james.lynch
New member
I'd like to add my $0.02c on this one..
I work for a Design Consultancy called Design Partners who handle the industrial design for many products in various disciplines but more often than not it's in the Hi-Tech Electronics markets (Logitech would be one of our main clients) and we pretty much use Surfaces exclusively!
We use a Master Model approach which essentially means that in a Master model (one part) ALL exterior and offsetgeometry is created. Wemake extensive use of Layers to organize parts files which could have 5000-6000 features in them and once we are finishedwith one particular section of a model (eg the outer surfaceof the top case of a keyboard, or button an a mouse) a copy of that surface is created and it is blanked off in a layer and that feature CANNOT have any children, the same is done for the offset of these surfaces and split-lines etc and you are left with maybe 100-200 of these copy surfs.
Now once the model is finished ALL of the construction features (be that surfaces/datums/curves whatever) are blanked and the "copy of" layer is shown. AnAssembly is then created and various part files are created and the appropriate surfaces are copied in from the master model, they are mergedand solidified, then the engineersin whatever company is our client takes these files and add ribbing and bosses or whatever and then there is the constant back and fourthbetween manufacturing/marketing/engineers saying "weneed moreroom for the PCB" "we need 3 degrees draft on this surface instead of 2" "We'd like to incorporate this new technology which we have just developed and need more room here" or whatever - my point is the model changes! and here is where the power of this technique lies.. the master model surfaces are changed (but the Feature ID of the copy of surf doesn't)and presto - the parts update with very few failures!
So not withstanding the fact that Solid modeling is extremely restrictive in terms of the geometry that can be created, the above technique (which is done without Advanced Assembly) would be impossible to implement!
There is MUCH more to surfacing than meets the eye!
James
Edited by: james.lynch
I work for a Design Consultancy called Design Partners who handle the industrial design for many products in various disciplines but more often than not it's in the Hi-Tech Electronics markets (Logitech would be one of our main clients) and we pretty much use Surfaces exclusively!
We use a Master Model approach which essentially means that in a Master model (one part) ALL exterior and offsetgeometry is created. Wemake extensive use of Layers to organize parts files which could have 5000-6000 features in them and once we are finishedwith one particular section of a model (eg the outer surfaceof the top case of a keyboard, or button an a mouse) a copy of that surface is created and it is blanked off in a layer and that feature CANNOT have any children, the same is done for the offset of these surfaces and split-lines etc and you are left with maybe 100-200 of these copy surfs.
Now once the model is finished ALL of the construction features (be that surfaces/datums/curves whatever) are blanked and the "copy of" layer is shown. AnAssembly is then created and various part files are created and the appropriate surfaces are copied in from the master model, they are mergedand solidified, then the engineersin whatever company is our client takes these files and add ribbing and bosses or whatever and then there is the constant back and fourthbetween manufacturing/marketing/engineers saying "weneed moreroom for the PCB" "we need 3 degrees draft on this surface instead of 2" "We'd like to incorporate this new technology which we have just developed and need more room here" or whatever - my point is the model changes! and here is where the power of this technique lies.. the master model surfaces are changed (but the Feature ID of the copy of surf doesn't)and presto - the parts update with very few failures!
So not withstanding the fact that Solid modeling is extremely restrictive in terms of the geometry that can be created, the above technique (which is done without Advanced Assembly) would be impossible to implement!
There is MUCH more to surfacing than meets the eye!
James
Edited by: james.lynch
win win..! 