Posts from January, 2010

Basic SolidWorks, Wk 03

This is the third installment in my basic SolidWorks series, which mirrors a basic Rhino series taught at Otis College of Art & Design in the spring semester of 2010. For the beginning of the SolidWorks series, start here. For the Rhino series, start here.

In week 03, we’ll be looking at the basics of surface-modeling in SolidWorks. Based on the name of the application, you’d think that SolidWorks would deal primarily with… solids. But solid modeling is very limited in its flexibility, so it is critical that any industrial design related SolidWorks operator be fluent in surface-modeling techniques. Fortunately, there are some very powerful surfacing tools withing SolidWorks.

In the above video, we’ll cover the following topics:

- face > Move | Offset
- face > Move | Rotate
- face > Move | Translate
- features > Move/Copy
- Surface Extrude
- Cut With Surface

More videos after the jump: more »

Rhino Basics, Week 03

This is the third week in a series on the fundamentals of Rhino, as taught at Otis College of Art & Design in the spring semester of 2010. To follow the tutorial from the beginning, start here. There is a parallel series covering the basics of SolidWorks here. Enjoy!

The goal for this week is to take what we learned about precision 2D drawing tools in week 02 and apply it to the construction of 3D surface models. We will also be looking at the difference between “solid” and “surface” modeling, along with the basic tenants of the latter.

The video above covers the following topics:

– Numerical entry for 3D shapes
– Intro to Solids-As-Surfaces
– Intro to back-faces, and back face colors
– C-Plane standard views
– Set C-Plan to object
– Boolean subtract as solid trim

More vids after the jump: more »

Rhino iPhone; Part 2

This is the second half of my series covering the basic surfacing of an iPhone in Rhino, intended for ambitious beginners. You can see the beginning of the iPhone tutorial here, or to start at the very basics of Rhino, try starting here.

More vids after the jump: more »

Rhino iPhone; Part 1

In our weekly Rhino series so far, we haven’t covered any real “surfacing” yet, but many of you are itching to get started! So for extra-credit this week, feel free to take a stab at this one. It’s a little bit long, but I cover a lot of ground here!

More vids after the jump: more »

Basic SolidWorks, Wk 02

This is the second installment in my basic SolidWorks series, which mirrors a basic Rhino series taught at Otis College of Art & Design in the spring semester of 2010. For the beginning of the SolidWorks series, start here. For the Rhino series, start here.

This week we’ll be introducing the concept of ‘parameters’ using ‘constraints’ within a sketch. These are some of the most important concepts in any parametric package–SolidWorks, ProEngineer, Catia, or Unigraphics NX–and it is critical that you take the time to understand them as best you can before moving on!

This is the sixth video in a basic SolidWorks 2010 tutorial series that mirrors the Rhino tutorials here: http://adam.theoherns.com/2010/01/20/rhino-basics-week-02/

This video covers the following topics:

- creating ‘parameters’ in a sketch
- understanding basic ‘constraints’
- dimensional / angular constraints
- ‘fully defined’ geometry
- intro to ‘conflicts’

One more video after the jump: more »

Rhino Basics, Week 02

This is the second week in a series on the fundamentals of Rhino, as taught at Otis College of Art & Design in the spring semester of 2010. To follow the tutorial from the beginning, start here. There is a parallel series covering the basics of SolidWorks here. Enjoy!

This week, we’ll be looking at the fundamentals of precision drafting in Rhino using the grid snap, OSnaps, numerical tool inputs, transform tools, and the trim/explode/join tools. We’ll hit on some 3D here, but we’ll mostly be working in 2D for this week.

This is the fifth video in a ground-up Rhino class taught at Otis College of Art & Design. Topics covered:

- [grid] snap
- using exact dimensions in rectangles, circles, and polylines

Four more vids after the jump: more »