Being able to incorporate SOLIDWORKS Composer files into a Word document or a PDF gives more flexibility to share information with manufacturers and assemblers. Even if a user doesn’t have SOLIDWORKS Composer downloaded on their machine, incorporating an SMG file into a Word document or a PDF can be a way to communicate efficiently using Composer files. In this lesson, you will see how to link SOLIDWORKS Composer file into a Word Document and a PDF as well as show how different configurations can be loaded in the same document.

It is common practice to update parts and assemblies, but in a SOLIDWORKS Composer file, it is difficult to make substantial design changes since it is not a native SOLIDWORKS CAD software. However, it is simple to update SOLIDWORKS Composer actors and assemblies. All you have to do is select the components, and then choose “Update”. This relieves the headache of needing to update everything externally in SOLIDWORKS. In this lesson, individual actors as well as the whole assembly will be updated to show the updating capabilities of SOLIDWORKS Composer.

Exploded views can be created in SOLIDWORKS Composer and are incredibly helpful when trying to show all the components used in an assembly, or for showing how to assemble, disassemble, or repair the assembly. Exploded views can also be used for other purposes such as showing off a design by a marketing team. In this lesson, an exploded view and detailing the individual components will be shown by adding labels to each part in the assembly.

Animations provide an extra visual representation of how an assembly can be put together, taken apart, and shows the order in which parts are added. Animations compliment exploded views incredibly well and help manufacturers and assemblers understand exactly how the components come together. Animations also serve as a great marketing tool, as they can show off the complexities of the design as well as how refined the final product is. In this lesson, an Animation will be created in SOLIDWORKS Composer by exploding additional components in this assembly.

Since vector graphics scale without distorting the image, they are very useful when trying to insert images into other documents, such as a PDF or a Word doc. Vector images also allow for a clean professional look for marketing purposes. In this lesson, you'll see detail views added to this exploded view and create a vector image of both of them.

The Digger tool is a patented technology in SOLIDWORKS Composer that allows you to zoom into a part, create detail views and fade away actors in order to see internal components or mechanisms. Using the Digger tool allows users to easily create detail views of interior components of an assembly without having to manually hide actors in the assembly. Additionally, this tool helps give a better understanding of actors and assemblies with its ability to zoom into any specific portion of a part or assembly. In this lesson, you'll see how the Digger tool can be used to create multiple detail views of both the exterior and some interior areas of an assembly.