SolidWorks 2016:Splines and Surfaces

New functionality to splines and surfaces in SOLIDWORKS 2016

 Consumer Products can be challenging to model with complex surfaces and the use of sketched splines.  SolidWorks 2016 adds new functionality to splines and surfaces to make modeling consumer products faster and easier.

Consider the following Jug:

This is an image of a jug and we would like to create a 3D model based on this image.  We start by first sketching the neck side profile of the jug:

New to SOLIDWORKS 2016 is the ability to choose between B-Splines as well as Bezier curve types.  Using B-Splines, we click to place our control points:

Following the control points, it is a good idea to turn on the “Show Curvature” option that allows the designer to visualize the curve.  

With this in mind the designer may now click and dynamically drag the control points so they fit the form of the jug.  Now the curvature of the handle portion was approximated with a spline. 

 

The designer may now select the spline and select the convert to style spline from the fly out menu.

  

In doing so, we have a one to one conversion since the resulting style spline will be a B-Spline with degree 3.  The designer may how adjust the control points to modify the curve to match the side handle profile.  With style splines it’s easier to create curves that are fast and easy to manipulate.

Having created the main surface and a few more control surfaces, the designer needs to trim all the surfaces to get the consumer product shape.

In SolidWorks 2016, SolidWorks Trim Surface is easier to use with new preview tools.  By selecting “show excluded regions” the software shows the surfaces that will be excluded from the trim.  

Furthermore, the preview option for Trim Surface can also be switched to show only the surfaces left after applying the trimming feature.  If the Trimming feature yields a solid body, a new “Create Solid” option is now available to allow users to create a solid directly from the trim without any additional operation.

Following the main trim, the designer can now apply smooth asymmetrical fillets on the base:

And complex variable fillets on the handle with control points:

Followed by a mirror function and shell operation to get the final jug product:

The additional functionalities to splines and surfaces in SolidWorks 2016 are meant to make modeling consumer products with complex shapes easier and quicker.

Sketching Improvements in SOLIDWORKS 2016

IMPROVEMENTS IN SOLIDWORKS SKETCHING 2016

 Sketching is perhaps one of the core functionalities in the SolidWorks software.  Sketches allow a user to create 2 dimensional entities that may be used to create complex features.  It is a tool that helps the designer shape the part into the correct geometry.  With SolidWorks 2016 there have been improvements to the sketching abilities to make modeling easier.

Consider the following Valve

By opening up the base sketch used in the revolve feature to create the valve body we have the following sketch:

HIDE SKETCH DIMENSIONS:

Sketches become more complex with the addition of geometrical features.  There may be times when the dimensions constraining the sketch become cluttered to view in the graphical area.  In SolidWorks 2016 there is a new tool to hide sketch dimensions.  This is found under Tools> Hide/Show/ Hide Sketch Dimensions. By applying this filter to the graphical viewing area, it makes it much easier for the designer to inspect the current state of the sketch.

MIDPOINTS:

When a designer is dimension or adding relations to a sketch, the midpoint is a useful entity to have available.  Midpoints are now automatically selectable without explicitly defining a midpoint entity.  This change helps expedite the sketching process allowing designers to fully define a sketch in fewer steps than before.

SMART DIMENSION:

In addition, it is no longer necessary to select the smart dimension icon before clicking on the entities that require dimension.  Instead, designers can now select the entities of interest and a fly out menu will appear beside the mouse.  Designers may now select the Smart Dimension icon from that menu and the software will provide the appropriate dimension for the entities selected.  

INSTANT 2D:

Another useful tool is Instant 2D which is a feature that allows users to modify the value of a dimension with a single click.  Instant 2D can be found on the sketch toolbar.

Whats New in SolidWorks 2016: Photoview 360

PhotoView 360

  PhotoView 360 has been used in SolidWorks to generate life-like renderings of SolidWorks models.  These renderings are excellent communication tools to showcase your product as it would appear in real-life.  SolidWorks 2016 has added new features to PhotoView 360 to streamline the rendering process.

