I've been working with a Design table driven sprocket to cover all our needs and this is what I have come up with.
- Having all this information in one place, with the same design is AMAZING. I no longer need to remake chain when ever I switch out a sprocket. In fact I might be able to add an assembly with 10 or so sprockets and the chain to templates and even have that amount of work done for me.
- The Design table is quite cumbersome. There's a lot of relevant dims and features and it could just be my inexperience with excel, but its a slow process to add configurations.
- Should I worry about having too many configurations? on my 2nd attempt I had a BUNCH. After a while it seemed like the DT was slower and Slower to open.
- Should I consider making a few general copies to keep the configuration number down? Maybe organize by tooth count or chain type?
So this is my first draft, can anyone stop by and punch a bunch of holes in my balloon?
References:
Dennis' Gear with DT
USA Roller Chain
Martin Sprockets
Matt Peneguy, Krzysztof Szpakowski, John Stoltzfus, Dennis Dohogne
Yes, files get slower to open as they accumulate more configurations, whether those are controlled by DT's or not.
I might be able to look at your files tomorrow, but please consider these tips for ease of DT use:
1. Name ALL dimensions, features, and mates that you expect to control in a DT.
2. You can move the columns in the DT for a better arrangement of the parameters. This is a big help.
3. Excel is VERY powerful. Learn how to use it in general, and then apply those things to your use in the DT. For instance, use Excel's equation capability. Let your cells reference other cells in a non-SWX part of the worksheet or even on another worksheet. Though you can link cells to separate spreadsheets I have not had a need to do this.
4. Eliminate things from the DT that do not need to be there.
4A. Look for columns in your DT where everything is the same, or can be the same. Delete these from the DT. The DT should really only be used to control those things that change between configurations, but it is easy to get values or parameters in there that do not differ between configurations. Get rid of these cluttering items.
4B. You can also control parameters "manually", outside of the DT. Perhaps you have a DT with 50 configurations and only one of them has a certain feature or has a dimension that is different. This can be controlled manually, outside of the DT. You have decide what should and should not be in the DT.
5. Add notes/comments to the DT. You can do this in the cells themselves or in a notes column or row that is outside of the SWX DT area*. *The SWX DT area starts at cell A1 and goes until it encounters a blank row and column. Anything on the other side of these blank rows/columns is ignored by SWX and can be used for notes or supporting calculations.
If you have not already, I suggest you look at the DT's in the gear files I've posted. They employ all of the above techniques and then some.
Also, if you have not looked at the DT tutorial in awhile I suggest you give it another shot. The SWX Tutorials are very well done.