Category: SOLIDWORKS

1D MESHING:

• Used for geometries having one of the dimensions very large in comparison to rest of the two (Refer fig.1).

•Element Shape: Line (Refer fig.2)

•Element Type: Rod, beam, Pipe etc,.

•Practical Example: Long shaft, beam, pin joint, Connection elements. In solidworks, We use beam element for 1D meshing. Beam elements are capable of resisting axial, bending, shear, and torsional loads.

2D MESHING

•Used for geometries having two of the dimensions very large in comparison to last dimension.

•Element shape: Triangle

•Element type: Thin shell, membrane, plate.

•Practical application: Sheet metal parts, Plastic components like instrument panel

3D MESHING

•Used for all 3D objects.

•Element shape in solidworks: Tetragonal.

•Element type: Solid

•Practical application: Gear Box, Engine Block, Crankshaft.

Appropriate meshing:

You can mesh a sheetmetal part with Solid tetrahedral element but meshing a sheetmetal with shell element gives you approximate result and reduce computational effort which will be handy for any simulation engineer. likewise, you should mesh a beam or rod using beam  element.

This is a short blog about the benefits of using SOLIDWORKS interference detection. this is very powerful tool when creating with moving parts and components in assemblies,

We would be analyzing component interferences found within the assembly interference,

Detection analyzes geometry and identifies overlapping components within a basic 

Assembly.

So, having a tool that can do this job is greatly beneficial interference detection is found within “Evaluate tab”

click Tools > Evaluate > Interference Detection 

Interference deduction tool tab

It is usually easy to see interferences but sometimes it can be difficult to

determine,

By default, the selected component will be assembly. You can delete it by right-clicking on the

name of the assembly and selecting Delete. To select new parts, click on the desired area in the

Graphics window. 

In this situation, the components have been overlapped

Overlapped component

How we can solve this kind of problem??

we will have the option to calculate interferences within the entire assembly or specify

components.

We will calculate the entire component we can see that the two interferences,

The interference detection makes both components interfering transparent and Highlights the overlapping volumes make it easy to see since I made this assembly 

Highlighted component

We know that there is a distance made between the two interferences

Interfering Components that we need to address even if I did not know this using the view

mates Tool can be a quick way to list all the mates associated with that component

View Mates option

Edit coincidence mate

We will increase the dimension around check the interference, again as you can see there Are no longer any interference this joint will be able to rotate.

Edit distance mate

We had easy to change the distance and the overlapping issues have been resolved.

Results Section

Interference deduction was great for static interferences when it comes to dynamic

Collisions we need to use a different tool the move component command contains a

Collision detection feature will check collisions between all components.

interference detection can be useful to ensure that the component has the desired level of

motion.

SOLIDWORKS has a capability to work with third party native CAD data files which includes ACIS, Autodesk Inventor, CATIA v5 (.CAT part, .CAT Product), IGES, PTC, SOLID EDGE, NX files as shown in Fig(A)

Fig(A)

IMPORTING STEP/IGES FILES AND EXTRACTING THE FEATURES

SOLIDWORKS has a special option to extract and recognize all the features from other CAD files or STEP/IGES files.

Let us see the step by step process for extracting features from a STEP file

Step1:

Fig (B)            

Fig(C)

Open a STEP file directly into SOLIDWORKS. Once after opening, the part will be viewed as an imported STEP part as shown in fig (C)

Step 2:

Right clicking the STEP part file allows you to click on the “Dissolve feature” option which will prompt you to break the link of the part initially as shown in Fig(D)

The below picture shows you the break link dialog box after clicking on the dissolve feature. Click on “yes, break the link” option as shown in Fig(E)

Fig (D)    

                                                     Fig(E)

Step 3:

Breaking the link from the previous step will convert the step part file into a imported geometry. You can extract feature only after converting it into a imported file.

Right click the imported file and go to feature works -> Recognize features. This will induce the user to extract the standard features or sheet metal features as per the wish shown in Fig(F) and (G)

Fig(F)     

Fig(G)

Step 4:

The Complete recognition of the remaining features in the imported body. When recognition is complete, the imported body no longer appears in the SOLIDWORKS Feature Manager design tree.

                                                                     

A steel rod circular in section, tapers from 3 cm diameter to 1.5 cm diameter in a length of 60 cm.Find how much its length will increase under a tensile force 22 kN. Take E = 2 x 10⁵ N/ mm²

The Hand calculated taper Rod deflection is 0.186 mm. We will follow the solution using Simulation Package. The Material Properties introduced in the software.

