The Unofficial Guide to SolidWorks Etiquette

Nick Bradshaw ENGW 3302 Online Unit 2, RD 1 September 30, 2013

Introduction
SolidWorks is a very powerful 3-dimensional computer aided design (CAD) modeling program that is used widely in the mechanical engineering field. This is due to the immense depth the program goes into, and allows virtually any part or assembly to be designed, redesigned, numerically analyzed in any number of different ways (including complex finite element analyses (FEA), flow simulations, electrical simulations, etc.), and exported for production. The inherent problem with SolidWorks is that since it is so powerful and incorporates a large number of design tools, there are a number of different methods that can be used to create identical sketches, features, assemblies, and parts. Even though there are many ways to do each of these things, there is one generally agreed-upon set of rules, which is unspoken and only learned through experience gained by using the program, especially in a multiple-user environment (as this is why most of these rules exist). While this guide may not cover every single tool, feature, and mate, it does cover all of the essential rules to follow when modeling parts and assemblies in order to stay professional and maintain simplicity.

Defining Sketches
The ability to fully define 2- and 3- dimensional sketches in SolidWorks is the singlehanded most important and fundamental skill to have when modeling parts. When sketches are not properly defined at the part level, those features used remain open for change and are driven by other features created afterwards. This means that as you continue to add complexity to the part, the features created prior could possibly change dimension and alter the entire design. Undefined or under-defined sketches are shown by either a (-) symbol next to the corresponding sketch in the FeatureManager (if the sketch is not being edited), or if the sketch is being edited, the lines or curves will be blue. Lines and endpoints will turn black when they are fully defined. How to define sketches Sketches can be properly defined in a number of ways. The simplest way to define a sketch is using the smart dimension tool. The smart dimension tool allows you to define the length, radius, or distance between lines or curves. It is a very simple tool that is the only true way to firmly define a length or radius in SolidWorks. NOTE: Defining the length or radius using the parameters pane that appears in the FeatureManager while editing a sketch feature is NOT the same as using the smart dimension tool. The parameters pane should not be used in the definition or creation of sketches at any time, as it does not create any actual definition or relations. The next tool that is used to define sketches is what is known as construction geometry or a centerline. These sketch entities are exactly the same as normal sketch entities, except they

display as a distinctively dashed curve or line and will not affect the outcome of the feature. They are solely used to relate conventional sketch entities to for simpler definition. For example, defining a circular hole pattern with a construction circle is much simpler because you can change the diameter of the hole pattern by modifying one dimension (that controlling the radius of the construction circle) rather than having to alter every spacing dimension in the hole pattern. The final and most useful tool that SolidWorks has included to define sketches is the add relations pane that appears under the FeatureManager. Relations are the simplest and most effective way to define sketches. There are a large number of context specific relations which can be used to define sketches, such as concentric, parallel, equal, collinear, horizontal, and vertical, to name a very small few. To add relations, simply select the elements you are trying to relate and select the proper relation type. Proper sketch characteristics and rules To create professional sketches, there are a few specific guidelines to follow. Pick the correct plane to sketch on, especially when creating the first feature within a part. You need to plan ahead and make sure your part is going to be completed in the correct orientation and is not going to be on its side or upside down when you are done. You also want features to be easily changed (if possible, from the feature level and not from the sketch level) to simplify future design modifications. Center parts around the origin. Origin-centered sketches and parts are almost always simpler to mate in assemblies (because of the plane alignment with other parts) and are easier to define because many features will be mirrored on the left and right or top and bottom halves of the sketch. Use as few smart dimensions as possible, while using as many relations as possible. Smart dimensions can only be changed manually, whereas relations (including construction geometry) are automatically updated every time the part is rebuilt. You will almost always have to use a few smart dimensions when creating sketch entities, but limiting the number is the key to success. Another advantage of doing this is that if you work in a multi-user environment (such as with Workgroup PDM), other users will most likely be able to reverse-engineer your sketching or designing technique and make modifications as necessary. Use external references whenever possible. Using external references saves a lot of time, especially when creating assemblies. This is because a series of similar parts can update with just one simple change. For example, if one hole goes through 3 parts in an assembly, sketch the hole and define it on the first part and then relate the sketches on the second and third part to the first part at the assembly level. This allows you to change all 3 holes by simply modifying the first part.

Avoid using the linear sketch pattern or circular sketch pattern tool. This tool is helpful on rare occasion, but more often than not it is does more harm than good. This is because the sketch pattern tools are not easily editable and do not have as many customizable settings as the feature pattern tools. Instead, use the feature patterning tools. Do not use the fix relation under any circumstances. The fix relation implies no precision in relation and should not be used to constrain sketch entities.

