Introducing the HandySCAN 3D Scanner (Silver Elite Series Edition)

Today, I am going to explore the new HandySCAN 3D scanner from the Silver Elite series. This powerful scanner comes packed with proven, patented optic technology that makes it an all-in-one device for scanning parts of all shapes and sizes. You will immediately notice the quick plug-and-play setup time. The moment you hold the scanner, you’ll recognize the well-balanced, ergonomic design, making it easy to operate comfortably. The buttons are thoughtfully placed and it seems just as intuitive as VXelements, Creaform’s proprietary software. This makes it easy to wield without fumbling.

But it isn’t just comfort and ease of use that make the HandySCAN 3D scanner a revolution. By capturing 480,000 measurements a second, this scanner is the fast path to quickly go from a physical part to ready-to-use files.

Additionally, the HandySCAN 3D scanner uses seven blue (grid-formed) lasers. This lets it easily capture what are typically difficult-to-get surfaces.  The triangulation of the reflective targets provides self-positioning. This lets the scanner and the part to move, while the scanner maintains its orientation. The benefit here is that now we can capture details of the part from various angles. Possibly even more notable is the single-laser line that is useful for capturing the small details in hard-to-reach places. Having all this versatility while holding accuracies up to .0012” (.030mm) makes this scanner one of the most useful tools in both Reverse Engineering and Quality Control inspection workflows.

How Do You Get One?

I hope you are excited as I am about getting a professional-grade scanner at a truly accessible price—starting in the low $20K range. Get ready to join over 5,000 and growing users worldwide that are benefiting from this multifaceted tool in the rapidly growing industry 4.0. Please check with your local sales representative to get the best pricing including limited and introductory offers. Let’s Grow Together! Learn more about us at GoEngineer.com

Ryck Hoopes
Applications Engineer, Manufacturing Solutions
Computer Aided Technology

Thankfully, nowadays many major part suppliers let you download a 3D model of their part. This often comes in the form of a STEP file. Sometimes suppliers will even publish a SOLIDWORKS part file instead of a STEP file. Along with that, there is a variety of parts included in the SOLIDWORKS toolbox, and some suppliers have even created add-ons or design libraries so you can access their files directly from within the SOLIDWORKS environment.

Using Imported Geometry in Your Assembly

Regardless of whether you’re fortunate enough to have a real SOLIDWORKS part, or are stuck working with a STEP file, we can easily use those files to help us create our design. To get started, open up your imported file, and save it as a SOLIDWORKS part. Don’t worry if your feature tree is full of “Imported” geometry, and don’t worry about feature recognition.

With your assembly open, simply add in the imported geometry you want to work with, and we’re off to the races. I encourage you to save the file you’re using with the rest of the assembly so when SOLIDWORKS tries to track it down for in-context references, it doesn’t have any difficulty. Once you’ve got your model in the assembly, the next step is to position it where you’d like it to end up using some simple mates.

Import the Geometry

From here, we can start using the imported geometry to create new geometry. Whether it be a boss or a cut, we can use the edges of imported geometry to control its shape. To begin, select the part you’d like to edit, and select “Edit part”. Next, you can use relations & or convert entities to grab the desired geometry and add it into a sketch. With your sketch finished, you can create whatever feature you need, using the geometry.

Final Mates

With your feature created, you can now add any more required mates for your design. This could be as few as just one more, or it could be a handful.

Parametric

Thanks to SOLIDWORKS’s parametric nature, the in-context changes propagate out to the part level. This creates an in-context relationship between the two parts.

Breaking the link

Sometimes those in-context references can be a headache, and maybe you just needed one briefly. Thankfully, we can always break the link. Be careful though, as breaking the link is permanent. In order to reestablish the link, you will have to go through some of this process again.

That’s the basics of doing some in-context modeling, whether you have a genuine SOLIDWORKS part or some imported geometry. Stay tuned for part 2 where I talk about design changes with in-context parts and go over how to fix some errors including mates and relationships.

Brennen Sands
Application Engineer
Computer Aided Technology

I bet we can! Let’s go ahead and give it a try!

For the first step, we create our nice 8.5” x 11” sheet of paper using the sheet metal Base Flange command. In this case, our sheet metal thickness is going to be 0.004” and our bend radius will be set at 0.005”.

