Best way to construct a shaft

bert_fourie

Any advice on the best way to construct a shaft - it has two bearings plus a gearbox and some other part fitting to it.

Do i start with a sketch with the circles and then extrude and transform each section, or is there a better way? In free form modeling I would have positioned all the parts, then do a line sketch in cross section to fit the parts in their final positions, I would then revolve the sketch into a solid shaft.

traveler_hauptman

Different people have different best ways.

I like parts with axial symmetry to be revolves. The physical geometry is the same as with extrudes but it captures design intent a little better.

I capture as much of the actual design relationships via sketch constraints as I can. This reduces the number of details you need to remember to check on as you modify the design.

For instance, here's a quick demo of the shaft geometry being driven by the bearing location. https://cad.onshape.com/documents/5e005f90c4c55be296950e60/w/68be20ef25132bd383b5175f/e/358d9cf760095bb15817306f The bearing are positioned and then the line sketch in cross section uses constraints to keep the retaining ring grooves in the right place.

traveler_hauptman

Different people have different best ways.

I like parts with axial symmetry to be revolves. The physical geometry is the same as with extrudes but it captures design intent a little better.

I capture as much of the actual design relationships via sketch constraints as I can. This reduces the number of details you need to remember to check on as you modify the design.

For instance, here's a quick demo of the shaft geometry being driven by the bearing location. https://cad.onshape.com/documents/5e005f90c4c55be296950e60/w/68be20ef25132bd383b5175f/e/358d9cf760095bb15817306f The bearing are positioned and then the line sketch in cross section uses constraints to keep the retaining ring grooves in the right place.

bert_fourie

Thanks, I agree, this is the way I like to do it also.