Developing illustrations for assembly instructions in CAD

Introduction

Remember the assembly instructions from IKEA: simple and clear, they allow you to easily assemble furniture without any special knowledge. Why don’t all companies use the successful approach of the Swedish brand?

First, it seems that creating such instructions is only valuable for end users. In practice, they are also useful at the manufacturing stage. Instructions allow assemblers to work with clearer diagrams, and designers are less distracted by explanations.

Secondly, developing a document of this level seems labor-intensive and expensive. Not every design bureau can afford to order the execution of instructions from third-party specialists, and independent development is often unproductive.

This process can be simplified using special software packages such as SolidWorks Composer. However, they have their drawbacks, in particular, paid use and the need for significant reworking of illustrations when changing the model.

The capabilities of built-in CAD tools are also limited. Their use complicates assembly and makes it difficult to delegate the designer's work to a specialist without specialized knowledge (for example, a technologist or designer).

In this article, using SolidWorks as an example, I will show a way to overcome these shortcomings and effectively create step-by-step illustrations for instructions.

Step 1: Creating a model to prepare illustrations

First, you need to create a new higher-level assembly model based on the finished unit or product model. This will avoid accidental changes to the original assembly and will allow you to show additional elements (see step 2 for details).

Example

The original assembly is “SDM.B0001”. For it, we create “SDM.B0001 IM” – a model for illustration, into which the original assembly model is inserted.

We carry out further work in the new model.

Step 2: Adding Additional Elements

As mentioned in step 1, working in a separate model allows you to add elements that are not part of the main assembly but are required for the instructions. For example, fasteners for transportation. For these, a separate display state is created and the explode tool is used.

Example

In the example under consideration, additional fasteners are used to secure the structural elements during transportation. Since they are not included in the original assembly, it is more convenient to show them separately. We add the fasteners to the model for illustration and distribute them along the trajectory (see the distribution along the trajectory in step 4).

Step 3: Planning the build steps

The next stage is to think through the sequence of assembly of the structure: which parts, with what fasteners and in what sequence will be connected. The assembly steps are determined.

For each step, a separate set of visible design elements is created – the corresponding display is formed. In SolidWorks, the Display State tool is used (press Right-click on the Display Status panel and select Add Display State). With its help, you can make visible only those parts and fasteners that are involved in the current assembly step.

Example

We form the model display for the second assembly step. Using the Display State tool, we select the required parts and fasteners as visible and hide the remaining components (see the figure below).

We work similarly with subsequent assembly stages, gradually increasing the number of elements displayed.

Step 4. Visualization of fasteners

Now it is necessary to show how the parts are connected at each step. It will be more clear in the illustrations to display the trajectory of the fastener into the design part. To do this, use the Exploded View tool (right-click on the Configurations panel and select New Exploded View). We apply it for each display state of the assembly stage.

Step 5. Creating a drawing

The final step is to make drawings. For each assembly stage, a separate sheet is created in the instructions. Here you can also create convenient notes with explanations that will complement the illustrations.

Conclusion

Developing illustrations for assembly instructions in a CAD system may seem like a complex task, but using the described methodology greatly simplifies this process. When changing the original assembly, only some display states need to be adjusted, the rest of the blanks are updated automatically.

As shown in the SolidWorks example, the right tools can save developer resources and create visually clear and consistent instructions.

In addition to clarity, this approach makes it possible to design the assembly process and select equipment and tools already at the modeling stage. This helps to identify and correct errors before production, reduces assembly time and optimizes commissioning.

As a result, product quality improves and the assembly process becomes more intuitive and efficient.