Best Practices - Sketches and Multiple Components

[Analias]

I'm working on a simple design of a table saw.  It's a mock up of a real table saw I want to build a cart for.

I was curious what the best practices are for re-using sketches that could be used to cut extrude an opening into a body and also to create a new body that would eventually be a new component to fill the original cut extrusion.  Consider the case of a table saw top that has a plate on the surface for the saw blade.  Both the blade opening on the table surface and the plate that fill it share the same profile dimensions.  Can you use the same sketch for both or do you have to duplicate it?  What's the best way to handle this?

-Freeman

[MichaelAubry · Accepted solution]

Hi Freeman,

I believe you're looking to do what the "Combine" tool does.  If you're familair with term "boolean modeling" I believe that's what you are describing.  Here's a video showing how if you're not familar with it. Be sure to check "keep tool" so the oringal body isn't deleted.

As for "best practices" we're actually looking to you our community to help establish them. For me, on something like you've described I'd use common sketches where possible and create a series of multibodies. I'd do my final filets, do my combines, and then at the end I'd promote those bodies to components and add joints.  

Have Fun!

Mike

[Analias]

Thank you Michael.  The method you describe works great if the geometry of the extrusion is the same between both objects.  I discovered that I can have multiple extrusion operations associated with a sketch, this works great if the depths of the extrusion differ or if the profiles of the "tool" differ.  The problem I had run into is that I had moved sketch into a component and I could not use the sketch for an extrusion outside of that compoent. It seems best to keep sketches at the top level to allow them to be used easily.

-Freeman

[MichaelAubry]

For your workflow I agree. Keep the sketches at the top level.  The times when I locate sketches inside components is if 1) I want to later insert those components into other files (parametric references are preserved) or 2) when I want to increate performance on larger datasets by working localized in an activated subcomponent.

Have Fun!

Mike

[schneik-adsk]

I put together a few examples. Check them out in this youtube video.