Beginners Guide to

SolidWorks 2011 Level II

NEW

Level II
with Advanced topics
to prepare for the
Certified SolidWorks
Associate Exam:
Sheet Metal, Molds,
Surfacing, Weldments,
Multi Bodies and
more

Alejandro Reyes, MSME

Certified SolidWorks Professional

SDC

PUBLICATIONS

www.SDCpublications.com
Schroff Development Corporation

Beginner's Guide to SolidWorks 2011 Level II

Multi Body Parts

As we stated earlier, multi body parts allow us to do certain operations that would
be difficult to accomplish with a single body part. First, well talk about how to
make multi body parts, and after that how to use them.
1. Multi body parts are made by adding material that is not connected to the
current solid, that is purposely not merged to it, or by splitting an existing body.
To show this, make a new part, and add a sketch to the Front plane as shown.
We will not worry about dimensions here as we are just illustrating the concept of
how multi bodies work.

2. Select the Boss Extrude command. Notice that we are not given a warning
about having two separate bodies; it just works. Extrude any size that looks
similar to the following image (dimensions are not important at this time) and click
OK to finish. (Making two or more extruded/revolved/swept/lofted features would
work just the same.)

The first thing we notice is a new folder in the FeatureManager called Solid
Bodies(2). This folder is automatically added when SolidWorks detects multiple
disjointed bodies in a part and lists the number of bodies found in the part (in this
case, 2). If we expand the folder, we can see the two bodies in our part listed
under it. The important thing to know and remember is that multi body parts are
not to be confused or used as an assembly; parts and assemblies have
significant differences and each serves a different purpose. A multi body part is
used mostly as a means to an end.
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Beginner's Guide to SolidWorks 2011 Level II

3. The next step is to add a new feature. When working in a multi body part we
can make local operations; for example, a shell feature affecting only one body.
Select the Shell command from the Features toolbar, and shell the bottom body
as indicated.

4. Select the Fillet command and round two corners to the top body as shown.

To
help
the
reader
understand the concept of
local
operations
better,
local means that we can add
applied features (features that don't
require a sketch like Shell, Fillet,
Chamfer, Draft, etc.) to each body
separately. Notice the name of a
body changes to the last feature
applied to it.

Beginner's Guide to SolidWorks 2011 Level II

5. When working with multi body parts, adding more features automatically
selects existing bodies to modify; this is the default behavior. Optionally, we can
select which bodies to merge (or fuse with) to make a single body, or select
which bodies to cut. Here we'll make a new boss and explore the option to merge
two existing bodies. Select the front face of a body and make the following sketch.

6. Extrude the sketch into the existing bodies. Notice the Merge result option
in the Extrude command. It's always been there (except when there are no
existing bodies), and by default is always checked. A new option at the bottom of
the Extrude command is Feature Scope. This is where we can select which
bodies to affect, either All bodies or Selected bodies and either is
automatically or manually selected. By default Feature Scope is set to Selected
bodies and Auto-select. These two options mean that by default the new
feature will merge with any body it intersects. Uncheck Merge result and click
OK to finish (when unchecked, Feature Scope is automatically removed.)

Beginner's Guide to SolidWorks 2011 Level II

7. The result is three bodies in our part. See how the different bodies edges
intersect each other. If we had left the Merge result option checked, we would
not see these edges overlapping as they would have merged into a single body.
Edit the definition of the last extrusion to explore the effect of different Merge
Result and Feature Scope combinations.

Combination:
Merge Result: Checked
Feature Scope: Auto-Select

Result:
Single body. By touching both existing bodies
Auto-select merges them, fusing them into a
single solid body. The Solid Bodies folder is
no longer visible.

Beginner's Guide to SolidWorks 2011 Level II

Merge result: Checked

Auto-select: Unchecked
Add shell body to selection
box

Two bodies. We are telling the Boss-Extrude to

merge only to the Shell body (or whichever we
pick). Notice the edges of the upper body and
the Boss-Extrude overlap, as they are different
bodies.

8. The Merge result option works the same way with any feature that adds
material to the part, including revolved boss, sweep, loft, etc. Now well see how
it works when we remove material. Delete the Boss-Extrude feature and keep
the sketch. Select the sketch and click in Cut-Extrude using the Through All
option. In this case the only difference from a boss extrude is that we only have
the Feature Scope option at the bottom with the same selection options: All
bodies or Selected Bodies, and with the Auto-select or manually selected
bodies. Leave the Auto-select option on and click OK to finish.

Beginner's Guide to SolidWorks 2011 Level II

9. What we end up with is the same two bodies we had before, but now they
have a cut through them.

10. Edit the Cut-Extrude definition, turn off the Auto-select option in the
Feature Scope, and select only the top body. Click OK to finish. Now we are
only modifying the top solid, even if the Cut-Extrude overlaps the lower body.

