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(1)PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e SolidWorks® 2012 Assembly Modeling. Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation 175 Wyman Street Waltham, Massachusetts 02451 USA.

(2) In the event that you receive a request from any agency of the U.S. government to provide Software with rights beyond those set forth above, you will notify DS SolidWorks of the scope of the request and DS SolidWorks will have five (5) business days to, in its sole discretion, accept or reject such request. Contractor/Manufacturer: Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation, 175 Wyman Street, Waltham, Massachusetts 02451 US.. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. © 1995-2011, Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation, a Dassault Systèmes S.A. company, 175 Wyman Street, Waltham, MA 02451 USA. All rights reserved. The information and the software discussed in this document are subject to change without notice and are not commitments by Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation (DS SolidWorks). No material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronically or manually, for any purpose without the express written permission of DS SolidWorks. The software discussed in this document is furnished under a license and may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of the license. All warranties given by DS SolidWorks as to the software and documentation are set forth in the license agreement, and nothing stated in, or implied by, this document or its contents shall be considered or deemed a modification or amendment of any terms, including warranties, in the license agreement. Patent Notices. SolidWorks® 3D mechanical CAD software is protected by U.S. Patents 5,815,154; 6,219,049; 6,219,055; 6,611,725; 6,844,877; 6,898,560; 6,906,712; 7,079,990; 7,477,262; 7,558,705; 7,571,079; 7,590,497; 7,643,027; 7,672,822; 7,688,318; 7,694,238; 7,853,940 and foreign patents, (e.g., EP 1,116,190 and JP 3,517,643).. eDrawings® software is protected by U.S. Patent 7,184,044; U.S. Patent 7,502,027; and Canadian Patent 2,318,706. U.S. and foreign patents pending.. Trademarks and Product Names for SolidWorks Products and Services SolidWorks, 3D PartStream.NET, 3D ContentCentral, eDrawings, and the eDrawings logo are registered trademarks and FeatureManager is a jointly owned registered trademark of DS SolidWorks. CircuitWorks, FloXpress, TolAnalyst, and XchangeWorks are trademarks of DS SolidWorks. FeatureWorks is a registered trademark of Geometric Ltd. SolidWorks 2012, SolidWorks Enterprise PDM, SolidWorks Workgroup PDM, SolidWorks Simulation, SolidWorks Flow Simulation, eDrawings Professional, and SolidWorks Sustainability are product names of DS SolidWorks. Other brand or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. COMMERCIAL COMPUTER SOFTWARE — PROPRIETARY The Software is a “commercial item” as that term is defined at 48 C.F.R. 2.101 (OCT 1995), consisting of “commercial computer software” and “commercial software documentation” as such terms are used in 48 C.F.R. 12.212 (SEPT 1995) and is provided to the U.S. Government (a) for acquisition by or on behalf of civilian agencies, consistent with the policy set forth in 48 C.F.R. 12.212; or (b) for acquisition by or on behalf of units 3 of the department of Defense, consistent with the policies set forth in 48 C.F.R. 227.7202-1 (JUN 1995) and 227.7202-4 (JUN 1995).. Document Number: PMT1202-ENG. Copyright Notices for SolidWorks Standard, Premium, Professional, and Education Products Portions of this software © 1986-2011 Siemens Product Lifecycle Management Software Inc. All rights reserved. Portions of this software © 1986-2011 Siemens Industry Software Limited. All rights reserved. Portions of this software © 1998-2011 Geometric Ltd. Portions of this software © 1996-2011 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Portions of this software incorporate PhysX™™ by NVIDIA 2006-2010. Portions of this software © 2001-2011 Luxology, Inc. All rights reserved, patents pending. Portions of this software © 2007-2011 DriveWorks Ltd. Copyright 1984-2010 Adobe Systems Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Protected by U.S. Patents 5,929,866; 5,943,063; 6,289,364; 6,563,502; 6,639,593; 6,754,382; patents pending. Adobe, the Adobe logo, Acrobat, the Adobe PDF logo, Distiller and Reader are registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. For more SolidWorks® copyright information, see Help > About SolidWorks. Copyright Notices for SolidWorks Simulation Products Portions of this software © 2008 Solversoft Corporation. PCGLSS © 1992-2010 Computational Applications and System Integration, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright Notices for Enterprise PDM Product Outside In® Viewer Technology, © 1992-2010 Oracle Portions of this software © 1996-2011 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.. Copyright Notices for eDrawings Products Portions of this software © 2000-2011 Tech Soft 3D. Portions of this software © 1995-1998 Jean-Loup Gailly and Mark Adler. Portions of this software © 1998-2001 3Dconnexion. Portions of this software © 1998-2011 Open Design Alliance. All rights reserved. Portions of this software © 1995-2010 Spatial Corporation. This software is based in part on the work of the Independent JPEG Group..

(3) PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e Contents. Introduction:. About This Course . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Prerequisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Course Design Philosophy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Using this Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 About the Training Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Windows® 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Conventions Used in this Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Use of Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Graphics and Graphics Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Color Schemes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5. Lesson 1: Top-Down Assembly Modeling. Top-Down Assembly Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Stages in the Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Building Virtual Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 A Note of Caution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Adding a New Part into an Assembly. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Results of Insert, Component, New Part. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Edit Component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Virtual Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Appearance of Components While Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 How Transparency Affects Selecting Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Building Parts in an Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Common Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14. i.

(4) Contents. SolidWorks 2012. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. In-Context Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Working Outside the Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Propagating Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Saving Virtual Parts as External . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 InPlace Mates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 External References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Out of Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Putting a Part Back Into Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Breaking External References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Breaking and Locking External References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 External Reference Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Removing External References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Why Remove External References? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Editing the Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Using Parts with Broken References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Exercise 1: Top-Down Assembly Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Exercise 2: In-context Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36. Lesson 2: Assembly Features and Smart Fasteners Assembly Features and Smart Fasteners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Stages in the Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Assembly Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Hole Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Time-Dependent Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Hole Series with an Existing Hole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Smart Fasteners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Fastener Defaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Smart Fasteners Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Hole Series Components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Changes to Existing Fasteners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Exercise 3: The Hole Wizard and Smart Fasteners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Exercise 4: Assembly Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Exercise 5: Level Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Lesson 3: Advanced Mate Techniques Advanced Mates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Key Topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Mate Capabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Best Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Design Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Mate References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Smart Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Mates from Within the Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Adding Mate References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68. ii.

