SolidWorks 2011 Assemblies Bible - Matt Lombard [131]
7. Now that everything is in place, click the Make Smart Component tool on the assembly toolbar. If the button is not there, you can add it to the assembly toolbar by choosing Tools⇒Customize menu, or by choosing Tools⇒Make Smart Component. The resulting interface is shown in Figure 15.20.
8. In the Smart Component selection box, select the connector part.
9. In the Components selection box, select the two hardware components.
10. In the Features selection box, select the in-context feature from the dummy part. You are now finished setting up the Smart Component.
11. Click the green check mark icon to accept the changes and exit out of the PropertyManager, and save the file.
FIGURE 15.20
The Smart Component PropertyManager interface
Creating an auto-sizing Smart Component
The simple Smart Component took about 20 minutes to model and set up. That is not too bad for a feature that you will probably use a lot. The benefits are somewhat modest, placing three components and a feature.
However, when it comes to the auto-sizing example that is shown next, the benefits are more extensive. A total of seven individual parts are placed (including Toolbox parts) — three of which are automatically sized, depending on the geometry into which the Smart Component is dropped — and an in-context feature is added.
To begin, open the part from the DVD named Chapter 19 - Clamp Start.sldprt. Notice that this is a multi-body part. You do not require any special knowledge about multi-body parts to complete this task. Multiple bodies are discussed in detail in Chapter 26.
1. With the Clamp Start part open, click through the configurations or examine the design table in the part; you can see that various dimensions change. Notice that several configurations already exist. The primary dimension that changes is the diameter of the hole, and this change drives the diameter of, and distance between, the mounting holes.
Note
You can only drive auto-sizing by cylindrical geometry.
Part of the Smart Component definition includes applying a Mate Reference to the part so that the big hole automatically snaps to cylindrical geometry. Another aspect is that it adds in-context holes that match the mounting holes to the plate. Figure 15.21 shows the assembly that this part is meant to go into. The clamp snaps onto the stepped shaft and adds holes to the plate.
FIGURE 15.21
The assembly where you will use the Smart Component
2. Open the file named Chapter 15 Autosize Training Assembly.sldasm. This has been prepared to help you get started with the Smart Component training.
Note
The shaft is not necessary in the training assembly. The training assembly is intended to create the in-context Smart Feature and to create the configurator table. The shaft part has been added here for visualization only.
3. Insert the clamp part into the assembly and mate it concentric to the shaft and coincident to the blue plate. It does not matter where the clamp sits along the shaft, but it should be fully mated into the location so that it does not slide back and forth. A distance mate from a plane or planar face would be a good choice.
4. Edit the plate in the context of the assembly, and convert entities from the mounting holes in the clamp to create holes in the plate that align with the holes in the clamp.
5. Exit the Edit Component mode.
6. Activate Toolbox, select the four holes, as shown in Figure 15.22, and insert Socket Head Cap Screws, 3⁄8 by 24 by 5⁄8 inch. If you do not have Toolbox or choose not to use it, then a part with the correct name and sized configurations is provided on the DVD.
FIGURE 15.22
Inserting four screws at once using Toolbox
7. Use the same fastener to place in the mounting holes, using the correct size for the holes. You will set the length later. Use a default length of