Solidworks Project: Learning the Ropes - Entry #6 - Lesson 2 - Assemblies - V.1

 Lesson 2 - Parts - V. 1

This entry is a continuation of the basic theory conveyed in Entry #1, where a 3D model of a pressure plate was created. As stated in Entry #1, the theory being tested in this blog series is based upon the internal tutorial program embedded within Solidworks, which is rumored to be all that is needed to reach intermediate to advanced level understanding of the software, with additional sources only needed for specialized uses or integration with other programs such as Blender for 3D printing. This series will document the progress of a first year engineering student with no prior experience with computer aided engineering design to weigh the theory based on outcomes. 

The process demonstrated followed the tutorials presented through the software itself, with no external assistance from other instructional sources one unsuccessful attempt at finding a solution to a roadblock encountered in the tutorial.

Entry #6 begins a new lesson within the SolidWorks tutorials and is entitled Lesson 2 - Assemblies This tutorial opens with an overview that signposts the overall sections within this lesson:

• Adding parts to an assembly

• Moving and rotating components in an assembly

• Creating display states in an assembly 

Lesson 1 begins with creating a file, as has been done in step one of each previous tutorial. Surprisingly, rather than creating an “assembly” file, the instructions specify starting with a “parts” file. Once the file is created, the instructions go through the basics such as selecting the Shaded with Edges too, then selecting the Extruded Boss feature. It instructs to draw a Corner Rectangle, which is the first major step where there’s less hand holding. Rather than the instructions including a clickable icon that locates the tool, users are expected to select the Corner Rectangle tool from the Sketch toolbar. The instructions to resize the tool follow suit by instructing what size to resize the rectangle to, but no instructions on how to do so. This suggests that this should be a learned skill at this point, and is easy to complete.

Figs 2 and 3 are comparisons of the before and after clicking the green check mark after completing the step of setting the depth of the extrusion. This may seem irrelevant, but after observing another student who got confused and wondered if they had done something wrong or inadvertently clicked another command, this was included to ensure any readers that this is what is supposed to occur. 

Fig. 4 depicts one example of a mistake that was made. This step requires selecting four corners of the cube, including a hidden corner. For this example, I have “accidentally” selected a face rather than a corner, then selected the corner as well. The face is highlighted blue when selected. Look to the left within the propertymanager and under “items to fillet” a list including four Edges and one Face can be seen. To deselect the face, click on it’s name in the list and simply delete it. 

Once the fillets are complete, as seen in Fig. 5, the shelling process is very easy- selecting a face, then setting the depth is all this required before clicking the green checkmark. The shelled part can be seen in Fig. 6.

The completion of this step prompts a save point.

The next section is Creating a Lip on the Part. The first step in this section is getting acquainted with the Zoom tool, as seen in Fig. 7. This allows users to select a small section to zoom in on, which is a valuable tool for selecting small items within a model with precision.  After adding an Extruded Cut then Converting Entities, the face is still selected and the outer edges are “projected” onto it, as seen in Fig. 8.

Two issues with the tutorial are evident here - step 6 in this section seems to have been at least partially cut off. “Click the front face again” can be made out by the top of the text, but if there is anything below this, it is not visible. Also, after this step, the view of the part changes to 2D, and as can be seen in Fig. 7&8, this does not reflect what the tutorial images depict, and the following steps of making a lip do not appear very well in this view. Switching to Trimetric view is needed, but users have to find it first. For a clue, see Fig. 10 and keep in mind that the Trimetric view may be buried under the Isometric or Dimetric views which themselves are buried within the view orientation tool. In Fig 10, the Trimetric view is once again displayed and now the lip can be seen, as can the new color appearance. A lot of time was wasted finding the Trimetric view, so it is suggested to really familiarize oneself with where these tools are found when they are accessible through the tutorial text.

In Fig. 11, it can be seen that the color options for each part are vast, as demonstrated by the full color palette visible in the Appearance Manager on the left.  

Once this step is complete, it prompts a save point, and an opportunity to take a break before getting into the fun of “mating the components.” 

In conclusion, this section has presented some very time consuming issues. One of which is how to access tools that had previously been accessed by using the interactive icons within the tutorial text. The toolbars are not intuitive, so navigating through them can be time consuming, especially when one does not know which toolbar a tool can be found within and even more so when tools are buried under the menu of other tools. Something as simple as switching views can easily take up a frustrating amount of time.
Another aspect to keep in mind is that the tutorial often indicates how a file should be named. In this case, Tutor2 was supposed to be the name of the file for this part, which is later referenced when instructing to select Tutor2 in order to change its appearance. Users should keep this in mind when naming parts to avoid confusion when steps indicating these names come up during the tutorial.

A final issue that was encountered while creating this part was changing the units for the file. This was the first time in this series where it was necessary to seek outside information, and even then, the info found through web search was inaccurate. After deciding to proceed with the incorrect units, exploring the bottom of the workspace revealed a very easy way to change the file’s units, as seen in Fig. 12.

While these issues make it difficult to proceed through some steps of the process, it is not impossible to do so. Considering the amount of updates SolidWorks experiences every year, hangups should be expected and workarounds will be necessary. The theory being tested still holds true, although the tutorials will not likely take the time estimated to complete.

Fig. 1. Once the part is resized, Exit Sketch reveals the basic shape of the extrusion.

Fig. 2. Compare to Fig. 3 below: after setting the depth, this is a view prior to clicking the green checkmark. 

Fig. 3. Compare to Fig. 2 above: after setting the depth, this is a view after clicking the green checkmark.

Fig. 4. A face was accidentally selected (shown highlighted in blue). Selecting the Face in the list of items to fillet, then deleting, remedies the issue of inadvertently selecting incorrect items to fillet.

Fig. 5. Freshly filleted corners.

Fig. 6. A shelled out part.

Fig. 7. Zooming in helps select small items.

Fig. 8.  Lines and arcs are projected onto the image. Also, some text is blocked at the bottom of the tutorial text.

Fig. 9.  Offset Entities appear outside of the base as a yellow line. This will be resized and reversed to go inward rather than outward.

Fig. 10.  A little tip for finding the Trimetric view.

Fig. 11. The Appearances feature offers a full palette to customize the part.

Fig. 12. Take note of the box at the lower right corner of the SolidWorks workspace: this is a very easy way to change the units of the file being worked on.