Do's & Dont's from the Real World 5

[TateJ]

I just got a part-time evening gig - teaching SolidWorks at my local technical college. And I'm dang excited about it! I plan to share this site with my students as a valuable resource. My first class is August 23... I'd like to start a list of good & bad practices to incorporate into the class. I want to be able to share what other users are doing & not just my experience.

For example:
-> I have never used an ENVELOPE to select parts in an assembly. I use it as a refernce part for equipment layout & design. Does anybody find it useful as a selection tool?



SolidWorks 2005 SP03.0 / Windows 2000 Professional

 

[rcass]

I can't emphasize enough about constraining the first part of an assembly to the origin. We had someone in from a temp agency modeling for a couple months earlier this year. She wouldn't adhere to standards that were set. Being a fairly new company, we had set up standards last fall for the company. I'm now making changes to those models. A lot of times parts were "Fixed" wherever they were inserted without regard for the origin.

Inform your students on drawing details, border & title block features and properties. It makes things easier.

Configurations

Get them thinking ahead. How will this part fit in an assembly? What other parts does it interface with? Add sketch points and lines for alignment if needed because of odd geometry or position. Midplane and centering is good for alignment purposes but is often overlooked in model creation.

 

[ctopher]

rcass,
I 100% agree.

Chris
Sr. Mechanical Designer, CAD
SolidWorks 05 SP3.1 / PDMWorks 05
ctopher's home site (updated 06-21-05)
FAQ559-1100
FAQ559-716

 

[StiLLiving]

Outside Solid Works:

1.Work on the 'KISS' principle: Keep It Simple Stupid.
2.Don't assume the shop knows your design intent.
3.------------------
4.Build it as if you were going to buy it.
5.When creating a design, always create a parallel path backup, in case your original falls through.
6.If it doesn’t look right it probably isn’t.
7.------------------
8.Use an engineering team. That way not one person can be blamed for mistakes.
9.Don't be afraid to make decisions, and mistakes. Mistakes can be fixed, most of the time. Decision is clean cut, easily mended, blended, repaired or removed. Indecision is ragged edged with loose threads that jam up everything around it.
10.Respect the support people - the drafters, technicians, etc. They can make your job much easier or difficult to the extreme... Never piss off your tech's because if you do, they will pay you back by doing EXACTLY what you tell them to do.
11.Respect people who build your designs and don't hesitate to ask questions. They are a wealth of knowledge waiting to be tapped into.
12.If it works, don't touch it - leave it well alone.
13.If someone says you’re crazy, then you’re probably heading in the right direction.

I have compiled those "guidelines" for myself from the different threads on this site. They belong to different people, I just put them together. I always introduce it to my co-op students, as you can do it to yours.... If you find it useful.
Regards,

A.W.
SW 2005 sp2
P4 3.6GHz 2.00GB RAM
ATI FireGL V7100

 

[TheTick]

one more for AWfull's list...

If it's a dumb idea, but it works, it wasn't a dumb idea.

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

AWfull ... what happened to #3 & #7?


Making the best use of this Forum. faq559-716
How to get answers to your SW questions. faq559-1091
Helpful SW websites every user should be aware of. faq559-520

 

[wes616]

I wish I had a better understanding of how to use the configuration manager when I started. Now that I use it effectively my productivity has gone up, and my file sizes have gone down.

 

[StiLLiving]

CorBlimeyLimey,

Here is #3,8:

3.Plan the work; then work the plan.
......
8.Use an engineering team. That way not one person can be
blamed for mistakes.

TheTick,

thanx for the input... I'll add it to my list if you don't mind. I gave you star for this one.

Cheers,
A.W.


A.W.
SW 2005 sp4
P4 3.6GHz 2.00GB RAM
ATI FireGL V7100

 

[DeSimulacra]

TateJ
You listed the Don't
"I'll add one: Never use more MATE than necessary. you can use 3 coincident mates on 3 faces to assemble 2 cubes if you want to & you'll get away with it 99% of the time. But one day a very complex assembly will krap-out & after spending the time - you'll figure this one out too."
I would like to know your "Do"? or how would you recommend constraining two blocks?

I would also like to add a tibit taught by ScottB. With SW be sure to use planes (not the part surfaces) to design and mate parts (see Scotts website). This is very important esp. with complex in-contexting parts.

See ya'll
DeSim

 

[TateJ]

2 cubes... is a gross oversimplification of the point... I realize this.
I have many large & complex assemblies & sometimes (not so often anymore) they will "krap-out" on me. And the only consistent solution - when all obvious fixes have failed - has been to look back at the structure of the mates & "loosen" them up a bit. I can't really 'splain' myself better. Just be aware of this & see if your experience will confirm my theory.

Windows 2000 Professional / Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer
SolidWorks 2005 SP04.0 / SpaceBall 4000 FLX
Lava Lamp​

 

[ShaggyPE]

The method TateJ was referring to as the Do for the two cubes example is to mate them by their edges. Two mates will solve this rather than three.