Mirroring – Assemblies with parts in the assembly Part – 3/3
Warning! Only follow this if you're an advanced user and even then proceed with caution. (more…)
Mirroring – A lot of headache behind simple concept – Part 2/3
This is the second part in the series of articles on symmetry and mirroring in SOLIDWORKS, therefore it's recommended to read Part One first. Symmetry in assembly works as similar and is just as essential as it is with parts. Still, there are things that you should know to be more productive and to use the software in a more meaningful manner. (more…)
Wooden beams as weldment profiles
Summer is there. I assume, that lot of us has some building project in waiting what need kind of wooden construction. Before taking steps with real tool, I recommend to draw out what are planned to do (and preferrably agree with your wife :-) ). Generally is nice to use weldment tool in SOLIDWORKS to model particular object and then get right cut list before taking saw or visiting local building material shop. One simple problem what appears is that out of the box SOLIDWORKS do not have any wood material profiles in library. Generally wood material is pretty local, depending from county, supplier, local shop preferences or fact that some material are waiting in your garden… Wooden material profile template Here is one simple weldment profile template (SW 2016 version). This…
Mirroring – A lot of headache behind simple concept – Part 1/3
Mirroring and symmetry are like some sort of an ancient code that is visible everywhere in the world. Most living creatures are somewhat symmetric. This also holds true in the technical world, where objects have a tendency to be symmetrical. There are many places in even simple design that need symmetry -for example using both left and right-hand components. Due to this, the first reaction may be that this is going to be easy and let's get to it, but since we're working in a not-so-perfect CAD-PDM world, it's best to be prepared and to build a common understanding of how these things are handled. (more…)
Some thoughts on external references
Both, External References and In-Context design are excellent modeling techniques to make the lives of the engineers much easier. However, they're riddled with details that every user should know and that every CAD admin or company has to take into consideration when letting the engineers use these features. In this article, I'll share some thoughts and from real life, particularly from the data management side of things. (more…)