Using Sketch Bends

The next step, just folding it in half, is easy. We do this by creating a Sketched Bend, using a line sketched on the top face. We will only bend it 90 degrees. This should let us focus on just one side of the airplane, for now.

This Sketch Bend command is going to be our main tool for this project. When you have a fixed size of material, our paper, the sketched lines indicate where the center of the folds will be. As we continue to add additional bends, we need to be cautious about the bends overlapping any existing bend geometry. We cannot have bends run into other bends. This is prevented by adjusting the location of the sketched lines that are defining the bends. We can add a small 0.03” dimension to keep it above the existing bend.

Next, we need to fold this section back over onto itself, just like the right half of this real paper plane.

Unfortunately, here is where we run into our first major roadblock. SOLIDWORKS is unable to bend both paper layers using any of the bend tools.

This means that we will need to model our plan differently than the way we “manufacture” it. We will just have to work backwards by modeling the paper airplane starting at a corner of the sheet of paper and working towards the center. Using an unfolded paper plane as my reference, we’ll get started….again.

Making a Paper Airplane in SOLIDWORKS… Backwards?

Let’s keep attacking it with the Sketched Bend feature, using it for every fold in our paper airplane. Some bends will be 90 degrees, and others will be a full fold at 180 degrees. This will allow us to account for the sections where the paper is doubled over.

Our first Sketched Bend command is the tiny corner fold of our sheet of paper.

The second Sketched Bend feature bends the existing folded geometry upwards a full 180 degrees.

We are off to a good start! This is working better than the initial attempt, so far!

Then, we will add a third Sketched Bend feature, bending it upwards at 90 degrees.

For the fourth Sketched Bend, we are folding this corner over again, this time it is a complete 180 degrees bend.

Continuing to work our way towards the center of the sheet of paper, we’ll use another Sketch bend.

Next, let’s add Sketched Bend number 6, another 90-degree fold. So far, it’s still looking good!

Sketched Bend number 7 folds it 180-degrees.

That was a glorious step! We now have half of our plane complete and It is looking great!

After applying the exact same Sketch Bend commands to the other side of the plane, we ended up with a great result!

This completes the design challenge and our plane looks ready for a test flight.

Thanks for reading and please suggest any other design challenges for us to have some more fun with.

Greg Buter
Application Engineer Manager
Computer Aided Technology

For most of my designs, I choose to use the feature pattern as I have more options for future development. Things like configurations of the pattern, variable pattern, and nonstandard x-y directions are available in the feature pattern. There are times when I do need a pattern at the sketch level, but it has always been a little harder to work with sometimes. Let me show you some tricks for editing your sketch patterns in SOLIDWORKS.

Edit a Sketch Pattern in SOLIDWORKS

With a feature pattern, making those edits is straightforward. Simply right-click on the feature and edit.

From here, we can change the parameters of the feature.

If I want to edit the Sketch Pattern parameters, I must edit the sketch to start. But the issue is that getting back into the pattern dialog box is not as intuitive. Most people end up deleting the feature to do it over, as they do not know how to edit the pattern. They might also try double-clicking or right-clicking on the pattern relation to get only display/delete relations. The way to get back into the Sketch Pattern properties is to right-click on a patterned object or the seed, then “edit pattern” will show up on the menu.

From here you can edit the sketch pattern to change any of the properties.

Everything is still intact and editable, and most of all the Instances to Skip is just as useable as the feature pattern. I still prefer to use Feature Patterns, as I find that I have more control over all of my design. There are times that a sketch pattern is super useful in my designs and editing was always a challenge. But the goal of this post was to help bring awareness to the fact that sketch patterns are editable! Anthony Sandri goes into great detail on the performance side of patterns in another blog post, which is another reason to contemplate using Feature Patterns.

I gave up thinking that it was possible to edit a sketch pattern until recently. I hope this gives you some new information on how to handle them.

Craig Maurer
Elite Applications Engineer
Computer Aided Technology

Over the course of my internship, I was able to take advantage of many of the SOLIDWORKS training classes offered through CATI. A combination of in-person and online courses prepared me to achieve both my CSWA and CSWP certifications. These certifications are not only a source of pride, but prove I have valuable CAD skills I can take into my future employment opportunities.

A custom Y-block wrench makes it easy to remove tight fittings on the Stratasys F370.

