Learning SOLIDWORKS 2021

This book will teach you everything you need to know to start using SOLIDWORKS 2021 with easy to understand, step-by-step tutorials. It features a simple robot design used as a project throughout the book. You will learn to model parts, create assemblies, run simulations, and even create animations of your robot design.

No previous experience with Computer Aided Design (CAD) is needed since this book starts at an introductory level. The author begins by getting you familiar with the SOLIDWORKS interface and its basic tools right away. You will start by learning to model simple robot parts and before long you will graduate to creating more complex parts and multi-view drawings.

Along the way, you will learn the fundamentals of parametric modelling through the use of geometric constraints and relationships. You will also become familiar with many of SOLIDWORKS's powerful tools and commands that enable you to easily construct complex features in your models. Also included is coverage of gears, gear trains, and spur gear creation using SOLIDWORKS.

This book continues by examining the different mechanisms commonly used in walking robots. You will learn the basic types of planar four-bar linkages commonly used in mechanical designs and how to use the GeoGebra Dynamic Geometry software to simulate and analyse 2D linkages. Using the knowledge you gained about linkages and mechanisms, you will learn how to modify your robot and change its behaviour by modifying or creating new parts.

In the second to last chapter of this book, you learn how to combine all the robot parts into assemblies and then run motion analysis. You will finish off your project by creating 3D animations of your robot in action.

Finally, in the last chapter, the author introduces you to 3D printing. You will learn the general principles of 3D printing including a brief history of 3D printing, the types of 3D printing technologies, commonly used filaments, and the basic procedure for printing a 3D model. Being able to turn your designs into physical objects will open up a whole new world of possibilities to you.

There are many books that show you how to perform individual tasks with SOLIDWORKS, but this book takes you through an entire project and shows you the complete engineering process. By the end of this book you will have modelled and assembled nearly all the parts that make up the TAMIYA® Mechanical Tiger and can start building your own robot.