Engineering Design with SolidWorks 2011

Book excerpt: Engineering Design with SolidWorks 2011 is written to assist students, designers, engineers and professionals. The book provides a solid foundation in SolidWorks by utilizing projects with step-by-step instructions for the beginning to intermediate SolidWorks user. Explore the user interface, CommandManager, menus, toolbars and modeling techniques to create parts, assemblies and drawings in an engineering environment. Follow the step-by-step instructions and develop multiple parts and assemblies that combine machined, plastic and sheet metal components. Formulate the skills to create, modify and edit sketches and solid features. Learn the techniques to reuse features, parts and assemblies through symmetry, patterns, copied components, design tables, Bills of Materials, Custom Properties and Configurations. Address various SolidWorks analysis tools: SimulationXpress, Sustainability / SustainabilityXpress and DFMXpress and Intelligent Modeling techniques. Learn by doing, not just by reading! Desired outcomes and usage competencies are listed for each project. Know your objective up front. Follow the steps in Project 1 - 8 to achieve the design goals. Work between multiple documents, features, commands and custom properties that represent how engineers and designers utilize SolidWorks in industry. Review individual features, commands and tools with the enclosed Multi-media CD. The projects contain exercises. The exercises analyze and examine usage competencies. Collaborate with leading industry suppliers such as SMC Corporation of America, Boston Gear and 80/20 Inc. Collaborative information translates into numerous formats such as paper drawings, electronic files, rendered images and animations. On-line intelligent catalogs guide designers to the product that meets both their geometric requirements and performance functionality. The authors developed the industry scenarios by combining their own industry experience with the knowledge of engineers, department managers, vendors and manufacturers. These professionals are directly involved with SolidWorks everyday. Their responsibilities go far beyond the creation of just a 3D model. The book is designed to compliment the SolidWorks Tutorials contained in SolidWorks 2011.