• Click Here to Download YOUR Free 30 Day Trial of DriveWorks
  • How to Model a Car in SolidWorks? Click Here!

23 SolidWorks Drawings Features the Robotic Cats Don’t Want You to Know About

by Josh on April 15, 2009 · Comments

It’s not as if robotic cats are out to keep you from gaining knowledge about certain SolidWorks drawing features, but with their hollow gaze and reduced allergens they certainly would have that power in the right cubicle space.

While they’re indeed much more adorable than a stodgy, ol’ FeatureManager in SolidWorks, they won’t provide you near the amount of functionality to complete a drawing in record time. What could these powerful features be? Drawing features, accessed directly via the FeatureManager in a Drawing.

But the drawing’s FeatureManager is useless… just shows the sheets, right? Ahhh, NO. It’s packed with ways to make drawings easier to manage and here’s how you can use it.

It’s over to the right… to the right… give me the freagin’ mouse.
It seems something has hypnotized many SolidWorks users into believing, or just accepting, that the FeatureManager in SolidWorks isn’t all that useful. Maybe it’s those dang cats. But it’s there, and there are a lot of ways drawings can move along faster by using a few commands via the FeatureManager.

At first it looks like it just sheets for the drawing, but if you expand each item, you’ll eventually see that your model, along with all the wonderful parts and sub-assemblies exist over there… for each drawing view too.

Some of these commands can be accessed on the drawing itself. However, these in particular are easier used through the FeatureManager. Most will be accessed through the Right mouse button (RMB).

    General Functionality

  1. Collapse Items – Collapses Feature Manager
  2. Tree Display – Allows you to shows names/descriptions of your model items
  3. Link external dim text- Adds text you add to dims back into your part or assembly
  4. Move… – Allows you to move the sheet form X and Y
  5. Blocks – Folder that allows you to view, insert and create blocks
  6. Annotations – Folder that allows you to quickly set option for annotations

    7. Sheets

  7. Move Sheets – Drag and Drop sheets to rearrange
  8. Set Lightweight to Resolve - Easily set all views to resolve

    9. Sheet Formats

  9. Define Title Block - Set up a Title Block
  10. Delete Sheet Format – Removes the sheet format completely
  11. Set Anchor – Set table anchors for Rev, BOM and other tables

    12. Views

  12. Zoom to Selection - Quicker if you set up a shortcut key, but this is also available
  13. Move views to new sheet – Drag and drop views into new sheets

    14. Tables

  14. Show Table – Right click on table to show them if hidden

    15. Model Items

  15. Parent/Child - View Parent/Child relation of parts/assemblies
  16. Component Line Font – Change parts to phantom or other line fonts
  17. Show Hidden Edges – show hidden lines of parts you can’t access on screen
  18. Hide Component – Hide parts you can’t access on screen
  19. Open Part – Open parts you can’t access on screen
  20. Zoom to Selection – Zoom to unknown parts in views
  21. Planes – Show planes to reference, move or resize
  22. Dimensioning – Expand to view planes/origins to dimension
  23. Show Sketches – Show sketches for reference of dimensioning

Have any others? I’m typically against working from the FeatureManager as much as possible. That’s easier in the models with the available context menus, but for drawings, you can get a lot done from the FeatureManager… as long as you know what you can do with it. What other things do you use the Drawing FeatureManager for?

(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ... Loading ...
Comments

Tagged as: commands, drawings, featuremanager, robotics cats, workflow

  • That picture was the best laugh I've had in a week. Reminds me of a Muppet movie...

    My favorite from that list is collapse items. I wish there were an expand all...

    My biggest struggle is when a feature can't be defined the way it is to be dimensioned/shown in a drawing. Can't use insert model items for those. I prefer doing that all up front in the model. However, I have to admit that I haven't utilized Annotation Views to its full potential either.

    Man, I need a SolidWorks project stat. I've been away long enough I feel a bit sketchy (no pun intended). I've been using NX, and I have to say, it seems like you can do a lot more with just the mouse. I find myself designing now, laid back in the chair, with my left arm chillin' on the armrest, and my right arm/hand clickity-click-clickn' away at the mouse. Seems kinda nice, but I don't think I'm exactly being more productive.
  • Bruce, since you brought up the Annotation Views in your comment I have to ask you, have you found decent documentation or tutorial explaining it. It is one tool I would like to use except I really am having a difficult time getting a grasp on it. It just does not seem to work they way I think it should.
  • To be honest, I haven't even looked at the documentation. And I get the feeling there may not be much there, but from what I understand, that would be the purpose of Annotation Views: to set up your dimensioning/tolerancing in the model, so that it's ready to go in the drawing. Still don't know how detail and section views would work.

