In a design environment it is very rare that a model is built and then never changed, products will go through many iterations at the development stage and during the lifecycle of the product once it is manufactured

Don’t worry too much about how long it takes to build a model, more importantly, consider how long it will take to modify it – again and again and again and…..  When you do modify your model, will everything update nicely or does the whole thing fall over and fail?

Don’t be afraid to test your model, change dimensions, change references and see what happens – make sure you save it first!

Modelling Strategy

When visualising part of a product we tend to see it as a complete form.  Prototyping will tend to be a subtractive process where we start with a lump of material and remove material to create the desired shape.  3D CAD part modelling on the other hand starts as an additive process.

How you break your model down into different volumes adding or subtracting material and then all the modification features such as fillets and holes is the key to a successful model.

Efficient Modelling

Recognising symmetry in your model and placing your initial features symmetrically relative to the default datum planes is a classic example of efficient modelling.  It would be inefficient to place your part arbitrarily in the workspace and then have to create datum planes to set up symmetry.

Grouping fillets together where possible, recognising when simple patterns can be used to replicate and manage features.  Generally be aware of time spent on the initial modelling and time spent on subsequent developments.