Do's & Dont's from the Real World
Do's & Dont's from the Real World
(OP)
I just got a part-time evening gig - teaching SolidWorks at my local technical college. And I'm dang excited about it! I plan to share this site with my students as a valuable resource. My first class is August 23... I'd like to start a list of good & bad practices to incorporate into the class. I want to be able to share what other users are doing & not just my experience.
For example:
-> I have never used an ENVELOPE to select parts in an assembly. I use it as a refernce part for equipment layout & design. Does anybody find it useful as a selection tool?
For example:
-> I have never used an ENVELOPE to select parts in an assembly. I use it as a refernce part for equipment layout & design. Does anybody find it useful as a selection tool?
SolidWorks 2005 SP03.0 / Windows 2000 Professional






RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
Congratulations on the gig. I have often thought that I would enjoy doing something similar.
->concerning your example, I have only used envelopes in a similar situation to what you have described, never for advanced selection.
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
Best Regards,
Scott Baugh, CSWP
3DVision Technologies
www.3dvisiontech.com
www.scottjbaugh.com
FAQ731-376
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
And I'll be checking here for "cheaters"
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."
Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943.
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
Congrats on the teaching job. I'm sure you'll do well. One point I would like to make. Make sure that you teach them to view past threads before they ask there questions in our forum. LOL!
Good Luck
Macduff
Colin Fitzpatrick
Sr. Mechanical Designer
macduff's SW page
Inhouse System
Pentium(4)2.80GHz
Ram 1.00 GB
SW2005 Office SP 3.1
Windows 2000 SP4.0
NIVIDA Quadro4 750 XGL
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
Macduff
Colin Fitzpatrick
Sr. Mechanical Designer
macduff's SW page
Inhouse System
Pentium(4)2.80GHz
Ram 1.00 GB
SW2005 Office SP 3.1
Windows 2000 SP4.0
NIVIDA Quadro4 750 XGL
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
Macduff
Colin Fitzpatrick
Sr. Mechanical Designer
macduff's SW page
Inhouse System
Pentium(4)2.80GHz
Ram 1.00 GB
SW2005 Office SP 3.1
Windows 2000 SP4.0
NIVIDA Quadro4 750 XGL
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
Some reworld expectations will go a long way in the class, along with a solid ASME Y14.5M-1994 and ASME Y14.100-2000 foundation.
"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."
Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943.
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
I view formal education not as the chance to learn everything there is to know... but an opportunity to get a handle on the basics & remember where to look to figure out the rest. If I can get my students to wrap their brains around the basic concepts of sketching, extruding, assembling & designing to accomodate potential changes, then I will meet my goal.
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
Those would be called Detailers...
I have some issues with this younger generation calling themselves so called Designers. And I agree whole hearted on the ASME drawing standards along with strengh and materials ASTM/AMS standards, and many others...
Macduff
Colin Fitzpatrick
Sr. Mechanical Designer
macduff's SW page
Inhouse System
Pentium(4)2.80GHz
Ram 1.00 GB
SW2005 Office SP 3.1
Windows 2000 SP4.0
NIVIDA Quadro4 750 XGL
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
Mostly we call ourselves whatever it says on our company business cards...
Can a 38 yr old still be part of the "younger generation"?
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
I didn't mean to insult anyone by my comment and I'm sorry if I offended anyone. I'm just upset by several interviews I made at our company about 6 months ago. Some of the younger (and older folks too
Have a good day, and the best too your students!
Macduff
Colin Fitzpatrick
Sr. Mechanical Designer
macduff's SW page
Inhouse System
Pentium(4)2.80GHz
Ram 1.00 GB
SW2005 Office SP 3.1
Windows 2000 SP4.0
NIVIDA Quadro4 750 XGL
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
I have started using the envelopes to indicate optical apertures. These should not appear in the BOM, and envelopes do not appear in the BOM.
I tried to use the envelope as a selection tool once, and it did not work very well for me. If I have related components such as a screw, washers and nut, I place them in a folder together.
DO List
Make sure you understand how your parametric models are going to update. Try to anticipate the changes you make as your design progresses.
When you create new parts while doing top-down design, start the fabrication drawing immediately. I cannot tell you how many times I have applied tolerances to fabrication drawing earlys on, said "oops!", and went back to re-think interfaces at the assembly level.
This is a major advantage of 3D parametric CAD. Back in the days of AutoCAD and drafting boards, I left fabrication drawings for the very last. Then I said "oops!".
JHG
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
Make sure you avoid using super complicated sketches. So many users I've seen, try to cram everything into as little sketches as possible. I've even seen the initial sketch is the full part, and then they convert entities off that. The reason they said was to edit everything at once....these type of files can never handle change.
