SolidWorks Office Chair Example

There are mainly two example methods for modeling office chairs in SolidWorks: surface modeling and weldment fabrication.

SolidWorks Surface Modeling - Office Chair

• Metal Frame Modeling: First, draw a 3D sketch as the path, which determines the general direction and shape of the frame. Then, draw a 2D sketch as the cross-section, and the shape of the cross-section determines features such as the thickness of the frame. Use these sketches to perform a sweep operation, and you can complete half of the frame modeling. After that, add cylindrical structures at the ends and connecting rods in the middle to make the frame structure more complete. Finally, use the mirror function to obtain the complete metal frame of the chair.
• Seat and Backrest Modeling: Using the surface method, first create four sketch lines, which can be drawn using arcs or spline curves. These sketch lines determine the contour shapes of the seat and backrest. Then perform a loft operation to complete half of the seat or backrest modeling. Use the mirror function to obtain the complete shape, and then perform a thicken operation to give it a certain thickness. Finally, add fillets to make the edges of the seat and backrest more rounded and smooth, forming the basic seat and backrest models.
• Adding Other Accessories: For accessories such as chair legs and armrests, you can use the original seat model, copy its faces, and then perform a thicken operation to obtain the preliminary shapes of the chair legs and armrests. Then add detailed features such as dents and fillets to make these accessories more realistic and meet actual needs.

Making a Steel Tube Chair Using SolidWorks Weldments

• Basic Frame Drawing: Enter the 3D sketch environment and draw the basic shape of the chair. After drawing, perform fillet operations to make the connections of the frame smoother. Then draw a line using a 3D sketch and constrain it to the midpoint to prepare for adding structural members later.
• Adding and Processing Structural Members: Use the structural member function, select the appropriate pipes, and merge the solids to initially construct the steel tube frame of the chair. Then perform a trim operation to remove the excess parts. Next, click on the 3D sketch, convert the solid reference to the blue line, and fit spline curves to further optimize the shape of the frame.
• Arraying and Adding Details: Use the curve-driven array function, select the curve and the tube to be arrayed, and complete part of the array operation. Use the curve-driven array again for a reverse operation to make the frame more complete. Then add gussets to enhance the stability of the frame. Finally, add fillet welds to make the connections between the steel tubes more natural. After completing the modeling, you can also perform simple rendering to make the chair model more aesthetically pleasing.