Learn how to create a part for the Certified SOLIDWORKS Professional sample exam. Create bosses, cuts, holes, fillets, and chamfers. Apply material and determine the mass properties of the part.
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.
Create exploded views in multibody parts using some of the same tools that you use to create an exploded view in an assembly. Toggle between exploded and collapsed states. Edit the explode steps. Create more than one exploded view per configuration.
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.
The Indent command will form an impression of a selected tool body in a selected target body of a part. By using the options within the Indent command, a simple cut, thickness, or clearance can be formed around the tool body region. Understand the options within the Indent command. Create an Indent feature to form faces of a part around selected tool bodies. Use the Delete Body command to remove tool bodies from the part.
The Combine command makes use of separate solid bodies within a part. By using this tool, solid bodies volumes can be added together, subtracted, or produce a solid from the common volume between bodies. The Combine command makes use of separate solid bodies within a part. By using this tool, solid bodies volumes can be added together, subtracted, or produce a solid from the common volume between bodies. Use the Subtract option within the Combine tool to subtract one solid body from another. Use the Common option within the Combine tool to result in a solid produced from the intersection of solid bodies.
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.
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.
Use the loft feature or boundary feature to create a transition that blends well with the surrounding geometry. Set the tangency options for a boundary feature to match the curvature of the neighboring faces. Join two portions of a model that have different profiles. Examine the options for building a boundary feature.
Create a variable radius fillet where you set the radius value at selected vertices and control points. Also, you can set the radius to zero to force the fillet to converge to a point. Create a fillet where the radius varies along the selected edge. Modify the radius value at vertices or control points. Create zero radius fillets where the fillet must converge to a point.
Create 3D sketches using the default coordinate system of the model to orient the sketch entities. Add relations and dimensions to constrain the size of the sketch entities. Use the on-screen feedback when sketching. Use planes to orient 3D sketch entities. Change the sketch plane by pressing the Tab key or by using a plane or planar face. Display multiple viewports to modify 3D sketch entities.
Apply options to constant radius fillets to modify adjacent features, faces, and edges. Use options to control geometry in a constant radius fillet. Keep or eliminate features contained within the fillet region. Set the overflow type to determine how fillets behave when they are larger than the available space. Smooth corners where two fillets edges meet.
Create face fillets to modify and repair imported geometry. Define the size and shape of the fillet using selected faces and edges instead of a constant radius value. Use options such as Curvature continuous, Constant width, Tangent propagation, and Hold lines to define the face fillet. Modify imported geometry using a face fillet. Ensure curvature continuity with faces adjacent to the fillet. Set a constant chord length of a fillet. Define a stopping edge, or hold line, for a face fillet.
Create an intersect feature to represent the fluid inside a bottle. Then, use the mass properties tool to determine the volume of the feature you created. Create a configuration to represent the liquid in the bottle. Create a reference plane to represent the fill level of the bottle. Use an intersect feature to model the liquid inside a bottle. Use mass properties to determine the volume of a solid body.