My Role

My role with CATI primarily revolved around the hardware side of the business – working with 3D printers and 3D scanners. From printer repair tools to custom-printed room placards, to organizational tools, I printed a lot this summer. The tools I designed and printed included a lockout key for an Objet printer, a Y-block wrench for the Stratasys F123 series printer, and a belt tensioning tool. These tools were printed using FDM technology with a Stratasys F370. Each of these tools taught me a different lesson about designing for 3D printing, such as the impact of slice height on surface finish and part strength or how tolerances can affect the fitment of moving parts.

One of the many custom room placards printed using the J55 Polyjet printer.

The Fun Stuff

More decorative parts such as employee name plates were printed using PolyJet technology on either the Stratasys J55 or J850. This technology can create parts with impressive colors, textures, and finishes, making it an excellent choice for design visualization. For example, the custom room placards I printed needed to contain the correct Pantone colors used in the CATI logo. This took some research and experimentation to get right but produced parts with highly accurate color recreation. These projects taught me more about the post-processing required to achieve a desired finish and texture using PolyJet printers.

This workstation was designed to accommodate the various tasks required to post-process Origin One parts.

Everything Else (More Fun Stuff)

Outside of these projects, I also worked a lot with the new Stratasys Origin One printer. I learned a lot about the new materials available with this printing system, some of which have incredible properties with regards to heat deflection. It was interesting working with my colleagues to develop procedures for working with an unfamiliar group of resin 3D printing materials. This provided me with opportunities to practice problem solving and workflow optimization in cooperation with a team.

I participated in a few scanning services, both on-site and in the office. Through these services I learned how different companies use 3D scanning for reverse engineering and quality inspection. During an on-site scanning service, I learned about how the scanning workflow changes to accommodate larger subjects – in this case, the axle of a bulldozer and an entire bucket attachment. I was able to apply this experience on a reverse engineering project where I scanned, reverse engineered, and designed clip-on project labels for our standardized project tray system.

During my time with CATI, I developed a lot of practical and hands-on engineering skills that are often overlooked in a college education. An example of this is the importance of rapid revisions. Many of my projects went through many iterations, and I learned from each one and improved the project as a result. The knowledge and experience I was able to obtain over the course of the summer was beneficial in preparing me for an engineering job in a way that cannot be taught in a classroom.

Aaron Fanjoy
Engineering Services Intern
Computer Aided Technology

Using the Design Library Features

To use a Design Library Feature, start by expanding the Design Library folder structure to the features folder. Then expand the features folder.

Select and expand the standard or type of feature and select the required feature. Next, drag and drop the Library Feature onto the solid and follow the directions.
Here is a short excerpt from the SOLIDWORKS Essentials – Configurations – Lesson 10:

Creating Custom Options

To create a custom library feature you need to start with a part that contains a base feature. Depending on the shape, the basic solid will be rectangular or cylindrical. Here we will start with one of each.

Custom Rectangular Library Feature

Starting with the rectangular base, I have created a simple cut feature, like this.

Renaming the variables that define the Length, Width, Depth, and the x/y position of the cut will help define the future references of the library feature.

Next, select the Cut-Extrude1 feature and open the design library tab from the Task pane. Now, click on the Add to Library button (shown here)

This will open a dialog to create a Lib Feat Part (*.sldflp), which I’ve named RectangularCut.

This will add the library feature to the design library in the file location you chose:

Now we need to open the library feature from the design library to manage the references. The placement references will be inserted into the References folder and the dimension variables into the Dimensions folder at the top of the Feature Manager Tree. The locating dimensions Loc_X and Loc_Y will need to be dragged into the Locating Dimensions folder. Be sure to drag any dimension you don’t want to show in the Library Feature Property Manager into the Internal Dimensions Folder.

See below:

To test your rectangular feature, create a part with an extrude then drag and drop it from the Design Library.

Custom Cylindrical Library Feature

Now, when creating a round or revolved Library Feature there are things you will need to decide about the design intent.

1. Will it be located concentric to another feature?
2. Will it be located using a sketch point (similar to the hole wizard)?
3. Will it be located with dimensions (in this case you can use a rectangular base)?

When creating the sketch for the library feature be sure and create references within the base feature. Avoid the origin unless you will be using a sketch point as the location.

Here I have created a revolved cut that can be located using a circular reference.

