SolidWorks Instant3D

While running through a training class this week, the topic
of to use or not to use SolidWorks Instant3D came up during a discussion.  I thought this would be a good time to
discuss some of the more practical uses of this command for new or existing
customers.  Instant3D is a tool that allows
you to perform basic Extruded Boss or Extruded Cut commands without starting a
command at all.  Plus this feature can be
turned on or off at any moment’s notice and will have no ill effects on your
part modeling process.

First you will create a sketch and add dimensions and
relations.  Next with Instant3D running,
you can exit the sketch and simply single click on any edge of this sketch.

A small green arrow will show up on the edge of your sketch
that you selected, and you can drag this forwards or backwards to start a Boss
Extrude command.  Plus if you want to get
really tricky, you can hold down the letter “M” while dragging, and this will evoke
the mid-plane extrude condition.

Sometimes when dragging the sketch, you might not always
land on an exact value for your distance. 
If you click one time on the dimension value, you can simply type in the
exact size you are looking for.  You can
also double click on the blue ball icon located at the extension line and this
will bring up the typical modify dimension box. With this you can also set a
dimension to match a global value or equation.

You can also use Instant3D to create extruded bosses or cuts
by dragging away or into an existing solid body.

Plus while dragging inside to create a cut, you can also
access the pop up toolbar to add draft angle!

Finally while choosing to make a second extruded boss or
extruded cut, SolidWorks Feature Manager will update the icon to match the type
of feature you are making. 

If you haven’t
had a chance or reason to try Instant3D, give it a go and see what you
think.  

Brian Reel
Computer Aided Technology, Inc. 

Wired’s 400-Pound Comic-Con Robot has a 3D Printed Face

Aiming to steal the cosplay spotlight at this year’s Comic-Con, Wired magazine called on Hollywood big guns to build a pulse-quickening giant robot.

The team had just 24 days to build the 9.5-foot-tall, human-controlled
mechanized suit with cameras and speakers. To create its face, they chose Digital ABS material on
an Objet Connex500 mutli-material 3D Printer.

>Click here to read the full article found on the Stratasys Blog

Visit the CATI website to learn more about 3D Printing.

Tracy Golden
Marketing Assistant
Computer Aided Technology, Inc.

Jul 30, 2013

Engineers and pilots are looking to design a plane that can be built at home for under $15,000. They will offer their design for free, which will consist of a number of 3D-printed parts.

Here is the original article on wired.com:

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2013/07/open-source-airplane-design/

SolidWorks- Similar Weldment Profiles

What happens to your cut list when you add holes to your structural members? You can have structural members that are identical but if you add holes to these parts, SolidWorks will pull the component out that has the holes and make it a unique item. That's because it now is unique. Let's take a look.

Here we see a Weldment that has two different items. Side Rails and Front Rails.

The Side Rails are identical and the Front Rails are identical. Notice the Highlighted Cut List folder in the feature tree. SolidWorks is looking at the Weldment Profile as well as the member lengths to determine the folder structure (it's only looking at the Profile and length because there are no other features that separate the members at this time.)

Let's see what happens when we add a couple of holes to the Front Rails. I added a couple of hole wizard holes to only one of the Front Rails and then you right click on the Cut List folder and select update. You now see that it pulled out the member that had no holes and created a new folder for that item. So now I have exactly what I would expect, two rails are the same and then two different rails, one with holes and one without. Same length and profile the only differences are the holes.

Hopes this helps clear up what is happening to your members when you add features to them. It will affect your Cut List because they are now different.

Phil Whitaker
Computer Aided Technology, Inc.

Dimension Styles in a SolidWorks Drawing

For the most part, notes and other annotations added to
dimensions like the tolerance for instance are per standard.  This means that the general format is the
same.  While creating templates can
automate a lot of the repetition in drawings, it doesn’t handle the dimension
style for you.  Instead, SolidWorks gives
you another way to handle this.  In the
dimension property manager there is an option to select your style:

  First step is to create your
dimension style. Do what you need to do to the dimension then select ‘add or
update a style’.  

  The next step is save the dimension
style.   You can save it to any location.  After it has been saved, you can use the style
for any other future drawing since the location is saved external to the
drawing, simple as that.  See the video
below for illustration.

 

 

Brian Adika
Applications Engineer
Computer Aided Technology, Inc.

Engineers in Demand - Yahoo Finance Article

If you're looking to recruit an engineer right now, be prepared for a dog-eat-dog world.

Experienced engineers are being offered sky-high salaries and are taking regular calls from headhunters as the booming shale gas industry fights for scarce talent, snapping up engineers from other sectors.

"It's an all out war for talent," said Houston-based Gladney Darroh, president of Piper-Morgan Associates Personnel Consultants, a specialist in recruiting oil and gas engineers.

via finance.yahoo.com

CATI has always loved engineers...but perhaps you can start taking US out to lunch...?

3D Printing Going To The Dogs

A veterinary practice in Australia is on the leading edge of veterinary medicine and technology.  They are using 3D printed models to make better medical decisions and prepare for surgery on dogs - and other animals as well.

>Click here to read the full article found on the Stratasys Blog

Visit the CATI website to learn more about 3D Printing.

Tracy Golden
Marketing Assistant
Computer Aided Technology, Inc.