Up front thinking is key to the parts performance and changability.
I'd also do alot with Parent/child relationships, many people still don't understand it.
How about some filename and configuration convention too.
and the list goes on...
John
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
This is something that I think we all take for granted, but is something they do not typically teach in the schools:
1. Build assemblies logically, the way they would be built in the real world. Use sub assemblies if they will be built that way.
The first job I had after school, had a product line that was manufactured using subassemblies. However the SW models were a disgrace. The top level consisted of no subassemblies. Only parts and mates. We did however have drawings of the subassemblies. The drawings were made by creating a configuration in the top assy and hiding all but the necessary components for that subassembly. We had many subassemblies and all of them were illustrated this way. Often duplicates of part instances were present in the assembly. An example would be a hinged door where you want a configuration showing it open and another showing it closed: the proper thing to do would be to have one instance of the hinge and one instance of the door. The configurations would simply look at a different configurations of the hinge, an open or closed hinge. This company would have two hinges, one open and the other closed, and two identical doors, one attached to hinge 1 and the other to hinge 2. Making an auto BOM of this assembly would be a nightmare. In general poor modelling practices abound.
2. File management. The semester long class I had that taught the basics of solidworks made zero mention of file references or the proper way to rename files. It wasn't until I was at this first job that I was forced to learn about such things as well as the proper way to copy assemblies without mixing up references. Unfortunately (for me) there wasn't anybody at that job who was familiar with these methods (as evident by their poor modelling practices in the above story). I learned about these techniques by reading the helps and simply by trial and error. It would have been nice to have at least been exposed to the proper methods.
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
•Never use a dimension when a constraint will do.
•Merging centerpoints of two sketched arcs makes them permanently concentric.
•90 degrees is not the same as perpendicular unless the measure window actually says "perpendicular".
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
You get a star! Eggcellent point.....!
Macduff
Colin Fitzpatrick
Sr. Mechanical Designer
macduff's SW page
Inhouse System
Pentium(4)2.80GHz
Ram 1.00 GB
SW2005 Office SP 3.1
Windows 2000 SP4.0
NIVIDA Quadro4 750 XGL
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
My suggestions:-
Most important of all ... teach them how to use the Help files.
Give them a thorough understanding of what is in the [b]Tools > Options{/b] section & how the options therein affect SW.
Show them how to customize the toolbars & add in the "missing", but often used, icons.
I've lost track of how many questions could have been easily answered by a quick check of the above three items.
Making the best use of this Forum. FAQ559-716
How to get answers to your SW questions. FAQ559-1091
Helpful SW websites every user should be aware of. FAQ559-520
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
With the inclusion of the Sketch Blocks abilities in SW06, I think you will see a strong shift toward this method.
FWIW, I highly recommend it.
Making the best use of this Forum. FAQ559-716
How to get answers to your SW questions. FAQ559-1091
Helpful SW websites every user should be aware of. FAQ559-520
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
I have had many a nightmare when trying to modify these types of parts. I won't realize that the previous owner created the model in context of something else. When I try to modify, the whole part implodes. Usually it's easier to just redraw.
Also, referencing the parts to standard planes. Many a rebuild error was due to a little noticed dimension referencing the sketch in space.
-ejc
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."
Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943.
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
These are good tips - keep 'em coming...
I'll add one: Never use more MATE than necessary. you can use 3 coincident mates on 3 faces to assemble 2 cubes if you want to & you'll get away with it 99% of the time. But one day a very complex assembly will krap-out & after spending the time - you'll figure this one out too.
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
Whenever creating assemblies, if possible, make the "fixed" part centered on all 3 planes; this makes mating easier because several sub-assemblies can be constrained on center planes.
If you have a pattern of holes, create 1 hole and pattern it instead of creating all holes in 1 sketch. 1 line of thinking says that your tree is smaller with all holes in 1 sketch; BUT if you create 1 hole and pattern it, you can make a derived pattern at the assembly level and insert several bolts/screws in 1 shot.
Flores
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
Concerning smcadman's post about hole patterns, I prefer to use the hole-wizard. Within the assembly, patterning the hardware will occur as well.
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
I just hate it when I insert someone else's assembly into my design and find myself staring at a cloud of origin points. The usefulness of this feature is significantly reduced.
Model parts in approximately the colour they will appear in the final assembly. If you want to differentiate between two parts of the same colour, wiggle the colours just a little. It makes it so much easier to visualize the final CAD model.
JHG
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
Always "ground" the first sketch of a part feature to the Part's origin.
ground= constrain
"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."
Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943.
