# Solid works frame tutorials



## ryanconroy (Nov 26, 2007)

Hey just got a copy of solid works and i was wondering if anyone knew of any online tutorials for designed bike frames
-Thanks


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## playpunk (Apr 1, 2005)

solid works is, from what I understand, way more than you need for a bike frame. Most guys (i think) use bike CAD or some other CAD program. Some even do drawings by hand...

I think that Jay NTWR did some solidworks modeling. You might want to ask him.


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## Clockwork Bikes (Jun 17, 2006)

Learning SolidWorks and learning frame design are two seperate things. Once you are familiar with both, they can easily be combined. I'd encourage you to take a look at BikeCAD, though. http://www.bikeforest.com/CAD/bcad.php
-Joel


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## jay_ntwr (Feb 15, 2008)

Yeah, I mostly did my modeling as an academic exercise (lacing wheels is interesting):










I'll tell you, I think it's overkill for sure and BikeCAD has it's place and merits. That should be looked at for sure. Go back and do a search for any threads with "WWTP" in them and you'll see my process from start to where I am now.

I still believe that I learned a lot about frame design by building a model though. It forces you into geometry hell in a very intimate fashion. Trail, Offset, Axle-to-Crown, head tube angle, seat tube angle, effective top tube, all become interesting things to look at and understand. For instance, take ETT. It's a BS number as it turns out. ETT is a function of heat tube angle, top tube angle, head tube length and then the rider fit numbers. Once modeled, it was easy to play with and see that by just changing the head tube length, the ETT may change by 5-10mm and that's the difference between a bike fitting and not fitting. Anyway, I digress. It's worth doing just for the academic experience I'd say.

It isn't going to make you a better print than say a 2D system like AutoCAD, BikeCAD, or even a drafting board/pencil/ANSI E sheet of paper.

What it will do is keep you very intimately involved with the bike as it evolves. For instance, in one of my updates, I show the BB shell and the dropouts in a jig for mitering my chainstays. That jig came straight out of my model. It took me an hour or so to make the jig, create PDFs to send to the garage computer, and then another hour to make the thing right off the PDFs in the garage and it was dead on without anything else. Those are the benefits of having a solid model in this case.

Secondly, now that I have it, it's fairly easy to tweak and change the geometry and create different bikes. So that's cool. Lots of work on the front end, very little to create something different and full sized prints are instant.

All that said, you need to learn SolidWorks first. Create lots of stuff. Learning about datum is going to be the biggest thing to help you succeed in frame modeling. I've got years and years of modeling experience and will say that a frame is anything but a trivial problem if done in round tubes.

One thing that I could suggest is doing it as a "2d" model. In other words, make your tubes out of rectangles so that they are extruded rectangles and stitch the front triangle together that way. To clarify, from the side view, rectangles look like tubes and are much easier to manipulate in SolidWorks than round tubes. The front triangle is the "interesting" part of a frame anyway. I still assert that the rear is boring. The only real dimension there is the chainstay length. Granted, getting the tire, chainrings, etc. fit in there is an interesting problem, but it's not interesting from a frame size/geometry perspective at all. When you've built a frame or two, then modeling that stuff would be interesting as you can start to do very custom things like PVD's just done on the Dopplebarney. That's very slick stuff.


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## pvd (Jan 4, 2006)

jay_ntwr said:


> ...Dopplebarney.


That is hillarious!


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## mtnbiker4life (Sep 19, 2005)

SolidWorks is better if you're going to do something to this model like, FEA or Kinematic Analysis otherwise BikeCAD is the perfect tool for the job.


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## ryanconroy (Nov 26, 2007)

yea so what i would like to do is design and build a full suspension frame in solid works after doing some FEA on the frame. The trouble that i am running into is that i do not know how to assemble tubing at different angles.


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## mtnbiker4life (Sep 19, 2005)

ryanconroy said:


> yea so what i would like to do is design and build a full suspension frame in solid works after doing some FEA on the frame. The trouble that i am running into is that i do not know how to assemble tubing at different angles.


Have you taken any SolidWorks classes? Because I can tell you how to do it but if you don't understand the terms or how to then it's pointless and a waste of my time. Their are plenty of SolidWorks resources on the net.....a good one is EngTips.

