assembly basic solidworks

SolidWorks Student Workbook 37

4

Lesson 4: Assembly Basics

Upon successful completion of this lesson, you will be able to create and modify the part named Tutor2 and create the Tutor assembly.

This lesson plan corresponds to SolidWorks 2001 Getting Started pages 4-1 through 4-8.

Tutor1 Tutor2

Tutor assembly

SolidWorks 2001 Getting Started 4-1

4

Assembly Basics

In this chapter, you build a simple assembly. This chapter discusses the following:

� Adding parts to an assembly

� Moving and rotating components in an assembly

� Specifying the assembly mating relations that make the parts fit together

Mastering the Basics

4-2

Assembly Overview

An assembly is a combination of two or more parts, also called components, within one SolidWorks document. You position and orient components using mates. Mates form relations between faces and edges of components.

In this chapter, you create a new base part and mate it to the part you created in the 40-Minute Running Start chapter, to create an assembly.

For more information about assemblies, see the SolidWorks 2001 Online User’s Guide.

Creating the Base Feature

You can use the same methods you learned in Chapter 3 to create the base for a new part.

1 Open a new part from the Tutorial tab.

2 Click Sketch , and sketch a rectangle beginning at the origin.

3 Click Dimension , and dimension the rectangle to 120mm x 120mm.

4 Click Extruded Boss/Base , and extrude the rectangle, with an End Condition of Blind, to a Depth of 90mm.

5 Click Fillet , and fillet the four edges shown with a radius of 10mm.

6 Click Shell . Select the front face of the model as the face to remove, and set the Thickness to 4mm.

7 Save the part as Tutor2. (The .sldprt extension is added to the file name.)

Chapter 4 Assembly Basics


Creating a Lip on the Part

In this section, you use the Convert Entities and Offset Entities tools to create sketch geometry. Then a cut creates a lip to mate with the part from the previous chapter.

1 Click Zoom to Area , or click View, Modify, Zoom to Area, and zoom in on a corner of the part, as shown. Click Zoom to Area again to turn off the tool.

2 Select the thin wall on the front face of the part, and click Sketch to open a sketch.

The edges of the part face are highlighted.

3 Click Convert Entities on the Sketch Tools toolbar, or click Tools, Sketch Tools, Convert Entities.

The outer edges of the selected face are projected (copied) onto the sketch plane as lines and arcs.

4 Click the front face again.

5 Click Offset Entities on the Sketch Tools toolbar, or click Tools, Sketch Tools, Offset Entities.

6 Set the Offset Distance to 2mm.

The preview shows the offset extending outward.

7 Select the Reverse check box to change the offset direction.

8 Click OK .

A set of lines is added in the sketch, offset from the outside edge of the selected face by 2mm. This relation is maintained if the original edges change.

9 Click Extruded Cut , or click Insert, Cut, Extrude.

10 Under Direction 1, set the Depth to 30mm, and click OK .

The material between the two lines is cut, creating the lip.

TIP: Use the Selection Filter to make selecting the faces in this section easier. See "Selection Filter" in "More about Basic Functionality" for more information.


4-4

Changing the Color of a Part

You can change the color and appearance of a part or its features.

1 Click the Tutor2 icon at the top of the FeatureManager design tree.

2 Click Shaded .

3 Click Edit Color on the Standard toolbar.

The Edit Color dialog box appears.

4 Click the desired color on the palette, then click OK.

5 Save the part.

Creating the Assembly

Now create an assembly using the two parts.

1 If Tutor1.sldprt is not open, click Open on the Standard toolbar and open it.

2 Open a new assembly from the Tutorial tab.

3 Click Window, Tile Horizontally to display all three windows. Close any extra windows.

4 Drag the Tutor1 icon from the top of the FeatureManager design tree for Tutor1.sldprt, and drop it in the FeatureManager design tree of the assembly window (Assem1).

