that makes wireframe and shaded modes the same color is found at Tools⇒Options⇒Document Properties⇒Model Display⇒Apply same color to wireframe, HLR and shaded. This setting is shown in Figure 3.22.

FIGURE 3.22

Making the wireframe and displayed edges the same color as the shaded model

This is a document property, but you can override it by using a system option, found at Tools⇒Options⇒Colors⇒Use specified color for Shaded With Edges mode, shown in Figure 3.23.

This option is turned on by default. If you want the edges to be the same color as the shaded part, you have to turn it off, in addition to selecting the Apply same color to wireframe, HLR and shaded setting (from Figure 3.22) for each individual part (which means it should be set up in the templates that you use to make the parts).

For example, if you have a red shaded model, and use Shaded With Edges mode, the edges of the model vary between pink and dark red, depending on the shade of red you use. The edges always contrast slightly with the shaded color, but the contrast is less than if the edges are always black.

FIGURE 3.23

Overriding the edge color settings

Using tangent edge display

Taking the control of the display of edges one step further, you can also use the tangent edge settings. These settings are found in the View⇒Display menu, and are as follows:

• Tangent Edges Visible. Displays tangent edges as solid lines, just like all other edges.

• Tangent Edges as Phantom. Displays tangent edges in a phantom line font.

• Tangent Edges Removed. Displays only non-tangent edges.

The Tangent Edges Removed setting leaves parts looking like a silhouette. You may prefer the phantom setting because you can easily distinguish between edges that actually look like edges on the part and edges that only serve to break up faces on the model. The Tangent Edges Visible setting conveys no additional information, and is the default setting. Figure 3.24 shows a sample part with all three settings.

FIGURE 3.24

Samples of the tangent edge settings

Using Assembly Visualization

Assembly Visualization is a feature that enables you to sort or display parts and subassemblies in an assembly in various ways, including by filename, quantity, mass, or a custom property value. When you click column headers to sort the names of components in the assembly, you can move the sliders on the left side of the FeatureManager to change the display colors of the parts.

You can expand or collapse subassemblies by clicking the assembly symbol at the top of the tree, or you can disable the color display by clicking the color gradient scale. Value bars can also be displayed to show the relative value of each assembly component.

Figure 3.25 shows a model of a bicycle sorting subassemblies by mass. The gray value bars are superimposed on the text in the FeatureManager area. You can open an assembly on your computer and try this for yourself to see the color display.

You can access the Assembly Visualization feature on the Evaluate tab of the CommandManager when an assembly is active, or through the Tools menu. The toolbar icon is with the Tools icons, and you can find it by choosing Tools⇒Customize or through the Tools menu in an assembly.

By right-clicking below the FeatureManager Filter when Assembly Visualization is active, you can also save the resulting sorted list to a file in a number of formats, including, xls, xlsx, txt, csv, and pdf.

FIGURE 3.25

Assembly Visualization offers several ways to sort and display the components in an assembly.

Tutorial: Using Assembly Visualization

This tutorial walks you through the steps necessary to use the Assembly Visualization tool in SolidWorks.

1. Close other open documents by choosing Window⇒Close All. If you have any documents open from the DVD, you can save them using the Save As command.

2. Open the assembly file BibleBikeAssembly ch3.sldasm from the DVD.

3. Select the Assembly Visualization tool from the Tools menu. You can also select it on the Evaluate tab of the CommandManager or from a custom location by choosing Tools⇒Customize⇒Commands⇒Tools and dragging Assembly Visualization to the toolbar of your choice.

4. Toggle the Flat/Nested view icon to see its effect on the tree display.

5. Click each available heading to see the tree sorted, based on your selection.

6. Turn off the assembly coloration by single-clicking the red to blue fade.

7. Sort the tree based on mass.

8. Show the tree in flat rather than nested display.

9. Click and drag the red and blue sliders up and down to focus on a range of weights.

10. Click to toggle the Value Bars to show the relative weights of parts.

Summary

Visualization is a key function of the SolidWorks software. It can be either an end to itself if you are showing a design to a vendor or client or a means to an end if you are using visualization techniques to analyze or evaluate the model. In both cases, SolidWorks presents you with a list of tools to accomplish the task. The tools range from the analytical to the cosmetic, and some of the tools have multiple uses.

Part II: Working with Assemblies

In This Part

Chapter 4
Building Efficient Assemblies

Chapter 5
Getting More from Mates

Chapter 6
Working with Assembly Sketches and Layouts

Chapter 7
Using Assembly Tools

Chapter 8
Controlling Assembly Configurations and Display States

Chapter 9
Patterning and Mirroring Components

Chapter 10
Modeling in Context

Chapter 11
Creating Assembly Features

Chapter 12
Using Parametric Links in Assemblies

Chapter 13
Editing, Evaluating, and Troubleshooting Assemblies

Chapter 4: Building Efficient Assemblies

In This Chapter

Setting apart the elements of an assembly

Increasing performance by using SpeedPaks

Organizing assemblies by using subassemblies

Grouping parts and mates by using folders

Showing names and descriptions with tree display options

Employing helpful assembly tools

Arranging assemblies tutorial

Managing the FeatureManager tutorial

Chapter 1 provides a brief introduction to the basics of assemblies, the basics of mating, and so on. The process for putting assemblies together remains the same for assemblies of any size, but once the assembly passes a certain point — and this point is likely different for each user or application — the assembly will benefit from some sort of organization or management techniques. This chapter introduces you to the tools and techniques that are available to help you manage performance issues as well as general-use issues, efficiency, browse-worthiness, and searchability.

Identifying the Elements of an Assembly

From Chapter 1, you know that an assembly can contain parts and mates, and real-world assemblies can become very complex. As the number of parts and design requirements for an assembly grows, you may need to add some of the following types of assembly elements:

• Assembly equations

• Assembly layout feature

• Assembly layout technique

• Assembly reference geometry (plane, axis, point, coordinate system)

• Parts

• Subassemblies

• Folders for parts

• Folders for mates

• Mates

• Assembly features (cuts that are made once the parts are assembled)

• Component patterns

• Mirror components

• In-context reference placeholders

• Smart Fasteners

• Smart Components

• Virtual components

• Envelopes

• Assembly configurations

• SpeedPaks

• Display states

• Assembly Design Table

• Assembly Bill of Materials (BOM)

• Hidden/Suppressed/Lightweight/SpeedPak performance techniques

• Sensors

• Hole Series

You may already be familiar with some of these elements from having worked with part documents. Shown in Figure 4.1, these elements are described in detail throughout this book.

Understanding standard reference geometry items

The three standard planes and the Origin in the assembly FeatureManager design tree should all be familiar to you, as should the other standard items, such as the Annotations, Design Binder, Sensors, and Lights and Cameras folders. These items offer the same standard functionality as their part document counterparts.

FIGURE 4.1

Elements of an assembly

Note

Remember that you can choose Tools⇒Options⇒FeatureManager page and permanently select or deselect various folders under the FeatureManager header. Also be aware that when some folders are set to Automatic, they do not automatically turn on when they should. In this case, you can manually set them to Show.

Working with assembly equations

Assembly equations work like part equations, but with some additional complications and considerations. For example, one of the additional features of assembly equations is the ability to drive the dimensions of one part from another part. The syntax is slightly different for assemblies, as shown in Figure 4.2. Overall, issues with equation order and using driven dimensions on the right side of the equation are the same between parts and assemblies. New in SolidWorks 2011 is the ability to save equations out as a file with a *.txt extension and share the equations between documents.

Cross-Reference

Equations are discussed in detail in Chapter 12.

FIGURE 4.2

An assembly equation driving one part from another

Solving external references

Notice the “->” symbol after the Equations folder in the assembly FeatureManager. This means that there is an external or in-context reference. An external reference means that aspect of the part is dependent upon something outside of the part. This has file management implications because you must maintain the names of the files so that they always recognize the other file involved in the external relation. In-context means that one part has a relation to another part in positions determined by an assembly. So in this case, the in-context external reference can only be solved if the original part, the referenced part, and the assembly where the relationship was created are all open at the same time.

Cross-Reference

In-context references are discussed in depth in Chapter 10.

When one part drives another part in this way, the assembly must also be open to drive the relationship. If just the two parts are open individually, then changing the driving part does not update the driven part; because the relationship was created in the context of the assembly, the assembly must also be open to facilitate the change.

Understanding link values and global variables

Link values and global variables also work in assemblies, but they do not work between parts. Local assembly sketches can use these functions, and the parts can use them when edited in the context of the assembly, but they cannot cross any document barriers (links must remain within a single document).

Renaming

Equations update with new part names regardless of how you rename the parts. Names of subassemblies also update when you rename assembly files. This includes renaming a document using the Save As command, using SolidWorks Explorer, or using Windows Explorer. It also includes redirecting the assembly to the new part name, as well as renaming the assembly using each of these techniques. If the assembly can find the part and recognizes the part as the one that it is looking for, then the equation will work.

Some of the methods named previously for renaming parts are not recommended. SolidWorks Explorer and the Save As methods can be effective when used properly. References between files are a different issue altogether from an equation's references to local filenames.

Recommendations

While assembly equations are certainly a valid way to control part sizes, you should use assembly or part configurations, possibly with design tables, to accomplish something similar. Equations and configurations do not mix well because the two methods conflict over which one controls the dimensions. Configurations with design tables are recommended over equations.

Cross-Reference

Assembly configurations and design tables are discussed in Chapter 8.

Caution

You may have unexpected results if a single dimension is controlled from more than one location. For example, if you have a part-level equation and an assembly-level equation, then one of the equations will be automatically set to Read Only and will not be used.

Using an assembly layout sketch

SolidWorks has an assembly feature called Layout that uses a 3D sketch to lay out the major functions of an assembly, and even details of parts. The word layout also refers to a technique using 2D sketches in an assembly to do exactly the same thing. The distinction between the technique and the formal assembly feature is bound to be confusing. The Layout feature only works in assemblies, but layout techniques have been used in parts as well as assemblies for many years. This chapter describes the technique, and the Layout feature is discussed in Chapter 6.

When you look at the two functionalities, the feature is definitely intended to be used as an in-context tool, while you can more easily use the technique as a reference for controlling part position (through mating) rather than as a way to directly control the sizes and shapes of the parts. So when you see a reference to a Layout (capital), this refers to the formal feature. When you see a reference to a layout or layout sketch (lowercase), this refers to a technique where a sketch is used at the assembly level to control the assembly in some way.

Cross-Reference

The Layout feature is described in more detail in Chapter 6, while the technique using assembly sketches to lay out an assembly is described in this chapter. The material in this chapter is written as if the Layout feature does not exist, mainly to give you a straightforward view of how the technique works without worrying about two different functions at the same time.

The layout sketch is a very useful tool for laying out a mechanism in an assembly or even details on parts within the assembly. Sketches in the assembly have the same characteristics as they do in the part environment. In Figure 4.3, the assembly layout sketch is indicated with a heavy, dashed line for emphasis.

FIGURE 4.3

An assembly layout sketch controls the geometry of the frame and the overall bicycle assembly.

When combined with in-context techniques, assembly layout sketches can help to determine the shape of parts, or the location, size, or shape of features within the parts. You can also use layout sketches to mate assembly components to far more robust and dependable mates, rather than mating part to part. The sketch shown in Figure 4.3 is used for both of these techniques. The shape of the frame and the major pivot points are established in the 2D sketch. The wheels are also mated to the sketch.

When you use an assembly layout sketch for either the in-context part building or simply part positioning, the main advantage that it offers is to give you a single driving sketch that enables you to change the size, shape, and position of the parts. You can use as many layout sketches as you want, and you can make them on different sketch planes. This enables you to control parts in all directions.

Caution

When using layout sketches, it is assumed that the relationships are created such that the sketch drives everything else. However, there is nothing preventing you from using other elements in the assembly to drive the sketch. You should avoid this type of conflict, called a circular reference. It can create sketches that change with every rebuild and can seriously impact rebuild times. When using any type of in-context relations (relations between items in an assembly), you need to be careful to establish one or more driving entities, which are not in turn driven by other entities.

To take this a step further, it is best to avoid daisy chaining, where A drives B, B drives C, and so on. It is a better practice to make A drive both B and C directly. This saves on rebuild times and troubleshooting and reduces future problems with lost references.

One of the drawbacks of this technique is that you give up dynamic assembly motion. To move the parts, you have to move the sketch and rebuild. The part does not move until the sketch is updated. If you need to combine layout functionality with dynamic assembly motion, refer to the Layout feature in Chapter 6.

Working with virtual components

Virtual components are parts that are saved so they are internal to the assembly. You can save them out so that they are external to the assembly and can be reused in other assemblies. You can also convert external components to virtual components. Virtual components, as the name suggests, can be either parts or subassemblies.