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
Chris
Sr. Mechanical Designer, CAD
SolidWorks 05 SP3.1 / PDMWorks 05
ctopher's home site (updated 06-21-05)
FAQ559-1100
FAQ559-716
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
Use the modelling approach that best suits your design or product.
I see a lot of different and conflicting opinions. Most are valid in their context.
I do a lot of consumer product design that has different demands than designing machine components. I need layout sketches to define complex geometry which needs to be carried through to multiple features. Usually this also requires no mates, everything (except fasteners) modelled with a common origin.
Designing machine tools or simple components doesn't require this kind of approach. Especially true for parts that are used multiple times or in multiple contexts.
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
Don't forget, it's all about the design.
If you need to add sketches to define or control a datum plane, do it.
If you need to define two surfaces to get their intersection, do it (and then use "delete bodies" to clean up).
If you need to draw two sketches to combine in a third, do it.
If you find yourself changing the design for the sake of your CAD program, it's time to get help.
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
Uh? What does " [b]Tools > Options{/b] section " mean ?
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."
Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943.
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
Making the best use of this Forum. FAQ559-716
How to get answers to your SW questions. FAQ559-1091
Helpful SW websites every user should be aware of. FAQ559-520
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
Inform your students on drawing details, border & title block features and properties. It makes things easier.
Configurations
Get them thinking ahead. How will this part fit in an assembly? What other parts does it interface with? Add sketch points and lines for alignment if needed because of odd geometry or position. Midplane and centering is good for alignment purposes but is often overlooked in model creation.
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
I 100% agree.
Chris
Sr. Mechanical Designer, CAD
SolidWorks 05 SP3.1 / PDMWorks 05
ctopher's home site (updated 06-21-05)
FAQ559-1100
FAQ559-716
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
1.Work on the 'KISS' principle: Keep It Simple Stupid.
2.Don't assume the shop knows your design intent.
3.------------------
4.Build it as if you were going to buy it.
5.When creating a design, always create a parallel path backup, in case your original falls through.
6.If it doesn’t look right it probably isn’t.
7.------------------
8.Use an engineering team. That way not one person can be blamed for mistakes.
9.Don't be afraid to make decisions, and mistakes. Mistakes can be fixed, most of the time. Decision is clean cut, easily mended, blended, repaired or removed. Indecision is ragged edged with loose threads that jam up everything around it.
10.Respect the support people - the drafters, technicians, etc. They can make your job much easier or difficult to the extreme... Never piss off your tech's because if you do, they will pay you back by doing EXACTLY what you tell them to do.
11.Respect people who build your designs and don't hesitate to ask questions. They are a wealth of knowledge waiting to be tapped into.
12.If it works, don't touch it - leave it well alone.
13.If someone says you’re crazy, then you’re probably heading in the right direction.
I have compiled those "guidelines" for myself from the different threads on this site. They belong to different people, I just put them together. I always introduce it to my co-op students, as you can do it to yours.... If you find it useful.
Regards,
A.W.
SW 2005 sp2
P4 3.6GHz 2.00GB RAM
ATI FireGL V7100
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
If it's a dumb idea, but it works, it wasn't a dumb idea.
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
Making the best use of this Forum. FAQ559-716
How to get answers to your SW questions. FAQ559-1091
Helpful SW websites every user should be aware of. FAQ559-520
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
Here is #3,8:
3.Plan the work; then work the plan.
......
8.Use an engineering team. That way not one person can be
blamed for mistakes.
TheTick,
thanx for the input... I'll add it to my list if you don't mind. I gave you star for this one.
Cheers,
A.W.
A.W.
SW 2005 sp4
P4 3.6GHz 2.00GB RAM
ATI FireGL V7100
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
You listed the Don't
"I'll add one: Never use more MATE than necessary. you can use 3 coincident mates on 3 faces to assemble 2 cubes if you want to & you'll get away with it 99% of the time. But one day a very complex assembly will krap-out & after spending the time - you'll figure this one out too."
I would like to know your "Do"? or how would you recommend constraining two blocks?
I would also like to add a tibit taught by ScottB. With SW be sure to use planes (not the part surfaces) to design and mate parts (see Scotts website). This is very important esp. with complex in-contexting parts.
See ya'll
DeSim
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World
I have many large & complex assemblies & sometimes (not so often anymore) they will "krap-out" on me. And the only consistent solution - when all obvious fixes have failed - has been to look back at the structure of the mates & "loosen" them up a bit. I can't really 'splain' myself better. Just be aware of this & see if your experience will confirm my theory.
Windows 2000 Professional / Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer
SolidWorks 2005 SP04.0 / SpaceBall 4000 FLX
Lava Lamp
RE: Do's & Dont's from the Real World