(5) SolidWorks 2012. Contents. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. Design Library Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Capture Mate References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Smart Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Create the Defining Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Make Smart Component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Inserting the Smart Component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Inserting Smart Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Using Multiple Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Using Auto Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Advanced and Mechanical Mate Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Advanced Mate Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Mechanical Mate Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 The Belt / Chain Assembly Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Rack Pinion Mate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Summary: Inserting and Mating Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Inserting the First Component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Inserting Additional Components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Inserting and Mating Simultaneously . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Mating Existing Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Multiple Mate Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Using Copy with Mates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Copy with Mates vs. Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Mate Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Investigating the Mates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Exercise 6: Mates and Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Exercise 7: Using Copy With Mates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Exercise 8: Smart Components 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Exercise 9: Smart Components 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 Exercise 10: Gear Mates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114. Lesson 4: Using Configurations with Assemblies Using Configurations with Assemblies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 Stages in the Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 Component Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 Creating Configurations Manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 Configuration Properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 Using Configure Component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Configuration Publisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Using the PropertyManager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Information from an Assembly. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 Exercise 11: Component Patterning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 Exercise 12: Using Modify Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 Exercise 13: Assembly Configurations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 Exercise 14: Using Configuration Publisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141. iii.

(6) Contents. SolidWorks 2012. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. Lesson 5: Display States and Appearances Display States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 Stored Display States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 Display States vs. Configurations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 Display Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Display Pane Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Bulk Selection Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 Adding Display States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 Renaming Display States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 Copying a Display State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 Configurations and Display States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 Linked Display States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154 Advanced Select . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 Envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 Appearances, Materials and Scenes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 Appearances Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 Using RealView Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 Changing Scenes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 Adjusting Texture Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165 Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167 Exercise 15: Display States. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169 Exercise 16: Display States, Appearances and Materials . . . . . . . . . 170 Lesson 6: Assembly Editing Assembly Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174 Key Topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174 Editing Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174 Design Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174 Finding and Repairing Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 Information From an Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 Converting Parts and Assemblies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178 Parts into Assemblies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178 Assemblies into Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 Parts into Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 Replacing Parts with Assemblies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 Replacing and Modifying Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 Working in a Multi-user Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 Replacing a Single Instance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 Troubleshooting an Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183 Mate Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183 Mated Entities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184 Over Defined Mates and Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185 MateXpert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187 Replacing Components Using Save As . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189. iv.

(7) SolidWorks 2012. Contents. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. Mirroring Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190 Mirroring or Copying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191 Reloading Components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194 Hole Alignment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 Controlling Dimensions in an Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 Global Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 Assembly Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 Dimension Names in an Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 Adding Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 Equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199 Sensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201 Dimension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201 Exercise 17: Assembly Errors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205 Exercise 18: Sensors and Assembly Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 Exercise 19: Mirror Component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210. Lesson 7: Layout-based Assembly Design Layout-based Assembly Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212 Key Topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212 The Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212 Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 Using Local Blocks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 Creating a Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 Mechanical Motion with Blocks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215 Saving a Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215 Inserting Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217 Editing Blocks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218 Exploding Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218 Creating a Part from a Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219 Gear and Pulley Motion in Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222 Exercise 20: Stick Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225 Exercise 21: Inserting Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227 Exercise 22: Making Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229 Exercise 23: Belts and Traction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231 Lesson 8: Large Assemblies Large Assemblies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234 Key Topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234 Lightweight Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235 Creating Lightweight Components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235 After the Assembly is Open . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236 Indicators of Lightweight Status. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236 Best Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236 Comparison of Component States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237. v.

(8) Contents. SolidWorks 2012. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. Large Assembly Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237 Unloading Hidden Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242 Scroll Selected Item into View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243 Using SpeedPak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244 Including Faces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244 Quick Include . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244 Defeature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246 Using Configurations with Large Assemblies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249 Suppressing Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249 Simplified Configurations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249 Advanced Open. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250 Modifying the Structure of an Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250 Dissolving a Sub-assembly. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250 Creating a New Sub-assembly with Components. . . . . . . . . . . . 250 Promoting and Demoting Components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251 Using Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254 Sub-assembly Solving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254 Assembly Visualization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255 Large Design Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257 Tips for Faster Assemblies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260 Mate Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263 Drawing Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264 Exercise 24: Large Assemblies with Display States and SpeedPak . 265 Exercise 25: Flexible Sub-assemblies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268 Exercise 26: Working with Sub-assemblies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271 Exercise 27: Simplified Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274. vi.

(9) PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e Introduction. 1.

(10) Introduction. The goal of this course is to teach you how to utilize the assembly modeling capabilities of SolidWorks mechanical design automation software. Specifically:. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. About This Course. SolidWorks 2012. I I I I I I I I I I. Top-down or in-context assembly modeling. Use standard, advanced and mechanical mate types. Create component patterns in assemblies. Create configurations of assemblies. Manage assemblies using SolidWorks Explorer. Find and fix errors in assemblies. Query assemblies and obtain information about them. Use layout-based design to create a sketched assembly that can be converted to a true component assembly. Create variations of appearances with display states. Use display states, configurations and other techniques to make working with large assemblies more efficient.. The tools for working with assemblies in the SolidWorks software are quite robust and feature rich. During this course, we will cover many of the commands and options in great detail. However, it is impractical to cover every minute detail and still have the course be a reasonable length. Therefore, the focus of this course is on the skills, tools, and concepts central to successfully working with assemblies. You should view the training course manual as a supplement to, not a replacement for, the system documentation and on-line help. Once you have developed a good foundation in the skills covered in this course, you can refer to the on-line help for information on less frequently used command options.. Prerequisites. Students attending this course are expected to have the following:. I I I. Mechanical design experience. Completed the course SolidWorks Essentials. Experience with the Windows™ operating system.. Course Length. The recommended minimum length of this course is 2 days.. Course Design Philosophy. This course is designed around a process- or task-based approach to training. Rather than focus on individual features and functions, a process-based training course emphasizes the processes and procedures you follow to complete a particular task. By utilizing case studies to illustrate these processes, you learn the necessary commands, options and menus in the context of completing a design task.. Using this Book. This training manual is intended to be used in a classroom environment under the guidance of an experienced SolidWorks instructor. It is not intended to be a self-paced tutorial. The examples and case studies are designed to be demonstrated “live” by the instructor.. 2.