You may consider using virtual components for certain types of parts that need to be in the assembly but might not require drawings, such as glue, paint, oil, and so on. You may even use virtual components to model purchased subassemblies that flex; for example, you could use a hinge, and use the hinge assembly as a part in a library. However you choose to use virtual components, make sure that they will not cause you any difficulties downstream in file management, data sharing, or other requirements.

Best Practice

Virtual components are useful for concept work in assemblies, but using them is not considered a best practice. Their main limitation is in the form of data management and reuse. You should limit your use of virtual components because the technique promotes what many users and administrators consider to be sloppy practice. Of course your specific situation will dictate best practice for your company.

Creating assembly reference geometry

Planes and axes are frequently created within assemblies to drive symmetry or placement of parts. You can use assembly layout sketches to create the reference geometry entities. When you create reference geometry within the assembly in this way, be aware that the normal history-based parent/child relationships are still followed. The familiar icons for reference geometry entities are also used in the assembly tree.

Comparing history-based and non-history-based portions of the assembly tree

Because features such as sketches and reference geometry are history based and found in the assembly tree, at least a portion of the assembly FeatureManager is history based. However, not all of it is. For example, the list of parts and subassemblies is not history based.

Sketches and reference geometry may appear before or after the list of parts, subassemblies, and mates. All the remaining entity types that can be found in the assembly FeatureManager are also history-based features, and you can reorder them in the tree. However, several situations can disrupt the process. Under normal circumstances, sketches and reference geometry at the top of the assembly FeatureManager are solved, then the parts are rebuilt if required, and then the mates. This ensures that the sketches and reference geometry are in the correct locations so that if parts are mated to them, all the components end up being the correct size and in the right position.

Assembly-level reference geometry can be created that references component geometry instead of layout sketches. This creates a dependency that changes the usual order. For example, the planes are usually solved before the part locations, but when the plane is dependent on the part location, the plane has to be solved after the part. If a part is then mated to the plane, you are beginning to create a dependency loop, such that the plane is solved, followed by the part, then the plane again because the part has moved; and then the mate that goes to the plane has to resolve the part.

Best Practice

If you are a bit confused by all of this, don't worry. You can simply follow this rule: do not mate to anything that comes after the mates in the assembly FeatureManager tree. This includes assembly planes or sketches that are dependent on part geometry, as well as assembly features such as cuts, in-context features, component pattern instances, Hole Series, or Smart Fasteners.

This is probably a lot of information if you are a new user, but if you remember this rule, you can avoid creating models with circular references, where A is dependent on B, which is dependent on A — a never-ending loop that causes major problems for large assembly rebuild times.

Understanding parts and subassemblies

Parts and subassemblies are shown with their familiar icons in the design tree. You can reorder and group them in folders (which is covered in the next section), and also edit the hierarchy of parts and subassemblies within an upper-level assembly.

The primary task of parts and assemblies is to help you organize your data. Information that relates to the geometry of a single manufacturable item is put into a part. Information that relates to the relationships between the parts is put into an assembly.

You may hear some people argue that there is no real need for parts and assemblies to have different file types — that a part file should be able to handle both the geometric data and the relations between items. You can find CAD programs that work like this, but they tend to be either older or less powerful.

Organizing the data into different file types is actually necessary because it helps your computer know when to calculate which data. For example, if your computer had to rebuild all the features in every part as well as all the mates, rebuild times would suffer greatly.

In addition, parts in an assembly are different from bodies within a part. If you have bodies within a part, all of your features are in one big list, rather than segmented into individual lists for each part. This is important for three reasons: rebuild times, troubleshooting errors, and reusing data. Part features that are in a big list with other part features cannot be organized or separated easily for other purposes.

The advantages of trying to build an assembly as a single part are unclear, other than simplifying file management. It would be highly impractical for any assembly with more than a few simple parts.

Parts are sometimes shown with a feather icon, which indicates a lightweight part, and assemblies can have an icon that indicates a flexible subassembly. Special icons also exist for hidden and suppressed components.

Indicates a lightweight part

Indicates a flexible subassembly

Indicates a hidden component

Indicates a suppressed component

Creating folders

You can create folders to organize and group both parts and mates. (This technique is discussed in detail later in this chapter.) Folders help you organize the items in an assembly FeatureManager to make the tree easier to navigate. For example, if you have a large number of fasteners, you should put them in a folder so you can see the overall structure of the assembly rather than a huge list of one item. In this way, folders can help you organize data that is not appropriate for a subassembly to organize for you.

Organizing mates

The Mates area remains a constant, single folder, but you can organize it by reordering the mates and grouping them into folders. Each mate is shown with a symbol corresponding to the type of mate it is, but the mate folder is shown as a pair of paper clips.

Applying assembly features

In manufacturing, once parts are assembled, secondary machining operations are sometimes applied to them to ensure that holes line up properly, or for other purposes. For example, assembly features can be cut extrudes, cut revolves, or hole features. These features appear only in the assembly, not in the individual parts.

You should not confuse assembly features with in-context features. In-context features are created when you are editing a part in the assembly with a reference between parts, but the sketch and feature definition are in the actual part.

Some new assembly features have been added to SolidWorks 2011 that don't necessarily fit the secondary operations description, such as the ability to make fillets and chamfers as assembly features.

Using component patterns and mirror components

Component patterns can pattern either parts or assemblies by creating either a pattern defined in the assembly or a pattern that follows a pattern feature created in a part. The pattern is listed as a feature in the assembly FeatureManager, and all the instance parts appear indented from the pattern feature in the design tree. You can hide or suppress each instance, change its configuration, and in most ways control it as if it were a regular part in the design tree.

Because the options for locally defined patterns are comparatively limited, users generally like to use part feature patterns to drive the component patterns when possible.

Component patterns are listed at the bottom of the assembly FeatureManager with a set of components under a LocalPattern icon. The component instances under the LocalPattern can be controlled in several ways, including through assigned configurations, colors, and display states. The pattern can even be dissolved, leaving the components but removing the intelligent pattern that places them.

Mirror components are listed under a special MirrorComponent icon after the mates.

Performance

To improve performance, it is best to pattern subassemblies if possible. If it is not possible, then patterning a group of parts is the next best option. Making multiple patterns, one for each part, is an inefficient way to accomplish the same thing.

Looking at in-context reference Update Holders

It is difficult to get a good picture of assemblies in general without including a discussion about in-context references, but to treat the subject properly, it also requires its own section, and in fact, this book gives in-context modeling its own chapter (see Chapter 10). When you create a reference between parts in an assembly, the assembly needs to remember which parts are involved in the reference and what assembly creates the spatial relationship between them.

When you create the relation, a placeholder has to remain in the assembly to hold this information. This placeholder is called an Update Holder. The Update Holders do not display by default. To see them, you must right-click the top level in the FeatureManager and select Show Update Holders. They only exist when in-context references exist in the assembly, and there is one Update Holder for each in-context sketch or feature. You cannot do very much with the Update Holders, other than query them for parent/child relations and to list the external relations, but they serve as a reminder that you have in-context references to maintain. For more information on this feature, see Chapter 10.

Popular perceptions of in-context techniques aside, in-context modeling is a powerful extension of parametric design techniques. If you follow the best practice suggestions outlined in Chapter 10, you will soon gain confidence and master this technique rather than being intimidated by it. The functionality works, and if you do not abuse it, it will serve you well.

Using Smart Fasteners

Smart Fasteners are assembly features that automatically select Toolbox parts for use in standard-sized holes, and you can use them in many different ways. The Smart Fastener feature in the assembly FeatureManager is used to edit the definition of the Smart Fastener, which can include adding items such as nuts and washers. You can also use Smart Fasteners in conjunction with the Hole Wizard to place appropriate holes and matched fasteners, all in a single step.

Cross-Reference

Smart Fasteners, the Toolbox, and the Hole Wizard are discussed in detail in Chapter 14. This is the only functionality beyond what is found in SolidWorks Standard edition that is dealt with in this book.

Applying the Hole Series

The Hole Series is a Hole Wizard–type feature that you apply in an assembly. This wizard leaves the feature icon in the assembly but also adds features directly to the individual parts. It also adds in-context Update Holders to the assembly FeatureManager, as shown in Figure 4.4. The Hole Series is designed to go through a series of parts, placing the appropriate hole type in each part: counterbore, through, threaded, and so on.

FIGURE 4.4

Adding in-context Update Holders

Using SpeedPaks

A SpeedPak is a derived configuration of an assembly that keeps only selected solid bodies and faces but can represent the rest of the assembly with non-selectable display data. You can use a SpeedPak to replace an entire subassembly within an upper-level assembly. SpeedPaks are intended to increase performance with very large assemblies and drawings.

Figure 4.5 shows the SpeedPak PropertyManager on the left, which you access by right-clicking an active configuration and selecting Add SpeedPak. Each configuration can have only one SpeedPak.

The center image in Figure 4.5 shows the configuration list with the SpeedPak indented under the Default config, and the entire assembly. The right image shows the SpeedPak inserted into an assembly document, consisting of a single face and two solid bodies. Notice the special icon associated with SpeedPaks. You can change a part in an assembly from or to a SpeedPak in the same way that you would change a configuration using Component Properties.

Remember that this is a tool for increasing assembly speed, and to increase speed there is always something that you have to give up. A SpeedPak is similar to Lightweight assemblies and components in that it is display-only data. If your expectations of the tool match its actual functionality, you will be very satisfied with what the SpeedPak offers. For this reason, it is important to understand the abilities and limitations of SpeedPaks.

Using ghosts

You can use any faces or bodies that you select in the Include lists either manually or through the Quick Include sliders (which automatically select bodies and faces based on size) in assemblies to mate to or in drawings to dimension to. Any geometry that is not selected is included as a ghost — it displays, but you cannot select it. When you move the cursor near ghost geometry, the ghost fades away, revealing only selectable geometry. Notice at the bottom of the SpeedPak PropertyManager that you can also choose to remove the ghost data and further increase the memory savings.

Sharing self-contained data

The SpeedPak is self-contained. All the selected face and body geometry is saved inside the assembly. If you want to send someone a visual representation of an assembly, you can make a SpeedPak configuration and send only the assembly file — no parts are required. This is the equivalent of being able to put an eDrawing file into an assembly.

Using SpeedPaks with drawings

You can even use SpeedPaks with drawings. Just remember that only edges created by the faces or bodies in the Include lists can be dimensioned to. Some functionality exists for the ghost data, such as BOM inclusion and numbered balloons. Ghost data displays as gray on the drawing, while geometry in the Include list is black.

FIGURE 4.5

Managing SpeedPaks

Model of Garmin assembly from the SolidWorks demo sets

Using Subassemblies

The primary tool for organizing assemblies is the subassembly. A subassembly is just a regular assembly that is used as a component in another assembly.

Best Practice

You are not limited to a specific number of levels of subassemblies, although for different sizes and types of assemblies you should establish a best practice for your company. For example, you might establish a guideline that suggests that assemblies of 100 parts or fewer go no deeper than three levels.

You can use several criteria to determine how subassemblies are assigned:

• Performance

• BOM

• Relative motion

• Pre-fabricated, off-the-shelf considerations

• According to assembly steps for a process drawing

• To simplify patterning

The underlying question here is based on the multiple functions of your SolidWorks assembly model. Is the assembly intended primarily for design? For visualization? For documentation? For process documentation? When used primarily for design, the assembly is used to determine fits, tolerances, mechanisms, and many other things. As a visualization tool, it simply has to look good and possibly move properly if that is part of the design. As a documentation tool, how the model relates to the BOM is important, and so is the order in which subassemblies are added. As a process tool, you need to be able to show the assembly in various intermediate states of being assembled, likely with configurations.

Companies create multiple assembly models for different purposes. Sometimes the requirements between the different methods are contradictory and cannot all be met at the same time with a single set of data. Again, depending on what information you need to be able to extract from your SolidWorks models, you may want to approach assembly modeling and organization differently, and you may need to create multiple assembly models to accomplish everything.

Creating subassemblies from existing parts

You can create subassemblies from parts that already exist in an assembly. To do this, select the parts that you want to add to the subassembly by holding the Shift or Ctrl key, or using box select techniques, and then select Form New Subassembly Here from the right mouse button (RMB) menu. You are then prompted to assign a name or possibly select a template for the new subassembly.

Caution

When creating a new subassembly from existing parts or when moving parts into or out of a subassembly from the upper-level assembly, some things may be lost. For example, mates are moved from the upper level to the subassembly. If you have in-context relationships, they may be removed. You cannot easily undo operations that create subassemblies.

