Board logo

Solidworks chassis
tenicus - 7/11/07 at 12:11 AM

This is not locost specific but I know these boards are active.
Is there anyway to do 1x1 inch square tubing in Solidworks?
"Structural Members" only allows for 2x2 and up.

Also, it is a hood, not a bonnet.


Alan B - 7/11/07 at 12:25 AM

yes, but I can't recall exactly right now...it is easy though...it involves making a sketch and saving it as a profile


Alan B - 7/11/07 at 12:27 AM

Something like this.........


To create a weldment profile:

Open a new part.

Sketch a profile. Keep in mind that when you create a weldment structural member using the profile:

The origin of the sketch becomes the default pierce point.

You can select any vertex or sketch point in the sketch as an alternate pierce point.

Close the sketch.

In the FeatureManager design tree, select Sketch1.

Click File, Save As.

In the dialog box:

In Save in, browse to <install_dir>dataweldment profiles and select or create an appropriate subfolder. See Weldments - File Location for Custom Profiles.

In Save as type, select Lib Feat Part (*.sldlfp).

Type a name for Filename.

Click Save.


flak monkey - 7/11/07 at 07:54 AM

Alans got it. Or you can open an existing profile and modify that, which may be better, as sometimes one created from scratch doesnt work properly for some reason.

David


Beardy_John - 7/11/07 at 01:55 PM

Hi all,

I am in the process of drawing up the standard "book" chassis in Solidworks using weldments. What I did was to open an exisiting profile (i.e. 2x2), re-save it in the same folder as its new size (i.e. 1x1) and then alter the dims accordingly. It then appears in the drop down list to use. I have found this is the easiest way to do it as it keeps all the anchor points in the right place, if you want to rotate/move a profile its a piece of p**s


Echidna - 7/11/07 at 07:53 PM

Could anyone help me on this?
When i design a certain weldment (spaceframe) and i try then to make a FEA analysis through Cosmoworks, the program tells that the part is open0body and cannot analyse it as a single system. You can only analyze one member at once. How can i turn the weldment to a closed body and be able to analyze it with CosmoWorks?


cossey - 7/11/07 at 08:33 PM

the weldment fea with cosmo only works with solidworks 2007 onwards


Echidna - 7/11/07 at 08:40 PM

I use Solidworks 2007 SP0.0!


Beardy_John - 7/11/07 at 09:09 PM

If i remember rightly, you need to make the weldment assembly a single part. Try saving the file as a part file. This should then make Cosmos think its a sinlge solid body.
Will be able to check for sure when I get back to work tomorrow


Echidna - 7/11/07 at 09:11 PM

Thought the same thing.
Unfortunately, the file is already a .part and you cannot change it. I converted it to .igs and then again to a .part but nothing still...


Beardy_John - 7/11/07 at 09:13 PM

Have you added any welds to the chassis frame??? Would this make it more "solid"? Again, would have to check tomorrow


Alan B - 8/11/07 at 12:15 AM

Don't you just merge the bodies into one?


Echidna - 8/11/07 at 05:30 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Alan B
Don't you just merge the bodies into one?


How could you do this???


Alan B - 8/11/07 at 09:54 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Echidna
quote:
Originally posted by Alan B
Don't you just merge the bodies into one?


How could you do this???


After some investigation and research I have to say.........I have no idea....


kikiturbo - 8/11/07 at 10:46 PM

you need to combine all the elements,you select all the structural members in the list on the left, and go Insert - features - Combine

also, you should switch to SW 2007 as that one has propper beam analysis that actually works..


kb58 - 9/11/07 at 12:19 AM

"Insert > Features"to combine tubes... that's intuitive


Neville Jones - 9/11/07 at 11:40 AM

The guys who do this stuff where I work, say that you can only do the fea if it has been drawn as solid bars, then 'thin walled.' Apparently, weldments doesn't work for fea too well, at least with SW 6 versions.

Cheers,
Nev.


kikiturbo - 9/11/07 at 06:44 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Neville Jones
The guys who do this stuff where I work, say that you can only do the fea if it has been drawn as solid bars, then 'thin walled.' Apparently, weldments doesn't work for fea too well, at least with SW 6 versions.

Cheers,
Nev.


you are right, I did a short "tutorial" on the FEA in SW2006, it is somewhere on the site, and the only way I could do it was by using solid bars, and then using a shell mesh, and defining the shell thickness to be the tube thickness I wanted to use... that worked ok.. but beam analisys in 2007 is much faster..


kb58 - 11/11/07 at 04:27 PM

How much does Solidworks 2007 cost? I couldn't find the price anywhere. I know it's sold through VARs instead of direct, but Solidworks themselves doesn't list any pricing... and I'm not including a 24-month student copy.

[edit] sigh... it's very expensive, somewhere between $2500-$8000, plus about $1200 annual maintenace. So much for that.

[Edited on 11/11/07 by kb58]


Doug68 - 11/11/07 at 09:52 PM

Or there's the cracked version widely available as a Torrent, though of course this is illegal and I'd never do such a thing.

SolidWorks 2007 Torrent.

Azureus Bit Torrent Client

I have to wonder though now and again if some software companies don't deliberately turn a blind eye to this sort of thing as some sort of undercover marketing exercise.

