Modelling an American Chopper using Solidworks

The modelling of the last part and the assembly of the chopper was completed this week:

1. Gas Tank

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1lDoawhLgnhD2h7Gq38PdMVnBzifvCxIP

This part was made entirely using surfaces first and then converted to a solid. First the spline for the upper surface was created and then extruded using surface sweep. A direction vector was given to the spline to maintain tangency which avoids creasing of the surface along the mirror plane. Then another spline on the top plane is drawn to define the tank\'s upper feature. This was used in trim surface option to remove unwanted surface. Then the side profile was created using surface loft for front side and boundary surface for rear side. These surfaces are then knit, then mirrored and then knit again. Then the seat profile is drawn below the model. Using split feature, the sufrace is split using the seat profile. This means that the seat surface is separated from the body surface. Then the lower surfaces are completes using surface boundary and surface loft. After the completion of all surfaces, they are knit together and converted to a solid body. Shell is applied to create a hollow body. The appearance is assigned as gray cotton for the seat and car paint for the rest of the body.

2. Assembly

First the chassis was brought into the new assembly file and fixed into position. Then the engine was placed within the chassis using the mate option. The midplane of both components were mated first and then their contact surfaces. Required distances between mate surfaces were also given. Then the pedal was placed by concentric mating with the slot provided in the chassis. Since the pedal exists on both the sides, the pedal was mirrored and placed. A new part file for this mirrored pedal was also created. Then the transmission belt was placed on the pulleys of the engine using width mate and regular mates, giving relations between mates such as angle or distance wherever required. The belt was redimensioned to fit the pulley and the corrections were also made in the part file. Then the kickstand was placed. It was mated in such a way that it can be rotated through a certain degree. Then the rear wheel was mated with the rear axle and aligned to the chassis. The chain was also placed using width mate. Since the chain went through the chassis, the chain and the chassis was isolated, then a correction sketch was made on the chassis, and the extra part was split using the sketch. This correction is also reflected in the part file. Then the oil tank was placed on the engine and the gas tank on the top of the chassis. The front fork was mated with the chassis, and the fork is given the ability to turn through an angle on both sides. The front fender and front wheel were mated with the fork so that they too can turn with the fork. The rear fender was mated with the chassis. This completes the assembly.