×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

Design Table or ??? for a Configurable Roll Assembly...

Design Table or ??? for a Configurable Roll Assembly...

Design Table or ??? for a Configurable Roll Assembly...

(OP)
I have a general assembly model I wanted to make of a conveyor roller that we buy a lot of, and I wanted to make different configurations for diameter, length, and hex axle.  I made (3) different part files for the roller tube, bearing, and axle, and then an assembly using the parts.  How can I drive the parts through the assembly instead of having to make configurations of each part?

Derrick Hochgesang
Design Technician

RE: Design Table or ??? for a Configurable Roll Assembly...

If it's a purchased part, you don't need a whole lot of accuracy. ie. you don't need to worry if the edges of filletted, you don't have to add alignment keys, etc.

That being said, reduce the complexity of your purchased parts down to a part. This is just good design practice. Plus, since suppliers often have multiple configurations, a part can be driven by a design table directly; so you don't have to drill down. Reduces the load time on your assembly... The benefits go on and on.

I have attached a part for a roller that I quickly whipped up. Look at the configurations tab to see the Design Table.


-----------
As some additional food for thought, you can also drive dimensions from a .txt file. Just insert the file in to each part (import through the equation manager) and then link dimensions to the imported variables.
To change dimensions, just change the .txt. This isn't a solution to multiple configurations though, it will just let you rapidly change similar dimensions between mating components.

ie. I have a bunch of flanged surfaces between 5 different parts. I want all the flanges to have the same dimensions. So I drive it by a global var

Devon, EIT [Mechanical]
Solidworks 2011 SP 1.0

RE: Design Table or ??? for a Configurable Roll Assembly...

(OP)
Scott-Thanks for the info!  I actually printed that off your site a while back when I started working with SW a few months ago.  I'll need to review it again and check out the example you have provided.

Devon-I've given that some though, and I may end up going that route.  I was looking at it from the standpoint of down the road being able to animate a machine if I needed to.  That's a ways into the future though, and something I may never have to actually do.  I should probably stick with the "KISS" plan.
 

Derrick Hochgesang
Design Technician

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources