SolidWorks 2011 Assemblies Bible - Matt Lombard [99]
17. Add your own “MADE IN . . .” extruded text to the bottom of the part. Save the part.
FIGURE 10.30
Selecting a configuration
Summary
Although in-context functions are powerful and seductive, you should use them sparingly. In particular, be careful about file management issues such as renaming parts and assemblies. The best approach is to use SolidWorks Explorer or the Save As command with both the parts and assemblies open.
In-context techniques, including the Layout feature, are the pinnacle of true parametric practice and enable you to take the concepts of design intent and design for change to an entirely new level.
Chapter 11: Creating Assembly Features
In This Chapter
Removing material in the assembly
Creating assembly level fillets and chamfers
Making weld beads in the assembly
Using envelopes
SolidWorks enables users to create features in assemblies that do not show up on individual parts. They are created in the assembly and only exist there. These tend to be features that would be manufactured after parts are assembled, and affect several parts at once, such as weld beads, or holes drilled after parts are put together. You can use standard features or the Hole Wizard to create some of these features.
You can use the following as assembly features:
• Hole features (series, wizard, simple)
• Cuts (extrude, revolve)
• Other (fillet, chamfer, weld bead)
• Patterns (patterns of existing assembly features)
Weld beads are covered to some extent in Chapter 20, which is devoted to weldments, but because weldments in SolidWorks are typically multi-body parts, weld beads are covered again here as proper assembly features.
Assembly features do not create in-context relationships between parts, but they do extend the history-based design paradigm to include the assembly. Assembly features do raise some best practice questions, however. The parts in an assembly should be fully defined with mates to the best extent possible, and this is even more important when creating features that affect multiple parts. In some situations where a shape affects multiple parts, it may be a better option to use master model techniques for sharing shapes between parts. If a feature does not cut multiple parts, it is generally best to make that feature within the actual part document, although there could be exceptions to this rule.
Which document the feature resides in may be a function of where you want the feature to be documented, such as in a part drawing or in an assembly drawing. This is probably as good a decision criterion as any other is.
This chapter explores various techniques and applications for using assembly features to model your product or process.
Creating Assembly Cuts
Several types of design require various cuts to be made after the product is assembled. For example, plates may be stacked, clamped, and then drilled to make sure that the holes line up perfectly. Cast parts may be assembled, and then given a final grinding cut to remove the cast surface finish.
To access the cut features to make an assembly cut, you can use the Assembly Features toolbar icon on the Assembly tab of the CommandManager, or choose Insert⇒Assembly Feature⇒Cut⇒Extrude.
Note
When SolidWorks users intend to make an in-context feature in a part while editing an assembly, they frequently end up adding the feature in the assembly instead of the part. To guarantee you don't do this or the opposite (putting a feature in a part when you intend to put it into the assembly), make sure the name of the assembly is in the title bar of the SolidWorks application. If the title bar says something like “Sketch1 of Part1 of Assem1.sldasm,” then you are editing the part.
Because removing material in the assembly is the most commonly used technique, it will be discussed first. Some additive processes