PhotoView and eDrawings are great for communication
When design with SolidWorks parts fit together perfectly
DXF-files from SolidWorks can be fed direct into cutting machine
”The benefits of using SOLIDWORKS becomes very obvious when I try out various new methods of design, especially when I am working on revising older designs that contain construction errors. For the heavy structures, it is also very valuable to be able to determine the center of gravity, both in order to be able to handle them in the production and in the subsequent assembly. Furthermore, the surfaces of the 3D-model shows me which areas need to be painted.”
UTFORDRINGEN
CH DesKon is a small one man company within the field of mechanical design. CH DesKon has more than 28 years of experience of mechanical design and has been sing advanced 3D CAD for design and simulations for more than 13 years.
LØSNINGEN
Designed like a large puzzle of welded steel plates, a massive hinged dam gate has been designed with SolidWorks by the 3D CAD consultancy company CH DesKon.
SolidWorks has made it possible to construct a giant hinged dam gate like a complex puzzle of steel plates. The gate is produced from steel plates fitted together as one would construct pieces of a puzzle. The 3D CAD models made it possible to cut the plates in a way that they fit together precisely.
Not only is the design impressive but the consulting firm responsible, CH DesKon, is a one-man operation with offices in the village Sjöbo in the southern Skåne province of Sweden. For many years Christer Holmgren did consultancy work as a side job while he was working for different companies as a mechanic and later an engineer. However, in 1999 he decided to change consultancy into a full time job and started his own firm.
CH DesKon is doing complex 3D design work for other companies in particular the design of heavy steel structures such as the dam gate for hydroelectric power plants. Since the founding of his company, Christer Holmgren has been used SolidWorks and today he uses SolidWorks Premium very intensively for both design, simulation and production of photorealistic renderings.
The dam gate is called a segment port and is used to release large volumes of water from a water reservoir. It was originally designed using a 2D CAD program, but the production company wanted it delivered as an assembly designed in SolidWorks. This brought CH DesKon into the picture.
«Because SolidWorks is a 3D application that requires greater accuracy, I found a few errors in the original design, which I could easily correct. In principle, I have made a drawing of each of the many steel plates, making the manufacture of them relatively uncomplicated,” says Christer Holmgren.
The individual design files from SolidWorks was converted to DWG format and then fed into the cutting machine. The result was finished plates that fit together perfectly. After the cutting process, the plates were first stitched together before the final welding process took place.
He also points out that both PhotoView 360 and eDrawings are highly useful communication tools: “My office is not situated close to the majority of my clients and many of them are not able to read and understand 2D drawings. PhotoView 360 and eDrawings are perfect tools to communicate with the clients around the design tasks I perform for them.»
