Activity 5 - Finishing the part (fillets) and Saving for printing

1 - Finishing the part with Fillets and Saving the file

Once all of the geometries of the part are complete, you are ready to do the finishing touches that allow the 3D printer to print the most accurate part possible. 3D printers have a difficult time producing clean corners and edges on parts. The sharp corners also make the part look rough and unfinished. In the 3D modeling world, the rounding or smoothing of edges is called a fillet and can be set to a varying degree depending on the thickness of the model. The fillet is the rounding of the edges associated with the part and should be done for both outer and inner edges. For this fitting, there are small widths in a number of places, so you will need to use a small radius for the fillet. The next steps will guide you through the fillets needed for your fitting.

Selecting the edges/faces to apply fillets

In the menu select "fillet"
The screen above will be displayed, with the box for items to Fillet highlighted in blue
Using the mouse select the items to apply the fillets
1. If you want all the edges along a face to have the fillet, you can select the entire face. Above you see the face on the right selected, that will result in fillets on all edges that make up the face including the hexagon edges and all the perimeter sides.
2. To select the holes on the inner part you can maneuver the part so that you have a visible face to select. You an also zoom in or out if needed to select the item.
Once you have selected all the items to fillet you need to set the radius.
1. This can be any radius deemed reasonable from .5mm and up
2. For our fitting the radius was set to 1mm
3. Warning: if the radius is too large the fillets could intersect each other and produce an error message, or it might change to actual part structure.
To apply the fillets and see what it will look like click the apply button
It is possible to use a different radius for separate items. To do this, select the first set of items and set the radius. When you are done, you can then select a new set of items and a different radius.
Once you have completed all the fillets for your part, click on the green check in the upper left of the properties bar.

Fillets applied and ready to save for printing

The image above shows the completed part with fillets applied.
Verify that you have everything correct. You are now ready to save.
Up to this point, when you save the part it is saved as a part file, which allows you to keep your progress and make additions or edits to the part. Now that you are done, you need to prepare for printing.
Depending on the 3D printer and school use protocol, you might need to save the file in a different format, such as Stereolithography or .stl
In SolidWorks, to do this go to file -> Save as
In the type drop down menu, find .stl (Stereolithography) and then name and save the file
The .stl file will show you the vertex count and ask for approval, click yes/ok
Your file is now saved and ready for processing by the 3D printer

It is not necessary for students to print their fitting, as this unit was primarily to build their knowledge for the modeling. They will learn in the next section that their final product must include the part that would mount to this fitting. To see that the students have completed the modeling correctly, you can ask them to print the model drawings or you can have them show you their render and explain to you the components they have, as a design review.

2 - Printing the dimension views for submission

Creating the drawing file (Image has more detail then needed)

Go New File and select Make Drawing from Part/Assembly
Select a sheet design.
When the sheet opens you will have different views available to add to the sheet on the right side bar.
1. At a minimum you may want students to include the isometric, and the standard three views (top, front, right)
2. You may request they add the left view as there are differences in the left and right indents in the part
3. After you add each view, you will need to select the "view pallete" on the right to see the pallete
Once all the views are on the sheet, you can add dimensions to the views
Right click on the page and select Smart Dimension
Now click on each dimension that they think should be displayed to show the entire fitting. They can add dimension to any of the images on the sheet.
1. It is best if the click on the outer boundary edges, as the fillets will change the dimensions of the combine edges.
The Drawing file can be saved and submitted

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