- Up to this point we have modeled a number of parts
and used a variety of commands and techniques.
What we will turn our attention to next
is to assemble all our parts
into a SolidWorks assembly.
I've placed all the assembly parts
that we will be using in the assembly components
folder found in the lessons folder for easy access.
I have prepared additional models,
which we will be using during the assembly process.
Assemblies were covered in the introduction
to SolidWorks series found here at Lynda.com.
And if you have not spent much time
in the assembly environment since working through
that series, it would be a good idea to
go through the relevant sections again.
For now, I want to note that what we do
in the assembly environment is to assemble parts
or other assemblies, which are
then referred to as "sub-assemblies."
These parts and sub-assemblies are created
in the Feature Manager in the same way as
Part Features; however, we can call any part
inserted into the assembly a "component."
Assemblies can have their own features,
but is outside the scope of our project.
Secondly, note that instead of a "Feature" tab,
we now have an "Assembly" tab at the top left
of our Command Manager, where all
our assembly commands can be found.
For our assembly process we will use
a process known as "Bottom-Up" assembly design.
Which, simply means we will add our parts
after creation to the assembly and then
constrain them according to our design.
We will keep this process as simple as possible.
And reinforce some of the techniques available,
while working within the assembly environment.
Now with that, let's get to the next video
and start assembling our design.