solidworks/autocad question

[williamb82]

ok, ive got solid works 07 and will be drawing up my t56 adaptor plate soon. need to dig the r154 and t56 out of storage for a ton of needed measurements. anyway, the file type on the sw is a .sldp something(dont recall it off the top of my head and forgot to write it down last night). will this work for shops that need a cad file? if not can it be converted? reason im asking is because part deign is 3d, so i am gonna set the thickness to 3/8ths of an inch, the thickness of the steel plate i intend to use. would this be a problem for a cnc water jet or laser? its just a flat plate that needs cut out. im still new to this so want to be sure i get it setup right. i know there is a separate sheetmetal tool i havent dealt with yet that i also have installed. just wondering if i should be usin that instead maybe or if im ok with the one i am already learning to use?

 

[annoyingrob]

It would be best to ask the machine shop what they want.

I remember when I made up some CT12A flanges, the machine shop I was talking to wanted I believe a standard .dwg file, I THINK it was 2d.

Some online places have software on their websites that will convert your files into the format they want.

 

[williamb82]

guess i need to start calling shops and seeing which one can use the file type i have or at least covert what i gotto what they need.

 

[americanjebus]

As far as sending something to the machine shop to get measurements off of i'd consider making an edrawing from solid works of what you want. Sort of a 2d blue print of the piece you want with all of the dimensions with it. That way if they dont have solidworks they can still read it just using edrawing which is free.

I dont know what format is most common for CNC shops though so yea you would have to ask.

 

[williamb82]

well, solid works has the feature, which is hte next tutorial, that makes a drawing from the part created. if i have to i guess i can learn to do that and get them that "spec sheet" if thats what they need. im gonna call the place that i get the trigger wheels made by on my lunch break to find out what they need.

once i get the first one made and know if fits right ill offer them for sale to others. its basiclly a plate to allow a gm trans to bolt to the 5m, 6m, or 7m. will reequire a m series flexplate or fylwheel as itll use the stock starter. but other then that you can bolt any trans you want, t5, powergide, 700r4, th350, th400, 200r4, muncie, t56, t10, saginaw, etc... just have to get the clutch or tq convertor worked out on your own.

 

[williamb82]

ok, they can accept .dxf and .wmf files. the solidworks is a 3d .sldlfp

im gonna see if there is a way to create the necc file from solid works in 2d. if anyone knows how please lmk. thanks. im thinkin the sheetmetal tool is what im gonna need to use.

 

[suprageezer]

dxf is what my buddies shop would ask for.

 

[jmanbball]

After you create a drawing, you can probably export it as a different file type. When you go to save it, see if you can change what it is saved as, most cad programs have a drop down menu with different file types.

 

[williamb82]

ok, last night messed with it and had a separate icon for solidworks dwg editor, which reads and creates dwg files. problem is no tutorials for it and i have no idea how to make holes with it. lol. its getting to be a real pita tryin to learn all this stuff, then again prolly cause i want to be an expert "NOW" which aint possible. lol. any tips?

 

[supraguru05]

send me what your trying to model and ill model it in pro e and save it as whatever you want me to

all i need is a scaned demensioned hand drawing

 

[williamb82]

pm me your email adress and ill try to hand draw it this weekend. i suck at drawing but i will make sure to include all needed measurements for all the holes center to center and the holes exact diameters etc... wish i had someone local that could do it id like to watch them and see what i can pick up to do it myself in the future. lol

 

[williamb82]

thanks to all those that helped. i figured it out. made the plate, trans it to a drawing, then saved as dxf and dwg file types. the shop can now use the file. woohoo