Creating Features
Features within SolidWorks are used to create bodies and surfaces, which all join together to form one part. There is a large variety of features available within SolidWorks, many of which are very specific in their use. However, there a few basic features that are used over and over again mainly extrudes and revolves. These are the features which are used an overwhelming majority of the time, and these are the only types of features that this guide will cover. Other features are much more in-depth, and for the most part there are not multiple methods for using them, so these rules of etiquette and experience do not apply. The 2 main features are very simple to use and are based solely on one 2-dimensional sketch to form the feature. Extrude features start with a cross-sectional sketch and then are (as the name implies) extruded in up to 2 directions linearly. Revolve features are very similar. They start with a cross-sectional sketch, which is then revolved around a selected sketch feature or reference axis to form or remove a uniform circular body. Proper feature characteristics and rules Creating parts using multiple features is simple to do, even with a novice understanding of SolidWorks. However, there are better methods than others, and the following guidelines outline proper and professional technique: As a general rule, start with the largest body and subtract from it with a series of cuts. This is in contrast to adding together a large amount of small bodies, all built off one another. The reason behind this is that whenever features reference other features within a part, parent-child relations are formed. If the latter technique is used and you need to modify a parent feature, there is a large chance each of the children will have errors upon rebuilding. Use the fewest amount of features possible when building a part. For example, when cutting a few individually sized holes, do not make each hole in an independent sketch and feature. Instead, place all of the holes in the same feature, or better yet, place the holes inside the parent feature. This is important because it eliminates redundancy when creating features and makes the part very organized and easy to understand for others.

Whenever possible, avoid using the blind option under direction on an extruded feature. Use relational settings, such as up to next or up to surface. Using this methods creates automatically updating child features (when the parent is updated) and simplifies future part revisions, for the same reasons as using relations instead of smart dimensions in sketch entities. Use linear or circular patterns whenever possible. This is helpful because it eliminates the need to repeat sketch entities inside of a sketch, which can be time consuming on more complex patterns. Feature patterns are easily modified by changing the pattern seed or pattern parameters, and that saves time.

Creating Assemblies
Creating properly mated and referenced assemblies can be a daunting task even for an experienced modeler. In an assembly, multiple parts are joined together using a variety of mates to create a final product. Mates can be simple, only involving 2 faces, edges, or planes (such as coincident, concentric, or tangent), or they can be complex and involve multiple faces, edges, or planes (such as symmetric or width). Mates can also be mechanical, but those mates require special circumstances to work properly and will not be discussed in this guide. Proper assembly characteristics and rules Setting up a proper amount of defining mates is essential to creating a good assembly. The following guidelines should be used when assigning mates and creating assemblies. Ensure that the first part in any assembly is mated and aligned properly to the origin. This is done by clicking directly on the center of the origin when the first component of the assembly is being inserted. This is critical because if this rule is not followed, assemblies are not constrained to any particular location in space and can move around freely. As a side note, if this step was properly performed, a (f) symbol (indicating fixed) will appear next to the component in the FeatureManager. Mate all parts to a fixed part within the assembly, no matter how indirectly. This is to prevent parts from shifting and allows them to be fully constrained with mates within the assembly. Mate all parts first by using planes, then faces, then edges, then points, then vertices. This hierarchy is very important because it is arranged in descending order from most definite to least definite in terms of alignment. A mate between 2 faces is much more definite and logical than one between an edge and a point. Mate all references to logical and similar faces, planes, or edges. The reason this is done is to promote simplicity in assemblies. By mating many parts to similar or the most logical items, the assembly remains very intuitive and simple to understand and modify in the future.

Try to use common mate entities whenever possible. In other words, try to mate entities as closely to the originated or fixed part as possible. This, again, promotes simplicity of design and allows an assembly design to be easily reverse-engineered by others. Be sure to fully constrain all parts. One of the common mistakes made when mating parts within assemblies is forgetting to mate one of the directions the part could move. This is especially noticeable with cylindrical parts, such as tubing, because there is no essential proper orientation around the circumference. This is easily fixed by mating the front plane of the tube parallel with the front plane of the entire assembly, for example. You will notice parts are fully constrained with mates because they do not display a (-) symbol next to the name in the FeatureManager. Do not use the lock mate under any circumstances. This mate does not imply any precision in mating and simply fixes any part in an arbitrary location. This is extremely unprofessional and should be avoided at all costs.

Example Stacked Traffic Cones

The following example details many of the proper rules and techniques explained above. The part being made is a single traffic cone, and the assembly being made is a stack of 3 identical traffic cones. This is what the final product will look like.

