Introduction to SolidWorks 2013
INTRODUCTION TO SolidWorks 2013
Welcome to the world of Computer Aided
Designing (CAD) with SolidWorks. SolidWorks, developed by the SolidWorks Corporation,
USA, is a feature-based, parametric solid-modeling
mechanical design and automation software. SolidWorks is the first CAD package
to use the Microsoft Windows graphic user interface. The use of the drag and
drop (DD) functionality of Windows makes this CAD package extremely easy to
learn.
The Windows graphic user interface
makes it possible for the mechanical design engineers to innovate their ideas
and implement them in the form of virtual prototypes or solid models, large
assemblies, subassemblies, and detailing and drafting.
There are number of software provided by the SolidWorks
Corporation, which can be used as Add-Ins with SolidWorks. Some of the software
that can be used on SolidWorks’s work platform are listed below:
SolidWorks Animator, PhotoWorks,
FeatureWorks, COSMOS/Works, COSMOS/Motion, COSMOS/Flow, eDrawings, CAMWorks, Toolbox,
Mold Base, SolidWorks Piping.
As mentioned earlier, SolidWorks is a
parametric, featu re-based, and easy-to-use mechanical design automation
software. It enables you to convert the basic 2D sketch into a solid model by
using simple but highly effective modeling tools. SolidWorks does not restrict
you to 3D solid output, but it extends to the bidirectional associative
generative drafting. It also enables you to create the virtual prototype of a
sheet metal component and the fl at pattern of the component. This helps you in
the complete process planning for designing and creating a press tool.
SolidWorks helps you to extract the core and the cavity of a model that has to
be molded or cast. With SolidWorks, you can also create complex parametric
shapes in the form of surfaces.
Part Mode
The Part mode of SolidWorks is a feature-based
parametric environment in which you can create solid models. You are provided
with three default planes named as Front Plane, Top Plane, and Right Plane.
Assembly Mode
In the Assembly mode, you can
assemble components of the assembly with the help of the required tools. There
are two methods of assembling the components:
1. Bottom-up assembly
2. Top-down assembly
In the bottom-up assembly method, the
assembly is created by assembling the components created earlier and maintaining
their design intent.
In the top-down method, the components
are created in the assembly mode. You may begin with some ready-made parts and
then
create other components in the context
of the assembly.
You can assemble all components of an
assembly by using a single tool, the Mate tool.
Drawing Mode
The Drawing mode is used for
the documentation of the parts or the assemblies created earlier, in the form
of drawing views and the details in the drawing views. There are two types of
drafting done in SolidWorks:
1. Generative drafting
2. Interactive drafting
Generative drafting is a process of
generating drawing views of a part or an assembly created earlier. The
parametric dimensions and the annotations added to the component in the Part mode can be
generated in the drawing views. Generative drafting is bidirectionally
associative in nature. Automatic BOMs and balloons can be added to an assembly
while generating the drawing views of it.
In interactive drafting, you have to
create the drawing views by sketching them using the normal sketching tools,
and then add dimensions to them.
GETTING STARTED WITH SolidWorks
è Install
SolidWorks on your system and choose the Start button at the
lower left corner of the screen. Next, choose All Programs to display the Program menu. Then,
choose SolidWorks 2013 to display the
cascading menu and then choose SolidWorks 2013.
è Now, the system
will prepare to start SolidWorks and after sometime, the SolidWorks window will
be displayed on the screen. On opening SolidWorks for the first time, the SolidWorks License
Agreement dialog box will
be displayed.
è Choose the Accept button in this
dialog box; the SolidWorks 2013 window will open and the SolidWorks
Resources task pane will be
displayed.
This window can be used to open a new
file or an existing file.
(OR)
You can also
start SolidWorks
2013 by
double-clicking on the SolidWorks 2013 shortcut icon
available on the desktop of your computer. You need to create the shortcut icon
of SolidWorks
2013, if it is not
created by default.
What are the disadvantages of using unigraphics compared to autocad and solid works?
ReplyDeleteSolid works
there is no comparison b/w unigraphics and autocad coz autocad is a low-end software whereas unigraphics, a high end .
Deletebut b/w solid work and unigraphics, i thought solidwork is good one coz the environment of this soft is too much user friendly .
i don't too much about unigraphics still i feel that it is not user friendly especially for beginners.