Visible THREADED hole...ARGGHH!!!! 3

[hydroeon]

Hello everyone!!..another frustrated credit cruncher has joined the forum

After 4 hours of pain, I'm hoping someone here will enlighten me on the following matter:

Why is the cosmetic thread not threaded!??!

I need to have threaded holes in my model (look like they do in the real world) however, when choosing a cosmetic thread, all I get is an additional circle around the hole


Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks everyone

 

[MadMango]

That's why they are called "cosmetic", it just represents the threads. Depending on your version of SolidWorks, you could select the face of the pre-tap hole and add a "threaded" image. Do you really need actual helix-based threads in your model?

 

[DesignerGuy16]

Cosmetic threads are just that. Cosmetic.

Just as you would see in a 2D autocad of a tapped hole you'll see the minor diameter as a solid and the major diameter as a hidden line.

Unless you're going to cut a helix into a hole it's not going to happen. Problem with that is it's completely impractical in every way shape and form. These type of features are extremely memory intensive and unless you're talking about a special acme screw thread, you're probably better off just leaving it as a cosmetic thread.

Is there a purpose for needing them shown as a helix?

James Spisich
Design Engineer, CSWP

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

If the tapped surface is not showing a threaded texture, you may have a video card/driver problem.

Is the texture not appearing in the part or the assy level?

 

[Eltron]

Check:

http://www.eng-tips.com/faqs.cfm?fid=1492

Dan

http://www.eltronresearch.com

Dan's Blog

 

[hydroeon]

WOW..top crowd!!

OK, so this may sound unusual but I need the holes actually threaded (physically in 3D) as well as the screw (that's not a problem).

I'm not seeing any textures in the "threads" but judging by what you're saying it wouldn't make much difference.

I've just been given my workstation with a Quadro 5600 so there should be no GPU glitches so to speak.

I do rather "niche" things i.e. in this case I'm animating a camera fly-through (presentation) with the PCB etc (high-end Hi-fi) opening up etc and there will be close-ups of screws um..un-screwing

Surely there is a way to achieve this?! (hope I mean the threaded holes without the revolved cut?

Thanks for looking into this people.

 

[MadMango]

You can read in SW Help about the helix, then use that as your profile for a sweep-cut, but I think you will find that your animation will turn out just fine without the overhead of actual threads.

 

[DesignerGuy16]

If that's the case:

Premake a hole to it's minor pitch diameter.

Create a helix by creating a sketch on the top surface where the hole is cutting into, just click the hole edge and convert entities.

Then create a helix using this just created circular sketch. Given the correct pitch/length/revolutions, etc.

Then create a plane along the hole's cross section. Create a sketch on this plane of the thread geometry. Make this sketch start at the start of the helix. Link the sketch geometry to the helix with a pierce relation. Do a swept cut using the helix and tooth cross section. If done right you should be done here. Should be close enough for government work.

James Spisich
Design Engineer, CSWP

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

It is simple enough to create a helical thread, but you may not want to do it in every hole. Just do the one(s) you will be "filming". You could also use the Revolved Cuts method mentioned in the FAQ Eltron linked.

Animation of the screw can be achieved with the SolidWorks Motion module. A mating screw thread is not necessary.

 

[hydroeon]

Thanks everyone, so basically there is no such feature yet i.e. to have the same threaded "tick box" as the screws get due to heavy computation?

I'm rather new to solidworks (originally from the visualisation industry) so will probably be coming here often. However, I have years of experience in rendering photorealistic images (and I mean photorealistic) and would be happy to help people here by rendering simple models free of charge (as a token of appreciation).

I pretty much always have 100GHz+ of CPU power at my disposal so (people that help) are welcome to be cheeky and get me to do some otherwise very expensive things for free.

The reason I'm offering this is because I once did a job in which I got stuck (that cost me around £400 in wasted time) because nobody knew/could be bothered to help (It was texturing related)...anyway

PS - I never animate or render in Solidworks because it's rather inferior to 3Ds Max in that respect, which I had for years. Solidworks was purchased about 2 months ago so I'm currently on SW Premium 2009 x64 SP1 so any files should be easily readible.

Thanks ppl

 

[rollupswx]

Problem with that is it's completely impractical in every way shape and form.

What if the OP was going to Rapid Prototype the threads?
What if the OP was going to do a photo reali....
What if ...

I model actual threads for a variety of reasons.

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

...have the same threaded "tick box" as the screws get

Can you explain please?

The SolidMech utility used to have options for revolved and helical threads for screws and nuts, unfortunately it no longer works with SW2008 and higher.

If you have screws with helical threads you can use them in a Combine-Subtract feature to create a threaded hole.

 

[DesignerGuy16]

Sure there's a place for it, but if you're working in rather large assemblies a couple of those threads will bog the everything down.

I have a similar situation with some coiled fin tubes on an evaporator we have. It took me hours to get the part detailed because it would take minutes to regenerate after moving a view or adding a dimension, etc. I'm on a new PC setup too, so I'm not lacking there. The simplified config takes literally no computing power in comparison to work with.

I never said there's "never" a use for them, but I've seen people use ultra complex fasteners in models where they aren't necessary and have to deal with fixing them. That's why I asked, because some people new to 3D modeling don't realize these things.

James Spisich
Design Engineer, CSWP

 

[Eltron]

In the same vein, I was at a COSUG meeting a while back where we were mentoring some HS students at a trade school and helping them out with their projects. One group of students modeled an RC car...not particularly impressive, but they were having problems with rebuild times. I took a look at the model, and immediately found the culprit(s). Not only had they modeled every fastener with helical threads, but they had also modeled the treads for each of the tires. It did look cool, but it was pretty unnecessary.

I don't have a problem with people modeling extra features such as helical threads as long as it is necessary for their design and they are aware of the computational penalties. Freedom during the design process is one of the things that they pay us for, right?

Dan

http://www.eltronresearch.com

Dan's Blog

 

[hydroeon]

One of my colleagues had just suggested an easier solution which in some cases can be tricky but should be simple in this case i.e.

use UV mapping to separate the holes and then apply a displacement map to the selected polys. This (as he put it, "if done correctly") will result in very realistic screws/holes which could even be used to simulate actual rust without modelling (if necessary of course) through a photoshop's procedural texture. Due to the material containing a displacement map, the actual geometry will alter at render time.

Now, back to work

 

[TheTick]

For shaded display of cosmetic threads, click Tools, Options, Document Properties, Annotations Display. Under Display filter, select Shaded cosmetic threads.

Honesty may be the best policy, but insanity is a better defense.

http://www.EsoxRepublic.com

-SolidWorks API VB programming help

 

[SincoTC]

Thanks TheTick, that sorts out a number of cosmetic threads that had vanished from some of my earlier models, but how did the document properties change, I didn't do it or I'd have known about it! Maybe it's a version thing and the defaults have changed?

Combine that with one final "Gotcha" that doesn't help with cosmetic threads quirky reputation, that is, unless "View">"Hide All Types" is UNchecked and "View">"All Annotations" IS checked they will not display

Trevor Clarke. (R & D) Scientific Instruments.Somerset. UK

SW2007x64 SP3.0 Pentium P4 3.6Ghz, 4Gb Ram ATI FireGL V7100 Driver: 8.323.0.0
SW2009x32 SP1.0 Pentium P4 3.6Ghz, 2Gb Ram NVIDIA Quadro FX 500 Driver: 6.14.11.7751

 

[ctopher]

I think I modeled real threads twice in the last 10 years, they were for marketing purposes only.

Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 3.1
AutoCAD 08
ctopher's home (updated Aug 5, 2008)
ctopher's blog
SolidWorks Legion