Getting Started (Bicycle Frame Design)

[jonas.mueller82]

I am learning Alias because I think it could be a better tool to do my daily job, which is designing bicycle frames, mainly carbon full suspension MTB frames. Currently I am using Solidworks with some add-ons (PowerSurfacing for SubD, Xnurbs, GW3D).

Normally the first step in modelling is getting all the hard surfaces, mounting surfaces for components such as headset, bottom bracket, seatpost, suspension pivots etc. in place. Now I am wondering, is this something I should do outside of Alias (e.g. in Solidworks), or do I create those surfaces within Alias?
Further downstream comes the question, since bicycle frames come in multiple sizes, is it possible to alter my existing Alias model to a new geometry, or is it better to redo it from zero?

[danielcUPK8E]

Have you tried using Alias's subdivision modeling tools? They would be perfect for that type of design work/rework.

Cheers Daniel

[jonas.mueller82]

Hi Daniel,

I have not tried SubD within Alias, but I am using it withing Solidworks (using PowerSurfacing). I found it very useful to create nice models in a very short time, but it also has its limitations, like if you need to match a surface exactly to an existing surface, or if you need to modify something without affecting the surrounding surfaces. I was very enthusiastic about SubD for a while, but now I am not really convinced this is the way forward, at least unless we get some more control over the geometry. This is what drives my interest in Alias, to get better Nurbs modelling.

But really my question still is, no matter whether I use SubD or Nurbs in Alias, where do I create my starting geometry from, inside Alias, or import it from another CAD?

[danielcUPK8E · Accepted solution]

Hi Jonas,

I'm not very familiar with the PowerSurfacing add-on within Solidworks but it would obviously be a better workflow to do everything in the one package if you can get the results.

You can't beat the nurbs modeling in Alias so if you are creating complex surfaces, and it sounds like you would be, then I would leave the a-class surfacing to Alias. Bring in all the packaging info from SW and then build the surfaces around this in Alias. Export the stitched 'a-class' surfaces to SW and always refer back to Alias for any changes to the 'a-class'.

Alias has almost no parametrics, so you would need to rebuild a new surface model for each bike frame. You might be able to reuse some of the main surfaces of other designs when creating a new frame but that depends so much on the design similarity. Hope this helps. 

[jonas.mueller82]

Thanks a lot for clarifying this. I confirms what I was guessing. Yes, it would be great to have everything in one package, but so far there is nothing in realistic price range that would do this.