SolidWorks 103: Barge Design Challenge

Note: This tutorial was created using SolidWorks 2009. If you are using another version of SolidWorks, you may notice some

variation in display states and configuration. Please let your instructor know if you need assistance in locating a command or

function.

Part I: Model a standard size rake barge.

1. Click New (Standard toolbar).

2. In the New SolidWorks Document dialog box, double-click Part.

3. Click Save (Standard toolbar).

4. In the dialog box, type Rake Barge for File name.

5. Click Save.

6. Select Options in the Tools menu. Click on the Document Properties tab and click on Units.

7. Click on Custom, then change the Unit column entries to the following selections. Click OK to

accept the changes.

8. Click Extruded Boss/Base (Features toolbar). The Front, Top, and Right planes should

appear.

9. Select the Top plane. The display changes so the Top plane faces you. The Sketch toolbar

commands appear in the CommandManager. A sketch opens on the Top plane.

10. In the Sketch menu, click on the dropdown arrow next to the Corner Rectangle button and

select Center Rectangle.

11. To start the rectangle, click on the sketch origin

12. Move the pointer. Notice that it displays the current dimensions of the rectangle. Use the scroll

wheel on your mouse to zoom out and gradually increase the dimensions of the rectangle. You

do not have to be exact with the dimensions, but it is preferable to sketch a rectangle with

dimensions approximately 195ft x 35ft

13. To complete the rectangle, click above and to the right of the origin.

14. Release the Rectangle tool. To do this, Press Esc, Enter, or the simply click

15. Select Smart Dimension (Sketch Features toolbar)

16. Select the top edge of the rectangle. Click above the line to place the dimension. The Modify

dialog box appears.

17. Set the value to 195ft.

18. Click The sketch resizes to reflect the 195 ft dimension.

19. Click Zoom to Fit (View toolbar) to display the entire rectangle and center it in the graphics

area.

20. Repeat steps 14 – 18 to set the right edge of the rectangle to a value of 35ft.

21. Click Exit Sketch (Sketch toolbar). The Extrude PropertyManager appears in the left pane,

the view of the sketch changes to Trimetric, and a preview of the extrusion appears in the

graphics area. In the PropertyManager, under Direction 1:

a. Select Blind in End Condition.

b. Set Depth to 16ft.

22. Click . The new feature, Extrude 1, appears in the FeatureManager design tree and in the

graphics area.

23. Click View Orientation and select Top View.

24. Click on the Top face of the rectangular prism. The face should become highlighted.

25. In the Sketch menu, click on the dropdown arrow next to the Center Rectangle button and

select Corner Rectangle.

26. Beginning at the left corner, sketch an inner rectangle.

27. Smart Dimension the Top edge of the inner rectangle to 160ft and the right edge to 28ft.

28. Using Smart Dimension, click on the left edge of the outer rectangle and then the inner

rectangle. Set this value to 3.5ft. Do the same with the bottom edges of the two rectangles.

29. Change the View Orientation to Trimetric.

30. In the Features tab, click Extruded cut.

31. In the Extruded cut PropertyManager, locate Direction 1. Click Blind from the dropdown menu.

32. Check to see if your cut is in the right direction. If not click Reverse Direction .

33. Enter a value of 14ft for the distance

34. Click

35. In the Features tab, locate Fillet and select Chamfer from the dropdown menu.

36. Click on the bottom front edge of the right face of the model.

Click on this edge

37. In the Chamfer PropertyManager, enter a value of 30ft for the distance.

38. Enter a value of 20deg for the angle.

39. Click and save your work . Congratulations! You have completed Part I of this lesson.

Part II: Mass Properties

40. Right click on Material <not specified> in the Design Tree. Select Edit Material.

41. Scroll down to Custom Materials

42. Right click on Custom Materials and create a New Category. Rename the New Category Barge.

43. Right click on the Barge Category and select New Material. In the Name field, type Barge

properties. In the Density field, type 0.001. Click Apply.

44. Click on the Appearance tab in the Material window. Scroll through the available Appearances

and expand the Metal subfolder. Expand the Steel subfolder and select machined steel. Select

Standard in the opacity menu and choose a color to “paint” your barge. When you have

finished, click Apply to see the changes, then Close.

45. Click on the Evaluate tab and select Mass Properties .

46. Print or copy the Mass Properties data into a MS Word or Notepad document. You will need this

later in this lesson. Also, note the secondary 3-axis icon on your model, showing the location of

its center of mass.

47. Click and save your work . Congratulations! You have completed Part II of this lesson.

Part III: Make a drawing from a Part

48. Click New (Standard toolbar).

49. In the New SolidWorks Document dialog box, double-click Drawing.

50. Click OK when the Sheet Format/Size menu appears.

51. Select Options in the Tools menu. Click on the Document Properties tab and click on Units.

52. Click on Custom, then change the Unit column entries to the following selections. Click OK to

accept the changes.

