How do I assemble this?

lynn_albritton

Hi! Hopefully this is the right place for my question. If not, my apologies. 

I'm trying to import an existing model of mine and put it back together here, thinking it would be a good learning experience and a test of OnShape's capabilities. I've watched several tutorials, but they are much simpler than my sample model. I have made a public document called "assemble me". Could I get some help on how to approach this?

I could have assembled this very quickly in several other CAD packages, which I'm afraid just makes me frustrated more easily. Is there a quick-start path for experienced/impatient CAD designers?

Thanks,
Lynn

nav

Hi @lynn_albritton I`tried to assemble your model and ran into some issues. I verified dimensions between the holes in the bezel ring and the base and there is a slight difference, this might be the reason you are having trouble with the assembly using Either Fastened or revolute mate.



For this assembly I`ll use mate connectors , its a bit different methodology from traditional CAD's but once you get the hang of it is way faster, not sure if you are very familiar with them, here some videos:

https://fast.wistia.net/embed/iframe/9v0dx21tqy?popover=true
https://fast.wistia.net/embed/iframe/j8cgok7zc6?popover=true

nav

Hi @lynn_albritton I`tried to assemble your model and ran into some issues. I verified dimensions between the holes in the bezel ring and the base and there is a slight difference, this might be the reason you are having trouble with the assembly using Either Fastened or revolute mate.



For this assembly I`ll use mate connectors , its a bit different methodology from traditional CAD's but once you get the hang of it is way faster, not sure if you are very familiar with them, here some videos:

https://fast.wistia.net/embed/iframe/9v0dx21tqy?popover=true
https://fast.wistia.net/embed/iframe/j8cgok7zc6?popover=true

Narayan_K

Yes there is slight difference in pitch radius of support-base and bezel_ring (0.062 mm difference)


This may not allow you to assemble correctly..

lynn_albritton

Thanks for pointing that out; I'm not sure where the miss-match crept into this part. I think the parts studio would help prevent this kind of problem in the future. However, that is not what was causing my problem with assembling this, and the parts will actually go together even with the imperfection. 

lynn_albritton

Ok, and apparently I'm just getting the hang of the forums, too! The above comment was for the second answer. Nav, thank you so much for the tutorial links. They gave me the information that I needed. I've assembled my public model now. Is this how you would expect it to look? Creating and aligning a connector for the part was not necessarily faster than "old style" CAD assembly method. I'm also a little on-the-fence about assembling via coordinate systems vs actually seating faces and aligning holes, but there are advantages. Thanks again, both of you. 

3dcad

@lynn_albritton You don't need to always create mate connector in forehand, but it is good way to avoid the need for calculating offsets in some cases.

Onshape will create the most of needed mateconnectors for you automatically, it might be confusing in the beginning but when you get hold of it - you should save time while 1x mate connector = 3x traditional constraint