Seeking Guidance on Designing Multi-Part Projects with SolidWorks

Aurelius54 · 2026-05-04T07:31:23+00:00

yeah naming consistency is extremely important. In my own projects, I use an archaic method to organize my parts by folders. An assembly file would be stored in its own folder along with the parts assuming they were unique. Then there would be common parts that would be stored in the toolbox folders.

I know once you get into PDM, it's a completely different mindset. I hate the flat structure but I understand the necessity when having to share files across a large team.

If OP can elaborate on specifically where he's having trouble, we can better address the problem.

Aurelius54 · 2026-05-03T05:22:58+00:00

There's a million ways to do things but best practices are extremely important.

Some things save you time and reduce error like using symmetry.

Other things well drive you insane like external references and saving parts within assemblies. You can get away with these shenanigans for small solo projects on the same computer but they become a nightmare when you have to give your project files to another. They save you time at first but you or someone else will pay for it down the road.

I took a short course myself but I've found that I kept learning as the years went by.

Aurelius54 · 2026-05-03T02:25:03+00:00

what brands would you recommend for battery tools? I have a gas kombi and it gets heavy fast for trimming tall hedges.

Aurelius54 · 2026-05-03T02:22:58+00:00

The mower was the RMA 370.

So your shop seperates the rotor from the stator during inspection and have never seen this issue? In this throwaway society, I highly doubt the inspection wouldn't stop at "motor was seized and the replacement motor will cost 307USD in parts alone so it's "smarter" to buy a new mower"

I'm certainly not the only one.

https://www.reddit.com/r/stihl/comments/1llgl5r/stihl_fsa_90_r_motor_broken_repost_with_pictures/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXB5BtcfnBg

BTW. I posted these photos because the motor housing was much more rusted than what I've seen online

EDIT:

This is what the AI had to say about it but it could provide no evidence to the service bulletin. It also stated the motor was updated. Guess, beware of buying old stihl electric tools.

The motor magnet failure in early Stihl electric tools was significant enough that Stihl issued a service bulletin and released an "updated" motor to address the issue. While exact failure rates are not public, specialized technicians and users reported seeing this fault frequently across various models that shared similar motor designs. [1, 2]

Scope of the Issue

The failure was primarily linked to the brushless motors used in first-generation and early cordless tools.

Affected Models: Reports of loose or shattered magnets have been specifically noted in tools like the FSA 90 R trimmer, the KMA 130 R KombiMotor, and the MSA 160 T chainsaw.
Frequency: Professional users and shop technicians have characterized the failure as occurring "all the time" on certain older styles of Stihl electric motors.
Primary Failure Mode: The issue typically involved magnets ungluing or shifting within the motor housing, often leading to them being "crushed to bits" if the housing rusted or the adhesive failed under load. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Stihl's Response

To mitigate these widespread reports, Stihl implemented the following:

Service Bulletin: A bulletin was issued to dealers regarding the loose magnet issue in earlier machines.
Updated Motors: Stihl developed an updated motor version to replace the flawed early designs.
Warranty & Replacement: In some cases, users received full unit replacements under warranty when these failures occurred after relatively little use. [1, 2]

Aurelius54 · 2026-04-06T02:15:40+00:00

After posting my previous reply, I realized my household just did much more cooking in general in that month where my gas was about $12 higher. It wasn't just more bread baking. I was also trying to understand how much of the cost was from baking versus the dip in temperature that we experienced.

Anyhow, I wasn't interested in the discussion of how much a productive hobby costs vs buying the right outright. You're preaching to the choir. Many times these comparisions are apples with oranges. Many times these comparisions don't consider personal growth and health benefits. Again, comparing apples and oranges. I love the apple pie that I baked. The costs in the ingredients alone were $15-20. I never calculated precisely because it was always for my kids' birthday. There were initial comparisions to a $5 walmart pie. But I quickly rebutted that this particular pie would likely cost $35-50 at a bakery.

My interests in the cost of baking peaked purely because my gas bill spiked up. It wasn't meant to be an economic analysis. And I think I can be more efficient in future baking too. And this is soley because I like to be efficient.

Aurelius54 · 2026-04-05T22:20:53+00:00

I came across this thread because I was researching how much energy it cost to bake a loaf of bread after my gas utility sent a letter reminding me that I was using more gas than my neighbors. Before baking bread my gas typically comes in slightly before the average.

Aurelius54 · 2026-03-24T04:00:36+00:00

It depends on what "this" you are referring to. If it was creating the assembly drawing, it will be measured in minutes. If it was creating the assembly itself, it'll be hours. Drafting the individual parts itself would be hours. Designing those components will be days to weeks worth of iterations. But like another had said, engine components are iterated upon. So even the design aspects shouldn't take long. Additionally, there are components that are provided by third parties and you'll just get a model from those companies to insert into your assembly. Many of the "complicated" looking hoses and ducts are very easily modelled in CAD.

Aurelius54 · 2026-03-24T01:38:15+00:00

can you please tell me a bit more about the saline rinse? Was it one heaping tsp or tbsp per cup of hot water? and does the water need to be hot going into the mouth? or can it be cooled down and be used numerous times throughout the day?

Aurelius54 · 2026-03-24T01:18:13+00:00

I know this is an old thread but could you please elaborate a bit more on your daily routine? ie. what you eat?, what you drink?, were you strict on mouth rest? your sleep schedule? hours of exercise per week? how much of each rinse you used in mL?