Once you have created the subassembly, you can add or remove components using the drag-and-drop method. For example, Figure 4.6 shows the cursor that indicates that the part named Left Crank is being moved into the subassembly named bike crank. To move a part out of a subassembly, you can simply drag the part into the upper-level assembly.

FIGURE 4.6

Moving parts into a subassembly

Note

When you are dragging a part out of an assembly and into another one, you may again see the cursor symbol that appears in Figure 4.6. If you do not want this to happen, hold down the Alt key while dragging. The cursor symbol changes to the Reorder cursor (a reversed, L-shaped arrow), and the part is placed after the subassembly rather than within it.

Inserting a new subassembly

Along with the RMB menu option Form New Subassembly Here, which takes existing parts and puts them into a newly created subassembly, you can use another option called Insert New Subassembly. The names of these functions do not adequately describe the difference in what they do. Insert New Subassembly inserts a blank subassembly at the point in the design tree that you indicate by right-clicking it. You can place components into the subassembly by dragging and dropping them from the main assembly, or you can open the assembly in its own window and insert parts by using the usual methods, such as drag and drop, or the Insert⇒Component tool.

Dissolving subassemblies

If you would like to get rid of a subassembly but want to keep its parts, then you can use the Dissolve Subassembly option through the RMB menu. This option has some of the same consequences of the Form New Subassembly Here option in that mates are moved from the subassembly to the upper-level assembly, and you may lose in-context relations and assembly features.

Organizing for performance

In SolidWorks, performance refers to speed. Subassemblies can contribute to speed-saving modeling techniques by segmenting the work that the software needs to do at any one time.

Solving mates

The mates that contribute to putting the pieces of an assembly together are solved at the top assembly level. Under normal circumstances, subassemblies are treated as static selections of parts that are welded together, and their mates are not solved at the same time that the top-level assemblies' mates are solved. This segmenting of the mates leads to improved performance by only solving one set of mates at a time.

Mates are usually solved as a single group unless there is a special situation, such as mates to in-context features, component pattern instances, or an assembly feature, all of which have already been described in this chapter. When one of these situations occurs, the mates have to be divided into separate groups or solved multiple times. This is done behind the scenes so that the user does not have to worry about it. Multiple rebuilds affect the user only in terms of rebuild times.

Using flexible subassemblies

When you put a subassembly into an upper-level assembly, the mates for the parts of the subassembly are not solved in the upper-level assembly. This means that if a subassembly is a mechanism, the mechanism does not allow Dynamic Assembly Motion in the upper-level assembly, and it is considered rigid. For example, in Figure 4.7, the front fork is a linkage mechanism, but it is also a subassembly. Without reassembling the parts of the fork in the upper-level assembly, you can allow the mates from the fork subassembly to be solved in the upper-level assembly by using the Solve As option in the Component Properties dialog box, shown in Figure 4.7. When you select the Flexible option, you enable the mates of this subassembly to be solved in the upper-level assembly, which allows the parts of the subassembly to move in the upper-level assembly. To access the Component Properties dialog box, right-click the subassembly and select Component Properties from the menu.

Flexible subassemblies have become more reliable and easier to use over the last several releases of SolidWorks. You should work with them or do some experimentation to see if they assist your modeling process. If you find they cause trouble in some situations, they are easy enough to deactivate.

Working with legacy data

If you have assemblies that were built in older versions of SolidWorks (such as SolidWorks 2001 and later), you should know that mates used to be split up into multiple mate groups, which represented the groupings that mates were solved in. This was forced by mating to the history-based features in the assembly FeatureManager. SolidWorks no longer displays mate groups, but the groups are still used in the background to solve mates. This is another change that SolidWorks has made to the software that simplifies the user's interaction with it, but it also makes it obvious that things are now happening behind the scenes that you can't control.

FIGURE 4.7

Creating a flexible subassembly

Organizing for the Bill of Materials

The Bill of Materials, or BOM, is a table that is placed either into a drawing of an assembly or in an actual assembly. This table shows the parts used in the assembly and includes other information, such as part numbers, quantities, descriptions, and custom property data.

Cross-Reference

SolidWorks BOM functionality is discussed in depth in Chapter 17.

Businesses often represent assemblies and subassemblies in various ways by using Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP) or Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. The methods that accountants and manufacturers use to organize assemblies are not always the same as those that engineers or designers might choose, but some companies require the BOM on the drawing to match the MRP or ERP Bill of Materials.

Best Practice

When you are forced into modeling something in an unnatural way to satisfy an outside demand such as special BOM requirements, it might be best to detach the unnatural part and model normally. In the situation mentioned here — where MRP is forcing how the assembly is put together by requiring the BOM to match MRP — you should separate the BOM from the assembly structure rather than building an assembly that makes other SolidWorks functions difficult. This ensures that the BOM becomes a manually maintained document. Alternatives to this approach would be to make configurations or entirely new assembly documents to drive the BOM.

Grouping subassemblies by relative motion

A more natural way to group subassemblies is by considering relative motion. In the bicycle example, each wheel is a separate subassembly because it moves as a unit relative to the rest of the assembly. Figure 4.8 illustrates where relative motion might be on the bicycle.

FIGURE 4.8

Grouping subassemblies by relative motion

Grouping subassemblies by relative motion is great for assembly modeling, but it does not usually reflect product reality very well. Using this method, you often end up with parts in the subassembly that will have to be disassembled in order to actually put the physical parts together. However, if your only consideration is ease of modeling, then you should probably use this method.

Organizing groups of purchased components

If you are modeling a product that is created from a shopping list of purchased components, then it may make the most sense to organize your subassemblies into groups of parts that are purchased together. In fact, purchased subassemblies are often modeled as single parts, except when relative motion is required in the purchased assembly.

For example, in the bicycle assembly, the sprockets on the rear wheel are purchased as a separate unit, and yet the part that mounts onto the wheel moves relative to the sprockets that are driven by the chain. This is an example of a purchased part that would be modeled as a subassembly to show relative motion. The bicycle chain, another purchased subassembly, has not yet been added to this assembly, and is a more complex model. The desire to show all of the individual links moving through the path may override both the complexity of assembling it and the performance considerations of exercising all of the mates.

Although the BOM method of organizing assemblies sometimes leads to unnatural solutions, you should not discard it altogether. If you can devise concessions in order to make the BOM work automatically, then you should do this.

Depicting an assembly process

Manufacturing and assembly processes need to be documented as well as individual part design. You often need to create exploded-view assembly instructions for manufacturing or service documentation at each step of a multistep assembly process. Figure 4.9 shows an example of this type of process documentation.

This is certainly a task that is different from the initial design or modeling of the assembly, and it may require an entirely separate assembly model. Generally, you can perform the different steps by using a separate configuration for each process step, with exploded views for each configuration.

Influencing item numbering

Balloons number the parts according to the item number that is used in the BOM, but, of course, you do not know the item numbers until the BOM is created. You can influence the item numbers by reordering the parts in the assembly (which is discussed later in this chapter), by manually editing item numbers, or by manually numbering the balloons.

Separating steps

Each step corresponds to an assembly configuration (discussed in Chapter 8), and you can place them on a separate sheet of the drawing (discussed in Chapter 16). Each configuration can have multiple exploded views, if necessary, to show all the steps.

FIGURE 4.9

Assembly process documentation

Patterning considerations

The most efficient way to pattern large numbers of components in an assembly is to pattern a single subassembly with all the components to be patterned in it. While this may not be easily combined with some of the other considerations that were mentioned previously, it is another option that you can use to organize assemblies.

Using Folders

Folders are primarily used in the assembly FeatureManager for grouping parts and mates into either special classifications for easy browsing, or groups that you can easily hide and show, or suppress and unsuppress, as appropriate. Figure 4.10 shows some examples of these folders.

FIGURE 4.10

Folders that are used to organize components and mates

Creating folders in the FeatureManager

You can add folders to the assembly FeatureManager in one of two ways:

• By adding existing components to a new folder

• By creating an empty new folder

Using Add To New Folder

To use the Add To New Folder tool, right-click a component or mate (or selection of components or mates) and select Add To New Folder from the menu. This moves the component or mate into the folder. Folders do not affect the assembly in any functional way; they are simply for organization, to speed browsing and selection.

Using Create New Folder

To simply create a new folder without putting anything into it right away, right-click either the Mates area or the components list and select Create New Folder from the menu.

Adding items to existing folders

To move an item into an existing folder, just drag the item (component or mate) onto the folder. If the folder is expanded, showing its contents, then you can also drag the item as if you were reordering a feature in the FeatureManager of a part, and drop it in the list of items where you would like it.

If you are dragging a part or assembly and trying to put it immediately after an assembly, a cursor like the one shown in the center image in Figure 4.11 may appear. This cursor means that the part is going to become part of the assembly. If this is not what you are trying to do, then hold down the Alt key while dragging; the part is placed into the folder immediately after the assembly, instead of being made a part of the assembly. The third image in Figure 4.11 shows the cursor with the Alt key pressed.

Reordering items in the tree

There are times when you may want to reorder items in the assembly tree. For example, you may want to place items close to one another in the tree, or you may be preparing to put items that are next to one another into a single folder. You may also want to reorganize components for the BOM display.

You can reorder mates simply by dragging them. Mates display in the order in which they are created, but the order is not significant. You can reorder them however you like.

Components also display in the order in which they are added to the assembly, and you can reorder them in any way you like.

FIGURE 4.11

Moving items into folders

Best Practice

It is often useful to have an ordering strategy that helps you work with the model. For example, you should try to keep the biggest parts, the parts that everything else is mated to, or the part that is treated as “ground,” as the first part(s) in the assembly. Then put the fasteners and other cosmetic or BOM-driving parts at the end of the tree, usually in a descriptive folder.

Working with Tree Display Options

Display options for items in the FeatureManager are often overlooked but can be useful for displaying data about parts, subassemblies, mates, and features. Figure 4.12 shows the RMB options. You must right-click the top-level assembly name in the FeatureManager to access this menu.

Note

All these options are available for parts and drawings as well, except for the View Features option and the View Mates and Dependencies option, which are related to assemblies.

Showing feature names and descriptions

If you are so thorough that you have added descriptions to your features, then you are doing well. The center image in Figure 4.12 shows a section of the FeatureManager for the bicycle frame part; some of the features have had descriptions added with both of the options for feature names and feature descriptions turned on. The image to the right in Figure 4.12 shows the result of turning off the feature name, with only the feature description option turned on. If no feature description has been created, then the feature name displays. Feature descriptions always appear in double quotes.

FIGURE 4.12

Tree display options in assemblies

Showing component and config names and descriptions

The image on the left in Figure 4.13 shows the default arrangement of displaying component and configuration names in the assembly FeatureManager. This example uses the rear wheel assembly from the bicycle assembly. In assemblies, you cannot turn off the component names and the component descriptions. SolidWorks issues this statement when you try to turn off both the name and the description: “You cannot hide both the component name and the file name. At least one must be visible in the tree.”

FIGURE 4.13

Component name options

Using names other than the part filename in the assembly FeatureManager

The message in the previous paragraph distinguishes between the filename and the component name that is listed for individual parts or subassemblies in the assembly FeatureManager. You can specify the component name in the Component Properties dialog box by right-clicking the component in the assembly FeatureManager and selecting Component Properties.

However, you can assign a name for a component that is different from the filename only if a special setting is turned off. (The setting defaults to on.) You can access this setting by choosing Tools⇒Options⇒External References⇒Update Component Names When Documents Are Replaced. These are the steps that you have to go through if you want to change how the part and subassembly names display in the assembly FeatureManager.

After going through the steps in the preceding paragraph, you still receive the warning message about the filename and the component name. This is apparently an “unintended feature,” or bug, and should say that you cannot turn off both the component name and the component description at the same time.

There may be a situation where you want to show a name other than the filename in the FeatureManager. For example, your company may be using sequential part numbers for the filenames that are difficult to read, and you want something descriptive in the design tree so that you do not need a cross-reference sheet next to your computer that equates filenames to meaningful descriptions.

If you prefer, you can avoid a lot of problems by just using the part description instead of the filename or the component name. The choice is up to you.

One of the problems with using the component description is shown in Figure 4.14, where the user did not enter proper descriptions for the parts, and SolidWorks used the default description in the templates. The tire and spokes use configurations, which display in the figure.

FIGURE 4.14

An example of what can occur when you do not enter proper descriptions for parts

Using Component Reference per Instance

SolidWorks 2010 added Component Reference capabilities. In the Component Properties dialog box, shown earlier in Figure 4.7, the second row from the top enables you to enter Component Reference information. This is typically used in electrical diagrams for similar components with different values, such as power ratings, capacitance, or resistance. Instances of the same component in a SolidWorks assembly that have the same Component Reference can be listed together on a BOM. Instances with different Component References are listed separately on the BOM. Figure 4.15 shows parts listed in a pattern that have Component References listed for each instance.

