Doing a basic cad drawing of an engine bay?

[Orphan]

Hey guys,

I'm still quite new to using solid works and was wondering if anyone had any tips for doing a drawing of an engine bay. The vehicle is a 1992 onwards mazda RX7. I have all measurement data being taken at the moment but haven't really had much experience with 3D cad especially the rather complex series of shapes needed to accurately portray the engine bay.

Any tips? If I had access I would just get the engine bay scanned but unfortunately that is well out of my price range and I don't personally own one of these vehicles, its for an engine swap forum.

Thanks.

 

[GregLocock]

1) Do the tutorials

2) Don't bodge your models, by which I mean, if the real part is produced in a certain way, don't just keep hacking at a block until it looks like the part, use the tools in the same way that the part was made. Ultimately this is quicker and more robust.

3) use parametrics and constraints ASAP.

Pretty tricky first project, by the way.



Cheers

Greg Locock

SIGlease see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[kchan711]

Like Greg said, do the tutorials. They are very informative and easy to follow. You will most likely need to focus some time on sheet metal and weldments, both of which have tutorials. I would work on some small project for starters before you attempt the more complicated engine-bay.

Kyle

Kyle Chandler

http://www.chiefengineering.net

 

[Orphan]

I have done some of the tutorials and a bit of fooling around. I guess i'll just go through and finish the rest of them and work with the sheet metal stuff a bit before attempting it. Thanks guys - also any links to other tutorials would be great.

 

[kchan711]

I would surf around the solidworks forum on this site for more detailed information. Some of the guys here could teach you anything and have their own blogs (Jeff Mirisola and CoreyBlimeyLimey come to mind) where they cover a multitude of topics. Have fun.

Kyle Chandler

http://www.chiefengineering.net

 

[EngJW]

Don't try for any more accuracy than you need. In this type of work you can often get by with a simplified model, and Solidworks might force you to do that anyway. You may not need every curve, component, or fastener if you just need to check for clearances or find places to mount things.

I doubt if the sheet metal techniques will be of any help. Surfacing might work good but I have no idea how to do it. I usually just extrude and trim things.