SolidWorks 2011 Parts Bible - Matt Lombard [161]
Using Design Tables
In addition to describing some of the basic concepts involved with configurations, the first part of this chapter presents reasons for using design tables. For example, while manual configuration management can be haphazard, and is highly prone to mistakes, design tables lay everything out in an Excel spreadsheet. Although many new users ask whether they can use a different replacement spreadsheet program, you must use Excel for design tables.
Note
Excel is a format that is easy to read and print out, and even non-SolidWorks users can understand and work with it. Although there is some special syntax that you need to use with design tables, for most uses, SolidWorks can create the syntax automatically for you; therefore, there is minimal manual data entry. If you are careful to name dimensions, features, and configurations properly, design tables should be easy to understand and manage. In Excel, you can also color cells, rows, and columns in such a way that large amounts of tabulated data are easier to sort through. In addition, because design tables use Excel, they can also use all of Excel's calculation capabilities.
Best Practice
When using equations and design tables, it is considered best practice to name dimensions, sketches, features, and other configured items. However, it is not recommended to mix design tables with SolidWorks equations. Besides the fact that Excel equations are far more sophisticated than those of SolidWorks, driving dimensions from too many locations can be confusing when you edit the part after you have forgotten the details of how the part was built.
It is a great idea to document design intent using comments in the features or the Design Journal. You should also add comments to design tables as needed.
Identifying what can be driven by a design table
Just because something can be configured does not necessarily mean that it can also be driven by a design table. Here is a small list of items that fit into this category:
• Sketch plane configuration
• Suppressed sketch relations
• Suppressed dimensions (suppressed dimensions become driven dimensions)
However, the good news is that there are many items that can be driven by a design table. Table 11.1 lists these items, along with their associated syntax.
Creating a Simple Design Table
When you prepare to create a design table, you generally need to give appropriate names to dimensions, sketches, and features. Remember that while the feature is the most visible item and the easiest to rename, most of the dimensions probably belong to the sketch, which you may also need, or want, to rename. Names should reflect the function or location of the item. It is a good idea to show dimension names when renaming items (remember that you can show dimension names by selecting the Dimension Names option by choosing View⇒Dimension Names). Figure 11.23 shows the result of renaming the feature and dimension.
You can use one of the following three techniques to add a design table to a SolidWorks part by choosing Insert⇒Tables⇒Design Tables from the menus:
• Insert Blank Design Table. This method starts from a blank template that contains the underlying framework, but no values.
• Auto-create Design Table. This method populates the new design table with any existing configurations and items that are different between the configs.
• From file. This method enables you to create a design table externally and then import it.
Although I prefer the Auto-create method, it is most appropriate for when you have existing configurations. The From file method is best when a design table has been exported from another part, saved externally, and brought into the current part. For the following example, I am using the Insert Blank Design Table