Are you familiar with Top Down and Bottom Up approaches to modeling? What version of SolidWorks do you have? I am using 2009. I have a file that I might be willing to share with you that can get you started. I've been using SolidWorks since its beginning and also have thousands of hours on Pro/E.....so I would be willing to coach you but not in this thread.


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## mobile chernobyl (Apr 12, 2006)

Send me a PM if you want any frame files from solidworks. I design quite alot in SW, and bikes are just one of the things. I have a very detailed fully I designed for a class in school, almost drew every component to accurate dimensions, so I have quite a few blocks if anyone needs them. 

Other than that - I've always heard it said, and I'll back it up myself - Take a class at a local community college. You will learn the program much better! Then watch the youtube tutorials lol. just learning from youtube is hard if you don't have a good foundation in the program.


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## unterhausen (Sep 28, 2008)

I have done a certain amount of work with solidworks, mostly mechanisms and fairly simple assemblies. I'm a little stuck on how to do a frame. I would like to do stress analysis. I'm probably making it harder than it is.


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## compositepro (Jun 21, 2007)

a simple way to do it (but there are a few more)

sketch a skeleton to assemble your frame tubes to it you can than manipulate the skeleton layout for angles lengths etc 

you can assemble offset align the tube temporay axis to these layout lines ..it will get you up to speed on the assembly procedure pretty quickly


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## JohnR1 (Apr 5, 2008)

@ mobile chernobyl
PM sent!
thanks


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## keznancehdy (Aug 1, 2010)

mobile chernobyl said:


> Send me a PM if you want any frame files from solidworks. I design quite alot in SW, and bikes are just one of the things. I have a very detailed fully I designed for a class in school, almost drew every component to accurate dimensions, so I have quite a few blocks if anyone needs them.
> 
> Other than that - I've always heard it said, and I'll back it up myself - Take a class at a local community college. You will learn the program much better! Then watch the youtube tutorials lol. just learning from youtube is hard if you don't have a good foundation in the program.


I have just started playing with solidworks trying to design. Do you have any files I could mess around with. My email is [email protected]


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## charging_rhinos (Jul 29, 2008)

Good call on using Solidworks! I use it all the time at work, and I have it at home for bike designing. I know of few people on here that would admit it, but if they had access to that software and its mountain of theoretical testing tools, they'd be all over it in a second and not calling it overkill. It is extremely expensive I know, but being able to see my dh bike's weight, stress distribution, and if the rear linkage will have the proper leverage ratios _before_ I start welding is worth its weight in gold to me. BikeCAD really is great, but why not have limitless features and toys, just in case? Better to come to the water fight with a fire hose than a squirt gun, I say.

Anyway, you ought to look at the Solidworks tutorials that deal with sweeps and lofts. Those tools will be invaluable if you're designing something with butted tubing. There are many ways to design a frame, and you can decide which is best for your purposes. Here is a very broad overview of what I do:

1) sketch some construction lines on the right plane that goes through the origin. Draw up the basic angles and distances your frame will need. This will serve as a guide, as well as possible sweep guide curves for your tubes.

2) Sketch and mid-plane extrude your bottom bracket shell tube. Be sure it's a mid-plane extrude, not Blind or anything else, or it'll be a pain if you need to mirror any features from the left or right side of the bike to the other

3) Create a plane off of the center axis of your bottom bracket shell that is perpendicular to the down tube's direction. On that plane, draw your downtube cross section. Now extrude-boss, loft, or sweep along a path to the area of the head tube.

4) Do the other tubes and features that come off of the bottom bracket (seat tube, stays, etc) on their own planes

5) Continue this process of Create plane > draw profile(s) > extrude/loft/sweep until everything is how you want it. Hope that made sense, and please feel free to ask if you need specific help.


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## Mark Landsaat (Jul 24, 2007)

Hi Ryan,

I have been using SolidWorks in the bicycle industry for almost a decade and have put together a few videos that I posted on youtube. They explain some of the basic setup techniques I use for building a suspension frame using SolidWorks. Check them out, I think they will be helpful with your project.

Also, if you have any questions on setting up your model, let me know and I will be happy to give you some guidelines to get you started.


