Photo Realistic Rendering
American Chopper:
Objective:
The objective of this project was to create the individual parts of an American Chopper and assemble them on Solidworks, later rendering them in a Photorealistic manner on Solidworks Visualize or the Photoview360 add-in.
All the parts and the assembled bike can be found at this link:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ybxAksTuLUzvUSL-GSeUcNUFnaCEO-I_?usp=sharing
Parts:
The following parts of the American Chopper were each modelled separately on Solidworks:
- Transmission Belt
- Kick Stand
- Front Fender
- Rear Fender
- Oil Tank
- Chain
- Pedal
- Front Wheel
- Rear Wheel
- Front Fork
- Chassis
- Engine
- Gas Tank
- Transmission Belt:
This part transmits power from the Engine to the Gearbox.
Features used to create this part:
- Sketch: This is the 2D basis of the 3D model of the part and can be created on any default or created plane. Sketch entities such as the line, circle, rectangle, etc, are used to create different shapes.
- Offset: Offset one or more sketch entities, selected model edges, or model faces by a specified distance. For example, you can offset sketch entities such as splines or arcs, sets of model edges, loops, and so on.
- Extrude: This is a feature that is used to convert a sketch in a 2D base to 3D.
- Fillet: Fillet/Round creates a rounded internal or external face on the part. You can fillet all edges of a face, selected sets of faces, selected edges, or edge loops.
Procedure:
- The 2D sketch is drawn on the Front plane, and is offset by a certain distance. This sketch is fully defined with the help of relations and dimensions.
- The sketch is then extruded to a 3D model and is then filleted.
- Kickstand:
This part is used to support the Chopper when it is parked.
Features used:
- Sketch
- Loft: Loft creates a feature by making transitions between profiles. A loft can be a base, boss, cut, or surface.
- Dome: Creates a dome on selected surface.
- Extrude
- Extrude Cut: This feature helps to remove material from a 3D model using 2D sketches.
- Split: The SOLIDWORKS Split Line tool is used to project an entity (sketch, solid, surface, face, plane, or surface spline) onto other surfaces or curved/planar faces.
Procedure:
- The 2D sketch is created with the help of spline and trim tools, and is fully defined.
- Two new planes are created, and ellipses are drawn on them. The loft feature is used to create a loft and then the unnecessary parts of the part are cut.
- Front Fender:
This is a protective covering for the front wheel and also the rider from potential debris that could hit the bike.
Features used:
- Sketch
- Offset
- Trim
- Revolve: This revolves a 2D sketch around an axis to create a 3D figure.
- Dynamic Mirror: Mirrors selected entities around another specific entity of the user’s choice.
- Split
- Rear Fender:
Similar to the front fender, and is mounted on the chassis above the rear wheel.
Features used:
- Sketch
- Offset
- Trim
- Revolve
- Dynamic Mirror
- Split
- Appearance: Specifies the physical attributes of the part such as colour and texture.
Procedure for both fenders:
- 2D sketch is created, offset, and fully defined.
- The 2D sketch is the revolved, and then mirrored.
- This solid is then split, and the edges are filleted accordingly.
- The appearance of the fender is changed as required.
- Oil Tank:
Stores the fuel oil for the tank of the chopper.
Features used:
- Sketch
- Extrude
- Combine: Used to combine two bodies by physically selecting them.
- Fillet
- Shell: Makes the bodies you selected hollow, thus forming a shell.
- Appearances
Procedure:
- The fully defined 2D sketch is extruded, and then a second 2D sketch is created and extruded.
- The two objects are combined and the edges are filleted.
- The object is then made into a shell using the shell feature.
- Chain:
This is a steel part that is used to transmit power from the engine to the rear wheel.
Features used:
- Sketch
- Trim
- Fillet
- Blocks: Entities/objects that are used often and as a group can be a made into a block, so that every time it is called for, one can simply insert it into the part.
- Patterns: This feature is used to create linear, circular, etc patterns of a selected feature into another body/feature.
Procedure:
- Create the sketch first, and then select the entities you want to make into blocks. Save those blocks.
- Extrude the sketch, fillet the edges and then use a linear pattern along the initial curve. Keep doing this till the whole chain is filled.
- Mirror this pattern around the curve that it is originally based on, and the chain is complete.
- Modify the appearance as required.
- Pedal:
The pedal is the where the rider rests their feet.
Features used to create this part:
- Sketch
- Extrude
- Fillet
- Linear Pattern
- Dome
- Chamfer: The chamfer tool creates a beveled feature on selected edges, faces, or a vertex.
- Appearances
Procedure:
- Use splines to create the initial sketch and fully define it. Fillet the 2D sketch here itself.
- Extrude the sketch and fillet the edges again.
- Insert a dome on the appropriate face and then chamfer the required edges.
- Use a linear pattern to put the leg-rests on the other appropriate spaces and then fillet them all.
- Front Wheel:
The wheel is the wheel, and is made of rubber for the tire, and the interior frame is made of steel.
Features used to create this part:
- Sketch
- Revolve
- Trim
- Fillet
- Extrude
- Revolve Cut
- Linear Pattern
- Chamfer
- Extrude Cut
- Circular Pattern
- Appearance
- Rear Wheel:
The exact same features that are used for the Front wheel are used for the rear wheel as well.
- Front Fork:
Allows the rider to control the front wheel and isolates the impacts it has from the path/road from the rest of the bike.
Features used:
- Sketch
- Extrude
- Trim
- Revolve
- Split
- Move/Copy Body: used to move/copy a body from one point to another
- Dome
- Mirror
- Combine
- Project curve
- Sweep: allows us to project a 2D sketch along a curve, thus making the projection 3D.
- Appearance
Procedure:
- The initial tubes and the clamps are first made by extruding and revolving appropriate sketches.
- The headlight is then created, followed by the handles, brakes and the cable.
- All this is done on one side only, so the other side is mirrored and now both sides are combined to make one part.
11. Chassis:
This is the main base/frame of the chopper on which all the other parts are mounted on/connected to.
Features Used:
- Sketch
- Offset
- Project Curves
- Trim
- Sweep
- Split
- Revolve
- Extrude Cut
- Fillet
- Combine
Procedure:
- Based on the sketch image of the chopper, the chassis is created by initially creating a simple 2d sketch.
- The tubes are created by sweeping circles through curves. These are then trimmed accordingly.
- More sketches are made and then revolved/extruded to create the complete chassis.
- The edges are filleted as required.
- All the individual pieces are combined to make it one part.
- Engine:
Converts the thermal/heat energy from the fuel into mechanical energy and is essentially what drives the vehicle forward.
Features used:
- Sketch
- Trim
- Revolve
- Extrude
- Extrude Cut
- Offset
- Dome
- Fillet
- Project Curve
- Sweep
- Mirror
- Circular Pattern
- Split
- Gas Tank:
This is where the real fuel of the vehicle is stored to power up the vehicle.
Features used:
- Sketch
- Trim
- Project Curve
- Sweep Surface
- Loft Surfaces
- Fill
- Surface Trim
- Surface Knit
- Sweep Cut
- Fillet
- Appearance
Assembly:
Main feature used here was the Mate feature, of which coincident, tangent and concentric mates were used.
Rendering:
Photorealistic rendering was done first in Photoview360 and later on SOlidworks Visualize.
REFERENCES: