Company using 2D is updated with solid modeling and parametric design using Excel-like tables.
Chris Volkening, CEO of Automated DesignWorks, came to Nashville, Tenn. from his Ontario, Canada headquarters to give a presentation on using Design Tables in SOLIDWORKS.
Volkening presented the plan for the session—splitting attendees into two groups: the beginners and advanced users. The main expectation for beginners was an introduction to Design Tables without the details, and for advanced users, the objective was to understand the techniques and the way to apply them in different jobs and companies.
Volkening introduced a methodology and a process based on a practical example, an API 650 Above Ground Storage Tank that can change in diameter and height and, with different nozzles, can penetrate the tank roof and even the parameters of its side ladder stairs.
The tank was originally modeled in AutoCAD, with models downloaded from catalogs and recreated from PDFs. Most of the tank’s components were in 2D drawings. All calculations (positions, orientations, rollouts, etc.) were done manually.
Any modification to the design was achieved with great effort and with considerable time because 2D drawings are hardly ever parametric.
Volkening rebuilt all the components in SOLIDWORKS using parameters with the aid of Design Tables.
After models are reconstructed with SOLIDWORKS, you can check for interferences, and determine mass, center of gravity, and so on.
Volkening’s client on this project had a lot of concerns about the process of moving from 2D to 3D, thinking that 3D would prove to be more complicated, would be difficult to learn and that they’d have to train all the designers in how to work in 3D.
To their point, handling large assemblies with a large number of components in SOLIDWORKS is not easy and can really bog down the user. Volkening was able to show that SOLIDWORKS was more user friendly and relatively uncomplicated and when coupled with Excel. With no special code, script or third-party software—just Design Tables, future design changes could be accommodated in short order, productivity would soar—and the company would save money.
Figuring Out a Solution
But first, there would be an initial investment in time and effort. Product libraries needed to be created from scratch, templates (BoM, parts, assemblies), catalogs, libraries, settings, standards … all that had to be set up.
It became clear to the customer that they would benefit significantly from the use of a multi-sheet Design Table.
A Design Table is organized with Sheet 1 used for outputs and with a separate area for inputs (e.g., diameters, rotations, etc.), while the rest of the sheets are used for calculations and references to code tables and hundreds—or even thousands—of company and customer standards, reference tables (steel properties, inventory).
The Design Tables were made and then reorganized so that users could easily and quickly determine what they needed to do. This was done using color coding. For example, gray fill was used for cells that should not be touched because they contained formulas; yellow fill were used for input. In orange cells, users can either use calculated values or override them with their own values. The colors provided users with a clear and easy interface.
Volkening was adding simplicity by making the Design Table similar to Excel. The standard functionality available in Excel could be used. Volkening gave a list of his favorite Excel features, including conditionals, drop-down menus, dependencies and precedents—even inserting pictures (such as a section of a design). His favorite Excel functions were listed: If/Embedded If, VLookup/HLookup, index, and more.
The full storage tank was reassembled using the customer’s library. The Pack and Go function had renamed all the models according to company standards (nomenclatures, part numbers, names, descriptions, etc.).
The Design Table was updated with new parameters and information to create new products—and that is where Volkening said we would see the “magic of SOLIDWORKS” happening before our eyes….
Diving Into Design Tables
Shown above is a Design Table with a standard output area corresponding to the base model of a tank. This is where all parameters, quantities and other information is kept. It also shows the family configurations at the top of the table.
The objective was to provide an automatic solution, but at the same time, have flexibility and options for the engineers to make their own decisions.
The links between the Design Table and the models produce geometric modifications based on the top-down design methodology.
Note that areas of the table are dedicated to help users understand the meaning of the main inputs (in green on the right side of the figure).
Volkening demonstrated how a separate “Calculations” sheet is used to modify the input tank’s size.
Volkening uses a name cells/range with Tank_ID. This is useful if you need to track back the operations when equations may go awry.
Volkening began using external Design Table templates by SOLIDWORKS to increase efficiency and reduce the model build time.
The latest versions of SOLIDWORKS have increased the efficiency of the Design Tables significantly, as was evident in the demonstration.
As soon as a Design Table is opened, the models will try to update their names. It is important that the SOLIDWORKS’ setting that allows names to be renamed (“Allow model edits to update the design table”) be properly configured, especially when working from Pack and Go models.
Pro Tip: In SOLIDWORKS, the names are case sensitive, so there may be problems with it in the Design Tables update, especially because SOLIDWORKS Pack and Go can modify the letter case.
The templates used included many different sketches, shapes, equations, rotations, mates and dummy parts.
How Success Is Measured
How was success measured on this project? It was simply done by comparing the time it took to complete the task in AutoCAD to the time it took to complete the task in SOLIDWORKS with Design Tables. The spiral stringer stair had taken 40 hours but now took only 8 hours. The whole tank assembly had taken 280 hours and now took only 1 hour.
In addition to time savings, additional benefits included fewer errors, the ability to use the customer standards and, perhaps most important, the customer had been updated to 3D and all of the inherent advantages of 3D models over 2D, such as a more natural visualization of parts, mass properties, interference detection … all of which SOLIDWORKS users might take for granted.
About the Presenter
Chris Volkening, CEO of Automated Design Works, began his career by developing his skills in heavy structural and architecturally exposed steel design and manufacturing. Thereafter, his focus became specialized on design for manufacturability, where he has since spent over a decade concentrating efforts on mastering 3D design and blueprint automation, project management and the use of SOLIDWORKS.
