Drawing and mating Chain Links
Drawing and mating Chain Links
(OP)
In my work I need to show chain links on various assemblies. Is there any way of drawing chain links and then mating these links to a curve. The curve would be the Pitch cirlce around pulleys or gears etc. Using sw2003 thanks for any replies.






RE: Drawing and mating Chain Links
you could add a sketch to your chain sub-assembly that is an under-defined closed spline. Then all you have to do is add relations to the spline to both the links and the pulleys. One problem with this is that when you create the chain, because of the number of links,the chain sub-assembly will get big and slow down your rebuild time. Hope this is helpful.
RE: Drawing and mating Chain Links
Be naughty - save Santa a trip.
RE: Drawing and mating Chain Links
Ray Reynolds
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RE: Drawing and mating Chain Links
RE: Drawing and mating Chain Links
http://www.3dcontentcentral.com/3dcontentcentral/
There is loads of models/assemblies in it for SW. There is a model done of a chain, that you could probably adapt. I have used it a few times, and it doesn't move, but for presentations, it looks the part. The only drawback is that you need to calculate the number of chain links for a centre distance, and work back.
Hope this works for you.
RE: Drawing and mating Chain Links
Thanks
RE: Drawing and mating Chain Links
RE: Drawing and mating Chain Links
When I had to model a roller chain, I created my sketch path of the chain. I then created a simple link to simulate the roller link, and then patterned this feature around my sketch.
I haven't done this for over a year now, so I can't remember all the details. I remember having some trouble getting the features to "lay" on the sketched path correctly to simulate the link being connected togather, but in the end I was successful.
"But what... is it good for?"
Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968, commenting on the microchip.
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RE: Drawing and mating Chain Links
Set alignment method - Tangent to curve
RE: Drawing and mating Chain Links
Thanks
RE: Drawing and mating Chain Links
It looks like, unless you can show the chain as a single part, you will have to mate the links the hard way.
Time for an ER?
RE: Drawing and mating Chain Links
Do you really need to model this chain as an assembly? If the drawings do not require this, I would look for a shortcut.
Consider drawing a 2D or 3D sketch at some assembly level, and attaching the chain links to it.
JHG
RE: Drawing and mating Chain Links
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