Do you WRAP? Not like JAY-Z or Lil Wayne The Wrap feature in SOLIDWORKS is great if you are trying to project a sketch without any distortion around a surface and cut or add material to that part. It supports any face which is planar, cylindrical, conical, extruded, or revolved. Let’s go thru the step to create a Wrap feature. First, let’s create a new sketch and add some text. You cannot create a Wrap feature from an open contour sketch. […]
SOLIDWORKS: Creating Virtual Sharps A common task for us is dimensioning to a point that exists where two edges, lines, arcs, and/or curves would intersect if those entities were extended. This is called a “virtual sharp” in SOLIDWORKS and is a useful reference in drawings and sketches. Some people may call it a Theoretical Sharp. Let’s take a look at how we can create them in a part and drawing file. When creating Virtual Sharps in the […]
Instances to Vary You all have probably used Instance to Skip, but have you used Instances to Vary? SOLIDWORKS has created this great tool to use when you want to create more complex patterns. Let’s take a look at a simple linear pattern with the spacing of 40mm with 8 instances. A design change has taken place and an equally spaced linear pattern is no longer needed. Rather than creating multiple linear patterns or some […]
Belt/Chain Assembly Feature Belt/Chain Assembly Feature simulates a belt, chain, pulley or sprocket. It has the ability to include more than two components. This feature adds appropriate mates and relations to give you that desired rotational results. It will also create a sketch containing arcs and lines describing the path of the belt. SOLIDWORKS will calculate the length of the belt depending on the positions of the pulleys, chain or sprocket. The other cool part about this […]
Simulation Deformed Result A customer created a SOLIDWORKS Simulation Static study. Got the results ok. However, the Displacement Results did not show how the part will deform or flex (see image below).
Sheet Metal Options In previous SOLIDWORKS versions, there were no Sheet Metal Bodies options. In SOLIDWORKS 2017, there is now a global setting that can control whether sheet metal bodies follow the parameters defined in the Sheet Metal folder in the FeatureTree. You can find these new selects in Tools>Options>Document Properties>Sheet Metal. Notice the new selections under New Sheet Metal Bodies. Override Default Parameter Override Bend Allowance Parameters Override Auto Relief Parameters When all […]
System Options for Interoperability When opening a neutral file (stp, parasolid, iges…) in SOLIDWORKS 2016 and older, you’re going to get this dialog box, notice the Option button. After clicking the Options button, the Import Options dialog box will appear. Some neutral file options may look a little different. When doing a “save as” or exporting a sheet metal part as a DXF file you’ll see this. Notice the Options button. After clicking the […]
When editing a sketch and the part is rotated in an unusual or awkward way, you might want those dimensions easier to read so you can make changes on the fly. Out of the box, SOLIDWORKS has an option unchecked that may help you when checked. Have you heard of Display dimension flat to screen? Many haven’t. Let’s take a look at this setting. See the image below, awkward rotation with the sketch shown. You can hardly read the dimension. That’s […]
If your looking to save some time, let SOLIDWORKS do the work for you. Replace Component is an awesome command. Say there is a design change, the components are similar but not the same. For example these pins. Standard Pin (top) and Custom Pin (bottom) Rather than deleting the component and mating them all over again, just replace it. We want to replace the standard pin in the assembly below with the custom pin. Let me show you how easy it […]
In the last week or so, I have taken a few calls asking. “Why can’t I rotate my model a full 360 degrees”? The solution is quite simple. Your ‘Rotate About Scene Floor’ option is checked. It’s actually a cool feature. When this is checked, it locks the vertical axis in relation to the front view during view rotation. This prevents the model from tipping and tilting about the horizontal plane and creates the impression that the model is on […]