Photo Realistic Rendering

MODELING AND RENDERING OF AMERICAN CHOPPER USING SOLIDWORKS

• INTRODUCTION

This report contains a detailed explanation of designing of an American Chopper from part modelling to final rendering of the assembly.

• OBJECTIVE

• The main purpose of this project is the use of SOLIDWORKS to model various parts of a custom built American chopper and to assemble the various parts planned for the American Chopper.
• To produce a photo-realistic view of the American Chopper by using SOLIDWORKS Photo view 360 and Solid Works Visualize to render the model.

• PART MODELING
  In general, modelling means making a virtual prototype of an object. It can be used for different purposes. Imagine a car's engine, It has hundreds of modules. Each component can be individually modelled and can then be assembled together to get the final shape of the engine. This type of modelling is called part modelling.

• FEATURES DESCRIPTION

• SKETCH
  The sketch is the two-dimensional representation of the model from outside the body / model with respect to the plane / view. There are distinct sketching methods available in solid works to create a sketch. These are referred as entities in solid works .The following are the entities available in Solidworks : Line, Arc, Spline, Circles, Rectangle etc.
• OFFSET
  Offset is known as sketching one or more sketch entities, selected model edges, or model faces at a specified distance. For example, offset sketch entities of splines or arcs, model edges, loops, etc. Can also offset lines, arcs, and splines.
• EXTRUDE BOSS / BASE
  Extrude boss is a type of feature available to transform a 2D drawing into a 3D model in solid works.
• FILLET
  A rounded internal or external face on the component is created by Fillet / Round. Both edges of a face, selected face sets, selected edges, or edge loops can be provided with fillet at the same instance.
• LOFTED BOSS / BASE
  The loft feature enables a single feature to produce complex geometry. It does this by interpolating surfaces between a model's different cross-sections. Sketches, faces, or edges can be the cross-sections. These cross-sections are called 'Loft Profiles' in the loft interface.
• DOME
  On selecting the appropriate one or more planar or non-planar faces, you can apply domes for faces whose centroid lies outside the face. This enables you to add domes to contours which are irregularly shaped.
• EXTRUDE CUT
  Another useful feature is the Extrude cut which helps to remove materials from a 3D model. It is just the opposite of the extruding boss / base feature, because while extruding it cuts a sketch profile. You can cut in both directions and use them primarily to create holes, channels, slots, etc.
• SPLIT
  To project an entity (sketch, solid, surface, face, plane, or surface spline) onto other surfaces or curved / planar faces, the Split tool is used. You can also separate faces using this one command on different bodies.
• TRIM ENTITIES
  Depending on the entities you want to trim or extend, choose the trim type. With 2D sketches and 2D sketches on 3D planes, all trim types are available.
• REVOLVE
  Develop a sketch that includes one or more profiles and a centerline, line, or edge to be used as the axis around which the feature revolves in order to create a revolving feature. Click on one of the following revolve tools available.
• DYNAMIC MIRROR
  In solid works, the dynamic mirror is an important tool. When you sketch the entities, they are mirrored about the pre-selected sketch entity.
• APPEARANCES
  Generally appearance determines the visual properties of a model including colour and texture. Physical properties, which are described by materials, are not influenced by appearances feature. A default appearance that represents the look of the material is assigned to every material.
• COMBINE
  Combine is the type of feature available for manually combining two bodies in solid works.
• SHELL
  For trying to determine the thickness of thin and thick shell elements, the Shell Description Property Manager is used.
• CHAMFER
  It is used to make a cut on any model's edge or corner that makes it slope slightly rather than being completely square.
• CIRCULAR PATTERN
  To generate a different number of instances needed to create the pattern circularly, the circular parent bodies are used.
• LINEAR PATTERN
  To generate a different number of instances needed to create the pattern linearly, the linear parent bodies are used.
• SURFACE MODELING

• Surface modelling offers the ability to develop a visual depiction of the exterior of an object and its contours or its surface. Sections such as the seat, fuel tank are modelled on the surface.
• Features description of Surface modeling is as follows,

1. LOFTED SURFACE
   Loft surfaces are surfaces that are created by multiple 3D curves or existing edges that creates a smooth tangency between the curves selected.
2. SWEPT SURFACE
   Sweep Surfaces are surfaces produced along a path from a section curve.
3. FILLED SURFACE
   A surface patch with number of sides is constructed by the Filled Surface feature and it is developed within a boundary defined by existing model edges, sketches or curves, including composite curves.
4. SURFACE TRIM
   It is mainly used to cut material away from a surface, and contain two modes : Standard and Mutual.
5. EXTEND SURFACE
   To extend the surface that is already made, Extend Surface is used. On the expanded surface, there are various available options. We can extend the surface to the same surface, or we can extend the tangent of the surface to the surface.
6. SURFACE KNIT
   The two free edges / open edges of the surfaces are knit together by Surface Knit. It also reduces the separation between the two surface edges.

• PARTS MODELED FOR AMERICAN CHOPPER

In SOLIDWORKS, the following parts of the American Chopper are modelled and assembled together.

1. Transmission Belt
2. Kickstand
3. Front fender
4. Rear fender
5. Chain
6. Oil Tank
7. Pedal
8. Front Wheel
9. Rear Wheel
10. Front Fork
11. Chassis
12. Engine
13. Gas Tank

• DESCRIPTION OF THE PARTS AND FEATURES USED:

TRANSMISSION BELT :

It is a loop of flexible material used to mechanically bind two or more rotating shafts, usually parallel. Belts may be used as a movement source, to efficiently transfer power or to track relative motion.