Create a Geometry to build in the software for given Dimensions:

Fig (1) 3D model of Taper Rod

Fig (2) Material Properties involved in the calculation

Boundary conditions involved as per theoretical conditions involved in the same.

Fig (3) Fixing at the larger end

For solid we can arrest the three Translation x, y, z and rotation of Three components will be eliminated.

Fig (4) Fixing at the smaller end

Tensile Load on the smaller end with the load of 22kN. 

Conclusion: 

We have compared the result of Taper rod subjected to tensile load using hand calculation and Solid works simulation.  Solid works simulation is giving us most accurate result compared to theoretical value.

Creating a new cable and cable manufacturer in solidworks electrical and customizing the cable according to our specification.

Creation of the cable is few steps to follow once the cable is created we can able to add it to the harness.

The cable is used to connect the components. There will be default library for few manufacturer cables. To add a few cable we need follow the below mentioned steps.

How to create Electrical Cable

• In library there will be an option cable reference manager
• Using this cable reference manger new table will be opened

Electrical cable reference manager

A cable reference manager will be opened in which we will create a new reference and classification manager i.e  standards. Ther classification manager is like a folder in which it can filtered with different standards.

Creation of new cable properties

Once new reference is pressed.

 Cable reference properties tab will be opened. We have to provide our specification in which it includes dia, Sq.mm, colour, cores, core dia these are the important things needed to be updated in the property tab

Cable core properties

• Cable core properties will be present in the same tab as the 3 rd option at the top.
• There we have to add the number of cores we need inside the cable.
• Also we have to provide dia of the core we need and also control have to be given wheather is it a misselleneous or power or neutral.
• And colours of the cores also given in this tab.

Assigning cable between components

• Once the new cable is created we have place the cable and assign it to the components which cable is necessary.
• It will be done in schematic page.
• After placing the components and wires are drawn and  cable can be  created

Associated cable cores

• Once previous pints are done .
• In associated cable cores tab we have to add the cable using new cable option.
• And then we have to select the cable we have created in the library manager.
• And we have to select the four cores and we have to select four wires at the bottom.
• And after selecting all these we have associate it using associate cable cores option present at the top and also higlighted at the bottom image.

Once it is associated it will be turned into green and origin and destination is also updated.

And also cable is added to wires with the cable mark is shown between the components.

Generally, when we create indented BOM in SOLIDWORKS it will show all the part inside a assembly and subassembly in detail, of course indented BOM is built for that purpose.

Sometime when we use a standard assembly component item in SOLIDWORKS for creating model which is a bought out and SOLIDWORKS consider that as a assembly and it will list all the part in that assembly in indented BOM. Since it is a bought out item our requirement will be it need to appear as  a single part in our BOM

If we save that assembly as part and use it in the assembly all the kinematic motion will be loss and we can’t use the motion in the assembly

Let me insert a assembly to the assembly and then take the BOM for example.

In this case the hydraulic cylinder line item number 6 is a brought our item, and we need it as single line item, lets seen how we can do it in this blog

3D Sheetmetal Creator is an intuitive, browser-based solution that offers associative parametric sheet metal design capabilities to build components, assemblies and enclosures.

Its specialized, all-in-one 3D sheet metal design environment helps you streamline how you create, store, share, validate and manage designs, and bring sheet metal products to market faster.

Built on the cloud based 3DEXPERIENCE® platform, 3D Sheetmetal Creator stores design data securely in one central location and works seamlessly with the design-to-manufacturing, data management and collaboration solutions on the platform.

Go to Google Chrome, and open the Open 3D Experience Platform.

Using a 3D Passport, log in as a user.

The project name should be given.

Provide the location on the 3D Experience platform, where the files are to be saved.

Now the xSheetmetal platform will open.

Plane & sketch should be created. With the help of a line sketch, draw in the plane.

1. Introduction to Simulation-Based Design

Simulation-based design is a process that uses computer-aided engineering (CAE) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software to help manufacturers optimize their industrial processes. Simulation allows you to test a product or process before it is built, saving time and money in the long run. Additionally, simulation-based design can help you identify potential problems with a product or process, allowing you to fix them before they become costly issues.