1. A sketch was created on the top face of the cylinder with a construction line that starts concentric to the Base feature, going horizontal past the edge of the base, then the sketch is renamed “Drop location”.
2. A plane is created from the line and the end point of the Drop location sketch.
3. The revolve profile is created on the new plane with coincident relations to the Drop Location sketch.

NOTE: Try and avoid creating any sketch relations to the Origin. These will add a sketch point requirement for placement of the library feature.

Now, follow the same process as before for adding it to a file.

To test your Revolve Library Feature, create a part with a cylindrical extrude. Then drag and drop it from the Design Library.

Adjust the Size Dimensions to get the shape you need.

I hope you have gained a greater understanding of Library Features and will create your own to speed up your design process.

We’ve covered some additional best practices for how to use Design Features to speed up your design process in a prior blog post.

Regards,

Dennis Barnes, CSWE
Sr. Applications Engineer, Software Solutions
Computer Aided Technology

Design Binder Location

The Design Binder is located in the SOLIDWORKS Feature Tree. However, the default system settings actually hide it. To show the Design Binder go to System Options > Feature Manager > Design Binder > Show. And don’t forget to click OK to save the change!

Now that the Design Binder is set to show it will appear in the Feature Manager Design Tree.

Using the Design Binder

Notice the Design Binder has a dropdown option. By default, SOLIDWORKS automatically includes a Word document, the Design Journal. This is where you may document the progress of your model, assembly, or drawing. To use it  Right-Click > and go to Open.

A word document named Design Journal will open and you’re free to start taking notes or documenting your progress.

Now let’s add some simulation results to this model. To add other documents to the Design Binder you’ll right-click on the Design Binder >  Add Attachment. Of course, it doesn’t have to be simulation results. We could add any kind of report we want by following the same process.

This will bring up an Add Attachment dialogue box where you can now browse for the desired files. In the Add Attachment dialogue box, there is the option to Link your selected files. This means that if a change is made to that file outside of SOLIDWORKS, that change propagates to the embedded file. For example, if a design note gets edited or a page gets added to a report then those changes will be reflected in the embedded documents.

You can easily access the attached files by right-clicking on the document and selecting open. If you need to delete a document, simply follow the same workflow and select “delete”.

You don’t need to worry about where you’re saving the files. You can put them in any location and SOLIDWORKS can use nearly any file type.

The SOLIDWORKS Design Binder is a great way to group together notes, results, and tables, keep all gathered documents up to date and is great for a collaborative environment.

Sara Hollett
Application Engineer
Computer Aided Technology

Using Cosmetic Threads is a recommended best practice to represent threads in your models and minimize the impact on performance. They also let you easily annotate threads on a drawing. There are several ways to show them in SOLIDWORKS. They can be displayed on Toolbox fasteners; they can be shown on tapped holes created with the Hole Wizard feature; they can be manually applied using the Cosmetic Thread feature to any circular hole or boss; they can be generated when using the Stud Wizard feature.

But have you ever used one of these methods to create Cosmetic Threads and expected to see something like this?

Figure 1

And instead, you end up with this?

Figure 2

Or maybe even this?!

Figure 3

Display Them as Annotations

Don’t worry, you didn’t do anything wrong. Figure 2 shows, by definition, a Cosmetic Thread. Basically, it is an annotation that represents the minor diameter of a thread on a boss feature or the major diameter of a thread on a hole.

Showing the minor or major diameter of the thread is useful when annotating threads using a hole callout on a 2D drawing.

Figure 4

So what’s the secret to displaying the major and minor diameters of the threads or a graphical representation of the threads in the model? All you need to do is change their visibility. Since Cosmetic Threads are an annotation, you control their visibility through the Annotations folder in the FeatureManager Design Tree.

Right-click on the Annotations folder and select Details.

Figure 5

In the “Annotation Properties” turn on the two options shown below and click Apply, then OK. You can also control the visibility of other annotation types from here.

Figure 6

You will also need to make sure that you enable Display Annotations. Right-click the Annotations folder again and turn on Display Annotations.

Figure 7

You should now be able to see all of your Cosmetic Threads in your model! If not, you may need to perform a forced rebuild (CTRL+Q) to regenerate the graphics.

Figure 8

If you would like to have the Cosmetic Threads and Shaded Cosmetic Threads visible for all new parts, the Annotation settings discussed above can be set and saved in your part templates.

