The 10+ Best SolidWorks Tips to Teach Someone Else

by Josh on July 23, 2008 · Comments

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I occasionally choose to point the fire hose of SolidWorks tips and information into an unsuspecting person’s face without realizing how overwhelming it can be.

A few hours later I see the the expressionless blank stare of a skinless and slightly tattered face gazing, begging me to stop.

A few tips to simply get started will do just fine, thank you.

The Top 12 SolidWorks Tips
Some of you have a bunch of tips for new users, and some of you wish those people would stop the flow of info for a few minutes while you catch up. So, I stopped, sat down and wrote out my top 12 favorite SolidWorks tips. The first tips I thought of that I would want anyone to know that is just starting out or wants better results out of SolidWorks.

Group project
Ya know what… for a little fun, I may turn this into a group project. If you have better tips that make more sense, I’ll replace some of mine or add yours to the rest. We’ll keep it under twenty for now and keep the fire hose at a small trickle. Here are the top 12.

Tips for Sketches

Add relations, then dimensions
This will keep you from having to many unnecessary dimension. For me, this help to show the user how to build intent models much better. I dimension what geometry I intend to modify or adjust.
Link Dimensions
You can select two dimensions, right-click on the and select Link Values to control both dimensions. Think of a cube. Link all three dimensions controlling it, you change one and all update. No equations required. This really helps when modifying thickness of parts.
Use Sketch Patterns to Control Features
I’ve written about this in a previous post. This prevents 1) a lot of extra features to manage and 2) a lot of extra mates to manage. Basically, you’ll save time by creating a sketch pattern to copy features and using a component pattern to copy components. It’s fast and simple.
Use symmetry
If possible and if it makes sense, model things symmetrically around the origin using the Symmetric relation. Even if the part is not symmetrical, the way it attaches or is manufactured will have symmetry. This shows those aspects of the design process have been considered.

Tips for Parts

Model around the origin
This is great for beginners because it gives them a point of reference. It’s also great for experts for the same reason. I really don’t know how else you would start, but sometimes I see parts that are just drawn out in open space. Maybe I’m too structured, but please, for my sanity, lock things down to the origin.
Create and name configurations
It’s one thing to create configurations of a part. It’s a whole other mess to make sure it’s named and uses all the correct custom properties. Set up a procedure for this so it’s the same across the company. For example, if your main part is a 555A8-001, name the configurations 555A8-002, 555A8-003, etc., instead of version 1, version 2 etc. It’s just dang easier to determine what is being used.
Create a Library
Yeah, this is one of those things that takes time to set-up and do, but you’ll be happy about it after. Even with the disect tool in 2008, I still find it better to have a folder in the Design Library that is a common location for the entire company for parts, assemblies and templates that have gone through a check process and are modeled correctly.
Manufacture it
Look at it from a manufacturing perspective. Not necessarily how someone in a shop would make it, but how you would make it too. Are the features able to be made? Does it need a relief cut? Is that draft sufficient?

Tips for Assemblies

Mate to a central part
This is particular to bottom-up assemblies, the type you throw parts into and mate to each other. All your mates should lead back to one central component. For example, two brackets are attached together. Lock the main bracket down to the origin. Mate the other bracket to the first one instead of to the origin. Just think of how parts are actually interfacing with each other and mate them accordingly.
Make simplified configurations of assemblies
It’s easy to open an assembly in View-only mode or Selective open mode, but it can be even more useful to create a configuration that is a simplified representation of the assembly. This may be just the external parts being shown, the hardware suppressed or the entire assembly stripped of the most complicated components. Define a system for reducing assembly data while showing the detail you need and your assemblies become much easier to work with.
Use sketches to drive assemblies
I’ve discussed Sketch-Driven Assemblies here and Layout Sketches here. This depends on the type of assembly you are creating, but you can sketch the layout to control the envelope, guide surfaces… pretty much whatever you’re modeling can be created by using sketches to drive every aspect of the design. It’s just a little different way of thinking about assemblies.

Tip for Drawings

Keep them simple
There’s only one and I could harp on it forever, but I would get bored and die. I like working with AutoCAD converts on drawings first because they understand shortcuts. Don’t get offended, that’s a good thing. SolidWorks doesn’t require the rough-it-in approach to drawings views, so instead of being concerned if a line is trimmed to the correct point, you can focus on views and the information those views are showing or not showing. If it’s not providing information, get rid of it.