Consider the following stapler:

The preview window is a feature we can access from the Render Tools tab and it allows the designer to preview the render before it is applied to the model.  This is a valuable tool because to fully render a model takes time and a preview window helps the designer decide whether they would like to proceed or not.

The preview window now has a resolution slider on the bottom that increases or decreases the quality of the preview render.  This gives the designer more control over the quality of render being previewed.  The designer can dynamically change this value depending on whether it is approaching the desired render effect. 

 

The edit scene feature is also available from the Render Tools Tab and it allows the designer to edit the lighting, reflectivity and environment variables that effect the final render.  This has usually been an iterative process requiring multiple trials before arriving at the desired image render.  A new tool to help with this process is the Scene Illumination Proof Sheet feature from the Render Tools Tab.

The Scene Illumination Proof Sheet feature uses the base render as baseline and shows multiple previews of multiple variations. This includes rendering brightness, background brightness and scene reflectivity.  

Each of these tiles displays a preview of the rendered image with modifications.  By selecting a tile, it replaces the baseline render and recalculates all of the previews based on the new baseline.  This functionality allows the designer to home-in on the desired rendering faster and more efficiently.  At any point in time, the designer may flip between the original and current baseline for comparison using the tabs provided.  By selecting OK, the settings will be applied to the PhotoView 360 scene allowing the designer to start rendering the final product.  

The improved functionality in PhotoView 360 allows designers to converge on the desired rendered look faster and more efficiently in SolidWorks 2016.  

SolidWorks 2016 and 3D Printing

SolidWorks 2016 and 3D Printing

3DPrinting has caught on to industry and the home user.  It allows the user to create any shape and any part using an additive technique that ensures minimal waste.  The creative freedom is endless.  SolidWorks has always been a front runner in innovation and allows designers to integrate with 3D printers seamlessly.  

Consider the following plastic cover part:

In order to access the 3D printing menu go to file > Print3D. 

Within the 3D printing menu the designer has the ability to manipulate the part to accommodate the 3D printing process.  With the printer selected, you can set the bottom face and 3D printing volume.

The designer is also able to manipulate the part by moving, rotating and even scaling the part to best fit the print volume.

Creating a part in the real world is different than from a virtual environment.  Surfaces that are offset or free floating will require supports to be built into place during the manufacturing process.  By going to the preview tab you can allow the software to run a check to see which surfaces require supports.  This is similar to the pre-existing draft analysis tool. 

Furthermore, you are also able to visualize the final product that includes the striation lines that are made during the additive printing process.  Striation lines are lines you see on the finished product due to the process of adding on layer on top of another.  

SolidWorks SheetMetal - Edit Flange Profile

What's New in SolidWorks 2016?

SolidWorks Sheetmetal - Edit Flange Profile

SolidWorks sheet metal has been a very useful tool in creating parts that require flattened patterns.  The flat patterns are the shapes used to cut out parts that when folded form the finished product.  One of the most common tools in sheet metal is the edge flange.

Consider the following sheet metal part:

We want to add a flange to cover the front of this part, therefore we can use the edge flange tool.

When we apply an edge flange to the selected edge, an extension is created perpendicular by default to the original sheet.

This is adjusted by selecting a reference face for the flange to be set parallel.

When creating a flange it is important to consider the flange position.  This means where the bend occurs, in this case we can the bend to be on the outside.  This elevates the flange as to not cause interference with the two pre-existing flanges on the side.

Normally to extend the flange outside of the square shape a designer would need additional sketches.  

However SolidWorks 2016 brings a new functionality called “Edit Flange Profile”.  By selecting Edit Flange Profile it allows the user to manipulate and modify the sketch shown.  This includes the blue undefined lines as well as the black fully defined lines as shown below:

Applying the sheet metal feature allows for the edge flange to be created without any additional sketches required.

The new Edit Flange Sketch functionality is designed to help designers be more efficient and therefore safe time when modeling sheet metal in SolidWorks 2016.

To learn more, or to get started with SolidWorks contact FEA.

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.  

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.  

Get a Quote on SolidWorks Simulation 2016 special pricing information or Contact FEA for more information