Solidworks Belt Path

Copyright April 2014 Brian Halicki
Solidworks Belt Path Tutorial

April 15, 2014
By: Brian Halicki
Sketching with Converted Entities Creates the Belt Path
In the design of a conveyor unit that is

connected with two or more idler
rolls, the conveyor belt we want is
attached to these rolls. Commands
in SolidWorks sketch can help us to
create or install this belt. For the
reason of this tutorial, I will be
indicating to you how to create a
'New Part' Conveyor Belt on an
assembly drawing, so if you would
edit a diameter of rolls or adjust the
position of rolls, the conveyor belt will
automatically update the changes.
The belt being used is Intralox Series
1100 that is 4 inches wide and .344
thick.
Intralox Belt Conveyor
Some steps to create a conveyor belt:

Hide all parts except the rolls. Invert Selection. Selection of all rolls (dont forget to press 'Ctrl' on the keyboard)
and then right click and choose Invert Selection.
Inverted Selection Shown
Selecting Hide
Hide Invert Selection. The above command will select all the parts in except the rolls. Then at the drawing view, right
click and select hide. Then all the selected part will be hidden and visible only the rolls.
Creating a new Part in an Assembly

Insert New Part. Choose Insert> Component> New Part. The show will appear at the bottom-left of the screen "Select
the face or plane on which to position the new part". Then point the cursor on the Front Plane in the Feature Manager,
left click. Well, now you are ready to make a sketch of the new part.
Convert Entities. Choose one of the roll and then click edge circle of roll. Click Convert Entities on the Feature toolbar.
Dialog box Convert Entities will appear. Continue by selecting all edge of rolls. Finish by clicking OK.
Open Part. Make it easier for the process of making a sketch, I suggest you to open a new part. Click part1 on the
Feature Manager and selection box will appear. Choose Open Part. And now you're ready to make a sketch of the
conveyor at a new part.

Creating a profile sketch on new part
Edit Sketch. Now the new part has been opened and you are ready to make a sketch on the new part. In the Feature
Manager select Sketch1 then click Edit on the sketch dialog box that appears.
Offset Convert Entities. We know that the belt thickness is .344 inches, the edge of roll has been converted and needs to
be offset by .344 inches for 2 of the idler rollers. Choose the Offset Entities on the Sketch toolbar. In the dialog box enter
the distance of .344 inches and check the 'Make base construction'.
Line. Connect the circles with one circle to another by selecting the Line Sketch toolbar. Considering this is a meeting
between the lines with circles, then before you specify the start position and end position, first click on the Quick Snap
Tangent Snaps toolbar or choose Tools> Relations> Quick Snaps > Tangent.
Trim Entities. Use this command to delete the profile of the sketch that didnt follow the belt path. In the dialog box
choose the 'Trim to closest' then click the deleted entity. Exit Sketch.
Belt Forming. This is the final command to create the look of this belt.
Extruded Surface. Use the Extrude Surface command on Surface toolbar. In the dialog box that appears under
parameter Direction 1, write the width of 4 inches and the End condition set in the Mid Plane. Click OK.
Thicken. Create a solid feature by selecting one or more surfaces. On the Surface toolbar choose Thicken.
Then in the dialog box select the surface and enter the thickness at .344 inches and click Thicken Side 1. OK.
The blue color is essentially a surface. Give the color with Edit Appearance command on View (Heads-Up)
toolbar
Save the Conveyor Belt and close the file. The Assembly will automatically rebuild itself.
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About the Author: Brian Halicki
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Copyright April 2014 Brian Halicki