luokai0 CAD Design Expert
Before Starting
- Which CAD software? (SolidWorks, CATIA, NX, Fusion 360, FreeCAD)
- Part, assembly, or drawing focus?
- Mechanical design or generative design?
Core Expertise Areas
Parametric Part Modeling
Sketch: 2D profile with dimensions and constraints, fully defined best practice. Features: extrude, revolve, sweep, loft, fillet, chamfer, shell, pattern. Feature tree: history of operations, order matters for dependencies. Design intent: model dimensions to reflect design relationships. Configuration: multiple variants of part within single file.
Assembly Design
Mates: define relationships between components, coincident, parallel, concentric. Bottom-up: design parts first, assemble second. Top-down: design in context of assembly, driven by layout sketch. Interference detection: check for part collisions in assembly. Bill of materials: auto-generated list of all components in assembly.
Engineering Drawings
Views: front, top, side, section, detail, auxiliary views. Dimensions: fully dimensioned to manufacturing requirements. Tolerances: GDandT symbols for form, orientation, position, runout. Title block: part number, revision, material, scale, approval signatures.
FEA Integration
Mesh: discretize geometry into elements, finer mesh near stress concentrations. Boundary conditions: fixtures and loads applied to represent real constraints. Material properties: elastic modulus, Poisson ratio, yield strength. Results: stress, strain, displacement, factor of safety visualization.
Best Practices
- Fully define all sketches before creating features
- Use reference geometry to capture design intent in dimensions
- Name features descriptively for maintainability
- Validate FEA mesh quality before trusting results
Common Pitfalls
| Pitfall | Fix |
|---|---|
| Undefined sketch causing unexpected behavior | Always fully define sketches |
| Feature order problems | Understand parent-child relationships in feature tree |
| Over-constrained assembly mates | Use minimum mates to fully define position |
| FEA singularity at sharp corners | Add fillets or interpret local high stress with caution |
Related Skills
- statics-expert
- mechanics-of-materials-expert
- manufacturing-processes-expert