Hi Jared,
Like you, I earned my CAD wings using AutoCAD and was faced with the challenge of converting to SW. Yes, there are easier ways to build the shelves you have here. Like using patterns instead of the Body-Move/Copy feature. This feature can be a little unstable at times and patterns are much easier to modify in the future. But as I'm sure you will find out, there are more than one ways to skin a cat. Also, the mirror feature can be quite valuable. Keeping your origin at the center of your part facilitates using this feature.
Jim
If you are talking about fasteners, you should look at the "hole wizzard". To answer your question, no you shouldnt sketch the holes in your base sketches. If I were modeling up that shelf I would do it as an assembly and each member would be a separate part not as you have done with multibodies.
That is not to say you are approaching it wrong just differently than the way I think.
Sorry Larry I reread your post and I was assuming you were looking for fasteners, but I think you just ment through holes. Still look at the hole wizzard option. If you are looking at adding fasteners I still say it would be best to model this as an assembly, that way you can add threaded holes and c'bores/c'sinks to each part and relate them to each other.
Thank you all for the information/suggestions/ideas/theories. I ended up using planes and mirroring to reproduce the holes onto the other sides of the body, and onto the multiple shelves. Again, I know there is more than one way to skin a cat. At this point, I'm approaching SW with an approach of: "The more I draw/play/practice, the more I'll learn." Thank you again for all the information.
Jarrad
Jarrad
If all you are doing is a model, then your method is fine. If you do a drawing of the model, then you may find it handy to have used hole wizard so that the proper hole callouts come up automatically. If you use your parts in an assembly, you will definately find it very handy to use the hole wizard features in the parts to populate the assembly with fasteners. At the top of automation, use toolbox in assembly to both create the holes and the fastener stacks (screw/washer/nut.)
Dwight
easest way to explain designing in SW over ACad. SW works like the real world, so that being said, you go cut your shelf on the tablesaw, it's a rectangle with thickness, then you grab a drill and go to the drill press and put the holes in, then you have to put in pockets and some other features.
make your sketchs simple, retangle then extrude, next feature holes, next feature pocket and so on and so on, think of it as operations NOT DRAWINGS, you are making parts....SW part it's just vertual machining!
That makes a lot of sense, and really simplifies the thought process needed to be successful in SW. After reading your answer, let me ask this. If I were to redraw my shelving...I should start by sketching a single 2x4 (just a rectangle), extrude it into a 3d object, and make a single part? After a crude 2x4 is created, do I add the holes necessary for each part as I sketch it, or is it a better practice to wait until the assembly process?
Thank you for the input...it really gave me a simple, straight forward process to use in continuing to learn such a big program from scratch.
Jarrad i would say yes as a single part, then drop it into the assembly. right now you are just learning, think of it as leggo blocks, make on for every size and assemble your castle, we call this bottom up assemblies, when you get better you can move to top down assemblies, where you can make parts inside.
I've taught alot of people both at the SW VAR and community college here in Phoenix and now I am teaching it at ASU.
If you are talking about fasteners, you should look at the "hole wizzard". To answer your question, no you shouldnt sketch the holes in your base sketches. If I were modeling up that shelf I would do it as an assembly and each member would be a separate part not as you have done with multibodies.
That is not to say you are approaching it wrong just differently than the way I think.
Sorry Larry I reread your post and I was assuming you were looking for fasteners, but I think you just ment through holes. Still look at the hole wizzard option. If you are looking at adding fasteners I still say it would be best to model this as an assembly, that way you can add threaded holes and c'bores/c'sinks to each part and relate them to each other.