In order for Component References to be used in balloons on an assembly drawing, the drawing must have a BOM with a Component Reference column. BOMs are handled in detail in Chapter 17, where the topic of Component References will be revisited.

FIGURE 4.15

Listing parts in an assembly containing Component Reference information

Viewing features, mates, and dependencies

The last set of options shown in Figure 4.12 determines whether you see the part features or the assembly mates after the name of each component in the assembly tree. The default setting is for the part's features or the subassembly's components to display, just as if the part or subassembly were open in its own window.

The View Mates and Dependencies option can also show the features, but they are placed into a separate folder. This option makes it very easy to see the mates that are assigned to an individual component. For example, in Figure 4.16, the image to the right shows the mates directly under the BibleBikeFrame part. This often makes troubleshooting much easier because it isolates the mates for a single part. Notice also that the first folder under the part name in the image to the left in Figure 4.16 is the Mates folder. This indicates that, regardless of whether you choose to display mates or features, you always have easy access to the other type.

FIGURE 4.16

You can view features, as well as mates and dependencies.

The View Mates tool is extremely valuable for looking at how an assembly is held together with mates. When you right-click a component in the assembly and choose View Mates from the RMB menu, SolidWorks highlights the component you clicked, and makes all parts that mate to that component transparent. Any parts that are not related are hidden. SolidWorks also displays a small dialog box with the list of mates touching the component you clicked.

Figure 4.17 shows this arrangement using the Bible Bike assembly. If you are a SolidWorks veteran, this works very differently from the way View Mates worked in the past, but you will probably agree that this is a big help in mate visualization.

If you Ctrl-select multiple components before starting the View Mates tool, SolidWorks no longer displays the common mates in bold format; it just lists them at the top of the dialog box.

FIGURE 4.17

Showing mates in the PropertyManager pane

Working with Assembly Tools

SolidWorks is incredibly complex software and contains a variety of tools that allow you to do many small tasks. This is particularly true with assemblies. Users expect so much of the software in various areas, and everyone needs something different. Many tools exist to help you put together, maintain, and evaluate efficient assemblies. This section describes important tools that don't fit into the other categories.

Using Sensors

Sensors provide an alert if a monitored value goes outside of a specified range. Sensors can be used in parts or in assemblies. The types of values that you can monitor with sensors are dimensional values, mass, volume or surface area, interference detection between selected components, and Simulation data (stress analysis values).

To create a sensor in an assembly, right-click the Sensors folder in the assembly FeatureManager. If the Sensors folder is not there, choose Tools⇒Options⇒FeatureManager page and turn it on. Figure 4.18 shows the Sensor setup interface.

FIGURE 4.18

Setting up a sensor in an assembly

Using the AssemblyXpert

You can find the AssemblyXpert on the Tools menu, or choose Tools⇒Customize from the menu to place it on the Assembly toolbar. AssemblyXpert gives suggestions about things you can do to improve the performance of an assembly, such as updating files to the new version and looking at Large Assembly Mode, and existing errors in the assembly mates, in-context, and supposedly circular references.

The AssemblyXpert does not identify circular references. A circular reference is a list of parts referencing other parts where the references form a loop, with one part as the start and end point. AssemblyXpert could not find this kind of reference loop.

Figure 4.19 shows the results in the AssemblyXpert dialog box. Notice that the results include the information formerly included with the Assembly Statistics: part and subassembly count, along with mates, unique parts, and so on.

FIGURE 4.19

AssemblyXpert results

The information in the AssemblyXpert is certainly useful, particularly for newer users who may not know to look for things like this already. You can use it as both a diagnostic and a learning tool.

Tutorial: Arranging Assemblies

In this tutorial, you take an assembly that is already put together, group its components into subassemblies, and then convert one subassembly into a flexible subassembly. Note that some of the commands and RMB options you are asked to select may not be shown on the truncated RMB menus. To remedy this, click the double-arrow at the bottom of the RMB menu or choose Tools⇒Customize⇒Options from the menu, and click the Show All button for both shortcuts and menu customization.

Follow these steps to learn how to effectively arrange items in an assembly:

1. Start by opening the Robot Assembly .sldasm file from the DVD.

Notice that the names for the files are long and somewhat difficult to read. This would also apply for files that use sequential numbers for the filename instead of a descriptive name.

2. To display a more readable name, right-click the name of the assembly at the top of the FeatureManager, select Tree Display from the menu, and then turn on Show Component Descriptions. Repeat these steps, and this time turn off Show Component Names.

Figure 4.20 shows the display of the FeatureManager after the change. Even the top-level assembly uses its description rather than its filename.

FIGURE 4.20

Simplifying the FeatureManager display to include descriptions

Notice that two components still use their clumsy filenames rather than easy-to-read descriptions. This is because descriptions were never entered for those two components.

3. Open the Large Cylinder Piston part by left-clicking the part in the FeatureManager and then clicking the Open icon. Choose File⇒Properties from the menu and make sure the Custom tab is active. Create a new property called description, assign a type of text, and then enter large cylinder piston for the value. Save the part (Ctrl+S is a fast way to do that) and then flip back to the assembly (the fastest way to do that is to hold down Ctrl and press Tab).

If the display has not yet updated, press Ctrl+Q to force the tree to rebuild.

4. Open the Large Cylinder Body part. In this part, choose File⇒Save As from the menu. Leave the name as is, but where it says Description, enter large cylinder body, as shown in Figure 4.21. Click Yes when asked if you want to replace the document of the same name. Flip back to the assembly when you are done. You may have to rebuild to see the change update.

FIGURE 4.21

Adding a description in the Save As dialog box

5. Press and hold Ctrl and select the large cylinder piston and the large cylinder body parts from the FeatureManager. Then right-click and select Form New Assembly Here from the menu. If your assembly template has a description, it appears in the FeatureManager. If not, the filename appears.

You have just created an assembly as a virtual component while the parts are external documents. If you switch the tree display to show filenames, you see what is shown in Figure 4.22; the name of the assembly is Assem1^Robot Assembly. So the virtual component gets a default name (Assem1) followed by the name of the parent assembly (Robot Assembly) to ensure that it has a unique name, if there are other virtual components in other assemblies.

6. Press and hold Ctrl and select the Base Motor, the Main Arm Motor, and the Cradle, and make another new subassembly. After you create this subassembly, right-click it and select Save Assembly (In External File) from the menu. Change the name of the assembly from Assem2 to Cradle. Save it in the same path as the rest of the parts.

Once a virtual component is saved externally, you cannot use the Undo command to reverse it, but you can right-click the external file in the FeatureManager and select Make Virtual from the menu.

FIGURE 4.22

The newly created virtual component subassembly and its external parts

In Figure 4.23, notice that several of the mates came along into the new subassembly. These are the mates between the motors and the cradle. The mates that locate the cradle to the other parts in the assembly have remained in the upper-level assembly.

FIGURE 4.23

The cradle assembly brings along internal mates

Note that you cannot undo the subassembly operations. If you need to remove the assembly but keep the parts, right-click the assembly and select Dissolve Subassembly from the menu.

If you try to move the parts in the assembly, you should notice that all parts work as they should, except that the Main Arm does not move up and down. This is because you turned the cylinder and piston into a subassembly, and the subassembly mates are not solved in the top level, which means the subassembly cannot move within itself.

To get around this, you need to make the subassembly into a flexible subassembly, which will solve the subassembly's mates in the top-level assembly.

7. Right-click the cylinder subassembly in the FeatureManager, and select Component Properties from the menu. In the lower-right corner of the dialog box, there is an option to Solve as Rigid or Flexible. Change this setting to Flexible.

After you click OK and return to the assembly, the main arm moves as it did originally, and the piston moves in and out of the cylinder. Notice that the symbol for the assembly changes when it is changed to a flexible subassembly.

Tutorial: Managing the FeatureManager

This tutorial uses the BibleBikeAssembly.sldasm file located in the Chapter 4 folder on the DVD. Open the file and follow these steps to learn about managing the FeatureManager:

1. Create a new subassembly within the existing assembly using the parts BibleBikeFrame and ChainstayBibleBike. Name this new assembly FrameAssembly.SLDASM.

2. Reorder the new FrameAssembly to the top of the design tree.

3. Reorder the other parts and assemblies so that the bigger assemblies appear higher on the list, and the parts appear at the bottom. (Remember that Alt+dragging a component prevents it from being placed into a subassembly.)

4. Drag the part called BB (for Bottom Bracket) into the Frame Assembly (drag without using the Alt key). The assembly FeatureManager at this point is shown in Figure 4.24.

FIGURE 4.24

The starting state and the state as of Step 4

5. Select both wheels and then select Add To New Folder from the RMB menu. Name the new folder Wheels, and move it to the bottom of the tree.

6. Expand the Mates folder, select the first four mates, and put them in a new folder (select Add To New Folder from the RMB menu). Name the new folder Centering Mates.

Summary

Assemblies are more than simply parts and subassemblies put together with mate relationships; several other types of features and placeholders can also exist in the assembly FeatureManager. Organizing assembly components is fairly straightforward and can offer benefits for finding parts as well as controlling suppression and display states globally.

The assembly FeatureManager contains several options for the data to display for subassemblies, parts, configurations, and features within. Remember that all the data that you include in your SolidWorks documents can be accessed and reused later on, so it is worth the effort to name it properly. Descriptions can be very important, both at the part level and also for features and configs.

Chapter 5: Getting More from Mates

In This Chapter

Learning efficient mating strategies

Performing degrees-of-freedom analysis

Using Advanced and Mechanical mate types

Editing and troubleshooting assembly mates

Choosing mate options

Examining mate best practices

Mating for success tutorial

In SolidWorks assemblies, mates are the basic units that make everything work together. When properly handled, mates enable your assembly to react predictably to changes in parts in exactly the same way that sketch relations drive changes in part features. As a result, mates and sketch relations often have the same function and even the same weaknesses to watch out for.

This chapter goes one step further with mates, by not just simply putting parts together with Coincident and Concentric mates, but also mating parts when tolerances, gaps, and symmetry become issues. You will also learn about the more advanced mate types that may be useful for special situations.

One of the assumptions made in this chapter is that assembly mates are not just used for positioning parts, but also for motion. Making motion work takes a little more than just establishing the right spatial relationship between parts; it usually also involves analyzing the open degrees of freedom.

Some users take a static approach to putting parts together into assemblies, by simply placing parts at the correct X- and Y- coordinates without assigning any relationships to the parts around them. This defeats most of the purpose of creating parametric, associative assemblies in the first place. Assembly mates are an extremely powerful tool for enabling your assemblies to react predictably to change.

Applying Mates

An average assembly of 100 parts is likely to have almost 300 individual mates. If you created these parts one at a time, taking perhaps a minute for each mate, you would spend five hours just applying mates. You should avoid applying mates whenever possible — assuming you still get the correct results — because this allows you to spend more time doing something else. In this section, you will learn efficient mating strategies, as well as speedy techniques.

As you apply mates to parts in your assembly, keep in mind that SolidWorks has high- and low-risk mating schemes (see Chapter 1). High-risk schemes generally involve mate techniques that are easier, but are also more likely to have problems later in the evolution of your model, such as lost references or conflicts with other mates. More stable mating schemes favor reference geometry such as planes and axes, and possibly sketches over model faces and edges.

Mating through the Mate PropertyManager

The Mate PropertyManager is the default method for applying mates, and you used it briefly in Chapter 4. The Mate PropertyManager interface is shown in Figure 5.1. You can create mates by pre-selecting entities before applying the Mate command or selecting them after you open the Mate PropertyManager. The three types of mates are Standard, Advanced, and Mechanical.

FIGURE 5.1

The Mate PropertyManager interface

Understanding the mate workflow

If you make a lot of mates, it is important to have an efficient rhythm when working with the interface. Assuming you have the Mate PropertyManager already active, the most efficient way to use the Mate interface is as follows:

1. Click the first entity.

2. Click the second entity.

3. Click OK on the right mouse button (RMB) cursor icon to accept the default.

Alternatively, if the automatic default mate type is not the mate that you want to apply, select it from the popup list, shown in Figure 5.2.

FIGURE 5.2

The Mate selection popup list

4. Click the green check mark icon on the popup list.

5. Repeat Steps 1 to 4.

6. After the last mate, press Esc, the green check mark icon, or the red X icon in either the PropertyManager or the confirmation corner (located in the upper-right corner of the graphics area).

