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This week I would like to welcome a guest podcaster from SolidWorks Germany,  Markus Koechl, who not only brings us a great tip, but also brought us our very first German-language podcast last week!

Today Markus demonstrates how to use 3DVIA Composer to import CAD sub-assemblies and have them automatically and properly positioned relative to other sub-assemblies. This powerful ability allows massive assemblies -- along with multi-CAD assemblies -- to be broken up and easily imported into 3DVIA Composer. You may never have seen the full assembly before, or may not even have the full assembly at all, and now you can bring all of the data together into a high-performing 3DVIA Composer environment for repurposing into 2D and 3D documentation.

Markus also describes the "Project Mode" of 3DVIA Composer, and cites some of the benefits of using this mode. Many thanks to Markus for this excellent example!

If you have ideas, like these, for future 3DVIA Composer podcast episodes, please let us know!

 

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Our very first German post and podcast!

Diese Woche begrüße ich herzlich Markus Koechl von SolidWorks Deutschland, der uns mit seinem podcast nicht nur einen großartigen Beitrag, sondern auch den ersten Beitrag in deutscher Sprache zur Verfügung stellt!

Markus wird uns heute zeigen, wie man mit 3DVIA Composer CAD Sub-Assemblies importiert und sie automatisch und an der richtigen Stelle im Verhältnis zu anderen Unterbaugruppen positioniert. Damit können große Baugruppen, zusammen mit Multi CAD Assemblies, sehr leicht aufgeteilt und in 3DVIA Composer importiert werden. Vielleicht haben Sie die gesamte Baugruppe nie zuvor gesehen oder als Datensatz vorliegen gehabt; dennoch sind sie jetzt in der Lage alle einzelnen Daten in 3DVIA Composer in hoher Performance zusammenzubringen, um sie für 2D oder 3D Dokumentationen weiterzuverwenden.

Markus beschreibt auch den „Projekt Modus“ von 3DVIA Composer und zeigt dabei den wesentlichen Nutzen seiner Verwendung auf. Vielen Dank an Markus für dieses exzellente Beispiel!

Sollten Sie ähnliche Ideen für zukünftige 3DVIA Composer Podcast Beiträge haben, dann lassen Sie es uns bitte wissen!

 

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This week, Tod continues to build out his technical illustration that he started last week. He covers several options for ballooning the illustration, and then outputs the view to line art format.

Watch closely as he performs the following:

• Sets up the default balloon widthC
• Creates Bill Of Material id's for different levels of the assembly
• Creates BOM id's using part names and meta properties
• Controls the how the balloons are aligned
• Quickly changes the styling of the balloons
• Updates a view with his changes
• Outputs the view to an interactive line art (CGM4 or SVG) while controlling the desired line weights of outlines, silhouettes, and shadows

It takes Tod less then 5 minutes to cover these topics and generate a fully interactive technical illustration. And if that isn't fast enough, it would take him less than 30 seconds if he wasn't providing the instructions!

Now think about how much more productive your technical illustrators could be if they were using 3DVIA Composer...

 

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Have you ever spent hours to create a complicated exploded view, with thrust lines and callouts, only to have to re-do it when engineering makes a change on you?

This week, Tod Cruikshank shows us how to quickly create exploded views for technical illustrations. While in animation mode, he uses an innovative set of 3DVIA Composer functions to complete his demonstration. In particular he:

• uses "associative paths" to create jagged thrust lines in one easy step;
• uses a combination of assembly motion and part motion to create those thrust lines;
• moves one part in an assembly, and then quickly applies that placement to other selected parts;
• creates convenient hot keys to further increase the pace of his work.

When I first saw this technique, I was blown away at how fast these illustrations can be created. I hope you are just as amazed when you watch this week's podcast. If you are looking to reduce your time to market, use 3DVIA Composer to speed up your technical illustration process!

 

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Here is a great sample given to us from Richard Hale of Xype. The effective use of standard icons is prevalent in this example, and is used to ensure efficient information transfer from the author to the consumer of the data. Standardized icons and symbols ensure that the end user has a consistent visual aid to accompany the animated procedure. The icons can also be used as "hotspots" or links to provide an enhanced level of interactivity with the 3D document.

Thanks to Richard for sharing this sample and for showcasing how a simple standarization can further enhance the learning curve to add coherence and reliability for all parties involved.

If you have a sample tip, technique, or just want to share what you are doing, please drop us an email at editor@3dmojo.com. And please feel free to share your ideas in the "Share It" forum.

 

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