SolidWorks 2011 Assemblies Bible - Matt Lombard [130]
Making Smart Components
The most important point to remember about Smart Component setup is that you need to do it only once for each Smart Component. The second most important point is that the first setup is the most difficult. After that, subsequent setups become much easier to create. Adding components to the Smart Component is not so time-consuming unless the additional components are also configured and auto-sized.
Smart Components must contain at least one associated component and one in-context feature, or have the configurator table filled out and functional. If you try to create a Smart Component from a stand-alone part, then nothing happens; the Smart Component interface simply closes because there is nothing for it to do. You may combine all three elements (associated component, in-context feature, and auto-size), but you must have at least one element.
Getting started with a simple Smart Component
Because the electrical connector was already used to demonstrate the insertion of a Smart Component, it is used here to demonstrate how to create one.
All that you need to make a Smart Component with an associated Smart Feature (in this case, a cut-out and mounting holes) and mounting hardware (in this case, two stand-off screws) is the actual part. The part can even be imported (a Smart Component made from dumb geometry).
On the DVD
This example uses the file named Chapter 15 – Connector Start.sldprt from the Chapter 15 folder. The part is shown in Figure 15.18.
FIGURE 15.18
An electrical connector part
There is nothing special about this part. It is modeled in SolidWorks using standard features, and there are no configurations or special features. It could have been downloaded from 3D Content Central. It represents an electrical connector that may be mounted in a sheet metal electrical enclosure.
The first step in setting it up is to create a mock assembly with a dummy part representing the sheet metal box. The part does not need to be complex, or even sheet metal, for that matter; it just needs to be close to the thickness that you would expect the Smart Component to be mounted to. The assembly is called a training assembly, not because you are learning how to make a Smart Component but because you are training the Smart Component to be smart.
1. Open the part, Chapter 15 – Connector Start.sldprt from the DVD.
2. Make a simple rectangular part, approximately 4 inches square and about .06 inch thick. Save the part to your hard drive. Give a name to the part so that it is clear that it belongs to this training assembly.
3. Place the rectangular dummy part into a new assembly, with a name that is both unique and identifiable.
4. Put the connector into the assembly. Mate the part so that the flange is flush with the rectangular piece. Also use distance mates to locate the connector planes from the edges of the part, similar to Figure 15.19 in the image to the left.
5. Edit the dummy part in context (right-click the dummy part in the assembly and select Edit Part), and offset edges of the connector part to extrude a cut, as shown in the image to the right in Figure 15.19. Offset the two mounting holes and the area around where the connector will stick through the sheet metal by about .02 inch.
FIGURE 15.19
Placing the connector on the dummy part
6. Exit Edit Component mode and add two instances of the part named Chapter 15 – Smart Connector Hardware.sldprt to the assembly. Mate the hardware part to the in-context hole, making sure that it goes to the outside thickness of the dummy sheet metal part.
Note
Although it is generally a best practice to avoid mating parts to in-context features, in this example you are doing exactly that. Keep in mind that best practice suggestions are more like guidelines. If you are having performance problems with an assembly, then this may not be the best