(11) SolidWorks 2012. Laboratory exercises give you the opportunity to apply and practice the material covered during the lecture/demonstration portion of the course. They are designed to represent typical design and modeling situations while being modest enough to be completed during class time. You should note that many students work at different paces. Therefore, we have included more lab exercises than you can reasonably expect to complete during the course. This ensures that even the fastest student will not run out of exercises.. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. Laboratory Exercises. Introduction. A Note About Dimensions. The drawings and dimensions given in the lab exercises are not intended to reflect any particular drafting standard. In fact, sometimes dimensions are given in a fashion that would never be considered acceptable in industry. The reason for this is the labs are designed to encourage you to apply the information covered in class and to employ and reinforce certain techniques. As a result, the drawings and dimensions in the exercises are done in a way that compliments this objective.. About the Training Files. A complete set of the various files used throughout this course can be downloaded from the SolidWorks website, www.solidworks.com. Click on the link for Support, then Training, then Training Files, then SolidWorks Training Files. Select the link for the desired file set. There may be more than one version of each file set available. Direct URL:. www.solidworks.com/trainingfilessolidworks. The files are supplied in signed, self-extracting executable packages.. The files are organized by lesson number. The Case Study folder within each lesson contains the files your instructor uses while presenting the lessons. The Exercises folder contains any files that are required for doing the laboratory exercises.. Windows® 7. The screen shots in this manual were made using the SolidWorks software running on Windows® 7. If you are not using Windows 7, or if you have a different theme setting, you may notice slight differences in the appearance of the menus and windows. These differences do not affect the performance of the software.. 3.

(12) Introduction. This manual uses the following typographic conventions:. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. Conventions Used in this Book. SolidWorks 2012. Convention. Bold Sans Serif. SolidWorks commands and options appear in this style. For example, Features > Extruded Cut means click the Extrude Cut icon on the Features tab of the CommandManager.. Typewriter. Feature names and file names appear in this style. For example, Sketch1.. 17 Do this step. Use of Color. Meaning. Double lines precede and follow sections of the procedures. This provides separation between the steps of the procedure and large blocks of explanatory text. The steps themselves are numbered in sans serif bold.. The SolidWorks user interface makes extensive use of color to highlight selected geometry and to provide you with visual feedback. This greatly increases the intuitiveness and ease of use of the SolidWorks software. To take maximum advantage of this, the training manuals are printed in full color. Also, in many cases, we have used additional color in the illustrations to communicate concepts, identify features, and otherwise convey important information. For example, we might show the result of a filleting operation with the fillets in a different color, even though by default, the SolidWorks software would not display the results in that way.. 4.

(13) SolidWorks 2012. The SolidWorks software sets a new standard with best-in-class graphics. The combination of a highly reflective material and the realism of RealView Graphics is an effective tool for evaluating the quality of advanced part models and surfaces.. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. Graphics and Graphics Cards. Introduction. RealView Graphics is hardware. (graphics card) support of advanced shading in real time. For example, if you rotate a part, it retains its rendered appearance throughout the rotation.. Color Schemes. Out of the box, the SolidWorks software provides several predefined color schemes that control, among other things, the colors used for highlighted items, selected items, sketch relation symbols, and shaded previews of features. We have not used the same color scheme for every case study and exercise because some colors are more visible and clear than others when used with different colored parts.. In addition, we have changed the viewport background to plain white so that the illustrations reproduce better on white paper.. As a result, because the color settings on your computer may be different than the ones used by the authors of this book, the images you see on your screen may not exactly match those in the book.. 5.

(14) PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e Introduction. 6. SolidWorks 2012.

(15) PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e Lesson 1 Top-Down Assembly Modeling. Upon successful completion of this lesson, you will be able to: I. Build a virtual part in the context of an assembly by employing Top-Down assembly modeling techniques.. I. Create features in the assembly context by referencing geometry in mating parts.. I. Remove external references from a copied part.. 7.

(16) Lesson 1. SolidWorks 2012. Top-Down Assembly Modeling. This lesson begins with an assembly called Machine_Vise. Using geometry from the existing Base1 part, the new parts Jaw_Plate and Sliding_Jaw will be created. Relationships will be established between the parts when the new features are created.. Stages in the Process. The major stages in the process are listed below:. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. Top-Down Assembly Modeling. I. Adding new parts into an assembly. When you create a new part in an assembly, you get a default name and select a plane (or planar face). The name is used as the temporary part name while the plane orients the Front reference plane of the new part.. I. Building parts in an assembly. As the new part is created, the selected plane/face becomes the active sketch and the part is in Edit Part mode. The part is created using standard methods and references to other geometry in the assembly.. I. Creating in-context features. When you reference geometry in other parts while creating a feature, you are creating what is called an in-context feature. For example, referencing the edge of a shaft when making its mating hole in another part creates a relationship between the shaft and the hole. A change to the diameter of the shaft would cause a corresponding change to the diameter of the hole.. Alternatively, you can change the setting Do not create references external to the model in Tools, Options, External References, and the new feature or part will not be created with any external references. Converted geometry is simply duplicated in this case, with no constraint. No dimensions or relations to other components or assembly geometry can be added.. Note. I. Breaking external references. In-context parts and features create many external references. To break these references and keep the part intact, several techniques are used.. 8.

(17) SolidWorks 2012. Lesson 1 Top-Down Assembly Modeling. Parts can be created and built from within the assembly. These parts can be inserted into the assembly as new parts and built using converted edges, offset edges, and standard techniques. They are called Virtual parts. The Jaw_Plate will be created in this manner.. Design Intent:. The design intent of this part is listed below.. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. Building Virtual Parts. Jaw_Plate. I I. A Note of Caution. It will always be flush with the matching mounting flange face of Base1. It does not move.. One of the things to consider before deciding to model a part in the context of an assembly is where that part will be used. In-context features and parts are best used for “one-of-a-kind” parts that will only be used in the assembly where they are modeled. Parts that will be used in more than one assembly should probably not be modeled in-context. The reason for this is that external references are created by in-context features. If a virtual or in-context part is to be reused in other assemblies, it is possible, with some work, to make a copy of the part and remove all of the external references. The procedure for doing this will be discussed later in this lesson. Again, the part can also be created by purposely borrowing geometry but with no external references created, as noted earlier.. 1. Open an assembly file. Open Machine_Vise from the Lesson01\Case Study. folder.. It contains two components that constitute the base of a vise.. 9.

