SolidWorks Multibody Environment

By: Rob Stoklosa


For this month’s Blog, let me present to you this scenario….

Let’s pretend we work at ACME Table Company. We make simple particle board tables. Our assemblies are usually comprised of 4-8 parts: the table top, legs, and maybe a bracket or two. For the advanced model, we add in some nice molding to the outside of the table top. Simple……RIGHT!?!

If I asked you to create such an assembly:

• How would you go about it?
• How long would it take you?
• How many files would you have to manage?
• How easy would it be to apply a design change?

I normally present this question at the end of my SolidWorks Essentials class. The common and correct answers, given the curriculum the students were just fed, are:

• I would create a bottom-up assembly. (Sometimes top-down if the student is slightly advanced)
• Maybe an hour…..max.
• Roughly? 6-8 part files and 1 assembly. Let’s say 7 files not including drawings.
• SolidWorks makes accomplishing design changes easy. I would just update the part and let SolidWorks handle the rest.

These are all great answers and clearly demonstrate the reason that many people move from 2-D to 3-D in the first place. But can we do this even faster and smarter (and cooler)? YES!

If you are not familiar with the term “MultiBody” , I recommend you spend a little time researching it. In the TriMech Advanced Parts class, we teach just how important and powerful this environment can be. In a MultiBody Part, effectively each “component” is a solid body. Utilizing the MultiBody workflow allows you to go outside the standard process that has become renowned in 3D Parametric modeling where:

• We create individual parts
• We assemble the parts (making sure to define all degrees of freedom)
• We accept the fact that we will have many files to control

What if I could create, relate, and define all my components in one part file?

Well, with Mulitbodies, you can!! But wait, there’s more. Not only can you create, relate and define, you can also assign materials to each body so SolidWorks can calculate accurate mass properties. We can effectively make use of the sheet metal tools, then toggle over to the weldment tools, and then go back to the standard part environment to create a swept cut!

I can generate a BOM or material list, and if required, each solid body can be exported into its own individual file! I know, it’s not the Sham-Wow, and this will not enable us to soak up spills, but multibodies are still very useful.

So, if asked again to create this standard offering from the ACME table company, I might reply with these answers if I considered using multibodies vs. standard SolidWorks modeling techniques.

• I would create a MultiBody part in SolidWorks.
• 20 minutes
• 1….yes I said 1 file
• If you can edit a sketch, and/or edit a feature, you can change this design in seconds.

I hope this encourages you to look into using MultiBodies. This example barely scratches the surface of their magical powers.

Your local friendly TriMech sales rep can provide you with course curriculum and upcoming dates for the Advanced Parts training class. You can also check training on our website to see all of the upcoming dates and locations for Advanced Parts Training.