SolidWorks 2022 Advanced: Top-Down Assembly

Name: SolidWorks 2022 Advanced: Top-Down Assembly
Author: Will Tenney

Learn how to model several parts simultaneously with top-down assembly modeling

Preview the first lesson free — get full access to all 10 lessons.

Course: On-Demand

Hello, my name is Will Tanney, and in this lesson we'll begin to discuss top-down assembly modeling. Now, up to this point, our experience with assemblies has been to create parts and load them into larger assemblies. Sometimes those parts are linked together by master part files or master sketches. Sometimes they're completely independent, however they're all built out before coming into the assembly file. This method is known as bottom-up assembly modeling. Top-down assembly modeling begins in the assembly file itself. Within an assembly file you can start, edit, and complete parts all the way. Here, we have a part file loaded into an assembly file. We can see it right here in the feature tree. This part has multiple bodies that make up the internal components of this power drill that I'm creating for rendering purposes. I could make this a master part file, load it into other part files, and create an external structure from there. What I've decided to do instead is to load the part into this assembly and create other parts in this same assembly that will make up the entire external structure of this product. To do this, we would begin by going up to the insert components command and selecting the dropdown menu and selecting new part. Once that's done, you can see that a new part file has been added to our feature tree over here to the left. Also, you'll notice that the cursor has a green check mark next to it. That's because the program is waiting for me to select the plane where I will begin my very first sketch with this new part. We'll discuss this a bit more in the next lesson. I'm going to click escape to get out of that. For now, I wanted to offer a list of pros and cons to top-down assembly modeling. Now, the biggest pro is that it can expedite the process of modeling products with multiple parts. You can create parts that can automatically reference other parts of the assembly without having to open and save lots of files. When you close the assembly, you'll be notified that you have components that have unspecified save locations on your server. You can give those new parts a place to live or simply keep them embedded in the assembly file while you work. If you are building a complex design with lots of parts and pieces that link together, this can be a quick way to get them all built out. Now, the main con comes from one concept and that's what I'm going to call circular modeling. If you model something, a part or a sketch in an assembly file, just name a few and that something references something else from another file, you have to be very careful about how you edit those files moving forward because now they're linked. For instance, if I start a new part in this assembly and convert the entities of this sketch showing the outside profile of the drill into the new part, I can't then change the location of the new part in the assembly without it causing problems. Along the same lines, I can't alter this sketch in any way without it breaking the link between my two parts built within this assembly. Let me show you. I'll go ahead and start a new part and we'll select the right plane to begin our sketch and I'm going to convert just these two lines here. I'll connect these lines so I can build the 3D shape and let that alone. Now, if I go back into the power drill and find this sketch and remove one of these lines, you'll see that's gonna cause some problems. It's already giving us warning signs and it's unable to properly build this new part. The same type of thing would happen if I establish mates in this assembly that move this body somewhere else because how can it reference this sketch with convert entities if it's in a completely different location? Even more problematic would be to create a new part in an assembly, reference another part when I build it, and then open the original part again and reference the new part. Now, this sounds complicated and perhaps a little scary. However, I will show you how to build out top-down designs to avoid anything that would crash your files. Thanks for listening. In the next lesson, we'll begin to create and save parts built directly in assemblies.

Advanced Provider : Will Tenney 10 Lessons · 1h 9m in Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese

Course Description

These lessons deal directly with a modeling strategy known as top-down assembly modeling. Top-down describes a modeling technique that allows the designer to build and edit several part files at once within a single assembly file. We’ll begin with a discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of this type of modeling, though ultimately it depends on the user’s design preferences. With this knowledge, SolidWorks users will be able to ensure that several files can be parametrically linked to one another as well as to the overall assembly itself. This can be an efficient way of modeling complex assemblies in a shorter time.

These lessons will mainly comprise of top-down assembly modeling techniques that relate directly to the feature tools previously taught in earlier courses. You will learn through solid modeling, surfacing, 3D sketching, and advanced features. You will also discover new ways of affecting these features for more complex and detailed results.

What You'll Learn

Understand the advantages and disadvantages of top-down assembly modeling
Avoid errors while working with top-down assembly modeling
Build parts within assemblies to reduce mating and reference work time
Execute advanced part modeling features within assemblies, including lofts, boundaries, and advanced sweeps
Apply solid modeling, surfacing, and 3D sketching techniques inside a single assembly file
Create and edit new parts directly within an assembly and parametrically link them to the overall assembly

Key Takeaways

Top-down assembly modeling lets the designer build and edit several part files at once within a single assembly file.
Parts can be parametrically linked to one another and to the overall assembly itself.
This technique can be an efficient way of modeling complex assemblies in a shorter time.
The lessons build on feature tools taught in earlier courses, covering solid modeling, surfacing, 3D sketching, and advanced features.
Whether top-down modeling is the right approach ultimately depends on the user's design preferences.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is this course for?

It is for SolidWorks users who want to learn top-down assembly modeling, a technique for building and editing several part files at once within a single assembly file.

What does this course cover?

It covers the advantages and disadvantages of top-down assembly modeling, how to avoid errors, building parts within assemblies, and advanced part modeling features such as extrusions, lofts, boundaries, 3D sketching, surfacing, advanced sweeps, and advanced patterns.

Do I need prior SolidWorks knowledge?

Yes. The lessons relate directly to feature tools previously taught in earlier courses, so they build on prior SolidWorks knowledge.

What skills will I gain from this course?

You will gain skills in assembly drawing, assembly modelling, product structure modeling, solid modeling, and SolidWorks (CAD), supporting SolidWorks certification.

How is the course structured?

It is structured as a series of lessons beginning with an introduction to top-down assembly, then creating and editing a new part in an assembly, followed by top-down modeling techniques for extrusions, loft, boundary, 3D sketching, surfacing, advanced sweeps, advanced patterns, and advanced illustration and importing imagery.