SOLIDWORKS: Communicating Designs

When working with a client it is far easier to communicate your designs with 3D models instead of 2D documentation or static images. In this blog I am going to document how I used SOLIDWORKS to help my client finalize a design. We played around with the size, color, and location of components inside the SOLIDWORKS environment to come to a consensus.

The client is an artist with no manufacturing, design, or construction background so communicating using specifications, dimensions and technical information was not going to be successful. With that in mind I decided that the 3D model itself was going to be the easiest means of collaborating.

The objective was to create some stage props that could be easily disassembled to fit through a standard door frame. When assembled they were to look like jail cells that a performer can interact with. The cells were required to roll easily and be able to change direction at will.

To easily and quickly display the size of the props I used Configurations of the part file to change the size of the prop and  of the assembly file to move the location of the props about the stage. Having the props on the stage gave the client the ability to judge the relative size of the props and determine their locations on the stage. Having an assembly file with a stage environment put the parts in a context that the client could easily understand and relate to and was very simple to model. The image below shows the two assembly level   that were used to help determine the size of the prop.

Figure 1: Two Assembly Configurations used to determine the size of the props relative to the stageFor more information about configurations check out some of our other blogs specific to that topic.

Assembly Configurations

Part Configurations

The next design hurdle was the paint job that was going to be given to the parts.Using Display States, and the Display Pane inside of SOLIDWORKS made changing the color and reverting to previous colors quick and easy. The images below show how the color can be assigned to each feature and is stored in the Display State. Switching between the Display States allowed for easy comparison of each paint job.

The part file had 4 Display States which I then referenced at the assembly level so the color of the props could be contrasted against the color of the stage floor and cyclorama wall. The images below are the 4 color schemes that were in contention and the SOLIDWORKS environment made it simple to change the design to the client’s whim.

Figure 2: 4 Assembly level display states used to decide paint jobUsing SOLIDWORKS Animation I could show the client how the props would look as they moved around the stage. The animation below was done with two Motors and some Mates and helped the client visualize their props in motion.

Figure 3: SOLIDWORKS Animation of Props in use

After successfully completing the project the client was very pleased with how interactive SOLIDWORKS was with being able to make changes on the fly to the size, color, and location of the props.   during the design stage and cut out the need for prototypes completely. Below is a video of the props in use for a stage performance.

Figure 4: Video of Props in use

For more information, check out our YouTube channel, get a SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD quote or contact us at Hawk Ridge Systems today. Thanks for reading!