Charted Detail Drawings in SW.

I am looking for some opinions.

We manufacture products that come in various configurations (sizes and
color combinations).

I work in Product Development and I started using SW about 2 years ago
to design and document new products.

Our Product Engineering group has not yet evolved from AutoCAD to SW
so they still support our existing products in AutoCAD.

Rather than save the new drawings I create in SW into AutoCAD .dwg, I
convert them into PDF's for the rest of the company to use.

The problem is that our Product Engineering group thinks I should
chart the sizes, colors, etc, on the SW component drawings like they
used to do in AutoCAD to save on the number of drawings created.

I argue that creating a charted drawing on CAD defeats the purpose of
CAD. When I was on AutoCAD and I wanted to use an existing part on a
new product, I always ran into a wall when the existing part was on a
charted drawing. I had to draw it from scratch to use it in an
assembly. To me charted drawings are a quick and dirty way to get the
job done, but it ends up biting someone in the ass down the road.

I also argue that to chart components on drawings in SW is an addition
step and that changes made to the part would not be associative,
therefore defeating one purpose of SW.

Buy the way, we do use the SW BOM table for assembly drawings and have
no problems.

I guess I'm looking for ammo to get the PE group to use individual
drawings for the components and charted BOM drawings for assemblies.

Any opinions?

Thanks,
Scot

 

You can use a Design Table to make configurations and insert the design
table into a drawing, thus creating an associative, charted, detail
drawing. The SWX help has an example on how to do this. I also
remember either Wayne Tiffany or Lee Bell writing up a nice little how-
to article on doing this (and getting it to look good).

Sorry, I am giving you advice on how to make tabulated drawings instead
of giving ammunition to convince others not to use them.

We use tabulated drawings all the time and they work well for us.

 

Hallo-

It sound what your are want to make of them convincing not use of autocad
forwith.

Because of new the cad, they are resist. But drawing of charts used both to
work in cads of autocad and soldwork.

But making of chartsted drawings much too easy upon solidworks- for it needs
only to make table of design withing the part and alas there it is for also
the drawing there too.

Mostlike reasons are made of not to change by they avoiding the new
techiques.

Sincerefully -

Habib

 

Arlin and Habib,


Thanks for your input.

I followed the SW help and inserted a design table into a drawing and
is worked fine.

(I see the light.)

I plan to use them on the next project.

(I still have to convince PE to stop using charts in AutoCAD)

Thanks Again,

Scot