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Wiring harness CAD software? Is there any free(-ish) software I should check out? My wiring harness will only have 20-30 wires, so it's not a problem to do it by hand. But maybe there are useful tools out there even for small projects.
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Dec 3, 2022 19:25
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I'm the only Solidworks user at my tiny startup. If they ever go under, I will swap in my own credit card number and just adopt the license for myself.
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Dec 4, 2022 02:20
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NewFatMike posted:Are y’all on the startup program? It’s a pretty solid deal. If your VAR won’t sign you up for it, and the 3DEXPERIENCE version works for you, you’ll almost certainly get approved for it by applying through SOLIDWORKS themselves. No, it was all too complicated and so we just bought a normal seat for $5k or whatever, and pay $1800/yr to renew support/updates. This is despite Dassault being our largest investor / parent company, lol. It was easier to pay full price to a VAR than to navigate their internal corporate processes to get a free license.
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Dec 4, 2022 18:51
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NewFatMike posted:Christ. I guess that is Dassault.txt. I’m sorry about that. Eh, I did a couple inquiries, then asked our CEO how much he cared about $5k, and he said "very little". I think the part of Dassault involved with investment ventures is very, very far from the part of Dassault that gives out Solidworks licenses. Several months later, Autodesk gave us Fusion 360 'for free' (bundled into our EAGLE subscription). If they had done that deal a year earlier, I'd be using Fusion 360 right now. Today my primary tools are KiCad and Solidworks.
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Dec 4, 2022 19:24
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Solidworks Question I'm trying to fit a GPS antenna into a tight enclosure with a circuit board already in there. How do I make notes/sketch poo poo in the assembly, then take it back to the SLDPRT to make changes? Here's the device:    The small blue board plugs into the back of the white LED board, then the combo goes into the 3D printed enclosure. I used mates on the corners of the GPS antenna brick to stick it to the inside surface of the enclosure. It slides around nicely, which let me find a spot that mostly cleared the circuit board assembly.  Now I want to go back to the curved enclosure SLDPRT, and do a shallow extruded cut into the inner surface of the enclosure, under the antenna. Basically excavate a square cavity for it to sit in, 1mm deep. This will guide assembly when gluing in the antenna. How do I mark/annotate those locations back to the SLDPRT? I don't want the link to be 'live', just a one-time copy of coordinates or whatever. What's the best way?
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Dec 16, 2022 04:15
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Oh neat, I didn't realize you could edit components from inside the assembly. That makes it easy.
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Dec 16, 2022 07:30
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Drawing a weirdo 62mm octagonal wrench in Solidworks and ordering it from SendCutSend because it is cheaper than buying a big enough pipe wrench on Amazon. (If you're already ordering other stuff to meet their minimums.) $9 for 1/4" mild steel. Despite the huge proportions, this thing is connected to a M8 bolt, so torque is low. e: Or for $2 more it can be AR500 and legit strong ryanrs fucked around with this message at 06:36 on Feb 1, 2023 |
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Feb 1, 2023 05:19
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NewFatMike: what stencil font should I be using in solidworks? my current solution: 
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Feb 17, 2023 03:40
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Sendcutsend laser-cut 0.187 steel.
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Feb 17, 2023 04:26
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Bad Munki posted:Comic sans for sure. Comic Sans is not a stencil font, so this happens: 
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Feb 17, 2023 04:35
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NewFatMike posted:Best practice is to dissolve the text inside your sketch using that command What does that mean, dissolve text? e: mostly I was wondering if there was a simple built-in stencil font (like how OLFSimpleSansOC is the built-in stick font). Sounds like there isn't one, and I should go download something. Or leave the lowercase 'r' for humor. ryanrs fucked around with this message at 04:52 on Feb 17, 2023 |
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Feb 17, 2023 04:48
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JointHorse posted:Would this page help? Those are not stencil fonts. I need letter shapes with little tabs to keep the centers from falling out of the Os and Rs.  NewFatMike posted:https://help.solidworks.com/2020/English/SolidWorks/sldworks/t_dissolving_sketch_text.htm OK, that is very useful for converting non-stencil text into laser-compatible cuts (tedious, but OK for a couple letters). Thanks!
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Feb 17, 2023 21:04
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NewFatMike posted:I’m going to have to talk so many people down from using this for CNC projects My company's first CNC part was designed in SketchUp. I think the guy who made it had recently remodeled his kitchen?
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Feb 20, 2023 03:55
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What is a 'thin feature'? (On my very simple designs, it generally means I've hosed something up.)
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Feb 20, 2023 17:18
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Paid $$$ CAD software will also make you want to die.
