×
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

Assembly programing possibly with macros

Assembly programing possibly with macros

Assembly programing possibly with macros

(OP)
I am a graduate working at Aston University for a lecturer. Using solidworks we are putting together a parts library of 'fischer technik' equipment. Fischer technik is a modelling tool similar in style to Technic Lego. The library has now been completed. Students will model using solidworks so that they can test their ideas. When satisfied they will build the physical models and see if their ideas worked.
Now the intent is to create an environment in which the parts from the library can be easily assembled. For a solidworks user this is easy enough to use face mates, however to someone who has never used solidworks it is not so simple. We would like to somehow create an intuitive assembly environment within solidworks. The idea is that the parts cannot be assembled wrongly. The physical parts can only be assembled in the way that they are intended to. Obviously Solidworks will allow mistakes to be made in assemblies. If I can somehow programme how the parts are allowed to mate with each other then it will be easier for students to assemble and will resrict the scope for mistakes. I thought that this might be possible by writing macros but did not know where to start. I can get help with programming but wondered if anyone had ever done anything like this and if anyone would know how to go about acheiving this.
Any help is appreciated. I understand that my plans may be quite ambitious.
regards
Jim

RE: Assembly programing possibly with macros

WOW!

One way you could make it more intuitive is add mate referneces to the parts. This will allow you to mate the parts automatically when they are dragged into the assembly.

BBJT CSWP

RE: Assembly programing possibly with macros

I should have said mate refernces should get you half way there.  You could put a mate reference(concentric and coincident) on the female male end of a lego.  When you drag and drop it on the male end of the lego in the assembly you would get those two mates.  Now all you would need to do is add a parralel, angle, or another concentric mate.

BBJT CSWP

RE: Assembly programing possibly with macros

Jim,

Would it be possible to get access to these Fischer Technic models you are creating?  (I'd love it for me and my kids.)  Perhaps if we could access them we'd be in a better position to help solve your problem.

- - -DennisD

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