SolidWorks 2011 Assemblies Bible - Matt Lombard [25]
A Word on Decal Masks
Many sources of information assume that you know what a mask is and what it does, but SolidWorks users are typically mechanical designers and engineers, not graphic designers. Following is an explanation of the mask technique.
Images are saved in files as rectangular-shaped data. All image files cover the geometry of a rectangle of some size or shape. But you don't always want to apply an image as a decal that is purely rectangular. Look at the warning decal from the earlier dump truck example. The sign is triangular, but you are still working with a rectangular image. The figure below shows two different applications of the warning decal, one with a mask that blocks out the unneeded area and one without a mask.
Warning decal with mask
Warning decal without mask
A mask is essentially a black-and-white image that removes or blocks out the background of another image. The mask is black where you don't want the image to appear, and white where you want the image to show. This figure shows how the mask on the warning decal works:
Warning decal mask detail
You can create masks with many photo-editing software packages, such as IrfanView (www.irfanview.com). Change the image to a black-and-white picture (Image⇒Decrease color depth⇒2 colors), and then invert the colors to get the mask (Image⇒Negative). You need to save the mask file to the same directory as the decal. The following progression of images demonstrates this process.
Creating the final decal
To create a new decal, right-click in the Decal area of the DisplayManager and select Add Decal. Click the Browse button to browse to the image file you want to use as a decal. SolidWorks accepts the following image types to create decals:
• bmp
• hdr
• jpg
• jpeg
• png
• psd
• rgb
• tga
• targa
• tif
• tiff
The application of decals in the assembly seems to have several quirks. Sizing the decal may move it unpredictably, and it seems to project onto all faces rather than just a single face. When the decals are applied on the part level, results are much better.
Controlling Scene, Lights, and Cameras
The Scene, Lights, and Cameras feature has been covered in the SolidWorks 2011 Parts Bible in sufficient detail that it isn't covered in this book. The only thing that needs repeating is that the scene is now a document property, and overrides scene or background settings from previous versions. If you prefer a plain background to one of the standard SolidWorks scenes, use the setting at Tools⇒Options⇒Colors, and make sure the Plain option is selected.
Creating a walk-through
A walk-through is an animation that simulates what a person would see as they walk through a large-scale design. It was developed primarily for the new architectural tools that are being added to SolidWorks, but it may also be appropriate for certain types of equipment, facility, or site design. Like much of the new functionality that SolidWorks has introduced, some seemingly crucial tools you might need to be successful with the Walk-through feature remain to be developed and implemented. The 2011 release is the first one that offers the Walk-through feature, so you should see a more complete offering in the next release.
This chapter looks at the very large dump truck, which is a good example of equipment design where a walk-through can be useful. To access Walk-through, go to View⇒Lights and Cameras⇒Add Walk-through. Figure 3.17 shows the walk-through area of the DisplayManager along with the model used for this example. You can do walk-throughs using an interface to direct an avatar, or you can drive the camera along a sketched path. The sketched path method has some overlap with MotionManager animation, which is covered in Chapter 23. Walkthrough is also part of the Large Scale Design, which is covered in Chapter 18.
FIGURE 3.17
Using the DisplayManager to create a walk-through