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Feb 20, 2023 21:58
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NewFatMike posted:If you’re not going to do any letters that connect the nubbins on the inside of letters like A and O, you’re pretty free. Best practice is to dissolve the text inside your sketch using that command, that way when you export a DXF, overlapping lines and other typeface artifacts should be gone.  I decided not to go with stencil letters. In the end, thin tabs in heavy steel seemed bad. It's perfectly manufacturable, because we have lasers, but I don't think it would look great. Simple letter forms are better. SendCutSend's yellow zinc chromate looks great, better than the pics on their website. Above image is straight out of my iphone, with no enhancements/adjustments of any kind. (Though I did position the pic to best catch the light from the window.) More in the the minivan thread.
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Mar 5, 2023 06:26
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OTOH if you don't want to learn CAD and only want to order one simple part from SendCutSend, just post/PM a drawing (even a hand drawing) and I can make you a solidworks file & a dxf to upload.
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Mar 7, 2023 02:11
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I need to design a front panel for a handheld device. Two knobs, a couple switches, some LEDs, etc. It's pretty simple. What software should I use to make this 2D drawing? I almost feel like doing it directly in my PCB design software, since many features (holes, etc) will be carried over to a pcb. In fact, the actual front panel will probably be a pcb, since custom pcbs appear to be significantly cheaper than custom printed polycarbonate overlays. So do I use...Inkscape? Something else? During a cursory poke at Inkscape, it wasn't obvious how to plop down a circle, then edit the location and size using text. Is it easy to work in real units with real numbers in Inkscape? I assume I just need to actually learn the software, but please yell if I am going about this all wrong. e: I am designing both front panel artwork and the outline and mounting holes. So that includes labels next to the LEDs and switches, etc. This is a control panel for a power converter, not some stylish consumer electronics gadget. ryanrs fucked around with this message at 04:40 on Mar 23, 2023 |
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Mar 23, 2023 04:16
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Or I could use Solidworks, I suppose. But I suspect both Solidworks and KiCad are going to be pretty crap at the artwork part.
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Mar 23, 2023 05:13
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If you had starlink, you could be on a zoom call right now.
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May 6, 2023 04:03
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How do I share a sketch across different features in Solidworks? For example, say I have a sketch with a couple shapes, some contours will extruded, and some will be cuts. I want to draw it all on the same sketch because it makes sense for some reason, maybe the constraints or symmetry work out better, or whatever. Is there an easy way to do this? Or maybe some fundamental reason I shouldn't be trying to do it?
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May 18, 2023 23:56
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Thanks for all these suggestions! I learned about Convert Entities and Trim Entities a little while ago. They are super useful.
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May 19, 2023 04:53
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An electronic project has given me the barest pretext for an elaborate sheet metal project. It's an array of 24x 20W halogen bulbs acting as a huge resistor. The optical output is entirely incidental, I just don't want it shining in my face or causing a fire.  It's about 10" tall, so not huge. Originally I was going to get it laser cut from 5052 aluminum, a gleaming sculpture of metal that SendCutSend quoted at over $400. So I redesigned it for galvanized steel, the ubiquitous pre-galv coil steel used to make PC cases and a million other consumer devices. Steel dropped the cost down to $250, which is more reasonable. This is for 20 metal parts with 25 bends total. It will be assembled with lots of pop rivets and a few screws (for serviceability). It has a couple embellishments / experiments, basically trying out stuff.    This is my first complex sheet metal design. I have used Sendcutsend's bending service before, but not for something like this, where all the parts need to fit together. ryanrs fucked around with this message at 10:19 on Jul 1, 2023 |
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Jul 1, 2023 09:42
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This is the only panel that their website preview didn't like. That's a single bend (bend lines are collinear), but the preview window doesn't render it correctly. But I'm sure it'll come out ok, since the intent is obvious from the DXF. This particular part is achiral, so it doesn't matter if the bend is 'up' or 'down'. Their system will probably charge me for two bends, though. 
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Jul 1, 2023 19:13
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Inside red corners get a larger radius fillet than outside black corners. The difference in radius should equal the gap between the straight lines, if you want a uniform gap. Make the radius difference larger than that for extra clearance in the corners. e: specifically about fillet constraints, a fillet is fully defined by the radius and the corner you are filleting. Radius + the two implicit tangent constraints to the edges fully defines the arc. (I've never used FreeCAD, though, so if this is about some other software-specific weirdness, then I dunno.) ryanrs fucked around with this message at 05:56 on Jul 4, 2023 |
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Jul 4, 2023 02:28
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I love it when vendors provide high-quality 3D models of their products. Here's the model for an NKK SW3822 Rocker Switch. From that manufacturer-supplied STEP file, I can quickly draw a custom shorting bar that is much cleaner and faster to assemble than crimping terminals onto a piece of wire.   SendCutSend will cut it from 1.6mm copper for $2.27.
