Full article describing this challenge:
Hello SOLIDWORKS Power-Users and welcome to the 7th WPUC!
Other than having fun solving riddles, the goal of this week's WPUC is the same as last week's: facilitate through brainstorming the finding of new techniques for the benefit of the SOLIDWORKS Community.
Hopefully we will:
- Identify areas where SOLIDWORKS' functionality needs enhancements
- Design workarounds to overcome the current lack of functionality
- Submit new ERs or promote existing ERs that are relevant to this WPUC topic.
During the first WPUC, we found out the need for boundary mates. What about volume mates? How can you limit a component's movement in a given volume, while preserving all other degrees of freedom? Let's think about that this week.
For eternal glory and 1000 points, provide the best solution to this problem:
- Watch this video: SOLIDWORKS 7th Weekly Power User Challenge (June 2nd, 2017): Simulate a Volume Mate - YouTube
- Download the attached files Prisoner.X_T and Jail.X_T
- Convert both to SOLIDWORKS format
- Start a new assembly
- Insert Jail in the assembly, fix it and make it virtual
- Insert Prisoner in the assembly and make it virtual
- Create a mating scheme that would keep the Prisoner confined in the Jail.
- The Prisoner can go anywhere inside the Jail
- Upload the final assembly (with virtual components, please) by replying to this message.
The first solution that meets these criteria would win 1000 points.
The first solution that would not use limit mates wins 1000 points.
The solution with the smallest number of mates wins 1000 points.
The best solution (my pick) would win 1000 points.
If the solution is out-of-this-world, the contestant will be awarded 2000 points and be proclaimed a SOLIDWORKS DEMIGOD.
Good luck!
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In order to give as many power-users a chance to win, and considering that our friends from the US observe Memorial Day today (long weekend), we will wait for everyone to return to work before posting the problem.
So, bookmark this thread and keep an eye on it Tuesday morning (May, the 30th) Be the first with a great solution and you will become a WUPC winner.
Thanks to all participants to the 7th WPUC, and many thanks to our sponsor: John Stoltzfus!
This week we took what we learned in the first WPUC challenge, which tried to find workarounds for an Area Mate (or 2D Boundary Mate), and attempted to emulate a volume mate.
As Michael Fernando stated, SOLIDWORKS can already do that in the Move Component Environment, with the Physical Dynamics on.
But how can we preserve this condition, outside the Move Mate command?
Josh Brady was the first to submit a solution, and what a beauty that was! He created the most elegant mating scheme, with only 5 mates and no extra reference components. The way he used a rotating barrier attached to the inner edge of the step is pure genius!
Then Muhammad Aamer submitted 2 different solutions inside the same file. The first one allowed the prisoner some ways to escape, but the second one worked. Muhammad built a very interesting mechanism involving a point on rails (path mate), which moved a plane attached to the inner edge of the step, plane that was tangent with a cylinder. The center of the jailed sphere was located at the intersection of the cylinder and the plane. Better open his assembly and see it for yourself. Very nice! Also, Muhammad's solution was the first one without any Limit Mates. He used Free Width Mates instead.
Ned Hutchinson built the most elaborate prison you can think of! His assembly has 7 guards (reference parts) and no less than 35 mates!!! It is a minimum security jail, though, where prisoners are allowed outside from time to time.
Dan Pihlaja submitted no less than 3 solutions. He designed a maximum security prison, where the prisoners are very scared and jumpy. If you want them to go to a specific place, you will have to be patient, because they like to occasionally teleport to other areas of the prison.
John Stoltzfus sent us a prison where the sphere is on patrol around the perimeter, but is not allowed inside.
Roland Schwarz sent us an amazing solution, using a 2D Boundary mate on a face located on rails. There are very few places where the prisoner cannot go. His original solution has only 4 mates, which could be reduced to 3. Muhammad Aamer tried to reduce the mates even further, to only two.
Kevin Pymm believes in giving prisoners access to fresh air, so his jail allows for quick visits outside the walls.
The videos of the most interesting techniques will be posted next week.
It's time to announce our winners.
Congratulations to Josh Brady for winning big this week:
Congratulations to Muhammad Aamer for winning 1000 points for the first valid solution without using limit mates.
I will award 1000 points also, to Roland Schwarz for sharing with us a brilliant technique. While his solution was not 100% valid, it can be easily refined to open new ways for defining volume mates. Will record a video where I will incorporate part of Roland's technique in a crazy volume mating scheme.
Videos to follow.