And just as with the features that add material, this technique works the same
way with all the features that remove material including revolved cut, sweep cut,
loft cut, etc.

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Beginner's Guide to SolidWorks 2011 Level II

11. Modeling with multi bodies is a powerful technique to model parts that
would otherwise be difficult to complete. One frequently used technique is called
bridging; this means to connect two or more bodies by adding material between
them to merge into a single solid body. Reasons to use this technique may
include a model where we know what opposite sides/ends of a part look like, but
we may not know what the middle (the bridge) should be like. For our example
well assume that we need to design a cars wheel. We know what the actual tire
and hub dimensions should be, but we dont know yet what the spokes will look
like; we just know it has to look great .
Well assume the dimensions for the wheel are as shown in the following
sketches. The first part of the wheel will be the hub or mounting pad. Draw the
following sketch in the Right plane and make a 360Boss-Revolve. Tire
dimensions are usually in millimeters. Since the sketch dimensions are given in
millimeters, be sure to change your parts dimensions accordingly (Tools,
Options, Document Options, Units). Pay attention to the diameter dimensions
(doubled about the horizontal centerline).

12. Make a pattern of 5 holes to mount the wheel to the car.

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Beginner's Guide to SolidWorks 2011 Level II

13. Now well make the wheels rim that matches the tire. Draw the following
sketch also in the Right plane. (The 330 mm diameter dimension is doubled
about the horizontal centerline as diameter.)
TIP: Make the two short lines on the sides equal, and the two lines
connected to the 12mm horizontal line also equal.

14. After finishing the sketch, make a Revolved-Boss. Since this is an open
sketch we will be warned about closing it if we dont want a thin feature. Select
NO when asked. Make a thin revolved feature 5mm thick going inside.

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Beginner's Guide to SolidWorks 2011 Level II

After finishing the revolved feature, we can see that now we have two bodies.

15. Now we need to make the spoke in the wheel; this is the part where we can
get creative. Well assume our limitations are defined by the hub and the actual
rim where the tire mounts. Well design the first spoke and will not merge it to
any other body; well have to make a couple of local operations on the spoke and
show how to make a body pattern later on. Switch to a Right view and add a
sketch in the Right plane. Change to Hidden Lines Visible mode for visibility. A
shaded model is shown for sketch clarity. Make arcs tangent to both lines and
each other, and with equal radii. The vertical lines are coincident to the first hole
in the hub and the rims outside edge. This will be the path for a sweep.

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Beginner's Guide to SolidWorks 2011 Level II

16. Exit the sketch and make a new plane parallel to the Top plane coincident
to the top endpoint of the previous sketch on which to draw the profile.

17. Switch to a Top view, add a new sketch to the new plane and draw the
following sketch. This sketch will be the Profile for the sweep. The arc is tangent
to the edge where the path starts. Exit the sketch when done.

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Beginner's Guide to SolidWorks 2011 Level II

18. Select the Sweep command; pick the second sketch for the profile and the
first one as the path. In the Options, uncheck Merge Result as we still need to
make a couple more operations before merging all bodies. Click OK to finish.

19. Now we have three bodies. To continue, well hide the first two and only
leave the Sweep body visible. Select each of the other two bodies and hide
them.

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Beginner's Guide to SolidWorks 2011 Level II

20. After we are left with only the Sweep body, select the Shell command and
remove the ends and back of the body. Make the shell 3mm thick.

21. We need to make a cylindrical cut to the top; otherwise well have a part of
the Sweep coming through the top. Show the Revolve-Thin body to see it.

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Beginner's Guide to SolidWorks 2011 Level II

22. Hide the Revolve-Thin feature again and switch to a

Right view. Add a new sketch in the Right plane as
shown. We are making the cut just under the top to make
sure the Sweep body (now named Shell1) will not go
through the top. Add a horizontal centerline at the origin
to make the Revolved Cut about it.

23. Select the Revolved Cut command. What we want to do is to cut only the
spoke body, and nothing else. Under Feature Scope uncheck Auto-select
and select the spoke body only.

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Beginner's Guide to SolidWorks 2011 Level II

24. After clicking OK we get a new dialog box asking us which bodies we want
to keep, since the cut we are making divides the spoke in three pieces. Pick the
Selected bodies option, and check the box for the spokes largest piece which
we are interested in keeping. Click OK to complete. In this case we still have our
three original bodies and discard the two smaller ones.

25. If we had opted to keep all three bodies after the Revolved Cut, we would
have five bodies in our part. To eliminate the two extra bodies we dont want, we
have to delete them. Select the two bodies, right mouse click and select Delete
Bodies. Make sure the correct bodies are selected and click OK to finish.

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Beginner's Guide to SolidWorks 2011 Level II

A new feature Body-Delete is added to the FeatureManager.

