SeGuruCool
The Largest Independant Solid Edge Resource Outside UGS
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SeGuruCool The Largest Independant Solid Edge Resource Outside UGS |
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Part 1 of 2 www.oocities.org/SeGuruCool 
segurucool @ indiatimes.com |
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 Clay Model Analogy Create Larger Surfaces First. Just like clay modeling, where you want to work with your largest tools first, build your CAD model by creating the largest surfaces first. Analyze your design concept and determine the largest features and surfaces and try to create those first. Leave the smaller details and features for last. |  |
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Take the example of a hair dryer shown in figure. There are three distinct parts to it. The top one is the blower, the second is the handle and the third one in the middle is the joint between the two parts. It is very much possible to create them in the order : blower-joint-handle. In this case, it is recommended to create the blower and the handle first, since it establishes the relative position and angle between the two. The smaller detail like the joint can then follow. To understand this rule even better, a detailed tutorial on creating the hair-dryer is Here. |  |
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Use Birails for Effect Maximum Try to visualize a given surface as two cross-sections and two guide-curves called birails. A BlueSurf can then be fitted using just these four curves. The birail method allows you to quickly get to the overall form of your design with less of curve creation. |  |
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See the bottle in figure and its four curves. Similarly, a door knob with complex looking organic shapes can also be quickly created using just four curves. Detailed tutorial on creating the bottle is Here and for the door-knob its Here. |  |
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Hybrid Modeling - Best of Both the Worlds If you peep a little deeper into the history of CAD, it were surfaces that were invented first, then came along the solids. In Solid Edge, both the Surfacing and the Features toolbars sit side-by-side in the same part environment. Tools from both toolbars can be used in conjunction to create a single parts. This type of modeling practice is called as Hybrid modeling. |  |
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Use hybrid modeling to your advantage. The mouse shown in the top figure is an example of hybrid modeling at work. Curves were used to to create the orange surface. Curves were also used to create a base protrusion. Using the Replace Face  tool from the surfacing toolbar, the top face of the Solid protrusion is replaced by the surface to give the overall form of the mouse. By combining a solid and a surface together, you can form a hybrid model to obtain your desired shape without needing to build it with surfaces only. A severely indepth tutorial on creating the mouse is Here |  |
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Think Global - Act Local Needless to say, curves play an important role in the final appearance of a surface. So think global (about the form of the final surface) and act local (pay attention to the curves). When tweaking curves, it is often required to move the control points. When doing this, the endpoints of the curve may go haywire, affecting the desired shape of the curve. To keep the end points in place, you may apply the Lock contraint to the endpoint of the curve. |  |
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Another powerful feature that Solid Edge provides is the Local Edit option available on the Ribbon bar when you select the curve (see figure) By turning this option ON, only that part of the curve lying between the two control points adjacent ot the control point being edited is affected. The beauty of this option is that the endpoints stay in place even when you are editing the second control point from either end on the curve. |  |
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Start with Analytic Elements Not just because Solid Edge cannot create a closed curve with the Curve  tool, you must first start with an anlytic element like a circle, an ellipse or a rectangle. Further using the Convert to Curve  tool, you have a curve for further tweaking.
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Take the example of the hair-dryer. The front end opening of the hair-dryer is a closed curve. See figure. Here, first an ellipse (an analytic curve) is first created. Then, using the Convert to Curve tool, it is converted to a curve where the shape remains the same (that of an ellipse). By simlpy dragging with mouse, the top and bottom parts of the ellipse are flattened to get the desired shape. |  |
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Tushar Suradkar segurucool @ indiatimes.com |
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