(18) Lesson 1. SolidWorks 2012. Top-Down Assembly Modeling. New parts can be added to an assembly as needed. These new parts can be created in the context of the assembly, using the geometry and locations of existing parts to build upon. They will appear in the FeatureManager design tree as component parts, with a full listing of their features. By default, these parts are Virtual Components, saved in the assembly file. Click Tools, Options, System Options, Assemblies and toggle Save new components to external files to change this behavior.. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. Adding a New Part into an Assembly. Introducing: Insert Component. Insert, Component, New Part creates a new part and component in. Where to Find It. I. the assembly. The new part is named and then mated to a plane or planar face of an existing part in the assembly. CommandManager: Assembly > Insert Components. > New. Part. I. Results of Insert, Component, New Part. Menu: Insert, Component, New Part. When a new part is inserted into an assembly, several things happen: I I. I I I I I. The new part is created. The new part appears in the FeatureManager design tree as a component of the assembly. The name is supplied by SolidWorks and is within brackets [Part1^Assem1]. The Front reference plane of the new part is made coincident with the face or plane that you selected. You are switched into Edit Part mode. A new sketch is opened on the selected face. A new mate, named InPlace1, is added fully defining the component. The part is internal to the assembly by default.. Default Template. Since this command creates a new part document, you have the option of specifying a template or allowing the system to use the default template. This choice is determined by means of Tools, Options, System Options, Default Templates.. Edit Component. While you are in an assembly, you can switch between editing the assembly — adding mate relations, inserting components, etc. — and editing a specific part or component. Editing a part while in the context of an assembly enables you to take advantage of geometry and dimensions of other components while creating matching or related features. Using geometry outside the part creates External References and In-context Features. Two commands, Edit Component and Edit Assembly, switch back and forth between editing one component in an assembly and editing the assembly itself. When you are in edit part mode, you have access to all the commands and functionality from the part modeling portion of SolidWorks. Plus, you have access to other geometry in the assembly.. 10.

(19) SolidWorks 2012. Lesson 1 Top-Down Assembly Modeling. Where to Find It. I. CommandManager: Select the component to edit and click. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. Assembly > Edit Component I. Shortcut Menu: Right-click the component to edit and click Edit Part or Edit Assembly. In an assembly, both parts and sub-assemblies are considered components. When selecting a sub-assembly specifically, the right mouse button menu will say Edit Component, not Edit Part. The two terms will be used interchangeably here.. Note. Indicators that you are in Edit Component mode include the status bar which reads Editing Part, and the window banner that states Name of Part -in- Name of Assembly.. 2. Virtual parts. Click Options , System Options, Assemblies and clear Save new components to external files to create virtual parts.. 3. Insert a new part.. Click New Part . A new cursor a plane or planar face.. 4. appears when the cursor is over. Face selection.. Select the planar face of Base1.. Virtual Parts. The names assigned to new parts include braces surrounding the names. This indicates an virtual part and is done automatically for all new parts created in-context to offer you the flexibility to easily discard parts that you don’t want and not be concerned about naming as you work. I I. Renaming - Right-click the part and click Rename Part to set the. name of the part. Saving - Right-click the part and click Save Part (in External File) to save the part to a true part file (*.sldprt) outside the assembly. Saving the assembly will generate the same option.. 11.

(20) Lesson 1. SolidWorks 2012. Top-Down Assembly Modeling. Inserted part.. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. 5. Since the new part is empty, the only evidence of it are the features in the tree. Automatically, you are creating a new sketch in the new part. The sketch plane is the plane or planar face you selected. The color of the part’s FeatureManager design tree text is changed to indicate that the part is being edited. Right-click the part and click Rename Part. Change the name to Jaw_Plate.. Note. Parts created in-context, such as this one, automatically receive a single mate named Inplace1.. Appearance of Components While Editing. When you edit a part in the context of the assembly, the color of the component you edit depends on a setting in Tools, Options, System Options, Colors. If set to Use specified colors when editing parts in assemblies, the edited part will be the Assembly, Edit Part color (royal blue by default). This color can be customized on the same tab. The appearance of the other components depends on the assembly transparency settings you choose.. Introducing: Change Assembly Transparency. The transparency of components that are not being edited can be set to one of three conditions: I. I. I. Opaque assembly. All components become opaque gray, except for the component you are editing, which becomes the Assembly, Edit Part color. Maintain assembly transparency. All components maintain. whatever their current transparency is, except for the one you are editing, which becomes the Assembly, Edit Part color. Force assembly transparency. All components become transparent except the one you are editing, which becomes the Assembly, Edit Part color.. Note. Use the slider to adjust the transparency level for Force assembly transparency. When you move the slider to the right, the components become more transparent.. Where to Find It. I I. 12. Menu Bar: Options ,System Options, Display/Selection, Assembly transparency for in context edit CommandManager: Features > Assembly Transparency.

(21) SolidWorks 2012. Lesson 1 Top-Down Assembly Modeling. Usually the cursor selects whichever geometry is in front. However, in an assembly with transparent components, the cursor selects geometry on the opaque components first, even if transparent components are in front.. Note. For purposes of selection, transparent means more than 10 percent transparent. Components with less than 10 percent transparency are considered opaque.. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. How Transparency Affects Selecting Geometry. There are some techniques you can use to control how you select geometry: I. I I I. 6. Click Assembly Transparency, and select Opaque. Now all geometry is treated the same and the cursor selects whichever entity is in front. Press Shift to select geometry on a transparent component when there is an opaque component behind it. Press Tab to select the part you are editing through an opaque component. Use Select Other to select faces that are obscured by other faces.. Opaque. Click Assembly Transparency and set the display to Opaque. Also, click Options , System Options, Colors and click Use specified colors when editing parts in assemblies.. 13.

(22) Lesson 1. SolidWorks 2012. Top-Down Assembly Modeling. When building parts in context of the assembly, you can take advantage of other parts that exist. You can copy geometry, offset from it, add sketch relations to it, or simply measure to it. In this example, geometry from Base1 creates Jaw_Plate.. Common Tools. When you build parts in the context of the assembly, sketching is just like it is in part mode with the added benefit that you can see and reference the geometry of the surrounding parts. You will use Convert Entities and Offset Entities as well as dimensions to geometry.. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. Building Parts in an Assembly. 7. Convert Entities.. Select the same face selected for the new part and click Convert Entities . This will convert all of the outer edges of the face to new sketch segments in our sketch. Each has an On Edge relation.. 8. Extrude boss.. Extrude a boss to a blind thickness of 5mm.. 9. Edit assembly.. Toggle off editing the component. Right-click and click Edit Assembly: Machine_Vise.. 10 Save the files. Click Save . Click Save All in the Save Modified Documents dialog box. The Save As dialog then states:. This assembly contains unsaved virtual components which must be saved.. Click the option Save internally (inside the assembly) and click OK.. 14.