Changing the view and model position

Sometimes you will have to rotate the model to achieve the correct view in order to select faces or edges. There are also times when you will want to pre-position so that the model snaps into the correct position automatically. You can rotate individual parts in an assembly by clicking and dragging with the RMB. (Dragging the RMB over a part rotates that part.) You rotate the view by dragging with the middle mouse button, or MMB. You can move parts by dragging them with the left mouse button, or LMB. You can pan the view by pressing Ctrl and dragging with the MMB. When you drag a part with the LMB while the Mate PropertyManager is active, SolidWorks does not add the selected entity to the Mate Selections list.

To summarize these actions:

• To rotate an individual component in an assembly, click and drag with the RMB.

• To move an individual component in an assembly, drag with the LMB.

• To rotate an assembly view, drag with the MMB.

• To pan an assembly view, Ctrl+drag with the MMB.

Also, be aware of the view manipulation tools, available by clicking the triad in the lower-left corner:

• To rotate normal to an axis, click the triad axis in that direction.

• To rotate by 15° about an axis (you can specify the angle at Tools⇒Options⇒View), Alt+click the triad axis in that direction.

• To rotate by 90° about an axis, Shift+click the triad axis in that direction.

• To activate the mouse gesture wheel, drag the RMB in blank space (dragging the RMB over a part rotates the part).

• To zoom to fit, double-click the MMB in the graphics window (same as using the F hotkey).

Tip

If you have a Spaceball or other 3D motion controller, you can perform all these actions easily and simultaneously using one hand for view rotations and the other hand for selections. You can also use a Spaceball to move parts.

Applying the Select Other command

The Select Other command enables you to select items that are hidden by other items. It is often used to select faces that are hidden behind other faces without rotating the part. You can apply the Select Other command through the RMB menu. Right-click where the face would be if you could see it. A list of entities displays. You can select the entity you want from this list or from the graphics window.

Moving your mouse over an entity in the list highlights the entity in the graphics window. Pressing Tab or scrolling the mouse wheel cycles through the entities one by one. Clicking faces with the RMB hides them, which enables you to see farther down into the part or assembly. Clicking with the LMB in either the graphics window or the selection list box selects the item. Figure 5.3 shows the Select Other cursor and dialog box.

FIGURE 5.3

The Select Other cursor and dialog box

Although you can use this selection method for other purposes, it is often used for selecting faces for mating.

Using Multiple Mate mode

Multiple Mate mode enables you to select one face in order to mate multiple parts to it. Figure 5.4 shows the interface for this mode, which you can toggle to from the Mate PropertyManager interface. The Multiple Mate mode icon looks like a paper clip with a lightning bolt running through it. This function works only with the Standard Mate types, not with any of the Advanced mates, which are discussed later in this chapter.

FIGURE 5.4

The Multiple Mate mode interface

You can create a special folder for all the multiple mates by selecting the Create multi-mate folder check box in the Mate Selections PropertyManager. You can also automatically link the values for distance and angle mates with link values by selecting the Link dimensions check box. When you use the Link Dimensions check box, distance or angle values for mates made in multi-mate mode will be set equal with link values.

Taking advantage of SmartMates

SmartMates are mates that you can create automatically by dragging one part onto another without invoking the Mate command. There are three different methods that you can use to apply SmartMates:

• Alt+dragging the part

• Dragging the part from one window to another

• Using Mate references

Alt+dragging a SmartMate

Probably the easiest way to create a SmartMate quickly is by Alt+dragging. One, two, or even three mates can be applied at once by holding down the Alt key while dragging a face or edge from one part onto a face or edge on another part.

When you are dragging a part while pressing the Alt key, the part is made transparent to enable you to see other part faces that you may want to mate it to. A special cursor appears when a SmartMate is about to be applied. Figure 5.5 shows the cursors that appear for adding Concentric and Coincident mates.

FIGURE 5.5

Applying a SmartMate

When you drop the face or edge onto the mating face or edge to complete the mate, you must use the popup Mate toolbar to accept or alter the mate. In the examples in Figure 5.6, a face is being dragged onto another face. However, you can also drag edges and vertices. Mates are limited to being either Coincident or Concentric.

The peg-in-hole mate is actually the combination of a Concentric mate and a Coincident mate. This is the type of mate that is created between a screw and a hole, and is the result of Alt+dragging a circular edge onto a circular edge. When the circular edges are created by the intersection of a cylindrical face and a flat face, the Concentric mate goes between the two cylindrical faces, and the Coincident mate goes between the flat faces. The peg-in-hole mate is illustrated in Figure 5.6. The top two images show the state of the parts before the SmartMate. The image in the lower left shows the SmartMate orienting the part in the wrong way so that the two parts interfere. In the image in the lower right, the part to which the SmartMate is applied has been reoriented by the Tab being pressed before the SmartMate is accepted by the part being dropped.

FIGURE 5.6

Using the SmartMate to create the peg-in-hole mate combination

Tip

You can press the Tab key to flip the alignment if a SmartMate tries to put parts together in the wrong way. If you are in the process of Alt+dragging, make sure to release the Alt key before pressing Tab. The Alt+Tab combination is a Windows shortcut to show a list of open applications.

You can also Alt+drag a SmartMate to mate origins and coordinate systems. When you Alt+drag one origin onto another, you get the special cursor shown to the left, and when you release the mouse button, the popup option box shown in Figure 5.7 appears. If you only want the origin points mated Coincident, turn off the Align Axes option. With the Align Axes option on, the origin points will be Coincident and the X, Y, and Z directions will be parallel to the same directions in the counterpart origin.

FIGURE 5.7

Using the Align Axes option on the popup option box for origin-to-origin SmartMates

Dragging between windows

You can simply Ctrl+drag a face of the part to the face of another part in a different SolidWorks window. It is probably most useful to tile windows before creating this kind of SmartMate.

Using Mate references

Mate references are model faces, edges, or vertices that are pre-selected and used in a SmartMate-like fashion when you drag a part in from Windows Explorer or from a library window. Mate references are discussed in Chapter 15 in the course of discussing library parts. They are a great way to automate common mates with commonly used parts, such as library parts.

Mating with macros

If not all the confirmations and extra mouse-clicks to open and close windows are for you, and you are just applying simple mates, then you may want to use macros to mate parts. Macros are not going to give you the same flexibility, but for simple and predictable mates, they greatly increase your speed. You have to have the parts ready to go when you press the macro button, or you will create the wrong mate.

You can find macros for coincident, concentric, parallel, perpendicular, and tangent mates in the DVD folder for Chapter 5. For example, to use the concentric macro, you need to pre-position the parts so that they are within 90 degrees of the proper alignment, have one of the parts mated in place such that only one part will move, select the two cylindrical faces, and then run the macro. Ideally, the macro should be connected to a hotkey, so the workflow for this process will be extraordinarily fast. You can click one face, click the other face, then press the hotkey, and the parts fly together.

Note

To connect a macro to a hotkey, first put the macro in a folder identified at Tools⇒Options⇒File Locations⇒Macros, and then restart SolidWorks. Then use the Keyboard dialog box (Tools⇒Customize⇒Keyboard) to assign hotkeys to the macros in the list.

Like SmartMates, macros work best for the simpler mate types where you do not need to select any options. The workflow with macros can be very fast, but you have to have the parts pre-positioned and be very sure of what you want.

Mating for Motion

Dynamic Assembly Motion is a powerful tool for visualizing the motion of mechanisms in SolidWorks. It works best if there is a single open degree of freedom. Assemblies with more open degrees of freedom can do some unexpected things when you try to move them. If there are multiple possible positions, the parts could jump between those positions. If the assembly has parts with unrelated open degrees of freedom, such as fasteners not constrained rotationally on an articulating arm, you may have some difficulty getting the motion you want.

Keep in mind that not all assemblies can function in multiple roles. For example, if you are trying to use a single assembly for an accurate BOM drawing, an exploded view, Dynamic Assembly Motion, setting up in-context references, and a rendering, you may find that even if you are using configurations (covered in Chapter 8) to divide the types, they might still interfere with one another.

For these reasons, you may want to consider separate assemblies for types of data that are most likely to interfere with other purposes, such as anything to do with moving parts around — Dynamic Assembly Motion, Animation, Rendering, or others.

Another question you need to ask yourself is whether the Dynamic Assembly Motion is actually necessary. Often people just set it up because they can, and may be paying consequences unnecessarily. For example, parts with in-context references should not have motion between the parts involved. If a referenced part moves, a hole or boss on the referencing part may also move. This sort of thing can be managed, but it requires discipline, and there is an element of risk to the integrity of your data should an untrained or forgetful employee gain access to it.

Analyzing degree of freedom

When working with motion in SolidWorks, you need to be comfortable with the concept of degrees of freedom. When inserted into an assembly, each model begins with six degrees of freedom:

• Translation in X (tX)

• Translation in Y (tY)

• Translation in Z (tZ)

• Rotation about X (rX)

• Rotation about Y (rY)

• Rotation about Z (rZ)

When applying mates, and especially when troubleshooting motion or overdefinition problems, it is important to look at how each mate translates into degrees of freedom being tied down. For example, a Coincident mate, planar face to planar face, ties down one translation degree of freedom (in the direction perpendicular to the faces) and two rotational degrees of freedom (about directions which lie in the plane of the faces). What remains are two translational degrees of freedom in the plane of the faces and one rotational degree of freedom about an axis perpendicular to the planar faces.

A point-to-point Coincident mate ties down three translational degrees of freedom, and the part can only rotate.

An edge-to-edge Coincident mate ties down two translational and two rotational degrees of freedom. As a result, a part that you mate in this way can only slide along the mated edge and rotate around the mated edge.

Tip

When using face-to-face Coincident mates, it takes three mates to define a block type part fully. When using edge-to-edge Coincident mates, it only takes two mates.

Something to be careful about is that a degree-of-freedom analysis frequently predicts an over-defined mate scenario when SolidWorks does not in fact display any errors or warnings. For example, if one block is mated to another with the simple case of three face-to-face Coincident mates, and each Coincident mate ties down one translational and two rotational degrees of freedom, then the mating scenario ties down nine degrees of freedom, so the part is over-constrained by three rotational degrees of freedom. However, SolidWorks has a lot of forgiveness built in, so it commonly allows situations like this, where parts are severely overconstrained. When troubleshooting any over-constrained situation, you should not take this forgiveness for granted. If SolidWorks reports an assembly as over-constrained and the reason is not intuitively obvious, try reducing some of the degrees of freedom constrained. For example, instead of making two faces coincident, consider making them simply parallel, or mate a point to a face instead of two faces.

Best Practice

This may be an overly cautious approach, but it can mean the difference between an assembly that works and one where errors are frustratingly persistent. If you are careful to approach all parts with the degree-of-freedom analysis in mind such that any newly added mate does not duplicate any of the degrees of freedom that are already tied down, you will have fewer assembly mate errors and fewer problems with assembly motion.

This means that instead of having the traditional three face-to-face Coincident mates, you would have one face-to-face Coincident mate (one translational degree of freedom, two rotational degrees of freedom), one edge-to-face Coincident mate (one translational degree of freedom, one rotational degree of freedom), and one point-to-face Coincident mate (one translational degree of freedom). This accounts for three translational and three rotational degrees of freedom without over-defining any of them.

It is true that SolidWorks internally compensates for over-defined degrees of freedom, but relying on it to do so and then tempting fate by methodically over-defining all assemblies is a risk that you do not have to take, even though it is common practice.

Setting up successful motion

The best bet for creating motion in a SolidWorks assembly is to leave open a single degree of freedom. This means that there is only one way the part can move, back and forth, by translation or rotation. Computers in general do not respond well to ambiguity. Dragging an item that might move in several ways is more likely to cause jerky or hesitant motion.

A good example of this kind of problem with motion can be found in one of the sample assemblies that installs with SolidWorks. This example is included on the DVD for your convenience, and is shown in Figure 5.8. The filename for the assembly is Plunger.sldasm.

FIGURE 5.8

An assembly displaying best bet for motion

If you drag the assembly parts from the location shown in Figure 5.8, the performance varies. This is because when you drag the handle parts, for every position of the handle, there is only one solution for the rest of the parts. However, when dragging the plunger bar, for every position of the plunger bar, there are two possible positions for both the links and the handle (one possibility is as shown, and the other would be with the handle interfering with the base of the assembly). This kind of ambiguity causes problems in SolidWorks assemblies such as assemblies that have open degrees of freedom but will not move or only move in a jerky fashion.