• FEATURES USED:

• Boss Extrude
• Fillet

KICKSTAND :

A kickstand is a motorcycle device that makes it possible to hold the bike upright without leaning against another object or a person's support. Usually, a kickstand is a piece of metal that flips down from the frame and makes contact with the ground. It is usually placed in the centre of the bike or towards the back.

• FEATURES USED

• Loft
• Dome
• Cut Extrude
• Split
• Boss Extrude
• Fillet

FRONT FENDER :

For the portion of an automobile, motorcycle or other vehicle, body that frames a wheel well (the fender underside) is known as Fender (American English term). Its primary function is to prevent the rotating tyre from simply throwing sand, dust, stones, liquids, and other road splashes into the atmosphere.

• FEATURES USED

• Revolved boss
• Split
• Fillet

REAR FENDER :

In a car , motorcycle or any other vehicle, body that frames a wheel well (the fender underside) is known as Fender. Its main function is to prevent the rotating tyre from throwing sand, dust, rocks, liquids, and other road splash into the atmosphere.

• FEATURES USED

• Revolved boss
• Split
• Fillet
• Shell

CHAIN :

The motorcycle chain is responsible for the transfer of mechanical power from the engine to the bike's rear wheel.

• FEATURES USED

• Extruded Boss
• Fillet
• Projected Curves
• Curve Pattern
• Mirrror

OIL TANK :

The purpose of an oil tank is to store lube oil to lubricate the engine parts to prevent wear and tear due to extreme heat.

• FEATURES USED

• Extruded Boss
• Fillet
• Shell
• Combine

PEDAL :

The purpose of a pedal is to shift the gears to obtain desired speed from the engine and to apply the breaking force as well.

• FEATURES USED

• Extruded Boss
• Fillet
• Revolved Boss
• Dome
• Chamfer
• Linear pattern

FRONT WHEEL :

A wheel is a circular frame of a hard and durable material in which the core has been drilled through an axle bearing around which the wheel rotates.

• FEATURES USED

• Extruded Boss
• Cut Extrude
• Revolved Cut
• Circular Pattern
• Combine
• Fillet
• Chamfer

REAR WHEEL :

A wheel is a circular frame of a hard and durable material in which the core has been drilled through an axle bearing around which the wheel rotates.

• FEATURES USED

• Extruded Boss
• Cut Extrude
• Revolved Cut
• Circular Pattern
• Combine
• Fillet
• Chamfer

FRONT FORK :

The component of a motorcycle that holds the front wheel is the fork. Usually, a fork consists of two blades that are linked by a fork crown at the top.

• FEATURES USED

• Extruded Boss
• Revolved Boss
• Fillet
• Extruded Cut
• Dome
• Revolved Cut
• Swept Boss
• Projected Curve
• Mirror
• Combine

CHASSIS :

The chassis mainly consists of a hollow tube that acts as a skeleton for the mounting of a bike's gearbox, engine, front fork and rear wheel.

• FEATURES USED

• Swept Boss
• Projected Curve
• Mirror
• Extruded Boss
• Fillet
• Extruded Cut
• Dome
• Combine
• Chamfer
• Split
• Revolved Boss

ENGINE :

An engine or motor is a machine designed to transform mechanical energy into one type of energy. Heat engines burn a fuel, such as the internal combustion engine, to produce heat that is then used to do work.

• FEATURES USED

• Swept Boss
• Projected Curve
• Mirror
• Extruded Boss
• Fillet
• Extruded Cut
• Dome
• Chamfer
• Split
• Revolved Boss
• Linear pattern
• Circular Pattern
• Composite Curve

GAS TANK :

A safe container for flammable fluids is a gas tank (or petrol tank). The term is usually applied to part of an engine system in which the fuel is stored and propelled (fuel pump) or released (pressurised gas) into an engine.

• FEATURES USED

• Surface Loft
• Surface Knit
• Projected Curve
• Fillet
• Swept Surface
• Split
• Mirror
• Swept Cut
• Plane

• ASSEMBLY OF AMERICAN CHOPPER

• MAIN ASSEMBLY
  The chassis part is initially inserted into the assembly using the insert parts option. After that, the part is placed into the assembly environment and the chassis is fixed by clicking OK. Then the other parts of the chopper are then placed into the assembly and the possible conditions are given for mate.
• FEATURES USED IN ASSEMBLY

• MATES

Mates establish geometric relationships between components of the assembly. We define the permissible directions of linear or rotational motion of the components as we add mates. Within their degrees of freedom, we can transfer a component, envisioning the behaviour of the assembly.

• INSERT PARTS

In this feature, the other components that need to be mated with the prime fixed component can be added.

• RENDERING

• Rendering is the method by which the photorealistic model creates realistic images of the environment.
• In solid works, rendering is performed in two ways. The two ways are as follows, Photo view 360 & Solid-works Visualize.
• Some of the mate conditions and locations are adjusted in the photo-realistic model to make realistic models.
• Then, with various views, the photo-realistic model is turned into realistic images.
• I used both Photo-view 360 and Visualise to render the assembled model here.

• CONCLUSION

• The parts of the American Chopper are modeled.
• The parts are inserted into the assembly environment and assembled into an American Chopper.
• With the use of Photo-view 360 and Solidworks Visualise, the photo-realistic image was rendered.

I would like to thank Mr. Soundar Rajan, my mentor, for helping me with the difficulties that I personally experienced while modelling this first and fantastic chopper.