Hi, my name is Martin Skelton and this channel is dedicated to all aspects of Engineering and Fabrication design. I am the founder of Skelton Design Solutions, a fabrication design company based in Ireland. This channel explores how to start a design from an basic idea and progress it to a physical design and prototype. I am a certified Solidworks Expert (CSWE), a trained Metal Fabricator and hold degrees in Industrial Design and Precision Engineering. Welcome to Skelton Design Solutions, Design, Build, Restore.
Is there a way to make custom weldments have switchable configurations? The main stuff we use to create fabrication drawings for is too intensive for BIM related exports. I.e. a frame for our equipment using alu extruded profiles with far too much detail, but customer wants these reduced to simple boxes for their BIM model. How would you go about this?
nice turtorials. As a student of many things i can give you some advices and i would like because i appreciate your job. If you will use much smaller monitor resolution your software menu will be easer to see to viewers. You do it fast because you are professional we are learners, if you make longer videos and wait ~~ 0.5 second between hover over icon and click item this will make incredible change. Because its hard to notice what you click and cannot slow down video because of its framerate. I believe those are good advices. Thank you
Hi David, You can mix weldments in files by adding a second weldment feature. Create a sketch of what is required and activate the weldment command for say square tubing and place the tubing where needed. Then ok the command and the square tubing appears. Next make a new weldment feature by clicking the weldment command and select the next set of lines required say this is for round tube and click OK to confirm. I don't think there is any limit to the amount of different profiles that can be added and also they can be displayed as different sections on the Bill of Materials table. Thanks for the comment.
Hi @upside_down. The graphic is rendered in either Solidworks PhotoView 360 or in Solidworks Visualize, but I think I done this one in PhotoView 360. Both are excellent for rendering, KeyShot is also an excellent program for rendering and is easier to use. Thanks for the comment
Hey Martin how would you show the bending angles and bending direction (up-down) ] in the dxf/dwg ? I get all of my parts laser cut and folded externally to my shop. Im just looking to simplify my process. I am self taught in this area which is why i lack the knowledge
Hi Alarkan, it shouldn't close itself down but if it does you might need to contact your software supplier as there might be an issue with your registered software.
Hello, i followed the same steps but when i tried to use the custom weldment in an sketch it show "library feature empty" error. How do i proceed now ?
Thanks for the great tutorial, learned some cool sheet metal tricks here. I was up until now trying to achieve everything using Edge Flange alone! Thinking of how the part will be manufactured while designing it is a very good skill to have as well, more design engineers should have the same mindset as you.
Turn it on by right clicking on the toolbar and turning on sheet metal tab under tabs. Otherwise search in the Insert drop down menu or the search box at the top right of the Solidworks screen. Make use the search is set to commands
Your videos are very helpful! Great for days when its slow at work and I want to expand my skills. Some constructive criticism though, and this is minor, your screen appears to be large. It makes it hard to see on smaller screens on our end of the video. Could you do your videos on a smaller monitor?
Hi, This is noted and thank you for giving the feedback. I have changed for recording on a large screen to a smaller one and turned up the icon size etc. Thanks for the comment.
Brilliant tutorial as always. Quick question for you Martin, if say you have made this part and the press brake operators say the ends will clash with the tooling, unless the front and back sides are removed for folding. Is there an easy way to separate the front and back sides so they retain the geometry for the mitre flanges so that they can be welded back on after folding?
Hi Rich, This is a hard one and also a annoying one (often happens), but there are a few ways that can be used as a work around. First one is to create a multibody sheet metal part, that is one part file but it contains two solids (in this case 2 pieces of sheet metal not merged as one). Then take a flat pattern of each piece separately. The second is to create the piece as normal and then remove the ends from the dxf file to give you a main body dxf file and a side end dxf file. (Dxf used for cnc plasma etc some people use other file types such as dwg etc). There are other ways also such as building the parts in an assembly but these two ways are worth a try first. Thanks for the comment.
