Modeling Gears for SOLIDWORKS Assemblies The next component I want to take a look at in our discussion of files that slow down SOLIWORKS assembly performance is the gear. Gears are used in a lot of mechanical designs, and are often parts that are downloaded from the web and inserted directly into our assemblies. There is a time and a place for detail. Having highly detailed parts for piece part manufacturing is perfectly acceptable and necessary. Placing highly detailed parts into large assemblies can cause severe performance issues. Let’s take a look at a typical imported gear file.
CATI Tech Notes
SOLIDWORKS Tips and Tricks and Info on Professional 3D Printing with Stratasys from the Technical staff of CATI
Category: Design Validation
SOLIDWORKS: Simulation – Use Those SOLIDWORKS Functions!
Simulation – Use Those SOLIDWORKS Functions! SOLIDWORKS functionality can make life easier when working with Simulation. You probably know them well, so why not use those familiar functions to your advantage? Let’s look at a few. Simulation-specific configurations Interference detection check for simulation-ready geometry Split lines for boundary condition application Configurations Editing the geometry before setting up a simulation is usually necessary. By setting up a new configuration for the analysis, changes made there won’t affect the original design. This allows for several “what-if” scenarios. Notice in the two screen shots below how the “Default” configuration contains all the assembly components, whereas in the “For analysis” configuration the assembly is simplified
SOLIDWORKS: Making Sense of Simulation Meshing- Part 2
Making Sense of Simulation Meshing- Part 2 Welcome to part 2 of the 3 part series about mesh considerations in SOLIDWORKS Simulation. In part 1, we covered some high-level considerations and adaptive meshing. If you missed part 1, view it here. In this post we will discuss some mesh quality tools SOLIDWORKS Simulation has to offer. In the last post we will discuss different types of elements and meshes for Finite Element Analysis (FEA, FEM). Moving on, knowing if your FEA mesh is a good quality is essential to accurate studies using SOLIDWORKS Simulation. Luckily, SOLIDWORKS has supplied us with some great tools for interrogating the mesh too
Posted in Design Validation, Simulation
HELP! Which SOLIDWORKS Simulation do I need?
Since SOLIDWORKS has a few Simulation based promotions, we thought now would be a great time to explain how SOLIDWORKS Simulation can help solve your product development challenges. Our 3DVision Technologies Team is hosting a great Webcast to discuss a number of powerful simulation tools within the SOLIDWORKS suite of products. Robert Warren, CAE specialist with 15 years of industry experience, will demonstrate the capabilities of the SOLIDWORKS Simulation Suite so you can determine which package best fits your needs. Event Information: Thursday, June 8,2017 1pm – 2pm Central Time >>Register for this Webcast Topics Covered Include: First Pass Analysis Fatigue Natural Frequencies Design Optimization Large Deformation Linear and Non-linear Materials
Posted in Design Validation, General Info, Simulation
SOLIDWORKS: Making Sense of Simulation Meshing – Part 1
Making Sense of SOLIDWORKS Simulation Meshing – Part 1 As an Application Engineer specializing in SOLIDWORKS Simulation, I often get asked, “How do I know if I have a good mesh?” The simple answer is, it’s not so simple. This is the first blog in a 3 part series that I will be posting about meshing. In this blog we will discuss meshing considerations for study types and purposes as well as mesh convergence considerations. The next two blogs in the series will talk discuss mesh quality tools, what they mean, and the types of meshers. Meshing is a term for the process of discretizing CAD geometry. For the
Posted in Design Validation, Simulation, SOLIDWORKS Tips and Tricks
Creaform 3D Scanning: Colormap, the Quick Go/No-Go of Inspection
Colormap, the Quick Go/No-Go of Inspection The HandyScan 700 is a great tool for inspecting parts for Quality Control engineers. Using VxElements, PPAP inspection reports can be created being as simple or as complicated as needed. After importing a CAD model, either .iges or .stp, the scan can be compared to the “perfect” CAD model. One of the useful tools within VxElements is the ability to create a colormap of the differences between the CAD model and the scan. This can be based on a surface best fit reference frame or a datum reference frame. This can be used as a quick go/no-go of whether a part overall is
Posted in 3D Scanning, Design Validation, Digital Prototyping
SOLIDWORKS: Blended Curvature Based Mesh in SOLIDWORKS Simulation
Blended Curvature Based Mesh in SOLIDWORKS Simulation Meshing a part appropriately might be tenuous at times, but it is certainly a lot easier in SOLIDWORKS than just about any other software. We don’t want to set the expectation that meshing is a problem for SOLIDWORKS. Getting a good aspect ratio around the smaller geometry can drive you and your computer a bit crazy, especially if you don’t know the smallest size of your geometry. SOLIDWORKS introduced the blended curvature based mesh in SOLIDWORKS 2016. Let’s take a look at the user interface: It looks very similar to the curvature based mesh, including the options of max/min element size,
Posted in Design Validation, General Info, Simulation
CATI Product Development Forum – Register for an Event Near You
Product Development Forum Events We are just days away from the start of our annual Product Development Forum. This year, we are celebrating our 25th anniversary. To say thank you and show our appreciation to our clients, the agenda is 100% training based. Each event will showcase 5 lecture style training sessions, exhibits form our partners, and the chance to meet one-on-one with one of our technical experts. Visit the Product Development Forum Event Page on CATI.com for complete details and agendas for an event near you. Dates and Time Locations April 11, 2017 8:30am – 3:00pm Central Time Waukesha, WI Marriott Milwaukee West >>Registration Link April 12,
SOLIDWORKS: Meshing Errors in SOLIDWORKS Plastics 2016
Meshing Errors in SOLIDWORKS Plastics 2016 When trying to mesh a runner system with the part in SOLIDWORKS 2016, you may end up getting errors that don’t give you a clue to what is wrong. For instance, take a look at this message: when sewing connector, it without any face error!! This message came up when I was creating a solid mesh. Not sure if the message is a direct translation from another language but it doesn’t give you any direction on what is causing it or even what to change. I had to follow some logic in this situation. Seeing that the runner mesh was not
Creaform 3D Scanners: Reverse Engineering the Death Star
Reverse Engineering the Death Star No, I’m not on my way to becoming the next Emperor Palpatine, so no worries there. Last Christmas season, my family found a Death Star Planetarium while shopping. We had the idea of using it as a tree topper for our Christmas tree. Our only problem was how to get it to stay. It came with a stand, but it didn’t immobilize the Death Star. I could get calipers and other measuring tools out, but that doesn’t result in the best accuracy. The answer came in using the Creaform 3D scanners. I have only been using scanners and their software VXelements for a
SOLIDWORKS Keyboard Shortcuts Cheat Sheet
