Making a cone in solidworks

[metiz]

I need to create a hollow cone. The wall of the cone is 1mm. I've tried drawing a single line and putting it on the right angle, then draw a horizontal line from both vertices, 1mm long, completing the shape with a 4th line and then using the revolve feature to flesh it out. It all looks fine but when I measure the outside diameter, there's a discrepancy. I can manually make the right adjustments and everything once again looks fine. But then when I try to mate the cone with a different cone, with the same inside and outside dimensions, the edges making up the circles don't match up and it looks terrible. Like when you have 2 octagonal shapes with the same diameter mated at different rotations.

Is there a better way in making cones like this? For some reason I don't have the "sheet metal" tab...

I'm working with solidworks 2011, student edition.

Thanks,
Joost.

[wolfdragon]

try making the outside line at the proper angle from a reference line, offset a line by 1mm and use that outside line as a base, make the bottom edge to closeout the shape, then try revolving it around the reference line

at least that's how i can do it in inventor/autocad

[Richard OConnell]

Not familiar with SolidWorks, but if it has a boolean or difference too, you can make a solid cone, duplicate it in place, move the duplicated cone slightly within the first cone, then use a subtract/difference/boolean function to remove it, leaving a hollowed cone. I used to use this method to introduce complex shapes into the geometry of another shape. Works well in Maya and Blender.

[fricke]

Draw a single line at the right distance from your center line, set your distances, then revolve and use thin feature, set your thickness.

[metiz]

Hey Fricke

thanks for the help.

I get the same problem using your method. See pic. I first draw a straight line. smart dim it to the right length, and rotate it to the right angle. I the draw a centreline and use smartdim to define the bottom diameter. The top diameter should automatically line up, but it doesn't so I have to smartdim that to. When I then use the revolve feature, it gives me a warning. If I hit no, I can then set the wallthickness. But then my cone has an angle between the outside and inside ring so I can't mate the surfaces of two such cones. If, in picture one, I draw a horizontal line from both vertices, 1mm long, and connect them, basically drawing some sort of trapezoid, both inside and outside rings are the same hight after revolving BUT then the edges don't math up during mating giving a messed up result.

Further suggestions?

[fricke]

One quick and dirty way is to make the cone longer, and cut it to length with a Extruded Cut.

//F

[metiz]

thanks, i'll give that a try