@@skeltondesignsolutionsltd Hi Martin, the multi body sheet metal part is a good idea, so if I create the single part as you have done with the mitre flanges, then split the front and back parts on the fold line that might work, I have tried doing that in the past but couldn't figure out how to do it easily. BTW, I'm sending my files to the fabricators as STEP files which does away with the need to create additional drawings for the laser cut and folded parts so saves hours of additional time. DXF is OK for the flat parts. On a different note, am experimenting with the weldments on box section, so instead of welding two or three parts at say 90 degrees, I laser cut the vee in a single part then fold it, not sure how to use the completed folded part in an assembly as yet but need to figure it out. Solidworks can be hugely frustrating at times but when it comes together it's fantastic, and all the better when folks like yourself upload straightforward tutorials - so thank you for taking the time to upload them.
Watching your videos on using Solid Works is getting very addictive, I could be here all night! Thank you once again for another quick and informative video.
Hi Martin, just wanted to say thank you for a very informative video that get's straight to the point. I use the sheet-metal feature quite a lot but am always learning new tips and tricks.
Hi Guy, I haven't really used the slot and tab command, it only appeared in 2020 version I think. I always done it manually with a pattern feature. I will give it a try and see what happens. Thanks for the video idea and thanks for the comment.
Very useful video indeed. The merge miter trimmed bodies check-box at 5:41 looks interesting, if for example, if I want to make a rectangular frame, instead of cutting 4 pieces of steel, I could create the weldment and select 'Merge miter trimmed bodies', this could then be laser cut as one piece instead of four which would reduce costs, then fold the tube and weld. Is that the right idea?
Hi Frank, Sunny!! not at the moment. Hope you found good information that helped. Have a look at other videos as they have good basic information in them, production quality might lack but the information is solid. Cheers Frank, thanks for the comment.
Hi Rich, I have since set up my mic better so hopefully it will be problem solved in later videos. Thanks for the comment. Video production is a skill I'm working on.
Hi, I think all Solidworks versions have weldments, activate the tab and you should have the basic weldments. Also look at this video on how to get lots of weldment profiles for free through solidworks themselves. SOLIDWORKS WELDMENT Tutorial #8 // Do not use WELDMENT PROFILES without doing these 5 steps? . Thanks for the comment.
@@skeltondesignsolutionsltd thanks...also can you help me regarding making it library design? my sketches aren't L'ed easily..i mean not getting L marked
Is it the music? I also increased the speed of the video so the same content would take less time. Maybe leave the content alone and have no music would make it clearer?
@@skeltondesignsolutionsltd I think it's your accent, but usually I don't have a problem understanding different accents. So maybe a better mic. will help. Yes, the music is not necessary at all. Also your screen resolution is higher then the upload resolution HD. We can not read what you are clicking on. Most laptops just have HD 1080 resolution, so your should record in HD and upload in HD, then we can see better what you are doing. No need to speed up the video, we can do that on RU-vid if we need it. Thanks for asking! Cheers! :0)=
Hi Even, Thank you for the criticism as this give me a list of items to work on. The videos are a few months old so I have upgraded some items like a better mic. The screen res is a big one all right, I have since changed back to a smaller screen just for recording, allows to see easier. Do you think a clicker ( the circle around the curser) is necessary in your opinion?. That is a good point about not speeding up the video - I will take that on board. Also I think the music is not necessary anymore but when starting off on RU-vid it is hard to be comfortable with your own voice at the beginning. The accent is just part of me. Thank you again Even for the feedback it is much apricated. I will post some new videos up after Christmas with these changes. Cheers
@@skeltondesignsolutionsltd Yes, the yellow circle is helpful to fallow your mouse movements. I have seen that elsewhere. Also you could make the mouse pointer bigger. Good luck my friend! I also love SolidWorks I have been using it since the beginning, like 20 years.
Hi Russell, I never uploaded it after and no-one asked for it before. If your interested I will dig it out and upload it for you in the next few days. Thanks for the comment
Hi Russell, The shape is the end part of a cable tray, I though it was a good drawing exercise. You can purchase the cable trays from your local electrical wholesale and lots of company's produce them. I used it to run around the workshop walls and then cable tie the electrical cables to it.
