Tutorial 9

Assembly Modeling
Learning Objectives
After completing this tutorial, Student will be able to:
• Understand the bottom-up assembly design approach
• Understand the top-down assembly design approach
• Create bottom-up assemblies
• Add mates to assemblies
• Move individual components in an assembly
• Create sub-assemblies
• Create patterns of components in an assembly
• Create the exploded state of an assembly

ASSEMBLY MODELING
An assembly design consists of two or more components assembled together at their
respective work positions by using parametric relations. In SOLIDWORKS, these
relations are called mates. Mates allow you to constrain the degrees of freedom of
components at their respective work positions. To start the Assembly mode of
SOLIDWORKS, invoke the New SOLIDWORKS Document dialog box and then
choose the Assembly button, refer to Figure 9-1. Next, choose the OK button to create a
new assembly document. On doing so, a new SOLIDWORKS document will open in the
Assembly mode and the Begin Assembly PropertyManager will be invoked, as shown
in Figure 9-2.
 Figure 9-1 The Assembly button chosen in the New SOLIDWORKS Document
dialog box

Types of Assembly Design Approach

In SOLIDWORKS, assemblies are created using two types of design approaches: bottom•
up approach and top-down approach. These approaches are discussed next.

Bottom-up Assembly Design Approach

The bottom-up assembly design approach is the traditional and the most widely preferred
approach of assembly design. In this approach, all components are created as separate part
documents, and then they are placed and referred in the assembly as external components.
In this type of approach, components are created in the Part mode and saved as the .sldprt
documents. After creating and saving all components of the assembly, start a new
assembly document (.sldasm) and insert the components in it using the tools provided in
the Assembly mode. After inserting the components, assemble them using the assembly
mates.

Figure 9-2 The Assembly mode with the Begin Assembly PropertyManager

The main advantage of using this approaches is that the view of the part is not restricted
because there is only a single part in the current file. Therefore, this approach allows you
to concentrate on the complex individual features. It is also preferred while handling large
assemblies or assemblies with complex parts.

Top-down Assembly Design Approach

In the top-down assembly design approach, the components are created in the same
assembly document, but they are saved as separate part files. Therefore, the top-down
assembly design approach is entirely different from the bottom-up design approach. In this
approach, you will start your work in the assembly document and the geometry of one part
will help in defining the geometry of the other part.

Note
You can also create an assembly with the combination of bottom-up and top-down
assembly approaches.
Tutorial 2
In this tutorial, you will create all components of the Pipe Vice assembly and then
assemble them. The Pipe Vice assembly is shown in Figure 9-41. The dimensions of
various components of this assembly are shown in Figures 9-42 and 9-43. (Expected
time: 2 hr 45 min)

Figure 9-41 Pipe Vice assembly

Figure -Views and dimensions of the base
Figure.-Views and dimensions of the Screw, Handle, Moveable Jaw, and
Handle Screw

You will create all components of the Pipe Vice assembly as separate part documents.
After creating the parts, you will assemble them in the assembly document. In this
tutorial, you need to use the bottom-up approach for creating the assembly.

The following steps are required to complete this tutorial:

a. Create all components as separate part documents and then save them. The part
documents will be saved at \Documents\SOLIDWORKS Tutorials\c09\Pipe Vice.
b. Place the Base at the origin of the assembly
Base at the origin of the assembly.
c. Place the Moveable Jaw and the Screw in the assembly. Apply mates between the
Moveable Jaw and the Screw, refer to Figure 9-45.
d. Assemble the Moveable Jaw and the Screw with the Base, refer to Figures 9-46 and 9-
47.
e. Save the assembly.

Creating Components
1. Create all components of the Pipe Vice assembly as separate part documents. Specify
the names of the files as used in Figures 9-42 and 9-43. Save the documents at the
location \Documents\SOLIDWORKS Tutorials\c09\Pipe Vice.

Inserting First Component into the Assembly

After creating all components of the Pipe Vice assembly, you need to start a new
SOLIDWORKS assembly document.

1. Start a new SOLIDWORKS assembly document; the Begin Assembly

PropertyManager is displayed by default.

2. Choose the Browse button from the Part/Assembly to Insert rollout to display the
Open dialog box. Next, open the Pipe Vice folder and double-click on the Base
component.

3. Choose the OK button from the Begin Assembly PropertyManager to place the Base
origin coincident to the origin of the assembly document.

4. Change the view orientation to isometric.

Inserting and Assembling the Components

After placing the first component in the assembly environment, you need to place the
Moveable Jaw and the Screw in the assembly environment. After placing these
components, you need to apply the required mates.

1. Choose the Insert Components button from the Assembly CommandManager. Then,
choose the Keep Visible button from the PropertyManager to keep it visible. Next,
invoke the Open dialog box by choosing the Browse button from the Part/Assembly to
Insert rollout.
2. Double-click on the Moveable Jaw. Place the component in the assembly environment
such that it does not interfere with the existing component.

