Have anybody seen Jay Patterson presentation titled "Using weldments to design large structure in SolidWorks" that was presented at SWW, and would like to comment?
I just watch the presentation and I am not sure that it convinced me entirely. From a desing point of view it seems that having a large weldment as a single file might not be a bad idea, but if something goes wrong you risk loosing a lot of work.
How do you handle the drawings or such parts properly?
In 2010 you can select portion of the weldment and make views that way but I suspect that the drawing will be very large and clunky.
Furthermore, if do not think that you can do any kind of exploded views. I do not think that, even in 2010, it is possible to adjust the section depth for parts.
Bernard Julien
We do some very large weldments - everything from structural steel (ladders, platforms, stairs, etc.) to tanks (predominantly plate work) and have just done a well head platform (an oil rig) and successfully use a combination of weldments and assemblies.
Our rule of thumb with weldments is: if it is made up from many items but ends up as one part that is not individually spares supportable then it is a weldment - otherwise it is an assembly.
As an example: a small platform would generally be an assembly consisting of a frame that is a weldment, grating or deck plate that is a part or parts, handrails that are one or more weldments, columns - if they are welded to the frame then they are part of the weldment, if bolted on then they are parts or weldments that are part of the assembly.
There are pros & cons for both weldments and assemblies and you really need to do the same job both ways to determine the best approach for you & your company. Typically the weldment model is quicker to make, but the detailing of the individual cut list items may take longer as you cannot use 'insert model items' to populate the dimensions, tolerances, etc. The weldment model also has the added advantage of all the individual elements being 'in-context' with the weldment - i.e. if you change an overall dimension then the individual items will update accordingly (this is something that not everyone is confident with when using assemblies).
BTW, SW2010 has added the ability to use depth of section in parts, plus the ability to add different material properties to individual bodies (I personally do not like this feature for 95% of the weldments that we create as this is performed by our weldment profiles adding the different material properties for plate, hot rolled members, cold rolled members, pipe, etc. as a weldment is typically made from similar materials - carbon steel, or stainless steel, or aluminium, etc. and you follow the rule of thumb, then it will not have gaskets, O rings, etc. in a weldment).
I have attached a copy of a Weldment Tips & Tricks that I presented a while ago - please note that some of the statements are now not correct as weldments can add gaps. Please also note that the slides only provide part of the info as I was obviously expanding on these points as I went along :-)
Regards
Merry