If you haven't incorporated bending allowances or the k factor properly, your part will end up having different dimensions when fabricated, with holes not aligning according to the dimensions in the CAD
Hi Syed, This is exactly why K-factor and Bend Allowance is so important. If you produce a part, cut the material, fold the part and then try to fit it to another part the holes will be miss aligned. Usually making the part unusable. There are many ways around this, but all are based on the industry the part is designed for. If you are working with a manufacture that have fully up to date and calibrated equipment, then a k-factor should be easily acquired. If you are working with a 30 year old brake press, then it is a different situation and you either design components that attach together to reduce the need for accuracy, increase tolerances, or work out the K-factor as it is on the machine but take into account that both press rams could be pressing different pressures giving a variable K factor. The standard metal fabrication industry tolerances and the pharmaceutical industry stainless steel tolerances are very different. This means more time is spent working out K-Factors of stainless steel bending than mild steel bending but using standard air bending tables, knowing your v-dies and bending allowances will give a good effort. The real way to reduce the risk is to make one part first, adjust that part till it is correct and then produce the part. Lots of mistakes can be made with miss-calculation on computers. Thank for the comment Syed
I was an Inventor user, and due to the job that I'm applying to, it's a must to use SW, and your videos really helped me alot. I'm waiting for the future videos videos (Assemblies, Structure systems,.... etc) Continue and keep it up 😍
Hi Mahmoud, thank you for the comment. Changing over Cad systems can be hard to do, but each system (solidworks, inventor, creo, etc) has an advantage over the next. Some things in solidworks are very difficult to achieve compared to other softwares and the opposite can also be said. I have used a few different ones, but for the work I do and the location im in, solidworks is the common software. In saying that there are also Creo, Inventor and Catia users in my area but mainly solidworks has the majority share. I am getting around to uploading some more videos and hope you find them a help also.
Thank you. And it would be great if you can show a video of how you take measurements for a complicated parts.. like how you measured those arcs and such stuff
Hi Esraa, This is a great suggestion for a video. I will put together a video about the topic but I mainly use a space envelope and parameters method to achieve the result. But it depends on what is the hero of the design, is it the actual wheel rim that you are making or is it what the rim attaches to (the hub). When pricing work for clients, accuracy of components is a major factor in cost due to time spent. The theory is that you tend to produce none hero parts fast but visually correct (using a space envelope and parameters method) to give it an overall accuracy, and hero parts (hub) slower much more accurate and with a tolerance. Thanks for the comment and hope you enjoy the videos, I will have new video on the ATV build in the next few weeks.
@@skeltondesignsolutionsltd Thank you for explaining that, i almost never thought about it that way (hero and none hero parts) .. i can draw the part to its overall shape but i always try to measure every thing and in general i face difficulty when doing part with arcs and artistic shapes. Waitting for the video 🌼
Hi, Martin. Good tutorial. I have just liked and subscribed. The only problem imho is that "music" in background. Make it more silence, or turn it off. Despite it's not loud, I would like to focuse on what you are saying rather, than fighting against that noise. Anyway - very useful video. Thank you.
Hi Heavy Storm. Thank you for the like, sub, comment and suggestion. I think background sound is unnecessary at this stage but when starting off recording yourself, it feels very bare without it. I will concentrate on what i am saying and create more engaging dialogue to improve videos. Thanks again.
Hi Shayan. I will add a section to the end of videos with a few practical tips as there are lots of them. I have never met any solidworks user that knows them all, it is good to learn for each other and use tips that help, while also keeping the user experience interesting. Thanks for the comment.
Please make a video on How to take Development length in real life example. Considering K factor and bending allowance. Please make a video on same example considering k factor. When we changes K factor development length also changes. So Please Show us how to consider the exact development length.
Hi Cordero, Thanks for watching the video. I think it should be a good model when it is finished. I will do a nice exploded view and render when it is finished and use it as a portfolio piece. Thanks for the comment and hope you enjoy the rest of the videos.
