SolidWorks Weldments

[steelerborn]

Do any teams cad their base structure using the weldment tools in SolidWorks?
If so what do you like about it?
If not why?

[steelerborn]

Would still love to know if teams are taking advantage of these tools.
I am working on a tutorial to see them in action.

[Or 2230]

We are using SW weldments to CAD some parts of our robot. it is much easier sometimes and much harder sometimes, depends on the complication of your robot

[Vikingtech2054]

Our team has used solidworks weldments for the last three years, It is a little more difficult to learn, but i feel the bonuses far out weigh the learning curve. Not only on cad is it an accurate way to tell all conflicts.
the drawings for the builders are a lot easier to understand because you can drop a table on there and will tell the builder what parts need to be cut such as length, width, hieght, material, angle cut. Droping many views of the weldment are simple to so the builder can visualize it also. It is easy to customize to fit your needs. I would strongly recommend using it

[Or 2230]

Originally Posted by Vikingtech2054

Our team has used solidworks weldments for the last three years, It is a little more difficult to learn, but i feel the bonuses far out weigh the learning curve. Not only on cad is it an accurate way to tell all conflicts.
the drawings for the builders are a lot easier to understand because you can drop a table on there and will tell the builder what parts need to be cut such as length, width, hieght, material, angle cut. Droping many views of the weldment are simple to so the builder can visualize it also. It is easy to customize to fit your needs. I would strongly recommend using it

I agree with every single word, but when you start making sheet metal chasis and robot, you barely use weldments and you start using the sheet metal option

[Chris is me]

Weldments are really handy if you take the time to set up all your extrusion in advance. 80/20, 2x1 tube, whatever - it's a really quick way to lay out a frame and get a cut list for several construction methods.

[JesseK]

We CAD the entire robot, but we shell rather than extrude the box aluminum (etc). We've never used weldments, but I wouldn't mind learning what they're useful for. I'd particularly love to know if there's a way to predict the tendency for a frame to warp in a certain direction if a weld is placed on one corner vs. another.

I generally spend a few hours taking CAD models and making dimensioned drawings for the assembly. It's pretty straightforward: 1. Conjoined edges are welded at the welder's discretion (he knows more about strong welds than I do) and 2. Don't weld over holes.

[Vikingtech2054]

Originally Posted by JesseK

We CAD the entire robot, but we shell rather than extrude the box aluminum (etc). We've never used weldments, but I wouldn't mind learning what they're useful for. I'd particularly love to know if there's a way to predict the tendency for a frame to warp in a certain direction if a weld is placed on one corner vs. another.

I generally spend a few hours taking CAD models and making dimensioned drawings for the assembly. It's pretty straightforward: 1. Conjoined edges are welded at the welder's discretion (he knows more about strong welds than I do) and 2. Don't weld over holes.

I know that there is stress analysis but that wont tell you where to weld or how it will warp. Although that more comes down to who is building the frame. I say its not hard to weld its hard to manufacture. Your welder needs to know to clamp down as much as he can and clamp braces across corners to keep it square. I would say problems with warping would be solve easier during building.