Brian Morris
SOLIDWORKS Elite Application Engineer
Computer Aided Technology

Measuring Geometry: Measure Command

Starting off with the basics, the measure command is a wonderful tool to grab some measurements from imported geometry. When it comes to straight pipes/tubes, it’s easy to grab some edges of the geometry, choose “minimum distance”, and get your value.

Creating a 3D Sketch

Unfortunately, as soon as we move on from straight tubes, this technique doesn’t work as well, so we had to get more creative. Utilizing a 3D sketch, you can convert the edges of each section of tubing and give yourself the major points of the path.

Measuring Geometry: Lines & Arcs

Then, by adding in some more sketch elements, you can connect them together using straight lines and tangent arcs. Pull up your measure tool, and now you’ve got a centerline to pull measurements from. Additionally, you can derive both a bend angle and an arc/chord length as well.

Measuring Geometry: Planes & Dimensions

Now there is still another angle to derive, and this is where things got interesting. In order to calculate the angle of rotation, some additional reference geometry would certainly come in handy. Utilizing the centerline we created in a previous step, we can select end points of lines to create planes that are parallel to those lines. Once created, we can use smart dimensions to pull the angle of rotation off from those planes.

In my student’s case, all he really needed as far as measurements is what I’ve shown here. I didn’t want to stop here, I wanted to make sure he had every tool in his arsenal that he could; I made sure to mention that there are a few add-ins available for SOLIDWORKS that are designed specifically for tubing. If this is all you’re doing every day, shortening the process via any means possible is always welcome.

Let me know if you guys want to see more about working with tubing in SOLIDWORKS, and hopefully, this article will help save you from any trouble that may result from measuring imported geometry.

Brennen Sands
Application Engineer
Computer Aided Technology

The Hybrid Modeling enhancements in SOLIDWORKS 2022 brought new quality of life benefits to users working with mesh files. We no longer need to convert each body into a mesh body for feature creation because of the simplified workflow. We do need to account for build volume and the geometry of the file. These factors determine which 3D Printer it will be printed on. When the limiting factor is build volume we split the model or file into multiple pieces. This brings another challenge – aligning the pieces during the bonding process.

This is where hybrid modeling comes into play. I can take the mesh file and open it in SOLIDWORKS, then split it into pieces that fit in the build volume of my 3D Printer. Then I can add features that aid in positioning and locating the parts during the bonding process. You can get creative with how you do this. I will go over a simple example you can apply to your designs or use as a springboard for brainstorming new methods.

Working with Mesh Files in SOLIDWORKS

Now I want you to look at the model shown below and pretend that it is much longer than shown and that we need to split it up in order to fit it in our build volume. I am using a shorter model in this example to 3D print it faster and not waste material. If you look at the model, you will see that it is essentially a cylinder with a flat surface on one side. This means there is a possibility that the parts could be bonded incorrectly together, and the risk of misalignment has increased. I will mitigate this risk by adding a feature that will aid in positioning and alignment between the bodies.

I will start by adding a plane and performing a simple split of the part.

Now I will hide the upper body and sketch a square on the top surface of the lower body.

I will then extrude this sketch and turn on the draft for this feature, making sure to uncheck the merge result option.

I then copy the body (Move/Copy Body command) and perform the Combine command to subtract that body from one of the other bodies. We use the direct editing tools in SOLIDWORKS to make working with mesh files significantly easier.

Below shows the copy body command.

The copied body is shown in FeatureManager Design Tree below

Next, we see our combine command.

We’ve subtracted material from the lower body by using the combine command. See the image below.

I then repeat this process as many times as necessary. In this example, I used Move/Copy Bodies twice and Combine twice. Next, I used the move face command to apply a small offset distance on the remaining Boss Extrude feature (Locating Feature). I applied it so that it moved all of the faces in a little bit. Different 3D printers have varying holding tolerances, making this an important step. Generally, an offset distance between 0.005in(0.127mm) to 0.002in(0.0508mm) is a good starting point. We need to account for the adhesive we’re using, so this helps with accounting for it. Adjust the value as necessary for your equipment.

Below is a sectional view to show the gap between the faces of the locating body and the top and bottom bodies.

Here, we have pictures of the final build!

Now you can make all the “Lord of the Rings” cosplay props that you want! Don’t let build volume hold you back!

Check out my other blog to learn how to import your STL and mesh files so that you can take advantage of Hybrid Modeling.

James Reeher
Sr. Application Engineer
Computer Aided Technology