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solidworks help
liam.mccaffrey - 27/9/04 at 10:39 PM

i have just got solidworks student edition 2005

i am having trouble building my chassis, in solidworks, has anyone got any tips, techniques and stuff i have only had it a couple of days


cheers guys

Liam - 27/9/04 at 10:51 PM

Hello...

Have you done all the tutorials? They are pretty good for getting started (i'm assuming student edition has the tutorials).

From the McSorely site you can download an IGES file of a standard book chassis to play with. That is done as an assembly with each tube as a separate part. This makes it very slow unless you've got a fast pooter.

I'd probably do the chassis as one part by sketching squares and extruding them all over the place. For right angles, you'll normally be able to just click on a face of a tube, sketch a couple of squares (one inside the other to produce the cross section of the tube), then extrude. For diagonal tubes you'll have to insert planes to sketch on.

Well if that made sense that's how i'd do it. But I'm no expert and there are probably better ways to do it. For example you might want to do some bits by a sweep round a 3D sketch...

Hope that helps.

Liam

[Edited on 27/9/04 by Liam]

Chris Green - 28/9/04 at 12:43 PM

quote:
Originally posted by liam.mccaffrey
i have just got solidworks student edition 2005

i am having trouble building my chassis, in solidworks, has anyone got any tips, techniques and stuff i have only had it a couple of days


cheers guys


As Liam said, I would start by modelling your chassis as a single part, rather than an assembly of the individual components.

I am modelling my chassis firstly as an assembly of a few parts or so. ( Using the McSorley drawings in PDF as a guide.

I would download the mcsorley pdf drawings if you havent done so already.

I will eventually draw it up as a complete assy of individual tubes.

If you want, I can e-mail you my assembly. I havent got too far with it yet, but it would be a bit of a start at least. pm me your e-mail if you want it.

Regards,

Chris.

liam.mccaffrey - 28/9/04 at 01:39 PM

thanks guys, really good suggestions

i ahve mcsorleys, pdf and iges

really good to look at, i am building a custom midd engined car so i am designing the chassis from scratch, well sort of i have a design which another member done work on and i am modifying that, i wanted to model it in solidworks to get it right.

since my last post i have spent quite a bit of time getting to grips with it, i think i am doing quite well. i have been sketching in 3d and adding "structural steel" of the required section. i have been making my wishbone too. will post mail some of my stuff to you guys when i get a bit further on

blueshift - 28/9/04 at 02:15 PM

the way I modeled the chassis was make a basic version of each tube, ie a bit of 1" rhs as an extrude. make lots of copies of the file and rename with tube names, insert into chassis assembly, change extrude lengths, mate them up and use extrude to surface for non-square joints. This gets fairly computer heavy after a point so I firmed up the back end and fixed the tubes and deleted the mates, then did the front end.

advantages: you can have everything auto-adjust when you move things or change key mates such as "engine bay length", then read off the lengths and angles of all the tubes.

I think from talking to Jim McSorley this is pretty much the same way he does it.

Chris Green - 28/9/04 at 02:37 PM

I agree blueshift, that would be the best way to do it. It is a bit tricky when you come to some of the angles on some sections though.

The reason I am drawing my chassis as a part is because it is the easiest way to get something modelled as a benchmark. I will then move on to create each component in detail.

Regards,

Chris.

liam.mccaffrey - 28/9/04 at 02:44 PM

thank fellas this is all really helpfull stuff

liam.mccaffrey - 28/9/04 at 03:22 PM

great advice fellas i am actually getting somewhere now!