In order for other people to assemble it, I want to make an assembly manual in the form of Lego instructions. I'm thinking about using Solidworks composer, but I'm not sure if it's the best solution ? Do you have any other ideas ?
In addition, I find very little documentation and tutorials on the internet with solidworks composer, only presentation videos. Do you have any tutorials in mind, or do you want to be part of this wonderful project ?
Nice your project;) But what kind of structure are you? Society or association?
For assembly instructions I don't use compose. I use "printscreens" to paste in a word or powerpoint document (then converted into a PDF record. with the hide functions, transparency, configurations and exploded views and exploded lines you can do beautiful things simply.
@coin37coin We have a lot of fun, but it takes a lot of time to make this little robot:)
For the screenshots, I had thought about it, but I don't find it clean. Also, if my 3D model is changed, I have to redo everything. Also, how do I indicate the hole in the screws...?
@Thom@s
The project is about 8 months old and we have been an association for 1 month
I don't really know your solution, it is similar to coin37coin's?
@remrem
Thanks for the links, I was aware of the getting starter but not the other 2. I do think that solidworks composer is made for my application, but it doesn't seem to be easy to use
I use Composer mainly to create assembly or maintenance annimations, The projects processed being often finalized I can only test the updates of the geometry, in any case for the addition of components it works very well.
There is a "Compose" group on the Forum http://www.lynkoa.com/groupes/3dvia.
So with solidworks, if you want to keep your model dynamic in anticipation of future modifications, you can create different configurations (or display state) for each assembly step. The configurations seem suitable to me because you can add burst sketch lines. you can easily make an "exploded view" and a "gathered view" for each assembly step. It's simple and clear to someone outside the project.
On the other hand, the negative point is that if you make changes, you actually have to retype all the screen printouts to update the images of your assembly instructions...
I saw on the site that you are looking for help with mecha? If you ever have a need for design, drawing, calculation, photo renderings... Don't hesitate;) I can give you a hand in my free time!
I signed up for the group, but it doesn't seem very active to me. Creating a montage animation can also be interesting for the project. Even if at the beginning, I prefer static images. I think that making an animation or a notice must be the same thing, right?
@thom@s
Thank you for these explanations, your solution is very interesting
If you can't find the screenshot clean, do it with a "save as" and JPEg format (or other). Otherwise, Thom@s to say everything for the rest.
That said, if you have composed, it may be a shame to miss it and not use it. My "troubleshooting" solution is not optimal if you regularly have changes to make indeed
The problem with animation is that you need a means for visualization, which is not necessarily the case when you're putting something together. Usually, paper is preferred. But from an animation, can we create a notice?
I have jammais create instructions from compose, animations, tables of nomenclatures, images made realistic, integrated the annimation in an office document and on an html page.
Composing is very good for this kind of thing and especially perfectly suited when 3D is going to evolve. If you are an Axemble or Cadware customer, you can ask for "The Designer's Guide" where the beginnings on Composer are discussed.
On the other hand, SolidWorks Composer is not "mechanical" SolidWorks, there is some adaptation, but it is done without too much difficulty.
With less flexibility, you can use Word (less convenient, the image being dissociated from the 3D!) by inserting your images in "Insert and link" mode. In this case, you save your images in a folder and if you re-save them (keeping the same name for a change of view,...) they will be updated in Word without having to do any copy/paste hacks or anything else.
You're not too late, because your answer is very interesting. I had indeed seen the part with Word which is very interesting, I think, for writing the notice.
I am not an Axemble customer unfortunately, so I do not have access to the designer's guide.
SolidWorks Composer is a top-notch tool for manuals. We use it to produce the installation instructions for our products for customers.
I started as a self-taught person to do little things after years (in another company) of "SW screenshots" type instructions... A real pleasure!
At the start, we already manage to do some pretty good things. we move, we hide, we delete... You have to manage your views well and record them properly. Then, everything goes well as long as you don't forget that it's only a question of hiding elements and not deleting them:)
During a training course a year ago, however, I went to a higher level and I must admit that I am much more efficient at making videos or paper instructions. There are lots of tricks that we don't always have time to discover...