So, are these it? I imagine you have some others. If its good stuff, I’ll add them in. Whatcha got?

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Comments

Tagged as: solidworks, tips

Eric

1. Rename datum planes in templates as XY, XZ, YZ. "Front", "Side", and "Top" have no meaning to me, and SolidWorks has an XYZ coordinate system, so why hide it behind arbitrary names? I use capital letters for assembly datums, and lower case for part datums.

2. Add datum axes X-axis, Y-axis, Z-axis to templates. The axes are very useful for feature design and mating.

3. Name features (mentioned above). This helps future users, plus yourself once tree gets long.

4. Use Comments. This is really helpful for identifying the purpose of obscure datum planes or features that you don't want to accidentally delete when you are cleaning up the tree. I wish there was an option to "LOCK" features so they couldn't be deleted without the comment popping up.

ian

model tree: Oh for the love of god please re-name the features you create. It drives me up the wall when i open a complicated part that someone wants me to modify and all of their extrudes are named exturde1-10^293487123

Josh M

That's a great one Ian! That drives me crazy too.

Cheech

By the way, is that kramer on the picture?

Josh M

Yep, THE Michael Richards back in 1989 in the Movie UHF with Weird Al. That scene where he turns the firehose on is great!

Cheech

1. Tree view:
I always like to keep it neat and clean:
I start with the most relevant assemblies then the most relevant parts, then, least relevant assemblies and parts. Whenever there’s a group of parts & assemblies that didn’t get their own sub-assembly, I like to open a special folder for it. Sometimes it’s also nice to save screws and bolts in a “fasteners” folder.

2. Assemblies:
You should always minimize the number of patterns, if 2 patterns can fit into one feature, then why not?
(2b) Also, it's always better to use a feature pattern instead of linear/circular pattern, if it's possible.

3. Sketches:
It’s impossible to suppress an entity, so instead you can use “for geometry” so that you can save a group of entities without using them physically in your model.

4. Post design:
After you finish your design there’s a chance that your parts/assemblies will be used some place else (another project). You should remove these links (mates/relations) because they tend to brake when you use them in a different project (turning from -> to ->?). so you should go to all features that include the -> symbol and start replacing the mate/relation with an autonomous one. For example, instead of using an “equal” relation between an entity in your sketch and an edge in another part, you should use a dimension that “locks” the length of the entity. This way it’s possible to use you parts in other projects. This step is efficient usually in the post design step because you’re “killing” the relations between parts/assemblies in your project.

Josh M

Wow, really good list of tips Cheech. I like the idea about having a post design review, although I think it depends on getting rid of the in-context relations. Makes sense if it will be re-used, but going through that process should wait till no more changes could happen. THanks!

Bruce Buck

I thought feature patterns rebuilt faster than sketch patterns? Is this not the case anymore?

Blue.....BLUUUUEE! Ah that picture brought back memories

Josh M

yeah, but some patterns you just can't do with feature patterns. I'd prefer the feature patterns, but I guess I was aiming at the exception for when you need to pattern items that are not in a straight line or circle.

Soup

A few additional tips:

* Think about how you build a part and assemblies. Make sure that if you need to change one of them in the future, the file does light up the feature tree in red. Modeling is as much a thought process, as it is a raw shape manipulation. The Theory of Parametic Modeling is to be respected.

* Learn differing ways to model. One example is:
-Cut away - like taking a block of clay of overall size of object, and cutting away until the object is created. Very handy to do if you are making a "family" of complex parts.

* Lock as much as you can down. Sketches most importantly. They control how your model will react to dimensional changes. Not locking down the sketch, means the model may react in unpredictable ways. It is best to make the relationships in relation to things that are constant. I prefer origin, planes, and axises.

Rod_Uding

Most excellent post Mr Ming. I think I abide by most of tips posted. The ones I have not been doing and should are the "Use Sketch Patterns to Control Features" and "Create a Library".

Ivan

Yes, I too have seen parts drawn in thin air, not locked down to anything.... why oh why... I can't stand blue (undefined) sketches. My tip for drawings is to put yourself in the clients shoes, or manufacturer, etc... and see what info they will need. I know that sounds obvious but I've seen many 'newer' users leave important stuff out and put in useless info (re: your tip, keep it simple). I make it a habit to look back at the big picture and pretend I've never seen this project before, and does everything make sense, is it all clear. I see many things easily cause I've been working with the 3D model all day, not so for the shop guys.