(23) SolidWorks 2012. Lesson 1 Top-Down Assembly Modeling. 11 New part.. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. Insert another new part using the face of Base2 shown.. 12 Convert edges. Use Convert Edges on. the sketch face. Remove some geometry and drag open ends as shown.. 13 Complete sketch.. Use offsets, lines, dimensions, and relations to complete the sketch.. 15.

(24) Lesson 1. SolidWorks 2012. Top-Down Assembly Modeling. 14 Extrusion.. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. Extrude the sketch 25mm as shown.. 15 Edit assembly.. Toggle off editing the component by clicking Edit Assembly.. 16 Rename part.. Right-click the part and click Rename Part. Change the name to Sliding_Jaw.. 17 Save the files.. Save the parts internally.. In-Context Features. In-context Features create geometry in the active part by sketching. Note. A Through All cut only affects the part being edited.. on, converting, offsetting or dimensioning to, geometry in other component parts. The feature that is created is called an In-context Feature, a feature with external references. In this example, Sliding_Jaw will be edited to match the other end of the vise.. 18 Hide component. Hide Jaw_Plate.. We do this because we want to use the geometry of Base1 for a new feature in Sliding_Jaw.. Note. 16. We can use the geometry of Jaw_Plate for the new feature in Sliding_Jaw because it is the correct shape but this is not good practice. It is better to reference the original component, Base1. It is always best to reference the original component rather than another component that uses the geometry of the original component..

(25) SolidWorks 2012. Lesson 1 Top-Down Assembly Modeling. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. 19 Edit component. Right-click Sliding_Jaw and click Edit Part . Sketch on the outer face of Sliding_Jaw and use Convert Entities on the opposite face of Base1. Extrude 10mm as shown.. 20 Offset Entities.. Start a sketch on the front face of Sliding_Jaw (select the face through the hole). Use an offset of 2mm from the hole in Base2 and create a Through All cut.. 21 Edit assembly.. Toggle off editing the component by clicking Edit Assembly.. Note. Using a Through All cut does not cut Base1 because it applies only to the part being edited.. 17.

(26) Lesson 1. SolidWorks 2012. Top-Down Assembly Modeling. Much of the construction required for a part can be done without the overhead of the assembly. Those features that do not require in-context references can be completed within the framework of the part document.. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. Working Outside the Assembly. 22 Open a part file. Right-click Sliding_Jaw and click Open Part . Add a 2mm fillet to. the edges shown.. 23 Offset. Offset 3mm from the edge of the. in-context circular cut and create another cut 5mm deep as shown.. 24 Sketch.. Create a sketch for a boss feature from the existing geometry including an offset of 4mm.. 18.

(27) SolidWorks 2012. Lesson 1 Top-Down Assembly Modeling. 25 Extrude.. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. Extrude the sketch Up To Surface.. Note. You can change the color of Sliding_Jaw or any other part to distinguish it from the other parts.. 26 Return to the assembly.. Save and close the part to return to the assembly. Click Yes to rebuild the assembly and show Jaw_Plate.. 27 Insert component. Click Insert Components and insert Vise_Screw into the assembly. Add a Concentric mate between the shaft and the hole in Base2. Add a Coincident mate between the two faces shown.. Note. You can combine top-down and bottom-up assembly modeling in this manner. You do not have to create every component in-context once you start creating one component in that manner.. 19.

(28) Lesson 1. SolidWorks 2012. Top-Down Assembly Modeling. 28 Instance.. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. Add an instance of Jaw_Plate to the assembly and mate it to Sliding_Jaw as shown.. Propagating Changes. Automatically propagating changes is one of the strongest qualities of the in-context feature. In the next portion of this lesson, we will explore how a change to Base1 will affect other parts that reference its geometry. Changes to Base1 will be transferred to Jaw_Plate and Sliding_Jaw through propagation of changes.. 29 Changes.. Double-click the Extrude1 feature of Base1 and change the indicated dimension value from 70mm to 90mm. Do not rebuild the assembly yet. Double-click the Extrude2 feature of Base1 and change the indicated dimension value from 45mm to 65mm.. 65. 90. 30 Rebuild.. Rebuild and notice that Jaw_Plate and Sliding_Jaw update to the new dimensions of Base1.. 20.

(29) SolidWorks 2012. Lesson 1 Top-Down Assembly Modeling. In-context parts saved internally can be saved to external part files at any time. Virtual parts do not have their own files, they are included in the assembly file.. Where to Find It. I. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. Saving Virtual Parts as External. Shortcut Menu: Right-click one or more virtual parts and click Save Part (in External File).. 31 Save external.. Select all of the virtual parts in the FeatureManager design tree. Right-click the virtual parts and click Save Part (in External File). Select all of them and click Same As Assembly for each one. Click OK.. 32 Symbols.. Each part is now a true part file (*.sldprt), external to the assembly. Note that the brackets ([]) have been removed but the arrows (->) remain. The arrow indicates that the part contains External References, references to geometry outside the part itself.. InPlace Mates. The InPlace mates created automatically for in-context parts are there to prevent movement of the part. This is because the in-context part is attached to geometry of parts in the assembly through external references, references that cross between parts at the assembly level. Changing the location of the part can cause changes to the geometry that may not be desired. The effect of external references are explained in the next section, External References on page 22. The preferred method of removing them from parts is explained in Removing External References on page 27.. Replacing InPlace Mates. InPlace mates can be removed using Delete, and the part can be re-. mated using standard mate techniques, optionally leaving a degree of freedom for movement. Generally this works best if the face selected for the InPlace mate is perpendicular to the direction of motion.. 21.

(30) Lesson 1. SolidWorks 2012. Top-Down Assembly Modeling. When you delete an InPlace mate, a warning message appears after the confirmation dialog:. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. Deleting InPlace Mates. The base sketch of the part located by the InPlace mate contains references to other entities in the assembly. These references may update in unexpected ways after this mate is deleted, because the part will no longer be positioned relative to the assembly. Would you like to remove these references now? (No geometry will be deleted.). If you click No, the InPlace mate is removed and the relations remain, including the externally referenced ones.. If you click Yes, the InPlace mate is removed and all externally referenced relations are removed. These options can be useful with Removing External References on page 27.. External References. External References create and maintain relations between parts at. the assembly level. They are commonly sketch relations, but they can also be created as sketch planes or other geometric features.. When they are working properly, external references are considered incontext. When they cannot work properly they are considered out of context and cannot update properly.. Out of Context. Jaw_Plate was modeled in the context of the assembly. It is able to. work properly and change through propagation of changes only while the assembly is open. We will display this behavior in this section.. 22.

(31) SolidWorks 2012. Lesson 1 Top-Down Assembly Modeling. Save and close the files.. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. 1 2. Open a part file. Open Jaw_Plate. Because the assembly is not open, Jaw_Plate is out. of context. Therefore, any changes to Base1 are not able to propagate to Jaw_Plate. Changes to Base1 propagate through the assembly to Jaw_Plate. The assembly must be open for this to occur.. Look at the external reference symbols. You will see the notation “->?” appended to the Boss-Extrude feature and its sketch. The ? indicates that the external reference is out of context.. Putting a Part Back Into Context. To put an out-of-context part back into context, open the externally referenced document. There is an easy way to do this.. Introducing: Edit In Context. Edit In Context automatically opens the document that is referenced. Where to Find It. I. by an external reference. This is quite a time saver because you do not have to query the feature to identify the referenced file, browse to locate it, and then open it manually.. 3. Shortcut Menu: Right-click a feature with an external reference and click Edit In Context. Edit In Context. Right-click the Boss-Extrude feature and click Edit In Context. The. assembly is selected by the reference and opens. The references are back in context as indicated by the -> symbol in the FeatureManager design tree of the assembly.. Breaking External References. The external references established by creating parts and features incontext remain with the part. Changes to the part will appear everywhere that the part is used; assemblies and drawings. By the same token, changes to parts that it references will also cause it to change. The flow of changes can be stopped temporarily or permanently using the Lock/Unlock and Break options.. If you want to reuse the in-context part in another assembly, or use it as the starting point for a similar design or apply motion, you should remove the external references. By copying and editing the in-context part, you can create a duplicate part that is not tied to the assembly.. 23.

(32) Lesson 1. SolidWorks 2012. Top-Down Assembly Modeling. When the List External References dialog is active, there are options available to Lock All or Break All references. These options allow you to change the relationship between the in-context part and referenced files.. Lock All. The Lock All button locks or freezes the references until they are unlocked at a later date using Unlock All. These changes are reversible after OK is clicked. Until the references are unlocked, changes will not propagate to the part.. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. Breaking and Locking External References. When Lock All is selected, SolidWorks displays a message:. All external references of the model “Jaw_Plate” will be locked. You will not be able to add any new external references until you unlock the existing references.. The FeatureManager design tree lists the locked references with “->*” symbols. Using Unlock All later will restore the original symbols.. Break All. The Break All button breaks all references with the controlling files. Clicking the button launches a message that indicates the change is not reversible after OK is clicked. When Break All is selected, SolidWorks displays a message:. All external references of the model “Jaw_Plate” will be broken. You will not be able to activate these references again.. The FeatureManager design tree lists the broken references with “->x” symbols. Changes will no longer propagate to the part.. Tip. You can hide the “->x” symbols. Click Tools, Options, System Options, External References, and clear Show “x” in feature tree for broken external references.. Once the references are broken, they can only be listed using the List Broken References check box in the List External References dialog.. Important!. Break All does not remove the external references. It simply breaks them, and once broken, they can never be fixed. Because Break All is irreversible, you should use Lock All in almost all situations.. To learn how to remove external references, see Removing External References starting on page 27.. 24.

(33) SolidWorks 2012. Lesson 1 Top-Down Assembly Modeling. List External References.. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. 4. One way to determine whether the feature or the sketch (or both) have external references is to list them. Right-click Jaw_Plate in the FeatureManager design tree and click List External Refs. The dialog below appears.. External Reference Report. This dialog lists the following information: I. Assembly — The assembly in which the external reference was. created.. I I I I. I. Feature — Each feature or sketch in the model that contains an. external reference. Data — What type of relation or selection was made to create the external reference. Status — Whether the feature is in or out of context. Referenced Entity — The name of the selected edge, face, plane or loop used to generate the external reference. The syntax also lists the part in which the entity exists. Silhouette Edge of motor<1> means that it is an edge in the first instance of the motor component. Feature’s Component — The component in which the external reference exists.. In this case, there are many external references. 25.

(34) Lesson 1. SolidWorks 2012. Top-Down Assembly Modeling. Lock All. Click Lock All and click OK. The Status changes to Locked for the. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. 5. feature.. The locked external reference is indicated in the FeatureManager design tree by ->*.. 6. Note. Unlock. Click Unlock All to return to the normal setting and click OK.. Do not confuse the command List External References with File, Find References. In a part document, the command File, Find References only lists the name of externally referenced documents, if they exist. It does not provide feature, data, status, entity, or component information. For example, File, Find References would tell you this: I I. 26. The referenced part document for a part created using Base Part or Mirror Part. The assembly document for any part with in-context references. This includes a part created using Derive Component Part, or a part that has a cavity or join feature, or a part that has been edited in the context of an assembly to reference the geometry of other components..

(35) SolidWorks 2012. Lesson 1 Top-Down Assembly Modeling. Options like Lock All are useful to interrupt the flow of changes to an in-context part, but the best way to stop the changes permanently is to use File, Save As with the Save As Copy option to copy the part and remove the references.. Why Remove External References?. When parts are built in-context, like Sliding_Jaw, they contain references. If mates are removed or in-context parts are used in other assemblies (out of context), unexpected changes could occur. Here are some reasons why you might remove external references.. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. Removing External References. I. Component Movement The InPlace mate prevents movement and although it can be. removed, the features remain in-context.. I. Re-use of Data. Component parts can generally be used in multiple assemblies. If a part contains in-context references, they must be removed prior to out of context use.. Procedure. In this section, the external references will be removed from a copy of the part so that it can be changed as a totally independent part, and potentially used in another, unrelated assembly, without any effect on the original assembly.. Tip. Another way to prevent changes is to save the part file to another format such as IGES or STEP. Opening that neutral file in SolidWorks creates an imported solid without features that cannot be easily changed.. 1. Save a copy of the component. Right-click Sliding_Jaw and click Open Part . Click File, Save As. The message box tells you that Save As will replace the original document with the new one in the assembly, while Save as copy will. not.. This dialog appears only when the referenced document (the assembly) is open.. Note. 2. Save as copy.. Save a copy of the part as Free_Sliding_Jaw. Make sure to check the Save as copy option. Click Save.. 27.

