View Single Post
  #9   Spotlight this post!  
Unread 20-05-2012, 04:48
Gray Adams's Avatar
Gray Adams Gray Adams is offline
Registered User
no team
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Rookie Year: 2000
Location: none
Posts: 282
Gray Adams is a splendid one to beholdGray Adams is a splendid one to beholdGray Adams is a splendid one to beholdGray Adams is a splendid one to beholdGray Adams is a splendid one to beholdGray Adams is a splendid one to beholdGray Adams is a splendid one to behold
Re: West Coast Drive: Bellypan

Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam.garcia View Post
3. How do you design the tabs and mounting holes into the bellypan to ensure correct spacing when bolting in the electronics?
I assume you're using Inventor, but if you're not, I hope this is still pretty applicable. Once you have your pocketing pattern designed and applied in CAD, layout the electronics in an assembly the way you want them in an assembly. "Edit" the bellypan without "Open"ing it. This should cause everything else to become partially transparent and not selectable. Create a sketch on one side of your bellypan, and then go to the "Project Geometry" tool. Now when you mouseover the edges of all the parts in the assembly, they will light up, and selecting them will project that edge onto your sketch. You're essentially tracing all of your electronics. From there, go ahead and draw lines where you want them, close loops so the Inventor sketch doctor doesn't complain, and then extrude your tabs/outlines/whatever you just designed to mount electronics.

Little tabs at each corner are nice, but I like making a border for the entire component. It's cooler to look at when there's nothing on it.