Introduction to SOLIDWORKS 3D Sculptor

Sometimes finding the right tool for the job makes all the difference. For those that have attempted making complex organic shapes in SOLIDWORKS, you know the process, although doable, can be a bit cumbersome. With big feature trees and many reference items the process can be quite the undertaking. Luckily Dassault Systems, has answered the call, and given us the right tool for the job. Lets take a look at how the 3D Sculptor Role in the 3D Experience platform can make quick work of theses tasks.

We are going to want to start our design in SOLIDWORKS. We can use the compass in the 3D Experience platform to find our SOLIDWORKS app and launch the software. We have two speaker drivers already located within an assembly. Thanks, to the integration of the SOLIDWORKS connector, we able to use a combination of 3D Sculptor & SOLIDWORKS part modeling to create a speaker housing around the two drivers.

The first order of business is to save our assembly to the cloud. Once saved, we get our first introduction to the CAD master. This is letting us know, that theses files where created natively in SOLIDWORKS. At this time, we will also want to add the location of our files to a bookmark. Adding the files to a bookmark, makes finding them later a breeze.

We can now switch over to the 3D Sculptor or Xshape to begin our housing design.

First, we will start a new component. Then, using the bookmark editor, we can simply drag and drop our assembly that was started in SOLIDWORKS into the Xshape. This is where the fun begins and we get to start using Sub-D modeling to create our part. Xshape makes quick work of modeling complex organic shapes without the extensive feature tree and refence items you are use to in SOLIDWORKS.

Using the “the Robot” and attaching it to faces, lines or vertex’s, we are able to quickly multiplate our geometry using push and pull techniques to create the shapes we are looking for.
Once done with our first feature, starting another one is quick and easy. We simply insert a second “primitive” to begin another feature. Later on, we will combine these into a single component.
While making changes to the geometry, the surfaces remain, class A, so editing is simple and easy. Now that our basic concept is complete, we can combine the individual features into a single component. We will then save the file, and head back into SOLIDWORKS to add some additional details.

Working with the CAD Master means that we are only able to edit the file with the original tool used to create it. In order to create this relationship, and edit our component in SOLIDWORKS, we need to establish SOLIDWORKS as the CAD Master. Similar to 3D interconnect, the SOLIDWORKS Connector, makes this process quick & easy.

We can now add our tradition SOLIDWORKS features to finetune and complete our design. When saving, we can see the different files types and notice that the Xshape file has been unchanged. We can now hope back over to the Xshape platform to make some edits to our design. Now that our edits are complete, we jump back into SOLIDWORKS. A simple right click, as we would expect, our model is updated. It’s that simple!

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