(36) Lesson 1. SolidWorks 2012. Top-Down Assembly Modeling. 3. Derived Features.. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. Save and close the current documents and open Free_Sliding_Jaw. Look at the FeatureManager design tree to check for external references. You will see the notation “->?” appended to many of the features and sketches, denoting an external reference that is out of context.. In this case, the Save as copy has broken the update capability of the part but the features remain in referenced state.. To “free” this part, each of the flagged features and sketches must be edited to remove the reference and have the ability to change independently. Note that in some cases, only the sketch is derived, not the feature itself. In these cases, both the sketch and the related feature will display the marker.. Editing the Features. It is all well and good that the external references are not active through the copy. However, what happens when we want to change the dimensions of the features in the Free_Sliding_Jaw? For example, there are no dimensions which define the size of the base feature. How can we change the Free_Sliding_Jaw?. All features that contain the “->?” symbol can be edited to change the way in which the geometry is constrained. Although the relationships have been broken, the geometry is still created using part references. These references can be removed by editing sketches and features in the part, which has the effect of changing the design intent of the features.. Starting with the last feature first and working up the FeatureManager design tree typically prevents rebuild errors because you fix the child features before the parent features. The features will be worked in this order: I I I. 28. Cut-Extrude1 Boss-Extrude2 Boss-Extrude1.

(37) SolidWorks 2012. Lesson 1 Top-Down Assembly Modeling. Different features require different approaches. Here are some common types:. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. Strategies for Features. I. I I I I. Sketch Relations - Remove external references in sketch relations and dimensions by deleting them with Display/Delete Relations. Replace them manually or use Fully Define Sketch. Derived Sketches - Break the link between a derived sketch and its parent sketch by using Underive. Sketch Planes - Replace sketch planes referencing external geometry using Edit Sketch Plane. Extrusions - Extruded features that use Up To Surface or Offset From Surface are replaced with Blind using the same distance. Assembly Features - The nature of assembly features is that they. typically exist only in the assembly. One approach is to copy the necessary geometry into the part then delete the assembly feature. Another approach is to edit the assembly feature and select Propagate feature to parts to add the feature to the part file for each affected component.. Geometry created by Convert Entities or Offset Entities base their location and orientation strictly on the edges being referenced. When the Offset or On Edge relations are removed, the geometry does not contain other relations such as tangency, horizontal, vertical or collinear.. Geometry From Offset and Convert. 4. Sketches.. Sketches are often the primary source of external references. If any sketch in a feature has an external reference, that feature will receive the marker (->). Type sk in the filter to view all the sketches in the part.. 5. Edit sketch.. Edit Sketch3 from the Cut-Extrude1 feature. The sketch contains an offset.. 6. Delete the offset dimension.. A message appears:. Deleting the offset dimension will remove the offset relations from the sketch geometry. Do you want to continue?. Click Yes.. 29.

(38) Lesson 1. SolidWorks 2012. Top-Down Assembly Modeling. 7. Dimension.. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. Add a dimension and a concentric relation to fully define the sketch. Exit the sketch.. Note that the “->?” symbol no longer appears for the sketch in the FeatureManager design tree.. Another method for dealing with relations is to use Delete All followed by Fully Define Sketch. Delete All removes all relations in the sketch and Fully Define Sketch adds back relations and dimensions that can be inferred due to the position of the geometry relative to the origin.. Delete All and Fully Define Sketch. 8. 30. Edit sketch. Edit Sketch2 of Boss-Extrude2. Using Display/Delete Relations delete all relations. Click Fully Define Sketch with Relations and Dimensions checked and click OK..

(39) SolidWorks 2012. Lesson 1 Top-Down Assembly Modeling. 9. Edit dimensions.. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. Although the sketch is fully defined, there are some changes that can simplify the dimension scheme. Delete, drag and change dimensions and geometry to get the result shown. Exit the sketch.. 10 Fully Define Sketch. Edit Sketch1 of the Boss-Extrude1 feature. and delete all the relations. Add a centerline from the midpoint of the lower line as shown. Rightclick Fully Define Sketch and set the options. Click OK.. 31.

(40) Lesson 1. SolidWorks 2012. Top-Down Assembly Modeling. 11 Under defined.. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. A message appears to say that the sketch is not fully defined. This is due to the fact that the geometry is not related or dimensioned to the sketch origin. Click OK to dismiss the message.. 12 Fully define. Click View, Origins.. Add a coincident relation between the sketch origin and the midpoint of the line. Exit the sketch.. 13 Save and close the files.. The part is now free of external reference symbols.. Using Parts with Broken References. 32. After external references have been removed, the components can be used in other assemblies without concerns of unexpected updates..

(41) SolidWorks 2012. Lesson 1 Top-Down Assembly Modeling. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. 14 Open an assembly file. Open Free_Machine_Vise from the Lesson01\Case Study folder.. None of the components in this assembly have any in-context references.. 15 Screw mate. Click Mate and Mechanical Mates. Click Screw , and 0.5 Revolutions/mm. Select the cylindrical face of Free_Vise_Screw and the internal cylindrical face of Free_Base using Select Other. Click OK.. Drag Free_Vise_Screw to open or close the vise.. Note. For more information on mates, see Mechanical Mate Types on page 85.. 16 Save and close the files.. 33.

(42) Lesson 1. SolidWorks 2012. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. Top-Down Assembly Modeling. 34.

