How to Make Surfaces in Solidworks Unhidden Again

Tutorials

Solidworks Export Tutorial

Solidworks is an attractive way to model popup devices because yous can interact with the three-dimensional kinematics of your popup device. However, Solidworks is not expert at everything. Offset, it cannot create your cut-files for yous automatically. Solidworks knows nothing near how you're going to make your device, out of how many layers, and with what manufacturing processes. Second, Solidworks is such an expansive tool, and tin be used in and so many different ways that the most straightforward way to blueprint a popup device is not very obvious.

Then, to assist users with these problems, we have outlined a workflow which can be used to rapidly create a popup device whose kinematics yous can visualise and collaborate with quickly. 2nd, we also outline the steps to export those basic multilayer kinematics to a popupCAD file so that the manufacturing specifics can be done in an environs with congenital-in manufacturing noesis.

Download example.zip to see this example projection.

Tutorial Video

Step-by-footstep Instructions

Create a new function file
Select a reference airplane(top, for example) and and then create a new sketch (or create a new sketch and select whatsoever reference plane)
Sketch the lines which define your robot. The outline of your robot should be a drawn out of solid lines. Any internal hinges should be drawn as construction lines, or fabricated into construction lines once drawn. If you lot are making a robot which consists of multiple sub-laminates, you should create one of these sketches per sublaminate.
Adjacent, for each sub-laminate sketch that you take created, you can should create a planar surface. Go to insert->surfaces->planar surface. Select each sketch. This should create a surface whose outline matches the airtight shape of solid lines you drew in your sketch.
For each surface you only created, yous desire to split that surface along all the lines representing joints from your original sketch. First, unhide the original sketch by clicking on the eyglasses icon under the surface->sketch in the left project pane. This volition allow you to view, select, and reference lines fatigued in that sketch.
Next, create a new sketch on the aforementioned reference airplane(such as the top plane), select one or more articulation lines, and in the sketch tools, select "catechumen entities". Only select sets of lines which do not cross each other, as the side by side stride will neglect. Make sure that the lines you do select completely cross the surface, or create a loop.
Repeat the final two steps for the remaining articulation lines, making sure not to select sets of lines which cross each other or more than ii lines at any bespeak.
Use insert->curve->separate line to separate faces. You will demand to do this for each sketch you only created. When you do this, remember to select all the surface faces to ensure they go separate by the sketch.
Use the insert->surface->offset office to create independent surfaces from faces of original body. Hint: to echo creating the same feature over and over, hit enter after creating one offset surface feature and solidworks will begin a new one.
Utilize insert->boss/base->thicken feature to thicken each feature. Hint: deselect the merge torso option afterwards creating the first thickened function, otherwise the bodies will merge back together.
Salve your file!!
Await at the project carte on the left. You lot should have a number of solid bodies in your part file.
Right click on the solid bodies folder and select "relieve bodies"
In the save bodies card, motorcar-assign names and select an assembly name. This volition automatically put all the saved bodies into an assembly file. Click the green check box. Select "rebuild" if a notification box pops up. This should brainstorm the save process and open up up your new assembly file in the groundwork
Save and close your part file. Now the newly-created assembly file should be visible.
All the parts in your assembly are stock-still in space relative to each other. To visualize how they will move, yous must float all the parts except for i. To do this, select all the parts you wish to be able to move, right click on them in the project managing director on the left, and select "float". These parts should now be able to exist moved by dragging them.
Adjacent, you must create mating conditions to ascertain the joint kinematics of your devie. Since these thickened flat sheets correspond several layers laminated together, they will well-nigh probable rotate around their midplane. All the same, to get together the device faster, information technology is easier to select edges and points on the top or bottom surface, with the knowledge that information technology may non move exactly the same in real life. Select one mating line on two parts you lot would like to articulation with a joint and then select the "mate" button in the assembly tab. This will bring the two lines together. Hit enter to accept
Next select 2 points at the end of the mating border you just joined, one for each role. This should bring together those two points and constrain the parts as if they are joined by a hinge. You lot can now move those two parts relative to each other.
Echo this process for each joint you lot wish to create. This should fully define the motion of the device. Y'all can move the device around as it will piece of work once created, as in this video
Once y'all have defined the kinematics of the device, you must now re-flatten the assembly and so that yous can export it to popupCAD. Add boosted mating constraints to neighboring faces of your device, making them "coincident" to each other. This will flatten information technology.
Save your Assembly
Brand a new drawing by selecting file->"create drawing from assembly"
Deselect the sail format option
Drag in the acme view of the assembly and hitting enter. (I'g bold you lot used the peak view to create your original sketches)
download the macro plant at https://github.com/popupcad/popupcad_solidworks_exporter.
Select the top view
Export the top view. Become to tools->macro->edit, and select "ExportDrawingFaces.swp", found in the /swp directory of the downloaded macro projection. Annotation: this will only piece of work with Solidworks 2014, 64-fleck. Otherwise you will have to re-create the macro project from the included source files. That will accept to be the subject of a different tutorial
A code window should open. Select the run icon, and select run on the dialog that opens.
The macro should then output a .yaml file into the assembly directory. This file tin exist imported in the popupCAD sketch tool.