First introduced in SOLIDWORKS 2020, Detailing mode is an amazing tool to help users open drawings lightning fast. I mean ridiculously fast, like ludicrous speed fast. When it was introduced, Detailing mode worked so fast because SOLIDWORKS did not load model data so you could quickly make updates to drawings that did not require model data. Quick changes like adding dimensions or annotations of existing views no longer needed to wait for excessive load time of large model data, provided […]
Today I want to talk about how to change the unit system in SOLIDWORKS. Before you can learn how to change the unit systems in SOLIDWORKS you should know how it stores and uses the unit system. If you want to skip past the background info and go straight to customizing or changing the unit system in SOLIDWORKS, click here. Access the unit system in SOLIDWORKS The unit system is stored in the System Options – Document Properties tab – […]
Understanding how your sketch relations affect your model will help you avoid errors and unwanted results. Without the proper sketch relations, some commands will fail, results will twist or deform, or break later on in the editing process. The two sketch relations that most commonly get misused or mixed up are Coincident and Pierce. It can be challenging to know when to use the coincident or pierce relationship because in some situations they do appear to behave the same way. […]
Detail views are a great way to convey detail in a part or assembly. The tool in the software defaults to a circle shape to describe the model’s detail. However, there are many times that the shape used to enclose the detail calls for a more robust shape. To utilize a user-defined shape, unique options and setup steps are necessary. Let’s use this example, the body of an electric guitar. The body has many routes and holes for placement of […]
You may have PDFs of legacy parts, technical specification sheets or some that customers have sent that you now want to insert into a SOLIDWORKS drawing to add clarity or update notes. Linking PDF Files You could insert the PDF as a shortcut icon to a linked file. This would allow anyone with the SOLIDWORKS drawing to open the PDF in the PDF viewer of choice. This is useful for quick reference. Here’s how: I. Open SOLIDWORKS drawing you would like to insert the PDF into 2. From menu bar select Insert>Object 3. “Insert […]
When cuts are made into the flat pattern of a rolled sheet metal cylinder (or semi-cylinder), it is not always easy to extract model dimension data in a SOLIDWORKS drawing. Without proper design intent, detailing the flat pattern positions may not work. It might even require some significant user input for proper documentation. When rolled sheet metal cylinders are not set up correctly, the following error may occur when trying to import dimensions: “No dimensions are inserted. The selected feature […]
When working in SOLIDWORKS and creating your own symbols for use in Annotations such as Notes, Dimensions and Tables in Drawings, it is important to understand what is controlling these symbols and how to modify those symbols for your own use. Let’s start by taking a look at some common symbols: When adding these symbols in a Dimension, we can see the syntax typed out in the Dimension Text Box. So where is this syntax defined and how do we […]
Here is a quick trick for dimensioning arcs and circles in SOLIDWORKS. When creating Smart Dimension and clicking on the circles, SOLIDWORKS will attach the dimension to their center points. The SOLIDWORKS setting that controls how the dimension is attached to arcs and circles is called “Arc Condition.” Selecting the dimension, and viewing the property manager, we can easily see our options. By default, the arc conditions will be placed with the “Center” condition. The “First Arc Condition” corresponds to […]
It’s here! SOLIDWORKS 2022 Beta 1 is now available. It’s time to take SOLIDWORKS 2022 for a test drive, check out the new enhancements and participate in the Beta program. What is the Beta Program? Participating in the Beta program is more than just taking the next release of SOLIDWORKS for a test drive. It’s about connecting with the BETA community, interacting with the SOLIDWORKS R&D team to provide your feedback on the new functionality and flexing your SOLIDWORKS skills for […]
Engineers can have a weird sense of humor… I was recently working with one of my colleagues in SOLIDWORKS when he opened up a new drawing template. What I saw was both hilarious and intriguing to me. His drawing didn’t look like a regular old drawing… it had a different background that looked something like this: This made me realize that us engineer’s have an appreciation for the small things, the details, the inside jokes, that lay people might not […]