Solidworks Project: Learning the Ropes - Entry #7 - Lesson 2 - Assemblies - V.2

 Lesson 2 - Parts - V. 2

This entry is a continuation of the basic theory conveyed in SolidWorks Project: Learning the Ropes - 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.

Entry #7 is a continuation of the Lesson 2 - Assemblies tutorial within the SolidWorks learning module. 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 

Entry #7 picks up where Entry #6 left off and utilizes the files created in Entry #6 as well as the one completed in Entry #5. Once both of these files have been opened in SolidWorks, it is finally time to create a new Assembly file, which is just as easy as creating the files previously, leaving no reason to go into detail about it. After the Assembly file is created, the property manager will display the previously opened documents, Tutor1 and Tutor2 (or whatever the user has named the previous parts created). Selecting Tutor1 adds a preview of that part to the workspace and clicking on the workspace places the part. The cursor still holds a preview of this part, allowing duplicates to be placed onto the workspace. The property manager has a pushpin icon near the top, just below where it says “Begin Assembly.” This pushpin should be selected in order to keep this file/part visible without needing to toggle through property managers, and the same will apply to the Tutor2 part.

A previous Entry speculated that the units did not matter for the Tutor1 part tutorial. This has proven to NOT be the case since these two parts are to be assembled.  That tutorial did not indicate any units, but the Tutor2 part indicated millimeters. If inches or any other unit was selected for Tutor1, that tutorial can provide a later stage part that can be completed with the correct units, as some researchers may find out the hard way. 

Once the two parts are on the workspace, it is time to mate the parts. Using the mating tool is remarkably simple. Once the Mate tool is selected, it really just boils down to selecting corresponding planes between the two parts, which moves them together imperfectly, then repeating the process of selecting corresponding planes until the parts align perfectly, creating an immense amount of satisfaction for the user as seen in Figs. 2-5.

The remainder of the tutorial consists of playing in the FeatureManager to explore creating Display States and using the Hidden Lines Visible feature to reveal the insides of the Tutor2 part, almost like an x-ray, as seen in Fig.6.  

In conclusion, this has been another very satisfying ending to the tutorial process. Aside from hangups involving scale discrepancies of the parts stemming from utilizing the wrong units, this section of the tutorial was smooth and without errors and provided a very satisfying experience of mating parts.

Fig. 1. Tutor1 and Tutor2 are placed into an assembly file to begin the assembly process.

Fig. 2.  Imperfect mating is to be expected at this point. A few more steps and it will all pay off.

Fig. 3. Another step in the mating process gets the part closer to full assembly.

Fig. 4. The mating process mostly just consists of clicking corresponding planes (faces) to bring them together, then clicking other planes to align them step by step.

Fig. 5. The penultimate image in this tutorial is the most satisfying; full assembly of perfectly mated parts. 

Fig. 6. One last bit of exploration to use the Hidden Lines Visible tool.