SolidWorks 2010- P16 pot

Insert a Bill of Materials in an Assembly Document 419 FIGURE 12.8 Pointer displaying the blue move icon 3. While still holding the left mouse button, move the table to a differ- ent place in the graphics area. 4. To resize the entire table without scaling the text, move the mouse pointer to any of the four corners of the table. When the mouse pointer turns into a diagonal arrow, click and hold the left mouse button. As you move the mouse while holding the mouse button, the table will scale, and the text will remain full size, just as shown in Figure 12.9. FIGURE 12.9 Resizing the table NOte It is possible that once you’re finished either moving or resizing the BOM, you’ll see the BOM PropertyManager display or a flyout toolbar appear. Click anywhere in the graphics area to close them. Hide and Show the Bill of Materials We could say plenty more about the BOM, but we will do that in the next chapter. For now, you will simply hide the BOM in the graphics area. Notice that you’re not deleting the BOM; you’re simply hiding it from view. You won’t be able to see it in the graphics area, but the BOM feature will remain inside the Tables folder 505434c12.indd 419 1/26/10 2:47:03 PM Chapter 12 • Putting It All Together: Part 2 420 in the FeatureManager design tree, and you can always show the BOM again at any time. Follow these steps to learn how to hide and show the BOM: 1. Move the mouse pointer inside the boundaries of the table. Right-click with your mouse. In the menu that appears, select Hide ➢ Table. The bill of materials table will now be hidden from view. 2. To display the BOM again, click the plus (+) next to the folder labeled Tables in the FeatureManager design tree. 3. Right-click the bill of materials table in the Tables folder, and select Show Table in the menu. You are now able to insert, modify, and hide a BOM inside an assembly docu- ment. Make sure that the BOM is very well hidden, and continue reading the next section of this chapter to learn more about how to get the best out of your assembly documents. Control the Display of the Assembly As you may probably remember from early chapters in this book, you can control the way in which individual components are displayed in the assembly by modify- ing their color, appearance, level of transparency, and display mode, or simply by hiding them. All these different display settings for the individual components in the assembly can be viewed and modified through the display pane, as you can see in Figure 12.10. Remember to click the >> at the top of the FeatureManager pane to expand the display pane. Click << to hide it. You can also create different combinations of these display settings and store them in what’s known as display states. FIGURE 12.10 Expanded display pane 505434c12.indd 420 1/26/10 2:47:05 PM Control the Display of the Assembly 421 Set Display States A display state stores information about a particular combination of display settings for the components in the assembly. Although the components remain the same from one display state to another, the way they are to be displayed in the assembly will be different. For instance, you may want to hide some components in the assem- bly so you can have better access to those that would otherwise be covered by them. Perhaps you want to make some component transparent so you can see those that lay underneath; for example, in the case of a large model of a car, you could make the body transparent to show the engine, the transmission, and all other internal components. You could also create several display states to show different stages in the process of assembly of a product or have a display state where all components that have been purchased from a certain manufacturer are shown in the same color. Display states should not be confused with assembly configurations. Unlike dis- play states, assembly configurations show different versions of a same model, but in this case the components are really not the same, or at least aren’t in the same positions, from one version to the other. You can use assembly configurations to show the components of your assembly arranged in different positions or to create simplified versions of your model, where the elements are shown without cosmetic details. You can also create configurations to show how the same model would look like if you changed the size or material of some of the components. Creating a configuration where some of the components have been made light- weight is also useful, especially when working with large assemblies. All display states available for the assembly will be shown in the bottom section of the ConfigurationManager, as you can see in Figure 12.11. Notice that Default_ Display State-1 is the only display state available for this assembly at the moment. FIGURE 12.11 Showing existing display states 505434c12.indd 421 1/26/10 2:47:06 PM Chapter 12 • Putting It All Together: Part 2 422 Create a Display State Creating your own display state is easy. Simply right-click any empty area of the ConfigurationManager and select Add Display State. A new display state will be added to the list, and it will also become the active display state. Just make sure nothing is selected in the ConfigurationManager before you begin. If something is already selected, you can simply left-click anywhere in the graphics area, and that should take care of the problem. The following steps will guide you through the process of creating a new dis- play state and making changes to the display settings for the individual compo- nents in the assembly: 1. If you haven’t already, hide the bill of materials table, and double- click the scroll wheel button to fit the assembly in the screen. 2. Click the ConfigurationManager tab in the FeatureManager. 3. Right-click anywhere in the ConfigurationManager, and select Add Display State in the menu. 4. Double-click the split bar above the FeatureManager to split the pane into two equal panes. The top pane will contain the FeatureManager, and the bottom pane will contain the ConfigurationManager. 