Insert features in an assembly that exist only in the assembly and not the individual part files. Add a Hole Wizard assembly feature. Create an assembly feature cut to act as a section view. Modify the feature scope to determine which parts are affected by the assembly feature.
Large Design Review mode offers faster performance and enhanced visual features while limiting access to details of constituent parts and subassemblies. Large Design Review mode is ideal for visual presentations, rough measurements, and section views. Open an assembly in Large Design Review mode. Review the available tools and features in Large Design Review mode. Explore the limitations of Large Design Review mode.
Model parts in the context of an assembly, using references to other components to complete the design. The design intent for new parts (sizes of features, placement of components in the assembly, etc.) comes from other components in the assembly. Build a virtual part in the context of an assembly by employing Top-Down assembly modeling techniques. Create features in the assembly context by referencing geometry in mating parts. Understand InPlace mates and external references. Identify external references in the FeatureManager design tree.
Add each of the six mechanical mate types to control the degrees of freedom of components when designing mechanisms. Mate a cylinder, plane, or point to a series of tangent faces with a cam follower mate. Limit the rotational movement between two components with a hinge mate. Move one component linearly to move another component rotationally with a rack and pinion mate. Add a pitch relation between the rotation of one component and the translation of another with a screw mate. Rotate two components relative to one another with a gear mate or a universal joint mate.
Mirror Component creates opposite-hand, but otherwise identical, versions of parts or subassembies. Specify which components are mirrored and which are purely copied (i.e. fasteners, which should not be mirrored). The geometry of a mirrored component changes to create a truly mirrored version, known as an \"opposite-hand\" version. Mirror components about an assembly plane. Create mirrored versions of parts in an assembly. Create opposite-hand versions of parts.
Blocks group sketch entities and dimensions together so that they move as one in a sketch. Together with a layout sketch, you can go directly from an assembly sketch to the full assembly. Create, edit and save blocks. Create a layout sketch of an assembly using blocks. Build assembly components based on the existing blocks.
The Hole Series feature adds holes to multiple components in an assembly. Unlike a typical assembly feature, the Hole Series adds part-level features to the individual components. Create a Hole Series feature in an assembly. Create a Hole Series feature from an existing hole feature. Understand the difference between the Hole Series feature and a typical assembly feature.
Create display states to control the visibility and display style of components. Display states can be linked to configurations of an assembly. Display states can control hide/show state, display mode, appearance, and transparency of components. Add display states to an assembly. Modify visual properties of components with display states. Explore component selection techniques. Use the display pane. Open an assembly to a specific configuration and display state. Link display states to configurations.
By looking at the transitions between spiral surfaces and adjacent surfaces, you can understand the three types of continuity present in CAD systems. Identify C0 (contact), C1 (tangent), and C2 (curvature) continuity.
SOLIDWORKS includes many tools for evaluating part geometry. By analyzing the curvature of a parts curves and surfaces, you can evaluate the quality of transitions between features and the surfaces themselves. Understand what curvature is. Display Curvature to use colors to evaluate the surfaces of a model. Use Curvature Combs to evaluate sketch curves. Learn how to display the minimum radius and inflection points of a curve. Use zebra stripes to simulate reflections on faces of a model. Understand how to use evaluate tools to recognize tangency and curvature continuous conditions.
When the internal cut features of a model are of most importance in a design, one approach is to create solid features that represent the negative space of a part. Once the negative space is complete, the Combine command can be used to subtract the volume from another solid body. Use solid geometry representing the interior space of a manifold to create the negative space of the part. Create a separate solid body surrounding the geometry as the main body of the manifold. Combine the solid bodies in the part using a subtract operation.
When edges of a part are too close to allow for fillets to be created properly, often making use of separate solid bodies can help. Separate features into separate solid bodies. Apply fillets to the individual bodies. Use the Combine command to add the bodies back together. Apply an additional fillet to the part to complete the model.
Learn to use modeling techniques that allow for efficient transition between part design and delivery of the finished castings. Create a motorcycle gear case by designing the production tooling for the part. Start by designing the core, or the negative space, of the gear case. Design the pattern, or outside faces, of the gear case as a separate solid body. Save the tooling bodies as new part files. Combine the solid bodies, subtracting the core from the pattern. Apply machining features to finish the model.
Wrap a flat sketch around a cylindrical or conical surface. A wrap feature can be an embossing type, which adds material, a debossing type, which removes material, or a scribing type, which splits the faces. Locate the sketch plane for a wrap feature. Define the length of a sketch using an equation. Remove material using the deboss option of the wrap feature.
Create 2D or 3D curves defined by mathematical equations. The curve can be explicit where y is a function of x, or parametric where x, y, and z are functions of t. Create a 3D spline using a parametric mathematical equation. Create a sweep feature using one 3D spline as the path and another as the guide curve.
Create a curve through a series of X, Y, and Z points that you type into a dialog box or import from an ASCII text file. Create a curve by typing X, Y, and Z coordinates for the curve\'s through points. Import a set of X, Y, and Z points for a curve\'s through points. Convert a curve into sketch entities.
Set the options of a sweep feature to control the orientation and twist of the profile along the path. Use curvature combs to evaluate the curvature of paths and guide curves. Control the twist of the profile along the path of a sweep.
Learn about the sweep options that control the orientation and twist of the sweep profile along the sweep path. Set the orientation/twist options to control the sweep profile. Understand the difference between "follow path" and "keep normal constant." Use curvature combs to observe the twist in the sweep profile.
Learn the best practices for creating sweep profile sketches. Add relationships between the profile sketch entities and the guide curves. Create sketch relations that ensure the correct shape of the profile along the entire path. Set up the path and guide curves before creating the profile sketch. Add pierce relations between the guide curves and the profile sketch. Create a sweep feature with guide curves. Use perpendicular and parallel relations to define the sweep profile.
Loft creates a feature by making transitions between profiles. A loft can be a base, boss, cut, or surface. By specifying constraints and connection parameters, the desired result can be achieved. Create basic loft feature between two profiles. Refine the shape with a centerline curve, end constraints, and connection points. Select loft profiles and connection points correctly.
Create and modify splines using spline points, relations, control polygons, and spline handles. Splines can have multiple spline points or as few as two spline points. Sketch with splines. Edit the number of spline points. Modify the shape of splines with relations, control polygons, and spline handles.
Copy and derive a sketch to use the original sketch more than once. A copied sketch is not related to the original, whereas a derived sketch changes if the original sketch every changes. Create a derived sketch that retains the same shape as the original sketch. Copy a sketch. Modify the position and dimensions of a sketch. Create a loft through three profile sketches.
Create 2D or 3D sketches where faces of a model intersect the sketch plane or each other. You can use the sketches to determine draft angles, evaluate curvature, as a sweep path, and more. Create 2D sketch entities where selected faces intersect the sketch plane. Create 3D sketch entities where selected faces intersect each other.
Project a sketch onto another sketch to create a curve that represents the cage for a water bottle. Create sketches that represent the overall shape of the water bottle. Project one sketch onto another to create the 3D curve. Create a sweep feature using the 3D curve as the path.
