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The measure command is probably the single most used tool in the arsenal of SolidWorks Tools. But, if you’re slappin’ holes and fillets all over your models and someone ask you to measure a minimum distance between holes, what do you do?
I’ve seen some start a sketch and proceed to lay out lines and dimensions, but did you know you can get minimum and maximum measurements with the measure tool? It’s true.
Check this out. Say your manager asks you, “What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?” Well, I’m sorry, he’s gone a bit loopy, but this link may help you. On the other hand, if he asks you, “What is the minimum distance between that hole and that edge?” this tip you’re reading may help you. Here’s what to do.
Select the edges of the hole and the edge
As long as one or both of the edges you select is an Arc or Circle this will work.
Select the measure tool
Better yet, set up a shortcut key (Tools, Customize, Keyboard) to activate it. I use the M key. This cute little box pops up.
Choose your measurement
That command up to the left is what you want to use. It’s called the Circle/Arc Measurement. The default measurement is to the center of circles, but with this you can choose to measure minimum distance or maximum distance. See below.
What’s missing?
All the other combinations, that’s what. You can select minimum to minimum, but not min to max or center to max. For this you would have to start a sketch and get some points to select. Uhg, I know. It hasn’t been added (yet) in 2008 either. Keep hope alive and although it’s not perfect, it will give you a little more to work with.
Center to Center Measurement (default)
Min to Min Measurement
Max to Max Measurement
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I have used this option in the measure tool a lot! It is very handy by keeping me from using my calculator to find the distance since I would probably fat finger a number and mess up the calculation.
It is always a good thing to review the tools we use the most and be reminded of the options available for us to use to make our job simpler and easier.
Thanks for the review of the measure tool Josh!
Hey, no problem. I didn’t know about this for who knows how long and then I actually looked at those buttons one day and was like, hmm, a pulldown, looky there!
Is that an African or a European swallow?
hahaha.. huh..uh…i don’t know that…ahhhhhgggg!!!
The Black Knight would know the answer!
I fart in your general di-rection… But seriously, measure is one of my favorite commands. Especially when one of the engineers or the machine shop needs a specific dimension that isn’t called out on the drawing. It’s also a great command to make sure a fillet won’t tear out when they go to mill it or throw it on the lathe to shave a couple thousandths off. Yeah it took me almost a year to realize that was there. Good post Josh!
For me, the measure tool is absolutly bad dream. The simple example is on this link - http://svobodne.net/temp/two_planes_circles.jpg
There are circle on the front plane and other circle on the right plane. The areas of circles are intersect. I notify that centers of circles arn´t on verticaly line.
If you take min to min or max to max it has same effect. And what is very wrong, that the measure tool is not able to measure their points of quadrant…
I attach sldprt file - http://svobodne.net/temp/two_planes_circles.SLDPRT
Gale, that is an EXCELLENT example of how it doesn’t work very well. I hope it is updated to use quadrant locations or take measurements from center to max. One way around this is to put sketch points into the sketches you’ve shown us. This is the quickest way to get some points to measure to.
These can then be dimesioned on the part or assembly and then “Marked for Drawing” so you don’t have to dimension it again in a drawing.