SolidWorks 2022: Part Modeling Features for Refinement

Name: SolidWorks 2022: Part Modeling Features for Refinement
Author: Will Tenney

Learn the most commonly used features for editing and refining 3D volumes

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Course: On-Demand

Hi, my name is Will Tenney, and in this lesson we discuss the following feature tool, the hole wizard. So what I've drawn here is a steel flange to accept tubing or piping, and this is going to attach either to a wall or to the floor. I have my base of the flange. I have my receptacle, which I've established a one degree draft on both sides of. I've also filleted all the corners because it's going to be casted. What I'm missing are some directions on where the holes need to go for attachment as well as what those holes are, how big they are, some of the feature dimensions of it, some of the aspects. I could do all this with the cut tool or the revolve cut, but instead we have another one called the hole wizard, up here in the command manager, that can allow us to assign everything we need to assign about these holes as we create them. The hole wizard feature has two tabs. There's type and position. Type describes the type of hole you plan to drill to accept whatever screw you're trying to accept. And the position is where those holes are going to live, both in two dimensional space as well as what surface they're going to be cutting through. First thing we see is the hole type. If we mouse over any of these options we get an idea of what they are. I'm gonna stick with the counter sync which I have currently selected. Next, we need to select the type of screw standard that we're going to be using. We have a pretty large list here, like ISO standard or DIN. I'm going to use ANSI inch for this one. And then we can select the type of flathead screw within the ANSI inch library. And I'm gonna go for this 82 degree. We can select the size of the screw within that ANSI library. I'm going to stick with number eight. We can also select how tight the fit around that screw is going to be when we make our cut. We can make it close if we're doing high precision. We can make it loose if we're trying to have nice loose tolerance, maybe there's issues with hole alignment or maybe the manufacturing process dictates that we need to use something more loose. I'm going to go for loose. We can also choose how loose that's going to be in this custom sizing chart. Now because we chose number eight and 82 degrees and flathead, it's made some default selections for us which I'm going to keep. But if I wanted to, I could use these toggle arrows to really customize the cut for myself if I need it to be just a little bit different. And then finally, we get to decide if we want to cut through the entire unit, in which case I will because it's going to be drilling into something. We can cut up to a vertex. We can cut up to a surface, just like a regular cut extrude. We can also assign things like head clearance. This is actually kind of nifty. If you want your counter sunk screw to live below the surface that it's being cut into then head clearance gives you that space. You can see from this little icon here how it describes that space. I always give myself a little bit of head clearance. Let's say a millimeter for right now. Here we go. We can do a far side counter sync in addition to the near side counter sync if we like. We don't need that for this, so I'm going to deselect that. Now that I've got the exact cut I want to accept the screws I plan to use. I need to select the positions on this flange. First thing I'm gonna do is select a face and then it's going to allow me to place these anywhere I want to. One thing I recommend is already have some points laid out in a previous sketch to place all your screws. That way if you ever need to go back, you don't have to open up the counter sync feature and open up that sketch. You have a reference sketch which is always recommended when using SolidWorks. We're going to select those points. You can see the program automatically snaps a coincident relationship to each one. And let's go ahead and look at the dimensionality of these guys. Okay, I'm going to accept this. All right. As we can see, it's made nice cuts. These holes are concentric to the fillets on the edge. Everything looks good. Thanks for tuning in. In the next lesson we'll discuss the following feature tools, fillets and ribs.

Beginner Provider : Will Tenney 6 Lessons · 24m in Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese

Course Description

This module is about adding refinements to existing 3D volumes. These types of refinements might include how the edge of a mass is smoothed or perhaps how to turn a 3D mass from a block into a container that has interior space. This is also where most of the design-for-manufacturing tends to occur, in the details of how these 3D refinements are applied.

This module begins with how to add through holes into a mass to prepare it for fastening hardware. It then discussed how to smooth or cut sharp edges of 3D masses and add ribbing for parts that require internal structural support. Following that are tools that add draft angle and create shells. Once your mass is refined, you will learn tools of how to duplicate, pattern, and mirror that mass to create multiple bodies in your Solidworks part file.

Within each of these tools that will be discussed in this module are methods for controlling specific details of how those tools behave when applied to your part. Like all features in Solidworks, these tools can be controlled with relationships and dimensions as well as edited later on if design changes are required.

What You'll Learn

Apply through holes to a mass using the Hole Wizard to prepare it for fastening hardware
Treat the edges of 3D volumes by smoothing or cutting sharp edges with fillets
Add draft angle or taper to a 3D volume for design-for-manufacturing
Remove the interior of a volume with shells and add structural ribbing for internal support
Create multiples of an existing volume or feature using patterns and mirrors
Edit materials and review mass properties of a refined part

Key Takeaways

This module focuses on adding refinements to existing 3D volumes, such as smoothing edges or turning a solid block into a container with interior space.
Most design-for-manufacturing occurs in the details of how these 3D refinements are applied.
The tools covered include adding through holes, treating edges, adding ribbing, applying draft angle, and creating shells.
Patterns and mirrors let you duplicate a refined mass or feature to create multiple bodies within a SolidWorks part file.
Like all SolidWorks features, these tools can be controlled with relationships and dimensions and edited later if design changes are required.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does this SolidWorks 2022 module cover?

It covers adding refinements to existing 3D volumes, including through holes for hardware, edge treatments, ribbing for internal structural support, draft angle, shells, and duplicating masses with patterns and mirrors.

What lessons are included in this course?

The lessons are Hole Wizard; Fillet and Rib; Draft, Shell, and Mirror; Feature Patterns; Edit Materials; and Mass Properties.

What skills will I build in this course?

You will build skills in 3D Modeling, 3D Modeling Software, Geometric Modeling, SketchUp (3D Modeling Software), Solid Modeling, and SolidWorks (CAD).

Can the refinement features be edited after they are applied?

Yes. Like all features in SolidWorks, these tools can be controlled with relationships and dimensions and edited later on if design changes are required.

How do I create multiple copies of a part feature?

You will learn tools to duplicate, pattern, and mirror a mass to create multiple bodies in your SolidWorks part file, with methods for controlling how those tools behave.