Another example of difficulties related to open degrees of freedom and motion is shown in Figure 5.9. The grippers at the end of the arm move when the rest of the arm moves, but the grippers cannot be independently controlled by dragging. To fix this problem, you may want to either use the Fix/Float option (available through the RMB menu) or use configurations with mates suppressed or unsuppressed. Fix the part that you want to remain stationary closest to the part you want to move. Remember to float the part when you are done. Also, be aware that fixing a part may over-define some mates. You can open this assembly from the DVD, in the filename called Robot Assembly.sldasm.

FIGURE 5.9

A robot arm assembly with degree-of-freedom conflicts

Working with Advanced and Mechanical Mate Types

Advanced and Mechanical mate types greatly expand the number of ways that you can put parts together into assemblies. Advanced mate types include Symmetric, Width, Path Mate, Linear/Linear Coupler, and Limit. Mechanical mate types include Cam, Hinge, Gear, Rack and Pinion, Screw, and Universal Joint. You can access Advanced and Mechanical mates by expanding the corresponding panels on the Mate PropertyManager shown in Figure 5.1.

If you understand sketch relations, the standard mate relations fall into place easily. One exception is the Lock mate. Lock is different from Fix, which pins a part to the background. The Lock mate locks two parts to one another, so that they always maintain the same relationship to one another, regardless of how they move with respect to other parts. This section goes into some detail of all the Advanced and Mechanical mates, with a brief example of each.

Symmetric mate

The Symmetric mate works a lot like the Symmetry relation in sketches, except that a plane is used as the plane of symmetry instead of a construction line. Figure 5.10 shows a Symmetric mate being applied to the gripper jaws. The Symmetric mate is listed in the Advanced Mates pane of the Mate PropertyManager.

FIGURE 5.10

Applying a Symmetric mate

Cam mate

The Cam mate creates a special instance of either the Coincident or Tangent mate. Four conditions exist with the Cam mate:

• Coincident. The vertex on the follower mated to a cam that is created from a single closed-loop face (spline, circle, and ellipse).

• Tangent. The cylindrical or planar face mated to a cam that is created from a single closed-loop face.

• CamMateCoincident. The vertex on the follower mated to a cam that is created from multiple faces. This condition enables the follower to go all the way around the cam, not stopping at the broken faces or following the extension of a single face.

• CamMateTangent. The cylindrical or planar face mated to a cam that is created from multiple faces. This condition enables the follower to go all the way around the cam, not stopping at the broken faces or following the extension of a single face.

Figure 5.11 shows both single-face and multi-face cams, along with the Cam Mate interface. The two assemblies are available from the DVD in the file named Cam.sldasm.

FIGURE 5.11

Using Cam mates

If you open the assemblies and spin the cam plate, you will notice that in both cases, the flat follower does not work very well. In fact, in the single-face cam assembly, it does not work at all.

Note

Barrel (cylindrical) cams cannot use the Cam mate to create cam motion, but they do work with the Path mate. Path mates are covered in more detail later in this section.

Width mate

The Width mate is often used as a replacement for the Symmetric mate in situations where parts are modeled with some tolerance and have a gap rather than touching face to face. The Width mate requires two pairs of faces to be selected, and works particularly well when a part has to be spaced evenly between two faces and there is no mid-plane, for example, when a square key is placed in a square keyway that is somewhat larger than the key. If a mid-plane is available, the Symmetric mate may be a better option, or at least a faster one to mate, given that the Symmetric mate only requires two faces and a plane. Figure 5.12 shows a good application for a Width mate as well as the PropertyManager interface for the mate.

FIGURE 5.12

Applying a Width mate

Gear mate

The Gear mate enables you to establish gear type relations between parts without making the parts physically mesh. You can also apply gear ratios and directions without physical connections, so that you can have a shaft in and a shaft out of a black-box transmission. You can open the assembly shown in Figure 5.13 from the DVD. It is named Gear Mate.sldasm. To see the effect of the mate, open the assembly and rotate the parts. Then edit the mate and change the ratio and direction. The selection for the Gear mate is just two cylindrical faces.

FIGURE 5.13

Applying a Gear mate

Rack and Pinion mate

The Rack and Pinion mate takes rotational motion of one part and turns it into translational motion for a second part. Again, the parts do not need to be physically connected and can be simple representations of the actual geometry that is needed to drive the motion in the real world. Figure 5.14 shows an assembly that uses the Rack and Pinion mate. You can find this assembly on the DVD with the filename RackPinionMate.sldasm.

FIGURE 5.14

Applying a Rack and Pinion mate

Limit mates

You can apply limits to distance and angle mates in order to allow the parts to move within a certain range of values. Figure 5.15 shows the PropertyManager interface for the Limit Angle mate. Limit mates accept zero and negative values that are not normally accepted for dimensions in SolidWorks. When used properly, Limit mates can be an extremely powerful tool for creating more realistic motion in assemblies.

FIGURE 5.15

The LimitAngle PropertyManager

On the DVD, open the assembly named Robot Limit Mate.sldasm. Drag the Robot Tower part. Notice that it only rotates within a limited angle. LimitAngle2 is the mate that is driving this motion.

Screw mate

The Screw mate functions just the way the name suggests. For every revolution of a part relative to another part, the part moves in a linear direction by a specified amount. This mate requires two cylindrical faces and a pitch value, as shown in Figure 5.16.

FIGURE 5.16

Setting up a Screw mate

Screw mates can be handy for lead screw animations. Although they are not recommended for general modeling, for animations, they are a fantastic addition to the mate toolbox.

Path mate

The Path mate is the one that makes complex barrel cam motion possible, as well as other types of path-driven motion. Another application for this mate type beyond barrel cams is for the motion of a camera in a fly-through animation. The Path mate requires a point or vertex on one part and a curve selection on a second part. If the path selection is not just a single sketch or curve entity, it requires the use of the SelectionManager, which enables you to select multiple end-to-end entities to form closed or open paths. Figure 5.17 shows the setup for a Path mate.

FIGURE 5.17

Setting up a Path mate

Note

On the barrel cam in Figure 5.17, notice that a sketch point is being driven along the path. In reality, this does not exactly reflect the motion of the follower around the cam surface. The Path mate does not take into account the tangent contact point between the surfaces; it simply drives the point along the curve. There is a slight amount of error in this scenario, such that the leading or trailing surface of the follower will interfere with the cam on angled slopes, depending on the angle of the cam surface. Also note that the Path sketch entity has nothing to do with the Path mate; it is not required to make the Path mate work.

Linear Coupler mate

The Linear Coupler mate relates the motion of one part in one direction to another part in either the same or a different direction. It also enables you to apply a ratio between the motions. The directions do not have to be parallel or anti-parallel; they can be at right angles, or at any angle. The mate only controls motion in one direction, so other directions are free to move.

You can use this mate to simulate symmetric motion or geared motion without modeling the rest of the detailed mechanism. Figure 5.18 shows the setup for this mate.

FIGURE 5.18

Setting up a Linear Coupler mate

Hinge mate

The Hinge mate is just a shortcut for making a Concentric and a Coincident mate, but it does it all in a single feature and a single interface. Figure 5.19 shows the PropertyManager interface for the Hinge mate.

FIGURE 5.19

Setting up a Hinge mate

Belt/Chain

The Belt/Chain assembly feature is not technically a stand-alone mate type, but it uses mates to accomplish its task. You can use the Belt/Chain feature in two ways: to create relationships between sketch blocks or to create relations between parts. This feature also creates a sketch and a solid part representing the belt or chain. You can initiate the Belt/Chain function from a toolbar button on the Assembly toolbar or through the menus by choosing Insert⇒Assembly Feature⇒Belt/Chain.

Editing and Troubleshooting

You should become proficient with editing and troubleshooting assembly mates. If you are not comfortable with repairing and modifying mates, you may find assemblies frustrating to work with. However, once you master the techniques, you will be more confident and willing to experiment with assembly changes.

Editing existing mates

If you are editing just one mate, then you can simply right-click it and select Edit Feature (or if you are using Context Toolbars, left-click it and click the Edit Feature button). Remember that you can find mates in places other than the Mates folder at the bottom of the assembly FeatureManager; most notably, you can find them in folders under the parts that they are mating together.

You can also select View Mates from the RMB/LMB menu for a part in an assembly, and for multiple selections of parts. This brings up a small window that contains all the mates involving the selected parts.

You can make several types of changes to mates, including changing the selections, the mate types, and the mate alignment. These types of changes are all shown in Figure 5.20, which displays a mate being edited. The selected faces are highlighted in the graphics window.

FIGURE 5.20

Editing a mate

To edit multiple mates consecutively without exiting the Mate PropertyManager, it is best to pre-select the mates. Pre-selected mates are shown in the Mates panel in Figure 5.20. You can switch from editing one mate to another by simply selecting the new mate in the Mates panel. If you select only one mate before clicking Edit Feature, but realize later that you want to edit multiple mates, you can select more mates through the FeatureManager.

When mate entities are lost, the mate appears grayed out, as shown in Figure 5.21. Also shown is a mate that cannot be resolved — for example, a face coincident to two points separated in space. You can repair the missing reference problem by selecting the Invalid reference in the Mate Selections window and then selecting the correct item from the graphics window.

The yellow triangle is a warning symbol that shows that a mate is satisfied, but it is in conflict with another mate that is not satisfied.

FIGURE 5.21

Repairing mates with missing references

Troubleshooting assembly mates

It is best to troubleshoot an assembly mate problem as soon as it appears, and not after it has become complicated by other issues. Failed mates also cause performance problems because SolidWorks keeps trying to solve the mates that are in conflict with one another.

Assembly problems often appear to be far larger than they actually are. For example, the entire tree may light up with warnings and error symbols when one extra mate is applied. You can use several approaches to troubleshoot situations like this. For example, you can purposely over-define mates just to locate a leftover mate or a mate that is not supposed to be there.

Two types of symbols may help you distinguish the kinds of errors that are present in different mate features. The yellow triangle that contains an exclamation point is not an error; it is actually more of a warning. It tells you that this mate is in conflict with other mates (this symbol is used for a variety of warnings), but that the mate is still satisfied. One of the other mates with which it conflicts is probably not valid, and so this type of warning is usually accompanied by an actual error symbol where the mate is not satisfied.

The red circle containing the X is a failed mate. This mate is in conflict and is invalid. If it is also a Coincident mate, then the two Coincident entities are not coincident.

Troubleshooting warnings and errors

SolidWorks distinguishes between errors and warnings. Errors are situations where a condition is not satisfied, such as a coincident mate where the selected entities are not coincident. Errors are marked with a red symbol. Warnings are symbols that mark situations where a conflict exists, but otherwise all conditions are met. For example, both a coincident and a perpendicular mate use the same faces. One mate will have an error and the other a warning, because one can be satisfied, but not both.

You can use the following troubleshooting techniques to work with assemblies where errors or warnings exist:

• Last in first out. When a mate is added that causes warning and error signs to appear throughout the design tree, you can usually correct the problem by removing this last mate.

• Single elimination. If you are sure that the last mate added is correct, then you may want to go backward up the tree starting at the bottom, suppressing individual mates until you find one that causes the warning and error signs to disappear from the tree.

• Single addition. It may be easier to take the opposite approach, by suppressing all but the mates that you are sure of, and then gradually unsuppressing mates until the conflict reappears.

• Suppress a part. With all the mates active, try suppressing an individual part to see whether this makes a difference. If it does, then unsuppress the part and look at the mates for that part in the Mates folder under the part.

• MateXpert. The MateXpert is an automated routine that creates subsets of groups of conflicting mates. Each subset of mates has one mate that is not satisfied because of the conflict. This may help you to find the cause of the conflict. Figure 5.22 shows the MateXpert interface. You can access the MateXpert from the RMB menu on mates with errors.

FIGURE 5.22

The Mate Xpert interface

Examining Mate Options

The Options pane of the Mate PropertyManager is shown in Figure 5.23. Most of the options are self-explanatory, except for Use for positioning only. This option positions a part but does not apply a parametric mate. Some users select this option often for various applications where they need the part located precisely, but do not need or want a mate feature in the tree. One example of using this option is to position a part for Animator animations where the part does not move according to a mate.

FIGURE 5.23

The Options pane of the Mate PropertyManager

Reviewing Mate Best Practices

Sometimes best practice recommendations can contradict one another, and for each best practice recommendation that you find, there are likely several specific situations where the recommendation is invalid, or even a bad idea. As a result, you should apply the following recommendations carefully. Don't take best practices too seriously, but at the same time you should not disregard them altogether. Some companies use best practice recommendations as modeling standards. The less experience your SolidWorks team has, the more you need standards of this sort. Every situation has a different need for best practice, and probably even a need for a set of rules that are different from the ones laid out here. You can think of this set of mate best practices as a starting point for the discussion at your own company.

