SOLIDWORKS, Tips 6, Revolve Feature, Rules

Hi there, Greetings!
Today, I'm going to talk about one of the most often utilized features after the Extrude/Boss Base. The Revolve feature.
This task is accomplished by the use of an Axis of Revolution as the main reference object. It must be a valid Axis such as a Line, in this case, an Edge of a Part but desirably, a Centerline (or Construction Line). This Axis of Revolution is in which your finished Sketch will revolve around.
In this posting I am going to show some important rules to follow when using the Revolve/Boss Base feature. These are simple rules but go a long way! Let's go!

SOLIDWORKS, Tips 5, New SolidWorks Document, Adding a Folder

Greetings Folks,
Today's posting is on how to create a folder in your "New SolidWorks Document" section. This is actually a very helpful tip as it will help you save valuable amounts of time by having all of your most used Part and Drawing Template files easily accessible when you immediately need them.



GETTING STARTED



ADDING THE FOLDER



IT'S DONE!

SOLIDWORKS, Part Design 7, Lab Exercise 2

Hi there again!
My posting today is about another Bracket Part design. You can use the layout with all the dimensions for your designing practice. Have fun!

SOLIDWORKS, Part Design 6, Lab Exercise 1

Greetings!
Today's exercise is quite interesting as it involves various features such as the creation of additional Planes, Extruded Boss/Base and Cut on a rounded surface, Mirroring items, and the creation of a Rib. I am posting images of the Part as it progresses till its completion. This sequence may help you, if necessary, to build the Part step-by-step. Have fun.
NOTE: Pay special attention to the Property Manager section ("Box" on the left) as you go, it will give you an extra idea of what is going on during the building process.




THE LAYOUT



1st. STEP: SKETCHING THE MAIN PIECE
Select the FRONT Plane as your sketching Plane.
Pay most attention to the inner lines (Base, Vertical Lines and Arc), the outer part was "replicated" using the Offset Entities feature in the Sketch mode. This feature does help save some time and work.



2nd. STEP: EXTRUDED BOSS/BASE



3rd. STEP: CREATING THE RIB
Use the FRONT Plane as your sketching Plane.




4th. STEP: MIRRORING THE RIB
Use the Reference Geometry command to create an additional Plane (In this case, Plane 1). It will serve as reference to Mirror the Rib you just created to the opposite side of the Part.



5th. STEP: CREATING THE EXTRUSION (BOSS/BASE)
Again, using Reference Geometry command, create another additional Plane (Plane 2) which will serve as the Sketching Plane for the extrusion on the upper surface of the Part.




6th. STEP: CREATING THE CUT (EXTRUDED CUT)
I used the Offset Edges command to "replicate" (inwards) the existing sketch to create the section for the Cut.



7th. STEP: CREATING THE ROUNDED SURFACES
Use the Fillet command to create the rounds on the edges shown on the following two images.




8th. STEP: CREATING THE HOLE (S)
I utilized the Hole Wizard command for the first hole, then reproduced the remaining three holes in two Mirroring steps.




DONE! HERE YOU HAVE IT, PART IS COMPLETED!
I hope that you had a fun time. If you have a question (s), contact me.
Keep posted, there is more to come.



ANOTHER VIEW MODE

SOLIDWORKS, Part Design 5, Sketch Exercise1

Greetings folks, here is a good exercise for you to sharpen your sketching skills or simply to just to refresh your genius mind! It's also great for "killing time", if you are too bored with nothing to do (hmmm...nothing to do? Does it happen to a lot of people?) and are about to grab that TV remote control. Have fun. Email if you are a novice in the field and have any question. Cheers.

Angular Measuring Tool Assembly

Yesterday I posted an entry showing two parts I had designed which together would result into a Measuring tool. Today I want to show you how the tool looks like when both those components are assembled together. This was a very simple Assembly process, all it took me was to Mate both units using the Concentric option. Here it goes, some of the views of the Assembled tool. Smiles.

Angular Measuring Tool

Greetings Folks!
Couple of months ago a Ceramic artist and instructor asked me to help him materialize one of his inventions using a Designing software. It was a tool he had created to help artists (ceramic artists) do angular measurements without having to spend too much time around this task and at the same time to enjoying the benefits of accuracy which this tool would provide. It was a lot of fun to be part of his endeavour. Here it goes, I posted a few views of both parts that make up this tool so you can see it. You will notice that several angular features were used to add the "holes" onto the wooden piece.