Hello guys,
I'm helping a friend with an interesting project. The aim is to create a human sculpture from PVC pipes (like these - link). All pipes are same size and length, approx. 150 pcs.
He needs:
- each pipe in a separate file;
- adding some sort of identification like: Row 1 Pipe 1, R1P2, R2P1, etc.;
- measuring the length of each pipe (for materials provisioning). I’ve found in another thread this very useful script Stocksize.swp (attached) which adds a custom property with the part dimensions and can be easily added to the BOM.
So far, I’ve:
- stacked all the pipes (linear pattern) in a single SLDPRT file.
- Using INTERSECT I’ve trimmed the pipes to the desired form of the human body (imported from a file). That left me with a huge number of bodies in one file.
- Exported the bodies to files creating an assembly (Insert –> Features -> Save Bodies) with a separate file for each pipe, copying the custom properties (Stocksize.swp dimensions) to each file.
- Generated drawing file from the assembly in order to create the BOM table with the pipe lengths.
The issues I’m facing:
- Automating the names of the files. When Saving bodies, I have the option to auto assign the names and the result is Intersect1[xxx]. Is there an easy way to automatically rename them? Maybe the right approach would be to export them row by row?!
- Stocksize.swp is generating the correct dimensions until the INTERSECT command is applied. Afterwards there is a difference in the result and the actual dimensions (using SW Measure tool) varying from 0.x to 3-5mm. I’ve tried using #TASK’s predefined script “Add overall dimensions” and it generates the same dimensions as the first script.
I would really appreciate any tips and tricks to optimize the process or use different approach for better workflow.
Thank you!
SolidworksModeling And Assemblies