3. Similarly, place the Screw in the assembly environment and choose the OK button from
the Insert Component PropertyManager. Figure 9-44 shows the Moveable Jaw,
Screw, and Base placed in the assembly environment.

Now, you need to assemble the Screw with the Moveable Jaw. Therefore, you need to fix
the Moveable Jaw.
4. Select the Moveable Jaw from the drawing area or from the FeatureManager Design
Tree and then right-click to invoke the shortcut menu.

5. Choose the Fix option from the shortcut menu; the Moveable Jaw becomes fixed and
you cannot move or rotate it.

Figure 9-44 The Moveable Jaw, Screw, and Base placed in the assembly environment

Now, you will assemble the Screw with the Moveable Jaw by using the Smart Mates
option.
6. Choose the Move Component button from the Assembly CommandManager; the
 Move Component PropertyManager is displayed.

The Move Component tool is used to move the individual unconstrained component in
the assembly document without affecting the position and location of the other
components.

Tip
In the Assembly environment of SOLIDWORKS, you can also move the component placed
in an assembly without invoking any tool. To move an individual component, press and
hold the left mouse button on the component and drag the cursor. Release the left mouse
button to place the component at the desired location.

7. Choose the
SmartMates button from the Move rollout of the Move
ComponentPropertyManager; the current PropertyManager is changed to SmartMates PropertyManager.

The SmartMates PropertyManager is used to apply Smart Mates to the components in

order to assemble them in the Assembly environment. Smart Mates are the most attractive
feature of the assembly design environment in SOLIDWORKS. Smart Mates technology
speeds up the design process in the Assembly environment of SOLIDWORKS.

8. Double-click on the lowermost cylindrical face of the Screw; the Screw appears
transparent.

9. Drag the cursor to the hole located on the top of the Moveable Jaw by pressing the left
mouse button. Next, release the left mouse button as soon as the concentric symbol is
displayed below the cursor; the Mate pop-up toolbar is displayed with the Concentric
button chosen.

10. Choose the Add/Finish Mate button from the Mate pop-up toolbar. Next, select the
Screw and move it up, so that it is not inside the Moveable Jaw.

11. Right-click in the drawing area and then choose the Clear Selections option from the
shortcut menu to clear the current selection.

12. Rotate the assembly and double-click on the lower flat face of the Screw; the Screw
appears transparent.
13. Rotate the model again and drag the cursor toward the top planar face of the Moveable
Jaw by pressing the left mouse button. Next, release the left mouse button as soon as the
coincident symbol is displayed below the cursor; the Mate pop-up toolbar is displayed
with Coincident button chosen.

14. Choose the Add/Finish Mate button from the Mate pop-up toolbar. The coincident
mate is applied between the selected faces.

15. Choose the OK button from the SmartMates PropertyManager. Next, change
the current view of the assembly to isometric view. Figure 9-45 shows the Screw after
applying mates.

Figure 9-45 The Screw assembled with the Moveable Jaw

Next, you need to assemble the Screw and the Moveable Jaw with the Base.

16. Select the Moveable Jaw, invoke the shortcut menu, and then choose the Float option
from it. Now, you can move the Moveable Jaw and the Screw assembled to it.

17. With the ALT key pressed, select the cylindrical face of the Screw and move the Screw
toward the hole created on the top face of the Base. Now add the concentric mate
between them.

18. Invoke the Mate PropertyManager and then select the front planar face of the
Moveable Jaw and the front planar face of the Base.
19. Choose the Parallel button from the Mate pop-up toolbar and then choose the
Add/Finish Mate button to add the Parallel mate between the selected faces.

20. Select the faces, as shown in Figure 9-46.

21. Choose the Parallel button from the Mate pop-up toolbar. Next, expand the
Advanced Mates rollout of the Parallel1 PropertyManager displayed at the left of the
graphics area.

22. Choose the Distance button from Advanced Mates rollout of the
PropertyManager; the Distance, Maximum Value, and Minimum Value edit boxes are
enabled.

The Distance button available in the Advanced Mates rollout of the Mate
PropertyManager is used to create to and fro motion between the components.

Note
The maximum distance by which the two selected faces can be moved apart is specified in
the Distance spinner and the same values will be displayed in the Maximum Value edit
box as well. To move the selected faces in to and fro motion, you need to specify the
minimum distance in the Minimum Value edit box.

23. Enter 65 and 5 in the Maximum Value and Minimum Value edit boxes, respectively.
Next, choose the OK button twice to exit the PropertyManager. Figure 9-47 shows the
assembly document after assembling the Moveable Jaw and Screw with the Base
component of the assembly.

24. Similarly, assemble the other components of the Pipe Vice assembly. Figure 9-47
shows the final Pipe Vice assembly.
 Faces to be select ed

Figure 9-46 Faces to be selected

Figure 9-47 Final Pipe Vice assembly

25. Save the assembly document at the location \Documents\SOLIDWORKS\c09\Pipe

Vice.