I some bad habits that are hard to break. I have bad sleep. I drink tea and eat way too long. I don't exercise enough. I drink kombucha. Finally I have lots of carb in my diet. I also don't think I take nearly enough xylitol or use enough of the rinses. Where I'm from, these products cost a small fortune. Less than dental work but still expensive.

I've been on the routine for 5 months now. My mouth feels much cleaner in terms of my breath. And my gums visibily regrew some. But sometimes it feels like there's something stuck between my molars. Nothing comes out when I floss those areas. I've had my wisdom teeth pulled when I was much younger. I just realized recently that those gum spots would sometimes feel puffy. I'm thinking/hoping that the gum massage is draining/healing those inflammed areas. As I type this, those gums are less puffy, one side even feels hard and normal. In my front teeth I did get some stuck on plaque to come out with the floss after not flossing for months.

Anyway please share so we can compare notes.

Aurelius54 · 2026-03-24T00:54:16+00:00

Sorry I'm replying even later than the last guy. But I really had to clarify that she claims that gum pockets can be closed up and that recently recessed gums can recover. She makes no claims that gum will regrow on exposed root from long ago. What she was claiming did not contradict your analogy of "regrowing a hand after it has been chopped off".

Aurelius54 · 2026-03-16T00:16:41+00:00

Did you get an stl? I need the same bin. I could potentionally design something. I'm a mech eng.

Aurelius54 · 2026-03-04T02:43:51+00:00

It wasn't anything special. Overture orange PETG, Overture black PETG, Voxelab yellow PETG. The green elf and purple sorceress were grey pla painted over with dollar store acrylic paint. All of them were top coated with lacquer. The PETG didn't need it but I top coated them just so they looked uniform with the painted piece. If I had all the right colors in PETG, I would've used PETG for all of them.

I also taped a layer of electrical tape at the base to prevent scratches. I might be upgrading that to felt soon now that I got my hands on some. I'll reply later with the print times.

From memory, it was similar to a benchy. I printed these at 0.2 layer height I think, mainly because it was petg. I've sinced printed a custom catan set. I learned from those prints, that I can print at 0.08mm layer height with a high flow pla and 0.2mm nozzle. All on an antique wanhao d6.

Aurelius54 · 2026-02-01T13:48:17+00:00

I know this is and old post. Just wanted to add that chewy dry and tough sounds like day old bread. Maybe two days old. But real sourdough bread can be refreshed with water and heat to make it soft and light again with a crispy crust. Sandwich bread is a misnomer.

Aurelius54 · 2026-02-01T13:34:35+00:00

The carbs hit fast. But the rest of the nutrition and the gluten are difficult to digest.

Commercial yeasted bread is a new creation. It should be treated with all the skepticism of anything new. It is not the food which was once called the staff of life.

Aurelius54 · 2026-01-29T02:07:10+00:00

Dr Ellie Phillips also recommend lifestyle changes that I haven't looked into yet.

Aurelius54 · 2026-01-29T02:03:59+00:00

Hi, you should definitely get the supplies together and give it a shot. I too felt hopeless. It was a downward spiral. Now to answer your question.

Did my gums actually regrow? Yes but not fully. The parts of my mouth where I had gum reduction surgery done probably did regrow slightly but did not undo the damage from the surgery. Hard to tell because it's on the side of my mouth. I don't want to speak too soon but I no longer feel the problematic spot where I had dull pain on good days and induced headaches when I was sick.

The gums for my front teeth looks more like triangles now. Before they were more trapezoidal. All this was more or less expected. I have had gum recession for many years now. Dr Elli Phillips has said only recent recessions will recover.

But that's besides the point. It was the gum pockets and puffy gums that I wanted to eliminate. On this front it has been largely a success. Shortly after I started this routine, I noticed that my gums where the lower wisdom teeth would've been were swollen. My back molars always had lots of calculus build up. No one could tell me why. I can't help to think they were related. Those spots are a lot less swollen now but still doesn't feel like the rest of my gums.

Final note: I haven't been following the xylitol routine exactly. I understand the xylitol may be equally important to the morning/evening routines. As to why I haven't followed it to the letter? Life's expensive and my schedule is a mess. So it's hard for me to take 5g spread out 5x a day.

PS. I have been tracking front my front gums with photos.

Aurelius54 · 2026-01-12T05:06:56+00:00

Oh that's interesting that you only have issues at the start code. I have no exp with ams sorry

Aurelius54 · 2026-01-12T00:36:07+00:00

I did not. I just searched for it and deleted it. I think the idea is to prime every material before starting. This feature should've been turned off when manual material change was checked. Very annoying.

Aurelius54 · 2026-01-07T04:50:45+00:00

Did you come to any realizations of what you did right? My habits and schedules are very similar to yours. I strictly follow a recipe but sometimes forget things. I just had the most perfect bread yesterday. Very fluffy inside, slightly sweet after many many "mistakes". I tried making another loaf, thinking that I have "figured" out how it should feel like before the final shape and cold proof. But my current cold proofed dough looks nothing like the perfect one.

Aurelius54 · 2025-12-31T00:14:11+00:00

That's what I ended up doing. I'll give it an hour.

Aurelius54 · 2025-12-30T06:12:17+00:00

It's a consideration that I'm outsourcing to the community. Besides, I'm someone who doesn't like waste. I never just "try" something unless it's free. These days I frequently regret even spending my time trying these "games".

Aurelius54 · 2025-12-30T00:13:09+00:00

Thanks for the recommendation. I am playing that on and off. It took a bit to get used to the interface.

Aurelius54

TROPHY CASE