Creating an Over-Molded Part in SOLIDWORKS
There are several ways to create an over-molded part in SOLIDWORKS. This tutorial will explain one quick method.
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Step 1: Create an offset plane where you want to approach sketching the wrap.
Select a plane and offset it slightly by either using the Plane feature from your Reference Geometry or grab one of the handles on the plane itself with the CTRL command and drag it to create a copy of the plane in the space.
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Step 2: Sketch on the plane what you would like the over-mold to look like, starting with a pre-existing sketch.
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Step 3: Use the sketch to wrap around the surface to create the shape you are looking for by using the Wrap Command on the features toolbar.
Exit sketch and you will see a Wrap command. It will take a closed contour and wrap it around a surface. You can emboss, deboss or create a split line on the surface. You can choose a cylindrical or conical face or for something more complicated, use the Spline Surface command to wrap it onto the surface. Deboss onto the surface- can choose distance to offset. It will offset the surface for you.
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Step 4: Take and fill that geometry back up with a solid by using a surface command called Offset Surface
Create a surface body using an existing surface while not offsetting at all, which creates its own surface body on that face. You can thicken surface command. Do not merge result. This will create an independent body of the over-molded rubber shape that you want. This leaves you with two distinct solid bodies, one for the original plastic and one for the rubber over-molding.
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Step 5: Isolate the body and find the actual shape that you are looking for, for the finalized rubberized geometry
Want to learn a simple way to create over-molded parts in SOLIDWORKS? See the full tutorial video here.