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Jul 4, 2023 08:40
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As a new Solidworks user, most of the really inscrutable/enraging behavior was to do with toolbars accidentally moving/disappearing, or weird modal UI states (like being 'in' a sketch, accidentally turning on a selection filter, etc). But these are minor and you will quickly figure it out once you use the software more. When Solidworks complains at my geometry, its concerns are generally well-founded.
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Jul 5, 2023 17:37
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Rocko Bonaparte posted:What is the problem with having an over-constrained geometry? If I read the term correctly, it sounds to me like it's just redundant. Is it instead contradictory? Even if it's not contradictory, it will be if you change any of the previous constraints. It's a better user experience if the software flags the over-constraint right away.
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Jul 5, 2023 17:42
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Are my sketches not supposed to be blue? When I make a linear pattern, why are all the duplicates blue even if the original is fully defined?
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Jul 6, 2023 09:17
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Oh, I see. It wants explicit dimensions for e.g x/y angle and instance spacing. I guess I didn't notice that because usually these patterns are the last thing in my sketch, and I don't often build off them. I better fix those sketches, though.
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Jul 6, 2023 17:34
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ahahaha I got a SolidWorks skill badge on linkedin (lol) and I didn't know what the blue color meant until now I wonder what other foundational poo poo I missed? Everything I know I got from clicking around in the software and watching 1 or 2 instructional youtubes. (that said I've paid to have quite a few parts manufactured, and nearly all have worked great)
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Jul 7, 2023 05:17
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my monument to pre-galv and pop rivets:   23 parts (20 unique), and 25 bends total now fully dimensioned  p.s. Is there an easy way to have Solidworks make a nicely rendered, or at least anti-aliased, screenshot? I do not want to write shaders or specify materials, it should look good enough with defaults. I just want some better shading and antialiasing, not necessarily a ray-traced masterpiece.
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Jul 7, 2023 06:24
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Thanks for the suggestions, but I'm on an old Intel NUC with integrated graphics. Solidworks won't even attempt full scene anti-aliasing, and Visualize just crashes when I try to render something, ha ha. Sorry but my computer is too poo poo to post better screenshots. OTOH, it's fast enough to feel snappy manipulating an assembly with 150 parts, so I'm not going to upgrade it, either.
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Jul 8, 2023 00:33
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e: pretty sure it's not actually a thing
ryanrs fucked around with this message at 07:00 on Jul 12, 2023 |
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Jul 12, 2023 05:39
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Solidworks didn't write their kernel. They licence Parasolid, too.
ryanrs fucked around with this message at 00:30 on Jul 14, 2023 |
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Jul 14, 2023 00:28
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I have a Solidworks drawing of a part. I want to save the drawing as an image, either pdf or high res png. But I am having a very hard time setting the line weight of visible edges. There are like 3 different line width setting under document options. They do something, because I seem to be able to switch between micro-thin lines and merely thin lines. But try as I may, I can't get Solidworks to spit out an image with heavy lines. This is for a sticker with the part pinout. e: These won't work. I want lines nearly as heavy as the text.  
ryanrs fucked around with this message at 08:28 on Jul 23, 2023 |
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Jul 23, 2023 08:19
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I think it is a 2D drawing (SLDDRW file). I can right-click on an edge, and a line thickness menu appears. I can select thicker widths, but the line thickness does not actually change in Save As PNG or Print Preview. I feel like I'm missing something more basic/stupid here. I can twiddle all these options, but they're not doing much. e: for example, those output PNGs have lines between 3-9 pixels wide at 600 dpi, so all are thinner than 0.5 mm ryanrs fucked around with this message at 00:27 on Jul 24, 2023 |
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Jul 24, 2023 00:22
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OK, it seems I have stumbled onto the solution. If I right-click on the component view, I can select "Component Line Font..." This was set to use the document defaults. If I override the document line font instead, then suddenly line thicknesses change as you would expect. e: lol, that ONLY affects Print Preview and Printing, none of the Save As image formats. I actually need to print it to PDF. Not even Save As PDF, it has to go through Microsoft's PDF File driver. This is terrible. e2: ...and all the lines in the PDF are rasterized, complete with jpeg ringing on the edges  
ryanrs fucked around with this message at 01:45 on Jul 24, 2023 |
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Jul 24, 2023 01:26
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Sorry for the aggravated griping. But the circuit boards are done, the sheet metal is in production, and all that is left is this drat sticker. People must want to export line drawings of their models for use in documentation and manuals pretty often, yeah? What is the 'right' way to do that?
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Jul 24, 2023 01:56
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Thanks! DXF into Inkscape seems to be doing what I want. e: that's better 
ryanrs fucked around with this message at 21:59 on Jul 24, 2023 |
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Jul 24, 2023 18:10
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