Feature Recognition in SolidWorks 2004 2

[LME73]

I was wondering if anyone would like to share their experiences of the feature recognition tool in Solidworks 2004. I get a lot of data from a multitude of systems in all sorts of formats (IGES, STEP, Parasolid, Pro/E, ACIS to name but a few). I need a system that will let me bring these models in (a lot of time they are surfaces), turn them into a solid and then do some feature recognition so that I can change things like hole sizes, face drafts and round edge dimensions.

Is SolidWorks 2004 a reliable tool to do this? The guy who demonstrated it to me made it look so easy but he was a bit reluctant to try it on my own data.

Any shared experiences, good or bad, I'd love to hear them.

Thanks .....

 

[rockguy]

If you have SolidWorks Office you might try the feature works utility. I've never used it but I did see a demonstration at SolidWorks World and it seemed to work fairly well?????

 

[SBaugh]

If the model comes in as a surface or multiple surfaces, then featureworks will not work for you. The model has to be a solid body before feature works will work. Also there is no guarantee that Featureworks will read everything in. Some things it will not recognize. Pro-E files are read alot better into SW04 then any other older version of SW.

Parasolid - This the first form of translation I recommend, because Parasolid is SW native language.

STEP – This is my second recommendation. This translation comes in most of the time, but it varies between packages.

IGES – This is my third choice. In this translation I see more problems and more surfaces errors in this form.

ACIS – This is my last recommendation – I hardly see any of these files because usually one of the 3 above does a better job.

Featureworks will read anything as long as its a solid, but there is no guarantee that it will get all the features.

Regards,

Scott Baugh, CSWP

http://www.3dvisiontech.com

http://www.scottjbaugh.com

faq731-376

 

[lfischer]

Check out FormatWorks, the only Gold Product for data translation to/from SolidWorks.

http://www.capvidia.be

 

[TheTick]

We have FeatureWorks but stopped using it. To use FW, all incoming geometry has to be immaculately translated. Any errors in surface translation cause recognition to fail.

Some features can not be recognized quite the way we need to represent them. One example is cuts through a formed curl (we design hinges) in sheet metal. The cuts can be recognized as extruded cuts in the axial direction only. Most of the time, it has been more time-effecive to reconstruct models in SW.

We deal with a lot of CATIA data, which is prone to skewing surfaces that should be perpendicular or parallel. This is usually enough to trash the entire feature recognition process. I consulted a CATIA expert on this issue. His findings were interesting. It seems CATIA has a higher tolerance for recognizing non-parallel surfaces as parallel even in its native formats.

Still, if you are interested, get your VAR to give you a trial. It may work for you.

Due to illness, the part of The Tick will be played by... The Tick.

http://www.EsoxRepublic.com

 

[lfischer]

What is missing in the translation process is the ability to repair and heal the data so that SolidWorks can use this. This is what FormatWorks does. One of the critical functions for SolidWorks is the ability to knit the surfaces together. If the data isn't properly translated, it won't be able to knit them. This is also important for FeatureWorks. This is why a lot of CATIA translators for SolidWorks do now work.

 

[TheTick]

The skewed surface problem occurs in CATIA even before export. Even with perfect translation and repair, the surfaces are still skewed, leaving a model unsuitable for feature recognition.

 

[JNR]

Depends VERY much on the type of geometry you are importing. Sheetmetal seems to work unbelievably well if it is fairly ordinary stuff. Simple geometry works pretty good too. Of course it may not give you your choice of features in auto mode and is most unlikely to provide much design intent. For those who know what an ARINC 404/600 tray is, I imported one of them once and it popped out a perfect SW model all on its own - including the sheetmetal bend features, etc. I had to go get some coffee after that little surprise.

I would not waste your time on anything goemetrically complex.

John Richards Sr. Mech. Engr.
Rockwell Collins Flight Dynamics

There are only 10 types of people in the world - those who understand binary and those who don't.