Combine Bodies

You can combine multiple solid bodies to create a singled-bodied part or another multibody part. There are three ways to combine multiple solid bodies:
Add. Combines solids of all selected bodies to create a single body.
Subtract. Removes overlapping material from a selected main body.
Common. Removes all material except that which overlaps.
To use the Add or Common operation type:
Click Combine on the Features toolbar, or click Insert, Features, Combine.
The Combine1 PropertyManager appears.
Under Operation Type, click Add or Common.
Under Bodies to Combine, select the bodies in the graphics area, or select the bodies from the Solid Bodies folder in the FeatureManager design tree.
Click Show Preview to preview the feature.
Click OK .
To use the Subtraction operation type:
Click Combine on the Features toolbar, or click Insert, Features, Combine.
The Combine1 PropertyManager appears.
Under Operation Type, click Subtract.
Under Main Body, select the body to keep from the graphics area for Solid Body , or select the body from the Solid Bodies folder in the FeatureManager design tree.
Under Bodies to Subtract, select the bodies whose material you want to remove for Solid Bodies .
Click Show Preview to preview the feature.
Click OK .


For the body intersection multibody technique, you use the Combine feature and its Common option. Body intersection is a quick way to create complex parts with very few operations, which can result in faster performance. The operation takes multiple solid bodies that overlap one another and leaves only the intersecting volumes of the bodies. For most models that can be represented fully by two or three drawing views, this technique can be used by intersecting either two or three extruded solids. The extrusion sketches are the solid lines represented in the two or three views. The following example shows this technique with the intersection of two extrusions.
Front
Top
Isometric
To create the part described above, you begin with the base part:
And then select the Common option of the Combine feature to use only the overlapping material of the base part.
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COSMOSXpress

COSMOSXpress offers an easy-to-use first pass stress analysis tool for SolidWorks users. COSMOSXpress can help you reduce cost and time-to-market by testing your designs on the computer instead of expensive and time-consuming field tests.
For example, you may want to examine the effects of a force applied to the faucet. COSMOSXpress simulates the design cycle and provides stress results. It also shows critical areas and safety levels at various regions in the faucet. Based on these results, you can strengthen unsafe regions and remove material from overdesigned areas.
Critical regions
Deformed shape
COSMOSXpress uses the same design analysis technology that COSMOSWorks uses to perform stress analysis. More advanced analysis capabilities are available within the COSMOSWorks line of products. The wizard interface of COSMOSXpress guides you through a five step process to specify material, restraints, loads, run the analysis, and view the results.
The accuracy of the results of the analysis depend on material properties, restraints, and loads. For results to be valid, the specified material properties must accurately represent the part material, and the restraints and loads must accurately represent the part working conditions.
COSMOSXpress supports the analysis of solid, single-bodied parts only. It does not support the analysis of assemblies, surface models, or multibody parts.
After building your design in SolidWorks, you may need to answer questions like:
Will the part break?
How will it deform?
Can I use less material without affecting performance?
In the absence of analysis tools, these questions can only be answered by performing expensive and time-consuming product development cycles. A product development cycle typically includes the following steps:
Build your model in the SolidWorks CAD system.
Prototype the design.
Test the prototype in the field.
Evaluate the results of the field tests.

