×
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

Fitting things into other things?

Fitting things into other things?

Fitting things into other things?

(OP)
Hey, SolidWorks users, I was wondering: Is there a way I can use SolidWorks to build a container in CAD, and then, with boundary conditions, see whether an object fits inside that container without sticking through the sides? I've been doing some searches, but I have come up empty, since I do not know what category this would fall under.

RE: Fitting things into other things?

Have you tried making an assembly? insert it into the container, see if it fits.

Chris
SolidWorks 11
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion

RE: Fitting things into other things?

One method would be to create a multi-body part using the Insert > Part function and then using the Combine tool with the Common option to show any interfering portions.

RE: Fitting things into other things?

(OP)
So, there's looking at it visually, but, suppose I had multiple instances of smaller objects that I wish to fit inside the bigger object? This is a 3-D "bin packing" problem, in a way. I'd love for the program to determine an optimal position. So, to ctopher, that works if I was eyeing it, but I'm imperfect, and might miss a more optimal solution.

Combine + common actually sounds rather interesting, and I might pursue that. I was hoping for a program to determine a better fit, but I suppose I will just have to eye it.

RE: Fitting things into other things?

What shapes are involved? Rectangles or curvy-swoopy?

RE: Fitting things into other things?

(OP)
The shapes involved, initially, can be described as polyhedrons with very low polygon count. Later on, the "bounding box" might become an annulus of some sort.

RE: Fitting things into other things?

I am not aware of a means to optimize component placement, but you can see if parts "fit" by checking for interference. In the assembly go to Tools ==> Interference Detection.

- - -Updraft

RE: Fitting things into other things?

Sounds like you need to optimize the nesting, as it were. Something you could try would be a physical simulation where the parts would fall into the bin and you could do a count. Where it is a physical simulation, your results should vary a bit each time as to the amount of parts that fit in the bin prior to them overflowing. Then, just get the average.
Granted, this may be a PITA to set up, but it'd be a fun way to find out how many fit.

Jeff Mirisola
My Blog

RE: Fitting things into other things?

No.

-Dustin
Professional Engineer
Pretty good with SolidWorks

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