SolidWorks 2016- Sweep Feature

The Sweep feature has been a common tool to create a profile and extrude it along a sketched path.  

With the release of 2016 version of SolidWorks there have been significant functional upgrades:

Consider the following handrail and spindle assembly:

The spindle is incomplete.  To make changes to the part we need to first right click in the part (since we are currently in assembly) and select edit part. 

Now we can edit the component.  To complete the spindle we want to select the Sweep Boss/ Base feature from the features menu.

Once the Sweep feature is selected you may notice that there are two radial buttons under Profile and Path:

The first radial button is Sketch Profile, which is the original sweep that requires two profiles to complete.  

The second selection is Circular Profile which allows you to select a path and SolidWorks will fill in the sweep with a default circular profile.  

This is a very handy tool and a big time saver since many applications require sweep of a circular profile.  The designer no longer has to create a second circular sketch.

However, in this case we want to use the square shaped profile therefore we select the Sketch Profile and fill in the Profile and Path.  Please note that there is a new Bidirectional option that will allow sweep to be applied in both directions upwards and downwards.  

Once the sweep directions are set, the designer may apply additional options such as twisting in the profile.  In this case we have set the twisting to be a full revolution downwards and an opposite full revolution upwards to complete our spindle.

By applying the sweep function and patterning the spindle across the frame we have a completed rail assembly.

The improved functionality to the sweep function is meant to help designers streamline the design process.  

SolidWorks Simulation 2016 - Contact Sets

Contact Sets - New in SolidWorks Simulation 2016

When a designer is putting together an assembly there may be a few missed mates which will cause the part to be free and unrestrained.  Usually the designer will need to go back and find the missing mate to fully restrain the assembly.  This is a similar concept to contact sets in simulation where a designer must define contact sets or the connection conditions between elements.  This was typically a difficult task that involved looking through the model to find the missing contact set. 

Consider a crane tower as shown:

We will setup a simulation study for this crane tower where it is fixed on the ground and experiencing horizontal and vertical loads at the top.  

Before running the study, the designer now has a new tool to help check for free moving bodies.  This tool is found by right clicking Connections then selecting “Find Underconstrained Bodies”

With the new tool selected, the designer may use the tool by selecting “calculate”.  This allows the software to run a simplified analysis to find whether there are under-restrained bodies.

The results return by isolating and clearly highlighting bodies of interest and showing all modes in which it is under-constrained.  In this case, Body 1 is shown as free floating and can move in every direction. 

This is a problem for the simulation analysis.

Upon closer inspection it was determined that this crane tower was originally modeled with a small gap between the elements to account for welding and tolerances. 

Usually the designer would need to create individual contact sets to account for the gap, however also new to SOLIDWORKS SIMULATION 2016 is the ability to accommodate small gaps.  This option is found under Connections> Component Contacts > Global Contact > Edit definition

Under the component contact option, the designer now has the ability to include “Non-touching faces” by selecting a gap size to treat as bonded.

This is one more tool to help designers be more efficient and effective when using SolidWorks Simulation by spending less time finding missing contact sets and more time analyzing the results.  

New in SolidWorks Simulation 2016 - Ability to section the mesh

New in SOLIDWORKS  Simulation 2016

  SolidWorks Simulation is a great tool to test your part in a virtual environment to understand how it behaves under loading conditions.  Consider the following simple hook:

We are going to run a simple simulation study on this hook to determine how it behaves.  The hook is fixed at the eyelet at the top and it is experiencing a 1000 N force downward. 

By running the finite element analysis we get our results

We see that the hook is experiencing a maximum stress of 12Mpa at the expected location.  As part of the simulation process, the software ‘meshes’ the part by breaking it into small elements to prepare it for analysis.

  New to SolidWorks Simulation 2016 is the ability to section the mesh.  This may be done before or after the analysis, as long as the part is meshed, you can section it.

Sectioning will show all the elements intersecting the plane of choice.  This ability ensures that you have the desired mesh density at any location in your model.  Areas of high stress concentration will require higher mesh density for accurate results.  Using mesh sectioning you can now see how the mesh is distributing throughout the entire model.  

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SolidWorks 2016 New User Interface

SOLIDWORKS 2016 - New User Interface

SolidWorks 2016 is here with many new upgrades.  First and foremost let’s look at the new user interface:

All the icons have been updated to increase clarity and consistency across the software.  Text and icons scale now scale with operating system preferences and the software supports high resolution monitor displays up to 5K.

Functionally let’s take a look at a few new features in SolidWorks 2016.  To take advantage of the screen real-estate you can hide the feature manager tree.

However, in doing so you lose access to all your features and important model information.  New to SolidWorks 2016 is a tool called Breadcrumbs. 

When you click on the model in the graphical window, breadcrumbs appear at the top left hand corner showing all the relevant commands and features based on the item you selected.  This reduces clutter and highlights information that is important for that selection.

On a separate note, there are many times when a user will use the software and accidentally click and drag the command manager away from its original position resulting in something similar as shown below:

SolidWorks 2016 has implemented an option to prevent this from happening.  Simply go to tools> Customize

In the toolbars tab under options, you will find a Lock CommandManager and toolbar selection box.  By selecting it you can prevent undesired changes to the position of the command manager.

Alternate Position View in SolidWorks Drawings

SolidWorks Drawings: Alternate Position View

For 2D mediums such as drawings it may be difficult to present range of motion for moving parts in mechanical assemblies.  A solidworks tool that comes in very handy for such problems is the Alternate Position View in drawings.  Alternate position allows you to superimpose one position over another to demonstrate range of motion of an assembly.  Consider the following mechanism:

It is a simple mechanical mechanism with a specific range of motion.  When a drawing is created for this mechanism we want to select view layout > Alternate Position View.

This will allow you to create a new configuration with the new position.  You may rename the configuration as required and select the green check to proceed.

The software will now open the model with a move component free drag selected.  From here you may click and drag any face on the component to rearrange it to the new position

When you are satisfied with the new position, click the check mark to accept it and you should find on the drawing the alternative position superimposed onto the original configuration.  The alternative position will be transparent as to distinguish the two.