5. Click the chevron next to the tabs at the top of the ConfigurationManager to expand the display pane. If you followed all the steps carefully up to this point, it should look like Figure 12.12. The new display state you just cre- ated appears on the list with the name Display State-1. It’s highlighted in blue to indicate that it’s active. FIGURE 12.12 Showing the new display state on the list 505434c12.indd 422 1/26/10 2:47:08 PM Control the Display of the Assembly 423 6. Any change to a part or subassembly made in one of the four col- umns of the display pane will be applied to the active display state only. Click the Display Mode icon for the lamp base, and select Hidden Lines Visible in the menu. 7. Click the Hide/Show icon for the electrical cover. If you have followed all the steps correctly, the display pane for the assembly should look like Figure 12.13. FIGURE 12.13 Display pane after the changes to settings Rename a Display State So far, you’ve managed to create a new display state for your assembly and change the display settings for some of the components. The only problem is, the name SolidWorks gave to the display setting isn’t really meaningful for you. You need to change this name to something that tells you more about the par- ticular combination of display settings in the display state. 1. Right-click Display State-1 on the list at the bottom section of the ConfigurationManager, and select Properties from the flyout menu. 2. The Display State Properties PropertyManager will show up, just like in Figure 12.14. Under Display State Name, replace the old name with the new one, Hidden Lines Visible. 3. Click the green check mark to accept the name. The active dis- play state should now appear listed under the new name in the ConfigurationManager. 505434c12.indd 423 1/26/10 2:47:10 PM Chapter 12 • Putting It All Together: Part 2 424 FIGURE 12.14 Renaming Display State-1 Activate a Display State Once you start collecting multiple display states for your model, sooner or later you’ll need to change from one to another. This is what is called activating a dis- play state and can be done in a few different ways. One way to do it is by double- clicking the display state of your choice among the inactive ones in the list at the bottom section of the ConfigurationManager. Another approach is to right-click anywhere in the display pane, select Activate Display State in the flyout menu, and select a display state in the submenu. From the FeatureManager pane, you can also right-click the >> that you would usually click to show the display pane and select a display state from the list that will show up in the flyout menu. NOte There’s also a dedicated Display States toolbar available. To activate this toolbar, right-click anywhere in an empty area of the CommandManager, and select Display States from the list of available toolbars. Set the Display State Mode You may have probably noticed the option Link Display States To Configurations under the list of display states and at the very bottom of the ConfigurationManager. What exactly does this mean? If you leave this option deselected, as you have been doing all along, then the display states are independent of the configurations in the assembly, and for this reason all display states will be available to every configuration you may have. If, on the other hand, you select this option, then each display state you create will be assigned to only one configuration in particular, although each configu- ration can have more than one display state. You are now familiar with the use of display states to control the display of the components in the assembly. Next, you’ll learn about different ways in which you can select components inside the assembly. 505434c12.indd 424 1/26/10 2:47:12 PM Understand Selection Tools for Assemblies 425 Understand Selection Tools for Assemblies You will now learn about several different tools for selecting components in the assembly, which can certainly come in handy from time to time. To access these tools, look for the Select button on the Standard toolbar at the top of the graph- ics area. You should be able to display a list of selection tools, such as the one in Figure 12.15. FIGURE 12.15 Selection tools for assemblies We’ll cover what each of these selection tools can do for you. Use the Volume Select Tool This tool allows you to visually select components in the assembly by enclosing them inside a temporary volume that you define. The way it works is best under- stood through an example. Follow these steps to learn how to use it: 1. If you closed the desk lamp assembly, open it again. Click the Select button, and choose Volume Select from the list. 2. For illustration purposes, you’ll use this tool to select the components from the bulb subassembly. Yes, it’s easier to simply select the subas- sembly directly from the FeatureManager, but the idea is to learn how to use this tool. Rotate the assembly so you can get a better view of the lightbulb from underneath the lamp. With the left button of your mouse, click and drag on the graphics area to define a rectangle around the components that will be selected, as shown in Figure 12.16. This rectangle is the first step in defining your volume. Note, however, that if you drag from left to right, all components inside the volume will be selected, and if you drag from right to left, then all components inside of or crossed by the volume will be selected. In this example, you are dragging a rectangle from left to right, so only components completely enclosed within the volume will be selected. 505434c12.indd 425 1/26/10 2:47:14 PM Chapter 12 • Putting It All Together: Part 2 426 FIGURE 12.16 Defining a rectangle to select components 3. When you release the left mouse button, you should see that the rect- angle has turned into a box with handles, like the one in Figure 12.17. You will probably also notice that the box doesn’t seem to include all the components you wanted to select. You need to adjust this volume so it can enclose the components you want to select. FIGURE 12.17 Volume for selection before adjustments 4. Drag the handles on the sides of the box until the volume completely encloses the lightbulb and the bulb receptacle. You may even need to rotate the model a few times to get a better view of the components. Notice that the selected components are shown in blue in the graph- ics area (see Figure 12.18). 