(43) SolidWorks 2012. Exercise 1 Top-Down Assembly Modeling. Create this part by using existing geometry in the assembly TOP DOWN ASSY.. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. Exercise 1: Top-Down Assembly Modeling. This lab uses the following skills: I I I I. Top-Down Assembly Modeling on page 7 Building Virtual Parts on page 9 Common Tools on page 14 Saving Virtual Parts as External on page 21. Units: mm. Design Intent. The design intent for this part is as follows:. 1. Cover Plate must relate to inner contour of Main Body. 2. Cover Plate must relate to OD on Ratchet. 3. Cover Plate must relate to OD on Wheel.. Part Design. Use the following graphics with the design intent to determine the shape and relationships within the part. The clearances are:. Cover Plate to Main Body = 0.20mm Cover Plate to Ratchet = 0.10mm. Cover Plate to Wheel = 0.10mm. Wheel. Saving the Component. Ratchet. Save the Cover Plate as an external file using the same name.. 35.

(44) Exercise 2. SolidWorks 2012. In-context Features. Add these in-context features using the information and dimensions provided. This lab reinforces the following skills:. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. Exercise 2: In-context Features. I I. Edit Component on page 10 In-Context Features on page 16. Units: mm. Note. The Pipe component is already properly positioned in the assembly. However, there is no corresponding flange on Oil Pan. Your task is to model the flange holes as in-context features.. Design Intent. The design intent for this assembly and its part is as follows:. 1. The flange on the Pipe creates the extruded shape of the corresponding flange on Oil Pan. Use 3° of draft. 2. The fillet radius is 2mm. 3. The holes for the bolts and pipe pass through the flange and the wall thickness on the Oil Pan.. Part Design. Two component parts make up the Oil Pan Assy assembly. Use Edit Part to add features to Oil Pan in context using geometry. The features form the pipe connection. Oil Pan Assy is found in the folder named InContextFeatures.. 36.

(45) PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e Lesson 2 Assembly Features and Smart Fasteners. Upon successful completion of this lesson, you will be able to: I. Add features in the assembly.. I. Insert hardware using Smart Fasteners.. 37.

(46) Lesson 2. SolidWorks 2012. Assembly Features and Smart Fasteners. Assembly Features and Smart Fasteners. This lesson starts with an assembly similar to the one you created in the previous lesson. Your task is to add features and hardware to attach the Jaw_Plate components to the other components in the assembly.. Stages in the Process. The major stages in the process are listed below:. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. Jaw_Plate. I. Creating a new Hole Series assembly feature.. You add a hole that starts with a countersunk hole in Jaw_Plate and finishes with a bottom tapped hole in Base1.. I. Adding holes using an existing Hole Series feature. You add through holes in Sliding_Jaw using the size and position of the holes in Jaw_Plate as a guide.. I. Adding hardware into the holes.. You add screws, washers, and nuts to the assembly using Smart Fasteners. Smart Fasteners automatically determine the best fastener based on the hole type and size.. 38.

(47) SolidWorks 2012. Lesson 2 Assembly Features and Smart Fasteners. An assembly feature is a feature which exists only in the assembly. Assembly features can be holes, cuts, fillets, chamfers, or weld beads. An assembly cut feature is intended to cut selected components after they are mated in the assembly. Assembly features often represent post-assembly machining operations. They can also create section-type views of an assembly by cutting away part or all of selected components. Some specifics about assembly features are: I Assembly features typically exist only at the assembly level. There are two exception to this. The Hole Series feature always propagates to the part level and other assembly features can appear in the part by clicking Propagate feature to parts in the PropertyManager of the assembly feature. I Visibility of assembly features can be controlled using configurations. I The sketch used by the assembly feature can be sketched on any plane or face in the assembly. I The sketches can contain multiple closed profiles. I An assembly feature pattern can in turn be patterned.. Where to Find It. I. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. Assembly Features. I. CommandManager: Assembly > Assembly Features Menu: Insert, Assembly Feature. Note. This lesson uses Hole Series assembly features. For an example of another type of assembly feature, see The Hole Wizard on page 175.. Hole Series. The Hole Series is a special case of assembly feature that creates hole features in the individual components of the assembly. A Hole Series extends through each unsuppressed component in the assembly that intersects the axis of the hole (the components do not have to touch). Unlike other assembly features, the holes exist in the individual parts as externally referenced features (in-context). If you edit a Hole Series within the assembly, the individual parts are modified. Some specifics about Hole Series holes are: I I I I I. Hole Series holes exist at the assembly level and part level (unlike. other assembly features). The sketch used by the Hole Series can be sketched on any plane or face in the assembly. Hole Series uses a limited set of end conditions: Through All, Up To Next, Up to Surface, and Offset from Surface are available. A Hole Series can not be created by using the standard Hole Wizard. The resulting hole(s) can be edited using Edit Feature, but only at the assembly level. This propagates changes to all of the parts in the hole series.. 39.

(48) Lesson 2. SolidWorks 2012. Assembly Features and Smart Fasteners. An existing Hole Wizard hole may be used as the seed for a Hole Series. Different hole sizes can be set for the first part, the last part, and all parts that are cut between them.. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. I I. First part. Middle parts. Last part. The Hole Series wizard is made up of five tabs that define the location, shape and behavior of the holes.. Hole Series Wizard. I I I. I I. Where to Find It. I. - Place points to locate hole centers. First Part - Define the parameters of the start hole. Middle Parts - Define the parameters of the hole between the first and last parts. Last Part - Define the parameters of the end hole. Smart Fasteners - Insert Smart Fasteners into the hole series. This tab is available only if you install and activate SolidWorks Toolbox. Positions. CommandManager: Assembly > Assembly Features Series. I. 1. Menu: Insert, Assembly Feature, Hole, Hole Series. Open an assembly file. Open Machine_Vise from the Lesson02\Case Study folder. This is. similar to the assembly you created in the previous lesson.. 40. > Hole.

(49) SolidWorks 2012. Lesson 2 Assembly Features and Smart Fasteners. 2. Hole series.. PR Do E no RE t c LE op AS y E or D di RA st F rib T ut e. Select the face of Jaw_Plate<1> and click Hole Series .. 3. Hole position.. On the Hole Position new hole.. tab, select Create. Add sketch points for the center of both holes. Add dimensions and a Symmetric relation about a centerline to fully define the sketch.. 4. First part.. Click the First Part I I I I. 5. tab and set:. Hole Type: CounterSink Standard: Ansi Metric Screw Type: Flat Head Screw Hole Size: M5. Middle parts.. Click the Middle Parts tab and select Auto size based on start hole. In this example, there are only first and last parts.. 41.

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