Space frame chassis sweep?
Space frame chassis sweep?
(OP)
I've made a wireframe 3d sketch of a space frame chassis. I would like to model this being built with rectangular steel tubing.
I know I could extrude the cross section along each member, but this would take A LONG time... can anybody suggest a quicker method?
Thanks
I know I could extrude the cross section along each member, but this would take A LONG time... can anybody suggest a quicker method?
Thanks






RE: Space frame chassis sweep?
Details can be found in the Sweeps section in the Help > SolidWorks Help Topics files.
Also do the Revolves & Sweeps tutorial in the Help > Online Tutorials section.
If you are using SW2005 you may be able to use the Weldment module.
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RE: Space frame chassis sweep?
Look up Weldment and Structural Members in the native SW Help.
Ken
RE: Space frame chassis sweep?
Jeff Mowry
www.industrialdesignhaus.com
Reality is no respecter of good intentions.
RE: Space frame chassis sweep?
RE: Space frame chassis sweep?
I just created a weldment feature of my 1X1X0.06 RHS tubing and am using it to piece together the frame a section at a time.
The trouble I'm having is how to treat the connections of mutliple tubes. It is easy enough on the corners of say a square (one can set the corner treatment to mitre) but then if I want to put a diagonal in the middle of the square it becomes very tough.
I try to "trim" the weldment but I can never seem to get it to form a nice "V" in the corners (inside corners of the square where the diagnol is connected).
Any suggestions?
Also, to produce an accurate representation of the frame in FEA / Cosmosworks do I need to add "welds" to all the joints??
Thanks
RE: Space frame chassis sweep?
Regards,
Scott Baugh, CSWP
3DVision Technologies
www.3dvisiontech.com
www.scottjbaugh.com
FAQ731-376
FAQ559-716 - SW Fora Users
RE: Space frame chassis sweep?
Regards,
Scott Baugh, CSWP
3DVision Technologies
www.3dvisiontech.com
www.scottjbaugh.com
FAQ731-376
FAQ559-716 - SW Fora Users
RE: Space frame chassis sweep?
Could you try wording those instructions in a different way??
Thanks
RE: Space frame chassis sweep?
-the Solidworks welds do not "finish" the weld as a welder would, they form a sharp corner at the piece that is being welded, so you might see stress concentrations on the edges of the welds
-watch out for seperate members that are touching - Solidworks will fuse these in to single body, whereas in real life they are held together by the weld only, so you will see artifically low stresses at these joints. Add in small gaps between members to avoid this.
A generous safety factor is usually a good idea when doing weldment FEA in Cosmos...
RE: Space frame chassis sweep?
I don't understand how i can make a solid body with small gaps between the members?
If I add welds (either actual SW weldments or just another feature to replicate a weld) to fill these gaps, it will just in the end up being a solid body anyways (welds in the real world will fill the gaps).
If I don't add welds, it wont' be a solid body (and I won't be able to do FEA on it).
I'm mainly designing to measure torsional stiffness, but will also attempt to subject the frame to expected loads to see what SF would result.