505434c12.indd 426 1/26/10 2:47:20 PM Understand Selection Tools for Assemblies 427 FIGURE 12.18 Selected components enclosed by volume 5. Press Esc on your keyboard to finish the selection or simply initiate any other command that would be available for a multiple selection. As an example, we’ll now isolate these components. Right-click any- where in the graphics area, and select Isolate. As you may remember from Chapter 10, Isolate will hide all other nonselected components in the assembly, leaving only those you have selected visible. Make sure to click Exit Isolate to make all the components visible again before you continue. Select Hidden Use this tool to select all hidden components in the assembly and highlight them in the FeatureManager design tree. Follow these steps for an example of how to use this tool: 1. Make sure the Hidden Lines Visible display state that you created in a previous example is active. If it’s not, activate it by double-clicking it in the list at the bottom of the ConfigurationManager. 2. Click the Select button, and choose Select Hidden from the list. You won’t see any changes in the graphics area, but all the hidden com- ponents in the assembly will be highlighted in the FeatureManager design tree. In this case, the only hidden component you have is the electrical cover. 505434c12.indd 427 1/26/10 2:47:22 PM Chapter 12 • Putting It All Together: Part 2 428 Select Suppressed Use this tool to select all components that have been suppressed in the assembly and highlight them in the FeatureManager design tree. You don’t have any sup- pressed components in the desk lamp assembly, but if you did, you would see that this tool works in the same way as Select Hidden. Remember, however, that unlike a hidden component, a suppressed component is not only not seen in the graphics area but is also not solved at all in the assembly. Select Mated To Use this tool to select all components that are mated to another component of your choice. The component itself won’t be selected, however — only those that are mated to it will be. Follow these steps for an example of how to use this tool: 1. Make sure nothing is already selected in the graphics area or the FeatureManager design tree. 2. In the FeatureManager design tree, click the Shaft, Lamp component to select it; then click the Select button, and choose Select Mated To from the list of selection tools. 3. As shown in Figure 12.19, in the graphics area, three components will appear highlighted in blue: the base lamp, the custom bearing nut, and the shade mount. If needed, rotate the assembly so you can get a better view from behind. Notice that these same three compo- nents appear highlighted in the FeatureManager design tree. These are all the components that are mated to the Shaft, Lamp. FIGURE 12.19 Components mated to the Shaft, Lamp 505434c12.indd 428 1/26/10 2:47:25 PM [...]... to the arrow you selected in the triad A new explode step will be added to the list, and SolidWorks will get ready to accept your next selection 6 After you place the subassembly in its new position by releasing the left button of the mouse, a new explode step appears listed in the Explode PropertyManager, and SolidWorks is ready to accept a new selection to create the next exploded step Click the... steps described in this chapter In addition to downloading the assembly, you will need to download the drawing template and save the template in the templates folder referenced by SolidWorks If you are unsure as to which folder SolidWorks uses for templates, check the folder path by selecting Tools ➢ Options ➢ File Locations ➢ Document Templates Create an Exploded Assembly Drawing In the previous chapter,... technique Now that you know how to select the components in the assembly, let’s learn how to sort them out Understand Assembly Visualization Assembly visualization is part of the new functionality included in SolidWorks 2010 It provides the user with different ways to sort the components of an assembly, both in a list and in the graphics area The components can be sorted by their properties, such as weight,... relationships between all its different components, to generate instructions on how a product should be assembled, or even to make it easier to view and select components while performing stress analysis SolidWorks allows the user to configure exploded views of assemblies, with or without explode lines included In addition, once created, these exploded views can be edited as needed, used in drawings, or... just a few moments 5 Look for the column Value, and click the empty field underneath to display the list of options Choose HLV from the list for Hidden Lines Visible 6 Click Apply in the dialog box SolidWorks will then search and select all components in the assembly that have hidden lines visible as their display mode The only component found is the Base, Lamp, and it appears highlighted in the... search criteria based on more than just one characteristic by using AND or OR For instance, you could use OR at the beginning of the next row and specify search criteria for all components that are hidden SolidWorks would then search and select all components that are either hidden or have hidden lines visible as their display mode You are now familiar with all the available selection tools for assemblies . assembly and change the display settings for some of the components. The only problem is, the name SolidWorks gave to the display setting isn’t really meaningful for you. You need to change this. options. Choose HLV from the list for Hidden Lines Visible. 6. Click Apply in the dialog box. SolidWorks will then search and select all components in the assembly that have hidden lines visible. the beginning of the next row and specify search criteria for all components that are hidden. SolidWorks would then search and select all components that are either hidden or have hidden lines