The Most Obscure SolidWorks Feature Combos. What are Yours?

by Josh on September 3, 2008 · Comments

There’s nearly 8 ways to create the same 3D model in SolidWorks… along with the 4 other ways. That’s a lot of flexibility, but many of the features just don’t get the use they deserve until someone shows them how to bring forth the hammer of power that is all the crazy, little SolidWorks feature combos you’ve never thought of.

You could stack up a bunch of extrusion, planes and cuts to create, oh, something like your grandpa’s favorite boxy, yet creepy, dead robot guy.

However, there’s other features out there and probably a few you have in your own 3D CAD tool belt as well. What is the most obscure combination of features you use? Here’s some simple ones I use that have 3 out of 4 engineers (at my office) thinking a bit differently.

Thin Extrude Up to Surface
Extrude. What we all start with, but have you tried combining multiple options within the extrude command? Try this. Create a surface. Sketch another profile. Now extrude a thin feature up to the surface with a little dab of draft. It’s a little tricky and may need some adjustment, but comes in handy for plastic parts, creating forms and doing a quick contour mock-ups.

Download Example File

Multiple revolve offset
Revolve. Probably one of the first features we tried out when starting in SolidWorks. The revolve feature is one of the most fun for sure. There’s a combo I like that goes like this. Sketch a profile and revolve it 32 degrees. start a sketch on the flat face, sketch-offset and revolve that another 32 degrees. Try it with different revolved profiles, add fillets and shells. It’s odd, but yeah, good for plastic parts, machined parts, designs for lighting, architecture and furniture.

Download Example File

Midsurface Extend and Trim
Now surfacing is one of the most under utilized tools. You can expand your modeling possibilities by understanding a few simple commands. Here’s one set. Simple but effective for a lot of surfacing from plastic parts to vacuum formed parts, furniture, etc. I also use this method to create surface models for stress analysis. Surface-midplane, extend, trim.

Download example model

50+ points for a combo attack
I think it’s downright interesting to see how people use a set of features to create a model. It’s one really unique thing about history-based, feature-driven modeling. It also shows the intentional, and often random, train of thought that goes into the design. These are just three very simple feature combos that I hope help you explore some more ideas and maybe some more efficient way to create your models.

I’m betting you have others, maybe even cooler and more complicated ones. BRING’em ON. Email an example to josh (at) solidsmack (dot) com, and I’ll post it for everyone to glean from your wisdom. What are your favorite feature combos to use?

UPDATE:
Jeff Mowry from Industrial Design Haus submitted this one called SpiralSpiralSpiral. Check it out!

pixel robot from Stick-a-Thing

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Comments

Tagged as: feature-tips, solidworks, tips

  • SmackReader
    sweep(twist along path)+extrude+intersection curve=helix of any shape:
    http://www.swgeeks.com/forum/topic/show?id=2064...
  • Well, there's the atomic bomb fillet, which uses split line, delete face and fill surface. This makes almost any fillet intersection work.

    Sometimes i use a surface offset, trim and then thicken to make a lip/groove on a plastic part.

    For weird combos there's the 3D sketch and extrude in a direction. Geez, that one makes my head hurt.

    And then its not a combo, but it's the most complicated single feature I've ever met. It's the Setback fillet using 3 or more variable radius fillets intersecting at a point. Wacked, but very cool feature. I actually use it now and then.

    This one's a pain. When you have to manually shell a part that has fillets, you offset surfaces, then untrim or extend and then trim. Yuck.

    And then there is the combine everything into one trick that you can do with the Fill feature. Fill allows you to create the fill, knit the fill into the surrounding surface bodies, and then if appropriate thicken the knit into a solid.

    Or you can use the Fill directly on a solid body and the Fill does basically a Replace Face automatically.

    When this stuff works, it's amazing.
  • My favorites, the Fill Surface of Death/Black Hole, and the Patented Shove Technique. Camtasia video coming soon.

    Ok the FSOD isn't really useful, but the PST is.
  • razon
    My fav - simple 2d line then cut extrude with thin feature (at your selected width) instead of drawing a rectangle or any other shape for cutting into a solid ,its a huge time saver .

    for these black days when draft doesn't work on your molded plastic design try also to use move face - rotate at your specified angle ,or if you have a complicated spline wall that needs to be drafted just chamfer it at very small angles .

    assembly is for pussies ! do everything in a single part - when finished building your product insert each body into a single part file and reinsert them 2gether into an assembly in order to move and play with them .
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