    Honestly, I'm still trying to find an employer that has suppliers that don't need drawings and use the ASME Y 14.41 standard. I loathe drawings.
  • Ha! Thanks Bruce, glad you like the pic.

    I know... there's frustrating things about drawings. Being able to dim to curved edges and radii is one of my big hang-ups. Always have to add manual lines to show what dim to maintain.

    What you say about NX has got me wondering... would love to see how you work or a comparison of what it is. I feel the same way when using acad actually. I don't know the shortcut keys as well, so I'm clicking a lot more, even though I do have my left hand up there for some shortcuts.

    anyway, thanks for the comment man!
  • Ok, just some things off the top of my head. The main areas of difference seem to be selection, and commands.

    For instance, for selecting multiple bodies, edges, features, etc. you have to hit Ctrl and left click. In NX, you just left click, and keep clicking. If you need to deselect, however, you have to Shift-Left click, so that might be a wash. But if you're left hand is busy picking your nose, you can still deselect all in NX with a toolbar icon.

    Also, in SW, to complete a command, most of the time you have to click the Check/Confirm with the mouse, or hit Enter. In NX, to complete the command, or move on to the next step, you just middle-click.

    In NX, middle-click will rotate, just like SW, but left-middle will zoom, right-middle will pan. Zoom fit or Zoom extents is either right-click->fit, or simply hold right click and use the quick shortcut. Once you get good, a flick of the wrist and you're back to fit. Again, F in SW is just as fast (ok that didn't sound good), but you won't have your left hand free to down that Diet Vanilla Coke or talk on the phone that angry customer.

    I may be wrong on all counts on these, since I haven't played with 2009, and I may just be a loser, so if someone knows how to do these things in SW, I'd appreciate a good schooling.
  • Eric
    I want to know why I cannot show dimensions for a sketch or feature by finding it in the Feature Tree and then right-clicking it? Showing dimensions in SW is one of the most frustrating things for me. It should be very easy, but always seems to be difficult.
  • are you wanting to show model dims or dims you add to the drawing that are hidden?

    first , make sure that View, All Annotations is on.

    second, if you've hidden them, you can show them with View, Hide/Show Annotations

    hope this helps you out Eric!
  • Eric
    I want to show model dims. I know a lot of people don't think in a dimensioning scheme that will be used to measure the part while they are modeling, but I can't figure out why. If I need to change a dimension, or if anyone else needs to change it, having it in the drawing seems like the best place to do it. I don't know why people don't see the benefit of showing model dimensions.

    I don't have any issues with seeing created dimensions in the drawing, it is showing the model dimensions that seems to be difficult. I don't like that I have to select the sketch to see the dimensions for a feature, if I select the feature it should show the dimensions for that feature (including the sketch dimensions).

    I don't do many drawings, but the ones I end up doing seem to be a hassle. I've been using SW for 2 years, but I used ProE for 13 years prior. I have to say that PTC seems to have a better drawing package. At least that is my current experience.
  • all right! here we go. The quickest way I've found to do this is to create the dims in your model. By default they are "Marked for Drawing" so when you "Insert Model Items" they show up. This however can really crowd the views.

    So, after you create your dimension in the model, box select the dims you don't want to show up, right-click and deselect "Marked for Drawing"

    If you have Instant3D turned on, you can get the dims to show up when you click on the feature. You can then select each dim and deselect "Mark for Drawing".

    After that, when you "Insert Model Items" you can select just the "Marked for Drawing" items and go from there. Also, you can drag-and-drop dimensions from view to view or copy them by holding down "CTRL".

    Hope this gives you a little more ammo for working with drawings!
  • Friggin robotic cats to worry about now along with robot ninja's. Anyhow, very useful pointers that I need to be constantly reminded of.

    One of my gripes is with the "Hide Component" selection is that you have to know the exact part you need to hide. When you select the part, it does not highlight in the drawing view so you can see it.

    Now your next task is to do a video showing all these items in action heh heh.
  • They're out to get us I tell ya.

    That is very rough on large assemblies. This is one thing they need to steal from 3DVia Composer - the ability to quickly onion skin through a view and select components.
blog comments powered by Disqus