For our example well use the approach to select the bodies to keep at the time
of making the Cut-Revolve instead of deleting the remaining bodies with an
additional operation.
26. Now add a Full Round Fillet to each of the sides of the Spoke. Select the
Fillet command with the Full Round option. Select both side and center faces to
round both sides of the spoke. Two fillets will be added.

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Beginner's Guide to SolidWorks 2011 Level II

27. We are now ready to pattern the spoke body. To show the hidden bodies,
select them in the Solid Bodies folder and click in the Show command.

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Beginner's Guide to SolidWorks 2011 Level II

28. Select the Circular Pattern command, but instead of making a pattern of
features, well make a pattern of bodies. Select a circular edge to define the
patterns axis and expand the Bodies to Pattern selection box. In the graphics
area, select the Spoke and make 7 copies equally spaced in 360 degrees. Click
OK to finish.

29. Now we have nine solid bodies in our part.

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Beginner's Guide to SolidWorks 2011 Level II

30. We are ready to combine all solids into a single body. Select all bodies in
the FeatureManager, right mouse click on them, and select Combine Bodies
from the pop-up menu, or from the menu Insert, Features, Combine, and
select all the bodies in the graphics area.

31. Select the Add option and click OK to finish.

combined into a single solid.

32. Add a 5mm fillet to the faces indicated.

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All bodies are now

Beginner's Guide to SolidWorks 2011 Level II

33. To add a similar fillet to the other side of the Spokes, first we need to add a
fillet to the Rims body. If we try to add the fillet after the bodies are combined,
the fillet will fail. Drag the Rollback bar from the bottom of the FeatureManager
before the Combine1 feature and add a 20mm fillet to the indicated edge.

34. Drag the Rollback bar down to the bottom when

finished.

35. Add a 5 mm fillet to the face of the previous fillet to propagate it to all
Spokes at the same time.

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Beginner's Guide to SolidWorks 2011 Level II

36. Your finished wheel should now look like this:

I know this is not a good-looking wheel, but its a good example to show how to
work with multi body parts and perform local operations. We'd love to see the
designs from our readers; please email us a picture to [email protected].

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Beginner's Guide to SolidWorks 2011 Level II

37. Now well learn more about combining bodies. What we did with the wheel
was to add bodies, in essence merging or fusing them. The other two operations
we can do when combining bodies is to subtract one or more bodies from
another, or get the common volume between them. To obtain the common
volume between bodies, first we need two bodies that intersect. Open a new
part and draw the following sketch in the Right plane.

38. Make a Boss-Extrude as a Thin Feature. The extrusions depth will be 3

and the thickness of the part 0.5 inside.

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Beginner's Guide to SolidWorks 2011 Level II

39. For the next feature, add a sketch in the Top face of the first feature.
Looking at it from a Top view should look like this:

Notice the only dimension we need to add is the holes diameter; everything else
is defined with geometric relations.
40. Extrude the second sketch downwards with the Through All end
condition, and be sure to uncheck the Merge result checkbox. We want to
have two separate bodies.

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Beginner's Guide to SolidWorks 2011 Level II

41. Now that we have two separate bodies, we can combine them to get the
common volume. Select the menu Insert, Features, Combine; or from the
Solid Bodies folder in the FeatureManager select BOTH bodies, right mouse
click in either one and select Combine from the pop-up menu.

42. In the Combine operation select the Common option under Operation
Type. Click on the Preview button to see what the resulting body will look like
and click OK to finish.

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Beginner's Guide to SolidWorks 2011 Level II

43. The next operation to cover is the difference between bodies. One common
use for a body difference is to obtain a molds core and/or cavity (which well
cover later in the book), but here well show how to obtain the volume capacity of
an irregularly shaped bottle. Download the part Bottle.sldprt from our website
(www.mechanicad.com/download.html) and open it. In order to obtain a volume
with the inside capacity of the bottle, we need to make a new solid body that will
enclose the bottle up to the fill level. Make a new sketch in the Front plane and
draw a rectangle as shown. Make the extrusion big enough to cover the entire
bottle and uncheck the Merge result option.

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Beginner's Guide to SolidWorks 2011 Level II

44. Now that we have the two solid bodies, select the menu Insert, Features,
Combine. Select the Subtract option under Operation Type. In order to
get a difference, we need to select the body that we want to remove material
from (Main Body) and the body(ies) that we want to remove from it. In the Main
Body selection box, select the body just created, and under Bodies to
Subtract select the Bottle. Click OK when done selecting.

45. We are immediately presented with the Bodies to Keep dialog. There
are two bodies resulting from the operation, but we are interested only in the
inside body. Select the inside body and click OK to finish.

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Beginner's Guide to SolidWorks 2011 Level II

46. Now we have the actual volume of the bottle up to the fill line. Notice that
when we subtract one body from another, the original bodies are consumed and
we are left with only the resulting difference. After running a Mass Properties
analysis, we can see that the volume of liquid inside the bottle up to the fill line is
25.1 cubic inches. Save and close the part.

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