To start out, we are going to start with plane and feature selection. Since the cone is hollow and symmetrical, we will be starting our sketch on the front plane and planning to use a revolved boss feature to form the conical section. This is what the proper sketch looks like (see below). Note the use of only 5 dimensions and primary relations and construction lines. Also since this is the first sketch of the first feature in the part, it is directly related to the origin. The revolve feature is then simply created using the construction line (dashed, leftmost line on the sketch below) generated in the initial sketch.

The next feature to be created is that for the base of the cone. This feature is much more logical to plan for, because it is simply a rectangular extrusion located on the bottom of the cone and extruded upwards. The sketch for this rectangular extrusion is shown below. Note how there are only 2 dimensions on the sketch and all of the other relations used to fully define the sketch comes from construction lines and relations. These relations will automatically update if, say, the base of the cone needed to change in size, by simply changing the one dimension on the left side of the sketch. Additionally, you will notice that the base fillet of a radius of 2 inches was incorporated into the sketch rather than being added on in a separate feature. This is to keep the number of features to a minimum and to keep the part simple.

After this feature is created (using the blind option set to 0.5 inches), the cone is complete, and we can move on to the assembly.

Now for assembly. We are going to stack 3 of these traffic cones in an assembly using proper mating techniques. First we start by properly aligning the origins, by clicking directly on the origin. The result is shown below.

The final step is to mate the next 2 cones to the first cone. We first mate the outer base rings concentric with each other, and then we mate the top of one base with the bottom of the next. We also must mate all of the sides of the bases together, to eliminate rotation and completely define the stack of cones. The important distinction to make here is that the third cone is also concentrically mated directly to the first cone, as compared to mating the third cone to the second cone, which is mated to the third cone. This eliminates as many distant relations as possible and makes the assembly much simpler. Once this step has been accomplished, the assembly is complete.

Glossary
FeatureManager: pane which is by default located on the left side of the screen and displays all of the features within the part or all of the parts within the assembly part: smallest level of assembly hierarchy, always a single component and a single body assembly: largest level of hierarchy, a composition of a number of parts sketch: drawing within a part or assembly used to create features or for reference geometry feature: object created by converting a sketch to a 3-dimensional body sketch entity: any piece of a sketch, including lines and curves construction geometry: dashed lines used in creation of a sketch to aid in proper and complete definition convert entities: sketch tool used to translate sketch entities, faces, or edges from another plane to the current sketch plane extrude: feature that extrudes a cross-sectional sketch in up to 2 directions revolve: feature that revolves a cross-sectional sketch around a central axis or linear sketch entity parent: base feature that secondary features are based off of child: feature(s) referencing parental feature mate: assembly feature used to align and define parts to other parts and sub-assemblies

Whomever it may concern, I am a former student of the GE 1111 curriculum here at Northeastern University. While the class was very well organized and laid out, and successfully taught many students the absolute bare-bones essentials of using programs such as SolidWorks and AutoCAD to prepare for the upcoming first co-op, the course was lacking in one major area. The course did not address any of the professional etiquette or conventions of using these programs. These conventions can only be conveyed through experience, and, frankly, this course did not address any of these rules. Fortunately I had past experience using SolidWorks before taking the course, or else it would have been a very rude awakening on the first day of co-op. Attached to this letter you will find The Unofficial Guide to SolidWorks Etiquette. This document outlines and thoroughly illustrates many of the common conventions used by a vast majority of professional SolidWorks users in the workplace. I would strongly suggest incorporating this into the future curriculum at least in some way, shape, or form, as it conveys what I believe is very important and effective knowledge to the upcoming GE1111 students, who will greatly benefit from this additional information on their first and future co-op experiences.

Respectfully, Nick Bradshaw Mechanical Engineering, Class of 2016

Dear Nick, Your Unofficial Guide is great! I found it very comprehensive, and especially liked your use of pictures to illustrate the SolidWorks process, the examples you used, and the glossary that you included. You also did a consistently good job of keeping the document professional, avoiding colloquialisms which are important when writing a technical document such as this. I know nothing about SolidWorks or what it does, but I feel that I have a better understanding from reading your reference document. Your cover letter was clear and concise, something I feel a professor would appreciate when designing the curriculum for GE 1111. I found your introduction slightly confusing, you should try and use that space to really give a simple explanation without all the Mechanical Engineering terminology, so that readers will know exactly what they are going to be looking at within the reference document (a more abstract overview). While your use of visual aids was fantastic, I feel you could add more to the beginning of the document (perhaps just the basic SolidWorks screen?). In addition, you may want to think about reformatting the pictures so that the text is easily readable (maybe making the text to go with each picture a caption, rather than a paragraph). Overall I thought you did a great job of creating a comprehensive document that will certainly help students navigating what seems like a relatively complex piece of software. I hope my comments help you on your final draft. Good luck, feel free to email me with any further questions/concerns. Sincerely, Sumita Mukund