Okay, first question is simple and on topic. Does anybody know what tap size to use for the VDO oil temp sender?
Second question: I know there are a lot of engineers on this website and some who are familiar with Solidworks. Where did you get your copies? Did you go strait to Solidworks, or through a dealer? What options did you get and how much did you pay? I'm a manufacturing student and am just getting into CAD, but I have some big ideas that I'd like to start laying out in Solidworks, or maybe Inventor (you Inventor guys feel free to chime in too)
Thanks.
Mark D.

Use whatever size the threads are on your sender--there are many sizes available.

I think the stock one is M14, but I forget the pitch.

--DD

Oil tempture sending unit is 10mm x 1, a 1/4-28 NPT will also fit the hole but
don't over tighting it, it will crack the case!

i've always thought the VDO sender that screws into the oil drain plug location was the way to go for a car that never had oil temp gauge. the sender is a bit exposed but it's a screw in application instead of a drill and tap process. that said, i have the taco plate sender in both of my 914's.

No, it's not. The oil PRESSURE sender is 10 mm x 1.00, which is very close to 1/8" NPT. I've yet to see one overtightened enough to crack the case, but I'll be the first to admit I haven't met every hack in the world .................. They seem to come right out of the walls when you least expect it. The Cap'n

Okay, nevermind. I just discovered how many sensors that VDO makes. I did find a place to crosscheck part numbers, though, so I can figure out what it is.
Anyone gonna take a stab at the Solidworks question?
Mark D.

While I haven't checked into it lately, I do know that Solidworks likes to get copies of their software into as many hands as possible, and have a lot looser licsencing issues than some other packages (ie Autocad).

You may want to check with your school to see if they have some inside deals. Otherwise, I just did a Google on solidworks and came up with sites offering a "student" copy for $90ish. I'm not sure what the difference between that and a full blown version is, but if your just learning I'd be willing to bet that it'll fit the bill just nicely.

The Capt has me crakin up tonight.

Dude that shit is funny.

Ya know you could design a billet plate in solid works to go in place of the taco plate blank cover.

We had it at a company I previously worked for, and at the time employees were allowed to load it on their personal machines. The Solidwork rep stated that it the seats were paid for, and they wanted to encourage people to use it as much as possible. This was in 2000.

I have a free, licensed student version right now (only a 90 day license), but it doesn't have assemblies. That's "kind of" important. Right now I need solid models, sheet metal, and assemblies, but eventually I'll want the finite element analysis. I kinda doubt that's in the student version, but I'll look at it just the same. Thanks guys.
Mark D.
BTW, I have the M14 X 1.5 temp sensor. It will be going in soon.

On the SolidWorks, a new version is limited to one instance only; if you want to use it on another machine you have to transfer the instance via the web I think. In any event it is one license one physical machine. Only available on Win XP and up, and the machine spec is significant.

Check with a dealer for a license but be aware that the maintenance agreement is costly as well, and that is where you get your support and upgrades. Check out the SolidWorks website for student editions, they are cheap but limited.

Well, I'm very limited as well. It'll probably be another 5 years (bare minimum) before I have my engineering degree and know how to use all that that program offers. One machine is fine. It'll just be on my home computer. It's a gaming hotrod, so it's got plenty of capacity. Thanks for the insight. Gotta go to bed.
Mark D.

Check your school’s bookstore for a student version.

Check to see if your school has a site license.

Bittorrent

i think ours are 1 yr licenses... around 100 bucks for a student/educational copy

Here you go.

http://www.solidworks.com/pages/products/e...onsoftware.html

Solidworks is great for any design work, including chassis development.

SW design and a finished product (top tree on one of me scooters). SW produces G codes for the mill



I'd think you could get a special student rate through your college administration ... ask your instructor

Usually a liscense of SW allows you to install it on two machines, one at work and one at home. Get a job somewhere using SW part time and you've got a copy. COSMOS, the SW FEA software, is pretty pricey at over 10k for the pro liscense (same deal, one at home, one at work) and the maintenance fee each year is something like 20% (don't need to buy the maintenance contract though). COSMOS is crappy though, get Ansys for another 6k, it is well worth it.

SW should be very easy to "find", potentially Cosmos as well. Google released a cad package as well, never used it and I am sure it pales in comparison to SW, but the basic version is free and the pro version (which seems to include the ability to create drawings) looks to be not too expensive. Might be worth checking out.

-Chris

Good info! I am trying to get a job at an experimental shop where I believe SW is used, so that might be an option. However, I am BY NO MEANS and engineer.... yet. So I probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference between Cosmos and Ansys. BTW, has anyone had any experience with Cosmos Floworks?
Mark D.