Modify the design based on the field test results.
This process continues until a satisfactory solution is reached. Analysis can help you accomplish the following tasks:
Reduce cost by testing your model using the computer instead of expensive field tests.
Reduce time to market by reducing the number of product development cycles.
Optimize your designs by quickly simulating many concepts and scenarios before making a final decision, giving you more time to think of new designs.
Stress Analysis
Stress or static analysis calculates the displacements, strains, and stresses in a part based on material, restraints, and loads. A material fails when the stress reaches a certain level. Different materials fail at different stress levels. COSMOSXpress uses linear static analysis, based on the Finite Element Method, to calculate stresses. Linear static analysis makes several assumptions to calculate stresses in the part.
Finite Element Method
The Finite Element Method (FEM) is a reliable numerical technique for analyzing engineering designs. FEM replaces a complex problem with many simple problems. It divides the model into many small pieces of simple shapes called elements.
CAD model of a bracket
Model subdivided into small pieces (elements)
Elements share common points called nodes. The behavior of these elements is well-known under all possible support and load scenarios. The motion of each node is fully described by translations in the X, Y, and Z directions. These are called degrees of freedom (DOFs). Analysis using FEM is called Finite Element Analysis (FEA).
A tetrahedral element. Red dots represent the element's nodes. Element edges can be curved or straight
COSMOSXpress formulates the equations governing the behavior of each element taking into consideration its connectivity to other elements. These equations relate the displacements to known material properties, restraints, and loads.
Next, the program organizes the equations into a large set of simultaneous algebraic equations. The solver finds the displacements in the X, Y, and Z directions at each node.
Using the displacements, the program calculates the strains in various directions. Finally, the program uses mathematical expressions to calculate stresses.
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Circle

You can sketch a center-based circle with the Circle tool, or you can sketch a perimeter-based with the Perimeter Circle tool.
To create a center-based circle:
Click Circle on the Sketch toolbar, or click Tools, Sketch Entities, Circle.
The pointer changes to .
Click in the graphics area to place the center of the circle.
Move the pointer and click to set the radius.
Click OK .

To create a perimeter-based circle:
Click Perimeter Circle on the Sketch toolbar, or click Tools, Sketch Entities, Circle.
The pointer changes to .
Click in the graphics area to place the perimeter.
Drag left or right to sketch the circle.
When you finished dragging, the pointer is displayed.
Right-click to set the circle.
Click OK .
To modify a circle by dragging:
In an open sketch:
Increase the perimeter by dragging its edge away from its center point.
Decrease the perimeter by dragging its edge toward its center point.
Move the circle by dragging its center point.
To change the properties of a circle:
In an open sketch, select the circle and edit its properties in the Circle
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Extended Surface

Surfaces OverviewSurfaces are a type of geometry that can be used to create solid features. Surface tools are available on the Surfaces toolbar. You can create surfaces by these methods:Insert a planar surface from a sketch or from a set of closed edges that lie on a planeExtrude, revolve, sweep, or loft from sketchesOffset from existing faces or surfacesImport a fileCreate mid-surfacesRadiate surfacesYou can modify surfaces in the following ways:ExtendTrim existing surfacesUntrim surfacesFillet surfacesRepair surfaces using Filled SurfaceMove/Copy surfacesDelete and patch a faceKnit surfaces

You can use surfaces in the following ways:Select surface edges and vertices to use as a sweep guide curve and path.Create a solid or cut feature by thickening a surface.Extrude a solid or cut feature with the end condition Up to Surface or Offset from Surface.Create a solid feature by thickening surfaces that have been knit into a closed volume.Replace a face with a surface You can extend a surface by selecting an edge, multiple edges, or a face.To extend a surface:Click Extended Surface on the Surfaces toolbar or click Insert, Surface, Extend.In the PropertyManager:Under Edges/Faces to Extend, select one or more edges or faces in the graphics area for Selected Face/Edges .For edges, the surface extends along the plane of the edge. For faces, the surface extends along all edges of the face except those connected to another face.You can propagate extended surfaces to tangent faces by clicking the Propagate callout which appears only if you select edges. Select an End Condition type:Distance. Extends the surface by the value you specify in Distance .Up to point. Extends the surface to the point or vertex selected in the graphics area for Vertex .Up to surface. Extends the surface to the surface or face selected in the graphics area for Surface/Face .Select an Extension Type:Same surface. Extends the surface along the geometry of the surface.Linear. Extends the surface tangent to the original surface along the edges.Extend edge using Same surface as the Extension Type.Extend edge using Linear as the Extension Type.Extend surface using the face as the Edges/Faces to Extend and Same surface as the Extension Type.Click OK .
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