SolidWorks 2011 Assemblies Bible - Matt Lombard [158]
This is the backbone of automating the design. To this, you need to add the rest of the features and dimensions and other file-related manipulations mentioned earlier to make the ceiling fan configurable from a form, based on your outline of what you want to automate that you have already created.
FIGURE 18.15
Confirming that the job processed the data correctly
Working with drawings
Much of the time you save with DWX comes from automating the creation of the drawings. DWX does not give you a great deal of latitude for controlling the drawings, but the views updating automatically from the models and the use of custom properties on the drawing with automatic Bill of Materials (BOM) add a great deal of flexibility to the tool. Depending on the nature of the changes, you may need to move dimensions, annotations, tables, or other items manually to keep them from overlapping.
One of the best things about how DWX handles drawings is that it automatically copies them and keeps the references intact. You have to create the drawings yourself as part of the automation setup, but any time you run a job using the automation tools, DWX copies the assembly, parts, and all the drawings.
Summary
DriveWorks Xpress is free software that contains the necessary tools to automate simple designs. If your product is engineered to order and can be specified by filling out a form with multiple choice and numerical answers, then you may be able to take advantage of this time-saving tool that is provided for you in all levels of SolidWorks.
Chapter 19: Employing Master Model Techniques
In This Chapter
Applying Pull functions
Applying Push functions
Working with master model techniques tutorial
The master model topic fits into both the parts and assemblies workflows. It is included in this book because the end product of a master model technique is most frequently an assembly. The material in this chapter follows closely on multi-body topics, which you can find discussed in detail in the SolidWorks 2011 Parts Bible.
In this book, the term master model refers to a technique where an entire assembly is laid out or has its major faces constructed in a single part, and that part is then placed into other files from which the individual parts are created. Master model techniques are generally used in situations that in-context design cannot deal with, or where in-context design is cumbersome.
Master model techniques are comprised of four separate features or functions that have some similarities, and rely heavily on the knowledge of parent/child concepts, as well as multiple bodies. These four features are Split, Save Bodies, Insert Part, and Insert Into New Part.
As an example of a master model technique, consider the mouse model shown in Figure 19.1. The overall shape is modeled as a single part and is then split into several bodies using multibody methods. Then, using the four master model features, the individual bodies are used to create individual part files, where detail features are added.
FIGURE 19.1
A mouse master model
Understanding the concepts of parent and child documents is key to understanding how master model techniques work. A parent document is always the driving document — the one that existed first — so changes to the parent propagate down to the child. The child document is always dependent upon the parent. In these master model schemes, it is not always possible to find the child document from the parent, but you can always find the parent from the child.
The concepts of Push and Pull type functions are developed for this book, and so you may not find them in other documentation. Classifying the techniques can be helpful in understanding which tool is best for various situations. Push simply means that data from the parent document is pushed out to the child and the relationship is defined in the parent document. Pull means that the child