53. In the Model View menu, select the rake barge part file. If the file is not displayed in the Open

documents window, click Browse and select the file from its location. Once the file is selected,

click .

54. Select the following options in the following fields:

a. In Number of Views, click Multiple views.

b. In Orientation, click front, bottom, top, left, right, and isometric views.

55. Click . If a window appears suggesting the use True dimensions rather than Projected

dimensions in the drawing, click Yes.

56. Click Save (Standard toolbar).

57. In the dialog box, type Rake Barge for File name.

58. Click Save.

59. In the Annotation tab, select Smart Dimension. In the Dimension window, verify that the

Tolerance/Precision of the measurements is to the nearest 1/10th of a foot.

60. Locate the Top view of the model and click on the bottom edge of the outer rectangle. Move the

pointer down and click to add the dimension to your drawing.

61. Continue adding dimensions to your drawing for the various views. When you are finished with

this, click .

62. Right-click anywhere in the drawing sheet, and select Edit Sheet Format.

63. In the title block, double-click the variable text that appears. This is usually the location to place

your company name. If you do not have a group or company name, you may simply type

EMBHSSC. Click outside of the text area to save your changes.

64. Using the same procedure, insert your initials under Name for Drawn and the Date. Use the

scroll wheel on your mouse to zoom in, which will make it easier to select the text fields.

65. Right-click anywhere in the drawing sheet, and click Edit Sheet.

66. Click Zoom to Fit to check your work.

67. Click and save your work . This will save your file as a SolidWorks Drawing file

(*.drw;*.slddrw). You should also save your file as a pdf, so that it may be viewed by anyone. To

do this, click Save As in the File menu. Change Save as type to Adobe Portable Document

Format (*.pdf). Click Save.

68. Congratulations! You have completed Part III of this lesson.

Part IV: Model Shipping Containers.

In this part of the lesson, you will use what you have learned to construct two standard size shipping

containers. The table below includes the criteria for each container. Be sure to save each model so you

will be able to use it in Part V.

Criteria Container 1 Container 2

Length 20ft 40ft

Width 8ft 8ft

Height 8ft 8ft

Material Pure Lead 1060 Aluminum Alloy

69. Copy the Mass Properties of each container to MS Word or Notepad for future reference.

70. Create a technical drawing of each shipping container and save as a pdf.

71. Congratulations! You have completed Part IV of this lesson.

Part V: Create an Assembly from Parts

72. Click New (Standard toolbar).

73. In the New SolidWorks Document dialog box, double-click Drawing.

74. The Begin Assembly window appears. Pin the window by clicking in the pin icon .

75. In the Part/Assembly to Insert field, click on the rake barge document and place it in the

assembly. Do the same for container1 and container2.

76. Click .

77. In the Assembly tab, click Mate . The Mate window appears.

78. Select the back 8ft x 8ft face of container1 and the inner back wall of the rake barge. Container1

should move into a coincident mate with the rake barge face.

79. Click Distance Mate in the Mate window and enter a value of 0ft.

80. Click in the popup window.

81. Click on the bottom face of container1 and the bottom interior of the rake barge. Container1

should move into position inside the rake barge.

82. Click in the popup window.

83. Click on the front side of container1 and side wall of the rake barge. Container1 should now be

in position. In the corner of the rake barge.

84. Click Distance Mate in the Mate window and enter a value of 2ft.

85. Click in the popup window.

86. Click in the Mate menu.

87. Click Rebuild to update the changes made to the assembly. It is suggested that you perform

this function anytime you notice rebuild errors in the Design Tree.

88. In the Assembly tab, click on Linear Component Pattern.

89. In the Components to Pattern field, click on container1.

90. In Direction 1, select Edge<1>@rake barge-1

91. Notice the grey arrow showing the direction of the pattern. If the direction is not correct, click

on Reverse Direction .

92. In Direction 1, enter a Distance of 20ft and Number of Instances of 3.

Edge<1>@rake barge-1

93. In Direction 2, select Edge<2>@rake barge-1

94. In Direction 2, enter a Distance of 8ft and Number of Instances of 3.

Edge<2>@rake barge-1

95. Click when you are done.

96. Perform the same mates and linear patterning to create a 2x3 row of container2 at the front of

the rake barge. Your completed barge assembly should look like this…

97. Click on the Evaluate tab and determine the Mass Properties of your completed barge

assembly. Now open the MS Word or Notepad document that includes the Mass Properties of

your rake barge part and compare the center of gravity to that of the assembly. What has

occurred?

98. By changing the values of your distance mates in the assembly, you can move the containers

forwards or backwards in the barge assembly. To do this, expand your Design Tree and find the

mates for container1.

Save your work. Congratulations! You have completed Part V of this lesson.

99. Right click on the distance mate

and select Edit Feature to change the

value of the mate. This will allow you

to move the containers forwards or

backwards on the barge.

100. Design Challenge:

Move the containers to

arrive at a center of gravity

as close as possible to the

center of your rake barge.