Notice that as you move the pointer into the FeatureManager design tree, the pointer changes to .

Adding a part to an assembly this way results in the part automatically inferencing the assembly origin. When a part inferences the assembly origin:

• the part’s origin is coincident with the assembly origin.

• the planes of the part and the assembly are aligned.



5 Drag the Tutor2 icon from Tutor2.sldprt, and drop it in the graphics area of the assembly window, beside the Tutor1 part.

Notice that as you move the pointer into the graphics area, the pointer changes to .

6 Save the assembly as Tutor. (The .sldasm extension is added to the file name.) If you see a message about saving referenced documents, click Yes.

7 Drag a corner of the assembly window to enlarge it, or click Maximize in the upper-right corner to make the window full size. You no longer need to have the Tutor1.sldprt and Tutor2.sldprt windows in view.

8 Click Zoom to Fit .


4-6

Mating the Components

In this section, you define assembly mating relations between the components, making them align and fit together.

1 Click Isometric on the Standard Views toolbar.

2 Click Mate on the Assembly toolbar, or click Insert, Mate.

3 Click the top edge of Tutor1, then click the outside edge of the lip on the top of Tutor2.

The edges appear in the Selections list.

4 Under Selections, do the following:

• Click Coincident as the mate type.

• Click Closest as the Mate Alignment.

5 Click Preview to preview the mate.

The selected edges of the two components are made coincident.

6 Click OK .

The position of the Tutor2 component in the assembly is not fully defined, as shown by the (-) prefix in the FeatureManager design tree. Tutor2 still has some degrees of freedom to move in directions that are not yet constrained by mating relations.

1 Click Move Component .

2 Click the Tutor2 component and hold down the left mouse button.

Notice the pointer shape .

3 Drag the component from side to side to observe the available degrees of freedom, then release the left mouse button.

4 Click Move Component again to exit move mode.

Select these edges

Tutor1 Tutor2



Adding More Mates1 Select the rightmost face of one component,

then hold down Ctrl, and select the corresponding face on the other component.

2 Click Mate .

3 Select Coincident and Closest.

4 Click Preview to preview the mate.

5 Click OK .

6 Repeat Steps 1 through 5, selecting the top faces of both components, to add another Coincident mate.

7 Save the assembly.

Select these faces

Select these faces


38 SolidWorks Student Workbook

Active Learning Exercises

Follow the instructions in SolidWorks 2001 Getting Started pages 4-1 through 4-8. In this lesson you will first create Tutor2. Then create you will create an assembly.

5 Minute Assessment

1 What features did you use to create Tutor2? ________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

2 What two sketch tools did you use to create the Cut-Extrude feature? ______________

_____________________________________________________________________

3 What does the Convert Entities sketch tool do?_______________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

4 What does the Offset Entities sketch tool do? ________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

5 In an assembly, parts are referred to as ______________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

6 True or False. A fixed component is free to move. _____________________________

7 True or False. Mates are relationships that align and fit components together in an assembly. _____________________________________________________________

8 How many components does an assembly contain?_____________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

9 What mates are required for the Tutor assembly?_____________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

Tutor1 Tutor2Tutor assembly



Exercises and Projects

Task 1

The switchplate created in Chapter 1 requires two fasteners to complete the assembly.

Question:

How do you determine the size of the holes in the switchplate?

Answer:

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Given:

� The diameter of the fastener is 3.5mm.

� The switchplate is 10mm deep.

Procedure:

1 Open the switchplate.

2 Modify the diameter of the two holes to 4mm.

3 Save the changes.




Task 2

Design and model a fastener that is appropriate for the switchplate. Your fastener may (or may not) look like the one shown at the right.

Design Criteria:

� The fastener must be longer than the thickness of the switchplate.

� The switchplate is 10mm thick.

� The fastener must be 3.5mm in diameter.

� The head of the fastener must be larger than the hole in the switchplate.