• Each assembly should have at least one part that is either fixed or fully mated to the standard planes of the assembly so that it cannot move relative to the assembly.

• You should use fixed parts sparingly. One part that serves as a “ground” for the assembly should be fixed. Other than that, the parts of imported assemblies are sometimes fixed to keep them from being moved accidentally.

• Do not mate to time-dependent features in the assembly tree, or to in-context features in parts. This can create circular references where the assembly must be rebuilt multiple times to fully resolve the positions of all parts and sketches.

• When possible, it is best to mate all parts to the “ground” part. Creating daisy-chain mates (where A mates to B, which mates to C, and so on) forces the mates to be solved in a particular order, which may take more time to solve. If all the mates relate to established assembly references, the mates may be more stable. Chapter 11 describes using a skeleton in a part to make sketch and feature relations. You can apply a similar concept in an assembly, by mating parts to an assembly sketch.

• When possible, leave part positions fully defined, especially when other geometry is dependent upon the position of parts. Some examples include in-context features, assembly features, or assembly-level reference geometry, which are dependent on part geometry.

• Constraining the rotational degree of freedom for components such as screws, washers, and nuts is usually considered excessive. At times, too many open degrees of freedom may cause problems with complex motion, such as a gripper on the end of a robotic arm. SolidWorks functions well when there is a single, well-defined path between two points, but when there are multiple options, the software may become confused.

• Do not leave errors unresolved in the tree.

• Remember to use subassemblies to break up the number of mates that are solved in the top-level assembly.

• Limit the use of flexible subassemblies.

• Do not mate to entities that may be removed later by suppressing or unsuppressing features, especially edges or faces that are created by features such as fillets. For this reason, it is usually best to wait until parts are complete before you use them to create an assembly, although this is rarely practical.

• Use a degree-of-freedom analysis to prevent mates from becoming over-defined.

Tutorial: Mating for Success

In this tutorial, you will put together a model of a robotic arm to better understand some of the mate issues discussed in this chapter. Follow these steps to mate for success:

1. Open the part named Chapter 5 Robot Base.sldprt from the DVD.

2. In the part document window, click the Make Assembly From Part icon, and click the cursor on the Origin of the assembly to place the part Origin at the assembly Origin. The part is automatically fixed in place.

3. Choose Insert⇒Component⇒Existing Part/Assembly. Click the Browse button in the PropertyManager and find the part called Chapter 5 Robot Tower.sldprt. This part contains a Mate reference to help you mount it to the base. If you bring the cursor near the big circular hole in the base, you can see the preview of the tower snap into place. Click to accept this placement. Figure 5.24 shows this placement in progress. Notice that the cursor appears as a SmartMate cursor for the peg-in-hole mate. When the part is dropped, check the mate list to confirm that a Concentric and a Coincident mate have been applied by the Mate reference.

FIGURE 5.24

A Mate reference being used to SmartMate a component

4. Open the part with the filename Chapter 5 Arm.sldprt, the Default configuration, in its own window, and choose Window⇒Tile Vertically. The part and the assembly should be open in adjacent windows.

5. Click the face inside the hole without the chamfer around it in the Arm part, as shown in Figure 5.25. Then drag it into the assembly to the cylindrical face inside the hole at the top of the Robot Tower part. The concentric SmartMate symbol should appear on the cursor.

FIGURE 5.25

Displaying a SmartMate when dragging between windows

6. Click the green check mark icon to accept the Concentric mate. Move the part to test that the mates are correct.

7. Click the Mate tool on the Assemblies toolbar. Expand the Advanced Mates panel and click the Width mate.

8. In the Width Selections box, select the two inner faces of the Robot Tower part, and in the Tab Selections box, select the outer faces of the Arm part. The selection should look as shown in Figure 5.26.

9. Open a Windows Explorer window, and select the following parts: Robot Arm2 and Robot Gripper. Drag these parts into the SolidWorks assembly window and drop them in a blank space.

10. Select the chamfered faces of the Arm and Arm2 parts and create a Coincident mate between them. You can make Coincident mates between conical faces as long as the cones are the same angle. This special case acts like a combination of Concentric and Coincident mates. Figure 5.27 shows the selections and the result.

FIGURE 5.26

Creating a Width mate

11. Create a copy of the gripper part so that there are two instances of it in the assembly. You can do this by Ctrl+dragging the part within the assembly window with the Mate PropertyManager closed.

12. Mate both of the grippers to the Arm2 end using the same mating technique that you used for the previous conical face Coincident part.

13. Once you have applied these parts, try moving the various joints of the assembly. Notice that it is difficult, if not impossible, to isolate the motion of just a single part. This is because there are too many open degrees of freedom, and a lot of ambiguity.

14. Fix Arm2 to allow you to move the gripper parts as you want. Create a Symmetric mate between the indicated faces of the grippers and the Front plane of the Arm2 part, as shown in Figure 5.28.

15. Practice making angle mates, suppressing mates, and fixing parts to limit motion.

16. Save the assembly and exit the file.

FIGURE 5.27

Making conical faces coincident

FIGURE 5.28

Creating a Symmetric mate

Summary

A thorough understanding of mates, and editing and troubleshooting techniques in particular, makes the difference between a real assembly artist and a user who struggles through or avoids certain tasks. There is a lot about mates that is not straightforward, but with practice, you can understand and master them. You can put assemblies together quickly, with a focus on rebuild performance and Dynamic Assembly Motion.

Although best practice concepts should not dominate your designs, they are great guidelines to start from. To avoid making big mistakes, watch out for the pitfalls outlined in the section in this chapter that summarizes mate best practices to follow.

Chapter 6: Working with Assembly Sketches and Layouts

In This Chapter

Introducing layout techniques

Applying special treatment within an assembly

Working with a Layout tutorial

When working on parts or assemblies, design work often begins with 2D sketches. You can follow through to 3D with data created in this phase by laying out the design as a sketch in the assembly before you start making actual 3D parts. When you use a single sketch or multiple sketches either as a visual guide or as a functional framework for a model, it is called a layout. Two-dimensional sketches are easy to produce, and easy to use as the first step in design or modeling work. SolidWorks provides both formal and informal techniques for achieving this sort of effect.

The topic of layout sketches involves other topics that will be covered in more detail later in this book, such as in-context modeling and master model techniques. These topics are introduced here at a conceptual level to prepare you for the detailed information later on.

In-context modeling involves the creation of relationships between parts in an assembly such that one part drives features on another part. Layout concepts apply to in-context modeling because you can use an assembly-level sketch to drive geometry within individual parts.

Master model techniques can take several forms, but usually entail making geometry in a single part that is later used to span across several parts in an assembly. Layout sketches can be used to either break up or bring back together parts created in this fashion.

Looking at the Techniques

An informal technique called assembly layout sketch has existed since early versions of SolidWorks. This technique has been included in the SolidWorks official training materials for many years, and simply allows an assembly-level sketch. You can then do one of several things with the sketch: build parts in place on it, mate parts to it, or use it to cut up a single part into multiple pieces. The assembly layout sketch technique is also often adapted for use with single highly complex parts, to use a single point of reference to change many features within a single part.

A much newer, formal assembly feature is called the Layout. The Layout is an assembly-level 3D sketch that displays a specific icon and has some special properties. Although the formal feature and the informal technique have similar names, they have very different functions. SolidWorks users do not often distinguish between the two, and many do not even know there is a difference. In fact, most users are unfamiliar with the Layout feature.

In this book, you will find the word layout used with a lowercase “l” to refer to the informal assembly-based sketch layout method. The formal assembly-based 3D sketch with special properties will be referred to with a capital “L” as a Layout. The Layout icon may also accompany the formal feature.

Using the assembly layout sketch

In SolidWorks, layout sketches are a great way to simulate mechanisms, or locate the major components of an assembly. Figure 6.1 shows three examples of assemblies created with the assistance of an assembly layout sketch.

FIGURE 6.1

Assembly layout sketches can be used in a wide range of applications.

The bicycle example is used throughout this book, and the layout sketch was instrumental in establishing the geometry of the frame. Most of the components of a bicycle are purchased as off-the-shelf items that may come in different sizes but are not custom created for individual bikes. The only parts that are generally custom built for a particular size are the frame and possibly the fork. So to design the frame, you have to lay out all of the data that you are given from the individual components, such as wheels, stem, crank set, and seat. When you put everything together, there are additional pieces of information that determine the frame geometry before the detail design of the frame can be started. You need to know the following:

• The size of the wheels

• The wheelbase (distance between the wheel centers)

• The length of the pedal arm

• The necessary clearance between the bottom of the pedal and the ground

• The head angle (effective pivot angle of the front fork)

• The distance between the center of the crank and the center of the rear wheel

The workflow for using an assembly layout sketch is as follows:

1. Open a new assembly.

2. Create sketches on the standard planes, or create new reference planes (you cannot use sketch pictures in assembly sketches).

3. Mate existing parts to the sketch and reference geometry (bottom-up method).

Alternatively, you can build parts in place using the layout sketches as reference (top-down or in-context method).

This bicycle will be used as an example to show how the frame was developed.

First, you start with the wheels. In this example, you want to design an urban utility bike based on mountain bike components, with dual suspension, but using narrow tires, and that means 26" wheels. You need a certain amount of ground clearance as the pedals rotate, and even clearance between the rider's toes and the back side of the front wheel. You will design the frame to fit a rider who is about 5' 8".

The size information is important because the distance between the wheel centers (wheelbase) creates certain characteristics for riders of different heights. A longer wheelbase generally means a more stable and comfortable ride but is less maneuverable and heavier. In this case, based on other research, you want the wheelbase to be 41".

The above information allows you to create the sketch shown in Figure 6.2.

FIGURE 6.2

Starting the bicycle layout sketch

The next set of information you can put into the sketch has to do with the height of the top bar (which is important when you stand over the bike with your feet on the ground), and clearance between the frame and front wheel for the travel of the front suspension fork. This establishes most of what you need to know to design the frame, but you still have to work out the rear suspension arm.

With this information, the layout sketch looks like Figure 6.3.

FIGURE 6.3

Adding information to the layout sketch

With this data, you have all of the critical point locations to design the actual frame. The first step in creating the frame is to place reference geometry (sketch planes) from which to make sketches for the extrudes or other features used to make the individual tubes of the frame. The frame will be a carbon fiber monocoque, but will still rely on tubular geometry, with smooth blends between the tubes to reduce stress concentrations. The layout with the planes and the initial tubes is shown in Figure 6.4.

FIGURE 6.4

Building the tubes for the frame

When all of the tubes are created in-place in the assembly from the assembly layout sketch, the top of the assembly FeatureManager looks like Figure 6.5.

You should notice two things right away from this FeatureManager. The first is that the BibleBikeFrame part listed in the tree displays a rebuild symbol (which resembles a traffic light), and the second is that every feature in the list has the -> symbol to the right of it. The rebuild symbol means that SolidWorks thinks there is something that needs to be recalculated in the part, although there is not. If you open the part in its own window, there are no rebuild symbols, but in the context of the assembly it seems there always are, even if you force a rebuild (Ctrl+Q). Many users who have experimented with in-context relations experience this kind of behavior with the software. This has a lot to do with why so many people have misgivings about in-context techniques — there just seem to be too many things that happen that are out of your control. Assembly layout sketches are a fantastic technique, but they are not without their quirks.

The -> symbol means that there is an external reference from the part to the assembly sketch. (External references are covered in more detail in Chapter 10.) Using the assembly layout sketch technique, an external reference is made every time a relationship is made from the part to the assembly sketch. Many users prefer to avoid external references, mainly because of the file management issues they cause, the difficulty in repairing them when broken, and rebuild speed performance issues. However, references to an assembly sketch are more stable than references between two parts in an assembly.

FIGURE 6.5

Examining the features built from the assembly layout sketch

When you use an assembly layout sketch for either the in-context part building or simply part positioning, the main advantage that it offers is to give you a single driving sketch that enables you to change the size, shape, and position of the parts. You can use as many layout sketches as you want, and you can make them on different sketch planes. This enables you to control parts in all directions.

Caution

When using layout sketches, it is assumed that the relationships are created such that the sketch drives everything else. However, nothing is preventing you from using other things in the assembly to drive the sketch. You should avoid this type of conflict, called a circular reference. It can create sketches that change with every rebuild and can seriously impact rebuild times. When using any type of in-context relations, you need to be careful to establish one or more driving entities, which are not in turn driven by other entities.

To take this a step further, it is best to avoid daisy chaining, where A drives B, B drives C, and so on. It is better practice to make A drive both B and C directly. This saves on rebuild times and troubleshooting.

