New to design, need advise on how to proceed

bret

I've begun a design, and I want a part to pivot on another part, Since this is going to be 3dprinted I was trying to envision how to make it stay in place when rotated, I haven't added a pin point yet. Here is the design so far https://cad.onshape.com/documents/6ba604b5c1b54616b6b652d0/w/20d92742a79f458baa42a6f5

andrew_troup

You need to add a mate connector, on the axis of the desired rotation, to each part, then import the part studio to an assembly, fix the stationary part by mating it to the origin, and use a revolute mate between the connectors.

andrew_troup

Onshape handles this situation differently from traditional MCAD. This may (or may not) be advantageous for the situation you are in, in the sense that you do not have to settle the design details of the joint in order to permanently capture the relative motion of the parts.

In traditional modelling it is usual to use the surfaces and bores of the physical entities to specify the hinging motion, but in Onshape you position virtual representations of datum planes and axes, hovering in space, and use them to specify the motion.

This lets you push ahead with broad-brush design without getting dragged into issues of nitty gritty detail, and sometimes that's beneficial, particularly if there's lots of broad-brush needed to establish the proportions and the motions.

andrew_troup

@bret
You are making things needlessly hard for yourself by using direct editing commands (like "Move Face")

A delightful attribute of parametric modellers like Onshape is that, having modelled something, you can go back whenever you want, and as often as you like, and change how big something (anything!) is -- and where it is -- simply by clicking on dimensions and editing them.

----

I don't quite understand why, in your Assembly 1, each part appears twice. 
Also, you have added the mate connectors in that assembly, whereas they should ideally be added in the Part Studio, and the parent parts should be Part 1 and Part 3 respectively. 

If you do that, and then mate the connectors in the assembly, Part 3 will drag with the mouse in the same way as the real life part 
(you can even define limits so that it stops realistically at both ends of the swing)

andrew_troup

You need to add a mate connector, on the axis of the desired rotation, to each part, then import the part studio to an assembly, fix the stationary part by mating it to the origin, and use a revolute mate between the connectors.

pete_yodis

I couldn't tell @bret_3 , but was this a design question, a how to question with regards to Onshape, or both?

bret

Design question mostly. I'm still finding my way with Onshape in general

bret

Mainly a design question

bret

andrew_troup said:

You need to add a mate connector, on the axis of the desired rotation, to each part, then import the part studio to an assembly, fix the stationary part by mating it to the origin, and use a revolute mate between the connectors.

Wow, ok not sure how to do that. I'll check the tutorials

andrew_troup

Onshape handles this situation differently from traditional MCAD. This may (or may not) be advantageous for the situation you are in, in the sense that you do not have to settle the design details of the joint in order to permanently capture the relative motion of the parts.

In traditional modelling it is usual to use the surfaces and bores of the physical entities to specify the hinging motion, but in Onshape you position virtual representations of datum planes and axes, hovering in space, and use them to specify the motion.

This lets you push ahead with broad-brush design without getting dragged into issues of nitty gritty detail, and sometimes that's beneficial, particularly if there's lots of broad-brush needed to establish the proportions and the motions.

bret

Got it. I worked it out I think at least to my satisfaction thus Far. Now I need to figure the best way to prepare it for 3d prining as "as assembled" is not printable with FDM printer, I'm guessing another assembly that I then export to STL

bret

Part is still public if anyone would like to look and advise

andrew_troup

@bret
You are making things needlessly hard for yourself by using direct editing commands (like "Move Face")

A delightful attribute of parametric modellers like Onshape is that, having modelled something, you can go back whenever you want, and as often as you like, and change how big something (anything!) is -- and where it is -- simply by clicking on dimensions and editing them.

----

I don't quite understand why, in your Assembly 1, each part appears twice. 
Also, you have added the mate connectors in that assembly, whereas they should ideally be added in the Part Studio, and the parent parts should be Part 1 and Part 3 respectively. 

If you do that, and then mate the connectors in the assembly, Part 3 will drag with the mouse in the same way as the real life part 
(you can even define limits so that it stops realistically at both ends of the swing)

bret

andrew_troup said:

@bret
You are making things needlessly hard for yourself by using direct editing commands (like "Move Face")

A delightful attribute of parametric modellers like Onshape is that, having modelled something, you can go back whenever you want, and as often as you like, and change how big something (anything!) is -- and where it is -- simply by clicking on dimensions and editing them.

----

I don't quite understand why, in your Assembly 1, each part appears twice. 
Also, you have added the mate connectors in that assembly, whereas they should ideally be added in the Part Studio, and the parent parts should be Part 1 and Part 3 respectively. 

If you do that, and then mate the connectors in the assembly, Part 3 will drag with the mouse in the same way as the real life part 
(you can even define limits so that it stops realistically at both ends of the swing)

Thanks, Great input. I've come from a CAD system where I was accustomed to "pulling" faces and such. Very different here, and I'm trying to wrap my head around working in this.