Thanks to both rocheey and danielgraham for thier posts.
Daniel's, while simple, is a big improvement over clicking and dragging.
There is so much functionality in the SolidWorks User interface, I've stopped being amazed at being shown aspects of it that I didn't know existed.
As to rocheey...
That's what I typically do, and I also gather features together in folders, and rearrange the order if need be.
This is the first time I've encountered such a complicated part however, and the sheer size of the feature count (200 +) has got me sloughing through it (not to mention that it's just...
Discipline works
One discipline that I have developed is that I always (in a drawing) prominently display the overall dimensions.
As I decide how the various views will be laid out, I start with the knowledge that the first thing a machinist (or CNC programmer) will do is figure out what raw...
Hmm, I think this is a good case of 'read the question'.
Or perhaps I wasn't clear, so let me try again.
I know I can 'jump around', by either dragging the rollback bar to anywhere in the feature manager tree, or selecting a feature, right clicking it, and selecting roll back, or roll forward...
I'm making substantial changes to a set of complicated parts (that someone else designed, but it’s now up to me to make the changes).
Moving the rollback bar helps me to understand how the part was constructed, but it would be even more helpful to see the part built step by step in sort of a...
Combining both the answers from Scott and The Tick, I discovered a reasonable solution.
Create a Surface Offset, then, using Scott's double click advice, capture the feature dimension and rename it "Wall Thickness", and add it to the Equations list. Leave the offset surface in place...
Here is something else I need: I have a need to define the wall thickness of a part before I actually need to use it. I haven't seen anything that indicates I can create a variable name in the equations then use that name in another equation.
for example, I'd like to do this:
Eq. 1...
Thanks to the Tick, and to Scott.
Scott, I'd like to see your reply in the FAQ area, but am not sure how to do that, and in any case, I think you should get the credit for it (it was exactly what I needed)
John
Kevin,
What you describe (part number generator) is something I’ve always wanted to do.
Unfortunately I’ve always worked within a company that didn’t have the smarts to go that route.
I did however get involved in a project where I had to learn how to build an Access database, and then move...
Thanks again Lee for the reply.
The bottom line is that discipline is the number one requirement for this kind of work when others are involved.
Since discipline doesn’t come naturally to everyone, it takes some accommodation (or brute force!).
Years ago I worked for a medical device company...
Thanks Lee (StarrRider), your discussion of TLA (I assume you mean 'Top Level Assembly') is helpful, particularly the concept of different assembly configurations. I've yet to really use such configurations, but can see how they would be very valuable, and it's nice to know someone has traveled...
Food for Thought
When I was a new Engineering grad, wet behind the ears, I was tasked to define a significant numbering system for screws. So I started defining the categories, subcategories, dash numbers and the like. I wrote a simple one page description of the system, and was pleased with...
I am also looking for a pre-PDM step and have the advantage of no muck to trudge through. I'm a project manager in charge of a series of medical device product development projects for which no formal system exists to handle the electronic files. We'll purchase PDMWorks when the time comes, but...