One of the drawbacks of this technique is that you give up dynamic assembly motion. By creating the parts in the context of the assembly and creating relationships between sketches or features and the assembly sketch, you cannot move the parts by just dragging them with the cursor. To move the parts, you have to move the sketch and rebuild. The part does not move until the sketch is updated. If you need to combine layout functionality with dynamic assembly motion, you can add additional instances of the in-context parts that are mated in the traditional way. However, when using this method, you have to be very careful about which instance you make your edits to, because in-context relations will be driven by the original instance.

Another drawback of the assembly-level sketch in general is that you cannot use a sketch picture inside the sketch. Sketch pictures can contain important reference information for building a model. The lack of this capability is certainly noticeable. You can put your sketch picture in a part or even a virtual component.

Using master model

The master model technique is covered in depth in Chapter 19, but it is mentioned here because it works as an alternate method with the layout idea. The term master model can mean a couple of different things: It could be a single part where multiple bodies are created and that is later split up into multiple parts. Also, it is sometimes used as the name for inserting a single part with sketches and reference geometry into one or more other parts to have a single reference without creating that reference in the assembly.

This still creates an external reference, but it only creates a single external reference instead of possibly dozens, and updates of the inserted part can be locked. Performance problems with this technique are less serious. Also, if the file management fails and SolidWorks cannot find the inserted part, you can still keep working. SolidWorks keeps enough data in the child part that it does not need to constantly access the parent part.

The master model technique seems to have more advantages and fewer disadvantages than the methods using assemblies. The dynamic assembly motion problem does not exist in a master model arrangement, nor does the lack of sketch picture functionality.

An example of this kind of work is shown in the derailleur assembly in Figure 6.6.

The part shown on the left is the master model. Notice that it contains sketch, plane, and surface data. The image on the right shows some parts superimposed on the master model part.

FIGURE 6.6

Using a master model to drive the individual parts of an assembly

Using the Layout Feature

The Layout feature in SolidWorks is relatively new. However, due to some quirky behavior, it is not generally employed by users. Most people who have been using the layout technique described earlier in this chapter are not switching to the new method, even though it has replaced the old method in the official SolidWorks assemblies training manuals.

The Layout feature is a 3D sketch that is given special treatment within an assembly. It also works best with sketch blocks. The special properties of the Layout feature when compared to a 2D assembly sketch are as follows:

• Uses a 3D sketch

• Works best when actively sketching on a plane

• Works best when the sketch making up a part is made into a sketch block

• Enables you to extrude the first feature of a part directly from the sketch block

• Enables sketch relations between blocks to turn into mates

• Permits unlimited dynamic assembly motion — parts move with the motion of blocks in the Layout

To initiate a Layout, click the Layout button on the Layout tab of the assembly CommandManager or activate it from the Insert menu. Once you are in a Layout, SolidWorks puts you into a 3D sketch with the Front (XY) plane activated, so it displays a small grid.

For now, you treat the 3D sketch as much like a set of 2D sketches as possible. The main difference is that you can double-click a different plane to start sketching on the new plane, and you always see this small grid when a plane is active.

You may find that 3D sketches have some limitations when you are working with Layouts, such as lacking the capabilities to use sketch patterns and Sketch Pictures.

Using the Layout workflow

With most functions in software of any type, you tend to get better results when you are able to use the software in the way in which it was intended to be used. Generally, the developers have a workflow in mind when they design the function itself and the interface. Working with the software is usually also easier than working against the software.

Here is the general workflow for using the Layout feature:

1. Open a new or existing assembly.

2. Click the Layout toolbar button on the Layout tab of the CommandManager.

3. Sketch on the plane in the 3D sketch to create 2D sketches representing parts of a mechanism or other assembly.

4. Make selections of the sketch into blocks representing individual parts, as shown in Figure 6.7.

5. Insert multiple instances of the blocks to represent multiple instances of the parts.

6. Use sketch relations to put the blocks together like mating parts in an assembly.

7. Test the mechanism by dragging sketches. (Blocks function like a single sketch entity, so you can drag them within the sketch like parts in an assembly.)

8. Right-click the block (from inside or outside the Layout) and select Make Part From Block (also a button on the Layout toolbar).

Note

The Make Part From Block command uses large and small icons that are slightly different. The icon shown previously is a large icon.

FIGURE 6.7

Tools you encounter when using Layout

Working with virtual components

Virtual components always exist with in-context workflows, and frequently with the Layout workflow. Virtual components are parts that are saved within the assembly. You can save a virtual component externally, and you can also make an externally saved part into a virtual component. The advantages of virtual components are that you don't have to worry about saving out additional files, and that the assembly will never lose track of any virtual component.

Virtual components are primarily intended for use as quick, temporary, conceptual tools, rather than as a way to make parts that will be a permanent element in the assembly. Some SolidWorks users also use virtual components to represent non-geometric parts such as glue or paint. Any time you choose Insert⇒Component⇒New Part from the menus and select a template and a plane to put the part on, the part is placed immediately into the assembly, and you can start working without worrying about having to save the assembly and the part. This saves a lot of time initially. Later on, when you save the assembly, SolidWorks prompts you to save the parts externally as well, or you may choose to leave the parts internal to the assembly.

Virtual components are named Part1 Assem1, where Part1 and Assem1 are default names. You can easily rename the part by clicking the RMB menu and selecting Rename Part. You cannot do this for external parts. If you make an external part virtual, the name in the assembly becomes Copy of filename Assem1 where filename is the name of the external file. The name of the assembly is always included (and cannot be removed) to ensure that if you have subassemblies that also have virtual components, you will always have unique filenames for all the parts.

Virtual components can also be accessed in their own window, which makes them easier to edit for some purposes. Bills of Materials (BOMs) and numbered balloons work correctly with virtual components.

Best Practice

It is considered best practice to save any parts that will be a permanent part of the assembly as external files. Virtual components should be limited to temporary parts or possibly non-geometry, BOM-only parts such as glue or paint.

Balancing advantages and limitations

In theory, the Layout feature has several advantages:

• You can make parts from blocks within the Layout.

• You can move parts by moving blocks in the Layout.

• It is a great way to structure your relations within an assembly.

• A single 3D sketch does not have the history concerns that multiple 2D sketches have.

• It is useful for motion analysis studies.

In practice, this feature needs some enhancements before it is ready for use on real assemblies. Using 2D sketches as assembly layout sketches may still be a better idea than trying to avoid the following limitations of the formal Layout feature:

• The 3D sketch used for Layout has all the limitations that come with 3D sketches.

• Sketch relations are listed in the Mates folder.

• Gaining access to edit the Layout once it has been closed requires a method you don't expect from a sketch: you click the Layout button on the toolbar rather than right-click and edit an icon in the FeatureManager.

• It requires that you use blocks to access all of the functionality.

• A fully defined 3D sketch with blocks is very unstable.

• Part creation from blocks does not save time.

• You cannot paste copied sketch entities from a 2D sketch into the Layout.

• You cannot use sketch pictures in the Layout.

• You cannot use auto-dimension (or polygons or ellipses) in the Layout.

Although the formal Layout feature has serious advantages over regular layout sketches, at this time the limitations outweigh them. The rest of the discussion on layouts addresses the generic layout technique rather than the formal feature.

Tutorial: Working with a Layout

In this tutorial, you will use regular assembly sketches to lay out and build a tooling die.

1. Open the assembly from the DVD named Chapter 6 tutorial layout start.sldasm. Notice that three layout sketches and some of the parts have been added already. The existing parts are virtual components, saved inside the assembly.

2. Click Add New Part on the Assembly tab of the CommandManager. The cursor appears with a green check mark, and in the lower-left corner, the taskbar prompts you to select a plane on which to place the Front plane of the part. A sketch will automatically be opened on that plane. Click the Front plane of the assembly.

3. Click the Corner Rectangle sketch tool from the Sketch toolbar. Create a rectangle from the two corners indicated in Figure 6.8. It may be helpful to bring the model into a Front view before drawing these rectangles.

4. Extrude the rectangle using the Up To Vertex end condition for both Direction 1 and Direction 2. Select sketch endpoints in the Plane Depth Layout sketch for both directions so that the new plate matches the other existing plates.

Be careful not to click model faces, edges, or vertices when creating these depth references. Make sure that all your references stay in the sketch.

FIGURE 6.8

Creating a new plate in the context of an assembly with layout sketches.

5. Click the Exit Edit Part icon in the Confirmation Corner (the upper-right corner of the SolidWorks graphics window). Right-click the new part in the FeatureManager and select Rename Part. Rename it Plate4. You can also use the Windows standard method of slowly double-clicking rename parts. The Chapter 16 tutorial layout start part of the name is automatically added. Assign a material from the Appearances tab for the new plate.

6. Follow this procedure for the four remaining plates, as shown in Figure 6.9. To summarize the steps again, you add the new part, create a sketch, and extrude the block.

Note

Be careful with the plates labeled 5, 6, 7, and 8. There is a clearance gap between the sides of the 7 and 8 plates and the vertical plates 5 and 6.

FIGURE 6.9

All of the plates controlled by the layout sketches

7. Reorient the view to the Top view. Make sure you can see the Pin Layout sketch.

8. Select the top face of Plate 1, and click on the Hole Series toolbar. The Hole Series may be hidden under the Assembly Features flyout on the Assembly tab of the CommandManager. The Hole Wizard no longer requires pre-selection to avoid 3D placement sketches, but the Hole Series as of 2010 has not been updated to follow the same rules as the Hole Wizard.

9. Place two sketch points at the centers of the circles, as shown in Figure 6.10. Make sure that the two points are both over the same plate 5 or 6. You cannot cut both plate 5 and 6 in the same Hole Series feature. Use the settings shown in Figure 6.10.

Make sure the holes are Counterbored, ANSI Metric, Socket Head Cap Screw, M10, with a head clearance of 0.10 inch. All other conditions should follow Figure 6.9.

10. Place two more new holes on the other side. Make the parts transparent to see how the holes have been placed.

FIGURE 6.10

Placing screw holes through multiple parts in the die

11. Initiate the Plane feature. Create a plane perpendicular to the Right plane and coincident to the line from the Plate Depth Layout shown in the Right view in Figure 6.11. Rename the new plane Sprue Bushing Seat. (The new plane should show up right underneath the initial three layout sketches.)

12. Create a new part on the Sprue Bushing Seat plane.

FIGURE 6.11

Creating a plane in the assembly driven by the layout sketch

13. Activate the Convert Entities sketch tool, select the large (approximately 4-inch diameter) circle from the Pin Layout sketch, and convert it into the sketch plane of the new part.

14. Draw a 1/2 inch circle in the center (at the origin). Extrude the sketch 0.875 inch so that it protrudes from Plate 2.

15. Exit the Edit Part mode (using the Confirmation Corner). Rename the new part Sprue Bushing.

16. Left-click on Plate2 and select Edit Part from the shortcut toolbar.

17. Open a new sketch on the Sprue Bushing Seat plane (which is part of the assembly, not part of the part).

18. Select the large circle used in Step 13, and use the Offset sketch tool to offset the circle 0.005 inch to the outside. Create a Through All cut that comes out the exposed side of Plate2, clearing an area for the Sprue Bushing. You may need to switch to Wireframe display to accomplish this.

19. Apply a chamfer to the outer edge of the new cut, 0.010 inch.

20. Exit Edit Part mode, and save the assembly to a new location by choosing File ⇒ Save As. Click the Save All button, and then select the Save Externally option, as shown in Figure 6.12.

FIGURE 6.12

Saving the internal virtual components to external parts

21. Exit Edit Part mode using the icon in the Confirmation Corner.

22. Double-click the Plate Layout sketch, and change the 5.836 inch dimension to 6 inches. Change the 7.244 inch dimension to 7 inches. Make sure the model rebuilds, and watch the individual parts update. Figure 6.13 shows these dimensions for reference.

FIGURE 6.13

Editing layout sketch dimensions to drive the size of the individual parts

You will need to do more to finish this tooling die than is covered in this tutorial. The point is to give you some experience using the in-context features that are used with a layout sketch technique.

Summary

Laying out an assembly with reference sketches is a more disciplined way of working that can help you avoid some of the complications of external references and in-context design work. It is up to you to decide whether the informal 2D layout sketches are preferable to the formal 3D sketch-based Layout feature. Both offer tools to control positions of parts and even features of parts within an assembly.

Traditional assembly modeling methods where each part is located by mates from another part do not stand up well against changes in the parts themselves. The main goals of the layout methods are centralization of control and stability of changes. I invite you to explore some of these methods using tools you have learned in this chapter.

Chapter 7: Using Assembly Tools

In This Chapter

Assembling without mates

Interfering options

Using AssemblyXpert

Defeaturing in assemblies

Using sensors

Aligning holes

Working with large assemblies