Good Modeling Practice

Fasteners are always modeled in a simplified form. That is, although a real machine screw has threads on it, these are not included in the model.




Task 3

Create the switchplate-fastener assembly.

Procedure:

1 Create a new assembly.

The fixed component is the switchplate.

2 Drag the switchplate into the assembly window.

3 Drag the fastener into the assembly window.

4 Use Move Component to position the fastener in front of the first hole.

The switchplate-fastener requires three mates to fully define the assembly.

1 Create a Concentric mate between the cylindrical face of the fastener and the cylindrical face of the hole in the switchplate.

2 Create a Coincident mate between the back flat face of the fastener and the flat front face of the switchplate.

3 Create a Parallel mate between one of the flat faces on the slot of the fastener and the flat top face of the switchplate.

Note: If the necessary faces do not exist in the fastener or the switchplate, create the parallel mate using the appropriate reference planes in each component.

Faces

Faces

Faces



4 Add a second instance of the fastener to the assembly.

You can add components to an assembly by dragging and dropping:

• Hold the Ctrl key, and then drag the component either from the FeatureManager design tree, or from the graphics area.

• The pointer changes to .

• Drop the component in the graphics area by releasing the left mouse button and the Ctrl key.

5 Add three mates to fully define the second fastener to the switchplate-fastener assembly.

6 Save the switchplate-fastener assembly.



Exercises and Projects:

Task 4

Assemble the cdcase and storagebox that you created in Chapter 2.

Procedure:

1 Create a new assembly.

The fixed component is the storagebox.

2 Drag the storagebox into the assembly window.

Locate the storagebox at the assembly origin using inferencing.

3 Drag the cdcase into the assembly window to the right of the storagebox.

4 Create a Coincident mate between the bottom face of the cdcase and the inside bottom face of the storagebox.

5 Create a Coincident mate between the back face of the cdcase and the inside back face of the storagebox.

Faces

Faces

Inside back face



6 Create a Distance mate between the left face of the cdcase and the inside left face of the storagebox.

Enter 1cm for Distance.


Enter cdcase-storagebox for the filename.

Component Patterns

Create a linear pattern of the cdcase component in the assembly.

The cdcase is the seed component. The seed component is what gets copied in the pattern.

1 Click Insert, Component Pattern.

The Pattern Type dialog is displayed.

2 Click Define your own pattern (Local).

Make sure the option Arrange in straight lines

(Linear) is selected.

3 Click Next.

The Local Component Pattern dialog box is displayed.

4 Select the component to be patterned.

Make sure the Seed Component(s) field is active, and then select the cdcase component from the FeatureManager design tree or the graphics area.

Faces



5 Define the direction for the pattern.

Click inside the Along Edge/Dim text box to make it active.

Click the top horizontal front edge of the storagebox.

6 Observe the direction arrow.

The preview arrow should point to the right. If it does not, click the Reverse

Direction check box.

7 Enter 2 for Spacing. Enter 25 for Instances. Click Finish.

The Local Component Pattern Feature is added to the FeatureManager design tree.


Click Save. Use the name cdcase-storagebox.



Lesson 3 Vocabulary Worksheet

Name: _______________________________Class: _________ Date:_______________

Fill in the blanks with the words that are defined by the clues. Then find the words in the

puzzle and circle them. The words may be vertical, horizontal, or diagonal. They may be

spelled forward or backward.

1 _____________ Entities copies one or more curves into the active sketch by projecting them onto the sketch plane.

2 In an assembly, parts are referred to as: ______________________________________

3 Relationships that align and fit components together in an assembly:_______________

4 The symbol (f) in the FeatureManager design tree indicates a component is:_________

5 The symbol (-) indicates a component is:_____________________________________

6 When you make a component pattern, the component you are copying is called the ________________________ component.

7 A SolidWorks document that contains two or more parts:________________________

8 You cannot move or rotate a fixed component unless you __________________ it first.

assembly basic solidworks

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