SolidWorks file conventions

Guidelines for how to keep CAD documentation consistent within STAR

Conventions for CAD documentation of parts designed for use by STAR can be grouped into 2 categories: drawing setup and filename conventions.

Drawings

Regarding drawing setup, CADs for the purpose of documentation should use the drawing template and use Imperial (also known as IPS) units. Furthermore sub-assemblies should be placed in external files (a tutorial of how to do this is soon to come).

File Naming and Organization

Regarding filename conventions, file names of CADs should adhere to the following guidelines:

File names shall follow the general convention of: Project_Subteam_DescriptiveName[_McMaster part #]. See below for project and subteam codes.
1. An example of this might be IREC20_PAY_Payload_Centering_Ring.SLDPRT for an in-house part or IREC20_AIR_Weld_Nut_90611A320.SLDPRT for a McMaster part.
2. Similarly an example for an assembly might be IREC20_AIR_Nosecone_Assembly.SLDASM
File names shall not contain special characters (e.g. "!@#$%^&*()?/|\" ) aside from "_". Hyphens shall be allowed only if part of an external part number. Spaces and periods (outside of ".SLD***") are not permitted, as they can cause filepath issues.
Subteam shall be denoted by its appropriate 3-letter abbreviation:
- AIR : Airframe
- AVI : Avionics
- PAY : Payload
- REC : Recovery
- PRO : Propulsion
- SIM : Simulations
- OUT : Outreach
Project shall be denoted by the selected abbreviation for the project:
- MINDI: 2" minimum-diameter rocket
- IREC20 : 6” diameter rocket design for IREC 2020 (this is Bear Force One, the project started before it was named and before IREC 2020 was moved to 2021)
- LE165 : “Hot Take”, Propulsion’s first-iteration of a liquid engine
- LE1: Liquid Engine 1, Propulsion's 2020-2021 "simple" engine
- LE2: Liquid Engine 2, a multi-year project to design and build a higher-performance engine. Custom tank CAD can also use LE2.
- SSEP: Stage separation demonstrator
- DAVE: Deployable aerial vehicle experiment, a payload launching on Bear Force One.
- CAS: Common Avionics System mission(s), flown on AirBears. AirBears (the vehicle) was developed before the naming convention became mandatory, but all CAS-related CAD should follow the convention.

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Last updated 2 years ago

File Naming and Organization

Regarding filename conventions, file names of CADs should adhere to the following guidelines:

File names shall follow the general convention of: Project_Subteam_DescriptiveName[_McMaster part #]. See below for project and subteam codes.

An example of this might be IREC20_PAY_Payload_Centering_Ring.SLDPRT for an in-house part or IREC20_AIR_Weld_Nut_90611A320.SLDPRT for a McMaster part.
Similarly an example for an assembly might be IREC20_AIR_Nosecone_Assembly.SLDASM

File names shall not contain special characters (e.g. "!@#$%^&*()?/|\" ) aside from "_". Hyphens shall be allowed only if part of an external part number. Spaces and periods (outside of ".SLD***") are not permitted, as they can cause filepath issues.

Subteam shall be denoted by its appropriate 3-letter abbreviation:

AIR : Airframe
AVI : Avionics
PAY : Payload
REC : Recovery
PRO : Propulsion
SIM : Simulations
OUT : Outreach

Project shall be denoted by the selected abbreviation for the project:

MINDI: 2" minimum-diameter rocket
IREC20 : 6” diameter rocket design for IREC 2020 (this is Bear Force One, the project started before it was named and before IREC 2020 was moved to 2021)
LE165 : “Hot Take”, Propulsion’s first-iteration of a liquid engine
LE1: Liquid Engine 1, Propulsion's 2020-2021 "simple" engine
LE2: Liquid Engine 2, a multi-year project to design and build a higher-performance engine. Custom tank CAD can also use LE2.
SSEP: Stage separation demonstrator
DAVE: Deployable aerial vehicle experiment, a payload launching on Bear Force One.
CAS: Common Avionics System mission(s), flown on AirBears. AirBears (the vehicle) was developed before the naming convention became mandatory, but all CAS-related CAD should follow the convention.