SolidEdge in comparison (which is what I use) has never as far as I can find been available as a Torrent or if it has it been taken down since.

Morality Statement:
Whilst you may be able to justify to yourself non-profit work done with bogey software. If you're making money off the exercise you should pay for it or be ashamed of yourself.


RazMan - 12/11/07 at 12:05 AM

pfffff 2007 is sooooo last year - get up to date

Solidworks 2008

I definitely agree with Doug's endorsement though - if you like it and use it professionally then BUY it.


Doug68 - 12/11/07 at 12:30 AM

I unreservedly apologize for referring to out of date software


kb58 - 12/11/07 at 12:34 AM

Thanks guys, but the links specifically block out access from the U.S. I can understand why...

I'm currently looking for alternatives, knowing full well what I'm going to find for cheap.


RazMan - 12/11/07 at 12:37 AM

Interesting - I didn't realise that you can't access Bit Torrent sites in the US. That must cramp your style a bit You might want to look at Rhinoceros or Autodesk Inventor as (also expensive) alternatives.

At the REALLY cheap end of the market you could try Sketchup. There is a freeware version somewhere with an option to upgrade to the Pro version. A bit basic but surprisingly versatile.

[Edited on 12-11-07 by RazMan]


kb58 - 12/11/07 at 04:35 AM

Well I don't know about all bit-torrent sites, but the above two are locked out. I know about Sketchup but haven't tried it. I think it's from/through Google, which is probably a good thing. I just can't believe that it can be that good for free.

Also, since I use Vista, I've run into some real problems even downloading legal trial versions. They flat-out don't work, so either they're crap, which I doubt, or Vista is...


Doug68 - 12/11/07 at 06:24 AM

Ha Ha! America land of the free (to consume)! Sorry couldn't resist

You probably know this already but most of the CAD issues on Vista are to do with OpenGL.
OpenGL graphics acceleration used used by most serious CAD packages and in Vista Microsoft have wound back support for it, as they want to force everyone to Direct X which is their technology.

This has been causing major headaches for all the CAD vendors I believe.


RazMan - 12/11/07 at 08:53 AM

Yep, Vista causes me a few problems to say the least, especially the 64 bit flavour. I upgraded my 'puter to a quad core beast with Vista and have all sorts of problems with CAD progs. I think that is why most of the CAD companies have hastily brought out new versions which (hopefully) get around these issues.

In my experience anything with '2007' or later in the title seem to work ok - anything else needs XP. Very frustrating if you have just upgraded but you can alway dual boot your system for ultimate compatability.

[Edited on 12-11-07 by RazMan]


Doug68 - 12/11/07 at 10:57 AM

Dual boot??? Now THAT is old school Virtual Machines are the way to go these days.

Kb58, I suspect it's your ISP and not the NSA thats blocking the Torrent sites, probably from fear of being sued by Hollywood. There are sites such as http://www.unblockanything.com/ that are designed to get around this.

[Edited on 12/11/07 by Doug68]


ettore bugatti - 12/11/07 at 12:58 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Doug68

I have to wonder though now and again if some software companies don't deliberately turn a blind eye to this sort of thing as some sort of undercover marketing exercise.




Yes, They do.
I heared from someone that followed an official S****works training course that the tutor was handing out illegal copies to practise at home

The idea is that if employees are warm upped for the software they might convince their boss to buy it.


kb58 - 12/11/07 at 02:13 PM

quote:
Kb58, I suspect it's your ISP and not the NSA thats blocking the Torrent sites, probably from fear of being sued by Hollywood. There are sites such as http://www.unblockanything.com/ that are designed to get around this.

[Edited on 12/11/07 by Doug68]


It's blocked at the source. The bit-torrent front page comes up, but basically says, "I see you're from the U.S.; to avoid us any potential unpleasentness for us, we are asking you to leave."

[Edited on 11/12/07 by kb58]


RazMan - 12/11/07 at 07:44 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Doug68
Dual boot??? Now THAT is old school Virtual Machines are the way to go these days.




I thought that too, but when I got all trendy and installed MS Virtual PC I found that XP was so clunky that I decided dual booting was much more useable, especially in CAD progs - sometimes the old'un is the good'un


WanchaiWarrior - 12/11/07 at 10:45 PM

quote:
Originally posted by kb58
quote:
Kb58, I suspect it's your ISP and not the NSA thats blocking the Torrent sites, probably from fear of being sued by Hollywood. There are sites such as http://www.unblockanything.com/ that are designed to get around this.

[Edited on 12/11/07 by Doug68]


It's blocked at the source. The bit-torrent front page comes up, but basically says, "I see you're from the U.S.; to avoid us any potential unpleasentness for us, we are asking you to leave."

[Edited on 11/12/07 by kb58]


Ive heard there is some software around that hides one's ISP, that might help


jono_misfit - 13/11/07 at 05:25 PM

Autodesk inventor you can get a free full copy if your a student that lasts for a year.

You may be able to download if your not a student but not 100% sure.

address is www.students.autodesk.com

worth a try


40inches - 20/11/07 at 04:14 PM

$50 for a DVD full of software+Nero+ISO Buster here

http://www.cdrbstore.net/software_list_dvd.php?CHAR=[r-zR-Z]

fast delivery and reliable, so I've heard