SolidWorks 2011 Assemblies Bible - Matt Lombard [117]
FIGURE 14.6
Toolbox settings for the Create Configurations and Create Parts options
Deciding which option is better
The following list contains some of the strengths and weaknesses of each option.
Configurations are better for the following reasons:
• You can control data across several sizes. For example, a design table can drive custom properties that are added to all configurations. Doing this with many individual parts would be very messy.
• The interface to select configurations from a list is easier to work with than the interface to select a part from a list.
• File management organization is somewhat easier for configured parts.
Separate parts are better for the following reasons:
• They keep the file size small.
• You can replace all of one size part with another.
• They guarantee that you will never have a problem with incorrect configurations again.
Using Toolbox
Toolbox has two components: Toolbox and Toolbox Browser. However, in practice, the actual Toolbox component is often ignored, and the Toolbox Browser component is incorrectly referred to as Toolbox.
The Toolbox Browser is the Task Pane interface and is found on the Design Library tab, as shown in Figure 14.7. The Toolbox component is found in the Toolbox drop-down menu. It includes structural steel shapes, grooves, cams, and beam and bearing calculators.
FIGURE 14.7
Toolbox and the Toolbox Browser
Turning on Toolbox and the Toolbox Browser
You can turn on Toolbox and the Toolbox Browser through the Tools⇒Add-Ins dialog box. The column of check boxes on the left indicates that the add-in will be active for the current session of SolidWorks only. The column of check boxes on the right indicates that the add-in will be active every time you start up the software, as shown in Figure 14.8.
FIGURE 14.8
Turning Toolbox on in the Tools⇒Add-Ins interface
Once the Toolbox Browser is turned on, you can use it by expanding the Task Pane at the right of the SolidWorks graphics window and clicking the Design Library icon, which looks like a stack of books. In this panel, you see the Toolbox screw symbol. Expand icons until you find the fastener or other hardware that you are looking for, and then drag the part into the assembly.
Populating holes
You can populate holes in several ways, such as by dragging-and-dropping, populating multiple holes at once, using the right mouse button (RMB) menu, and using feature-driven component patterns. Manual and patterning options are discussed here, and Smart Fasteners are discussed in the next section.
Drag-and-drop
The simplest way to bring Toolbox parts into an assembly is to drag-and-drop them. Position the part that the fastener goes into so that you can see the edge of the hole where the screw head will go. Then browse to the correct fastener and drop the fastener onto the edge, as shown in Figure 14.9.
FIGURE 14.9
Dropping a fastener onto a hole
Toolbox parts even automatically size themselves based on the hole. It is best to use Hole Wizard holes if you are going to use this function of Toolbox parts, as Hole Wizard and Toolbox are meant to work together.
When you place the fastener, a PropertyManager appears that enables you to select various properties of the part (including the length) if you want to override the automatically selected size, the thread representation, and if you want the fastener to change in size when the hole changes. After placing the fastener, you can drag a handle at the end of it to change its length; the fastener snaps to predetermine lengths. You can also drag the arrow that appears at the end of the fastener to select the length graphically.
Populating multiple holes at once
Figure 14.10 shows the progression from a plate with holes in an assembly. In this example, you would Ctrl+select the edges of the holes, then select a fastener, and then choose Insert Into Assembly from the RMB menu to populate multiple