2. What is Computational Fluid Dynamics?

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is the application of mathematics and scientific principles to solve problems involving fluid flow. In other words, CFD allows us to simulate the movement of fluids (like air and water) through a given space. This can be used to optimize a wide variety of industrial processes, from cooling systems to fuel injection. CFD simulations are usually run on powerful computers, and they can take a long time to complete. However, the results can be well worth the wait. By using CFD to optimize your industrial processes, you can save time, money, and resources.

3. What is Computational Structural Dynamics?

Computational Structural Dynamics (CSD) is a field of engineering that uses computer simulation to analyze the dynamic response of structures under load. In other words, it helps you understand how your design will behave when it's subjected to real-world forces. This information can then be used to optimize the design and make sure your product is as durable and robust as possible. Thanks to CSD, manufacturers can streamline their product development process and improve their end products.

4. How to Determine if Your Product Design is Suitable for Simulation-Based Design?

The first step is to determine if your product design is suitable for simulation-based design. You'll need to have a 3D CAD model of your product in order to run simulations. If you don't have a 3D CAD model, you can create one using SOLIDWORKS. Once you have your model, you can use CAE and CFD software to analyze and optimize your product. You can also use simulation-based design to evaluate new product designs and verify the performance of existing products.

5. Best practices for implementing Simulation-Based Design

When implementing a simulation-based design process, it’s important to keep the following best practices in mind:

1. Use simulation as part of your design process from the beginning.

2. Use the right type of simulation for the task at hand.

3. Select the right parameters to simulate.

4. Use simulations to validate designs.

5. Interpret results and use them to improve your designs.

6. Integrate simulation into your manufacturing processes.

Conclusion:

Today, industrial manufacturers are under increasing pressure to reduce product development times and bring products to market quickly and efficiently. This can be a challenge, as products today are more complex than ever before. The use of simulation-based design can help industrial manufacturers overcome these challenges, by allowing them to test product designs before they are built. This can help reduce the time and cost of product development and increase the quality and reliability of products.

Manufacturers have long been utilizing simulation-based design (SBD) to improve product performance, but with the latest advancements in CAE and CFD technologies, the potential benefits of SBD are now even more pronounced. Making use of these software tools can help you optimize your industrial processes, ensuring that your products are reliable and meet all safety and performance standards. By using simulation-based design, you can also reduce the time and cost required to bring a product to market.

1. Definition and benefits of industrial simulation software

Industrial simulation software helps engineers optimize industrial processes. Simulation software can predict the behavior of a product or process under different conditions. This information can help engineers troubleshoot problems and improve products and processes. The benefits of using industrial simulation software include:

- Reduced manufacturing time and cost

- Improved product quality

- More efficient use of resources

- Enhanced safety

2. How to use CAE and CFD to optimize your industrial processes

CAE (Computer-Aided Engineering) and CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) are the two main types of simulation software used by industrial engineers. CAE software is used to analyze the structural performance of products, while CFD software is used to analyze the fluid flow and heat transfer. Both types of software can help you optimize your industrial processes. For example, CAE software can help you optimize your product design to make sure it is structurally sound, while CFD software can help you optimize your process layout to minimize energy consumption and production costs.

3. Why simulation is important to your industrial processes

Simulation software is important to your industrial processes because it allows you to optimize those processes. It allows you to see how different changes will affect the outcome of your process, so you can make the best decisions for your business. With simulation software, you can also test different scenarios to find the most efficient solution. This can save you time and money in the long run, and help you stay ahead of the competition.

4. How to choose a simulation tool based on your use case

It is important to select the appropriate simulation tool for the specific use case. The first step is to identify which domains are of interest. The second step is to determine the level of fidelity required for the analysis. The third step is to choose the simulation software based on the identified requirements. The final step is to execute the simulation and analyze the results.

5. How to work with simulation software

One of the benefits of simulation software is that it allows you to explore different design scenarios and make changes to your designs quickly and easily. You can also use it to verify the performance of your designs before they're put into production. It's important to work closely with your simulation software provider to get the most out of the tools they offer. They can help you set up simulations, meshing, and analysis procedures that will give you the results you need. With the right tools and a little bit of know-how, you can optimize your industrial processes for better performance and reduced costs.

Conclusion:

Industrial simulation software can help you optimize your industrial processes by providing a more accurate view of what is happening in your process. With CAE and CFD, you can improve the efficiency of your industrial processes, reduce waste, and optimize your product design. Simulation is an important part of product development and should be used early in the process to get the most accurate results.