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## lopata (May 3, 2011)

Hi all, I am a newbie in SW, but im determined to make my own titanium FS frame. I am looking for as much as i can find materials for building a FS frame. I can see that you have done a awsome work and I hope to be as good as you. 
I have no intention to sell frames, just for my own satisfaction to DIY. I have been looking for some tutorials, but it takes me for some time. If you have some materials which can help me, I would much appreciate and would be thankfull. my mail is [email protected]


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## mtnbiker4life (Sep 19, 2005)

lopata said:


> Hi all, I am a newbie in SW, but im determined to make my own titanium FS frame. I am looking for as much as i can find materials for building a FS frame. I can see that you have done a awsome work and I hope to be as good as you.
> I have no intention to sell frames, just for my own satisfaction to DIY. I have been looking for some tutorials, but it takes me for some time. If you have some materials which can help me, I would much appreciate and would be thankfull. my mail is [email protected]


Well, you're not going to learn SolidWorks here since this is a mtn bike forum......best for you to log onto www.eng-tips.com then join the SWx forum. Then get some training via your reseller or a local community college. Another good resource is the SolidWorks Bible. My six year old son has been using Solid Works for the last year at my supervision......


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## wreckedrex (May 2, 2007)

Take the community college courses. I've tried going it on my own with inventor, reseller training with solidworks and cc courses with pro/e and the cc route is far and away the best option. More hands on time, more time with the instructor and more time dedicated to your specific field/question/project. All for very little $$.


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## flynfrog (Feb 4, 2011)

if you have some seat time in SW this video makes it really easy to draw a frame.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nN_00HcEPls


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## Dh mini pinner (Aug 10, 2011)

Mark Landsaat said:


> Hi Ryan,
> 
> I have been using SolidWorks in the bicycle industry for almost a decade and have put together a few videos that I posted on youtube. They explain some of the basic setup techniques I use for building a suspension frame using SolidWorks. Check them out, I think they will be helpful with your project.
> 
> ...


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## silgot (Aug 6, 2010)

Nice!


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## neuraxon77 (Jan 4, 2011)

jammondesign have a bunch of Solidworks bicycle tutorials on youtube


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## likosmorgulis (Nov 11, 2021)

Mark Landsaat said:


> Hi Ryan,
> 
> I have been using SolidWorks in the bicycle industry for almost a decade and have put together a few videos that I posted on youtube. They explain some of the basic setup techniques I use for building a suspension frame using SolidWorks. Check them out, I think they will be helpful with your project.
> 
> Also, if you have any questions on setting up your model, let me know and I will be happy to give you some guidelines to get you started.


Dear Sir, 
I am a violin teacher and veeeery far from practical technical knowledge but I have a need for a 3d model of a full suspension frame. I have a basic concept in mind, some photos of a real bike which would be a starting point and tweaks I would love on some aspects. Would you be willing to either guide me through a process of drawing it or to draw it for me for a reasonable amount of money? Thanks in advance! I hope this message finds you in best of health and abundance of all the good things of life. Vuk Drobnjak


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## likosmorgulis (Nov 11, 2021)

mobile chernobyl said:


> Send me a PM if you want any frame files from solidworks. I design quite alot in SW, and bikes are just one of the things. I have a very detailed fully I designed for a class in school, almost drew every component to accurate dimensions, so I have quite a few blocks if anyone needs them.
> 
> Other than that - I've always heard it said, and I'll back it up myself - Take a class at a local community college. You will learn the program much better! Then watch the youtube tutorials lol. just learning from youtube is hard if you don't have a good foundation in the program.


I would much appreciate if you could give me anything close to a Karpiel Armageddon design. I could really use some help in reverse engineering those snail cams shown in the available photos. I have no clue as to what they look like and operate in 3d. I would send you photos to a personal email address if you would be willing to help  
Thanks in advance! Wolfie 
[email protected]


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## likosmorgulis (Nov 11, 2021)

Mark Landsaat said:


> Hi Ryan,
> 
> I have been using SolidWorks in the bicycle industry for almost a decade and have put together a few videos that I posted on youtube. They explain some of the basic setup techniques I use for building a suspension frame using SolidWorks. Check them out, I think they will be helpful with your project.
> 
> Also, if you have any questions on setting up your model, let me know and I will be happy to give you some guidelines to get you started.


Oh and, my email, if you would be willing to help is [email protected]


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