Nonetheless, barring the aptitude you have for engineering and design and your eye-jabbing hand coordination, these ten ‘attributes’ are the absolute most crucial items to get down in order to have a successful boost to any career that requires using SolidWorks.
We’ll knock them out a couple at a time 1) to give me time to write them and 2) so they don’t rot to quickly before you consume them. So let me ask you, what is your skill level?
Novice, Intermediate or Advanced?
It’s nice that everyone fits snuggly into those three categories huh? How do you define your SolidWorks skill set? Some may better fit into – Help-me, Frustrated, or I-Don’t-Care.
However, constructing a strong foundation for modeling in SolidWorks, one you can build on, doesn’t require knowing absolutely every feature and feather about the software. It’s quite the opposite and we’ll focus on ten aspects that will allow you to really grasp how to use SolidWorks for the greatest benefit.
To use SolidWorks effectively, no matter what your skill level, you’ll need to master…
1. How to Start a Model
This doesn’t mean how to open a part. I’m talking directly about looking at an object sitting on your desk or imagining a concept and putting that into SolidWorks. This can be overwhelming, but break it down into it’s individual parts or features. Look at the object or idea like this.
- What is the main component?
- Will it require supporting structure?
- What features does it have (revolve, fillets, draft, complex surfaces)?
- Does it have symmetry?
- Do I need to show motion (multiple parts)?
After you determine a few or those issues, start with the main component and choose a profile that provides a way to start the model with the fewest features. Look for profiles that:
- have the most defining features (corners, slots, gaps, etc)
- can be used to control surfaces and other features
- have a common start point (origin) or centerline
- define the internal structure
- similar to other version of the same component
Overall you want to look at the component or think of the concept as a whole, but break it down to the individual parts. It’s easier at that point to model the individual pieces and determine how to add the other pieces if you’re creating an assembly.
2. How Relations Works
SolidWorks, by default, adds a lot of Automatic Relations. Relations tell sketch entities (lines, endpoints, curves) what to do. For example, a relation tells an endpoint to stay on the ‘Midpoint’ of a line. Relations can also be dimensions.
When you select sketch entities you’ll see Relations they have and Relations you can add in the PropertyManager to the left.
Relations are important because the help ‘fully-defined’ a sketch – having every point and line locked down by Relations. By default, this changes the sketch entities from blue to black. Having a fully-defined sketch keeps geometry located where you want it and helps the models load faster.
When you’re working in a sketch you want to pay attention to the relations that are added automatically. They’re usually needed, but sometimes they can create conflicts that over-define the sketch. Ideally, the Automatic Relations and the ones you add yourself help fully-define the sketch so everything moves the way you want it to – so a line stays vertical or a circle stays one inch away from a line.
If you’re having trouble getting sketches to do what you want them to do, check the relations first.
- Select the line, endpoint or centerpoint
- Look at the PropertyManager to see what relations exist
- Select and delete a Relation in the PropertyManager
Alternatively, you can display and get more info about your relations.
- Use Tool, Relations, Display/Delete…
- Select multiple by holding down control and selecting relations
- Suppress to turn off relations temporarily
- Delete to completely remove the relations
There are also a few tricks to working with relations:
- You can make a line coincident with a arc or circle centerpoint
- Parallel, Perpendicular and Intersection are often redundant relations
- The Symmetric Relations is the most helpful and under-used
- Limit External Relations to speed up changes
- Hit Ctrl-Z (undo) if you over-define something and don’t know what is was
- or have SolidWorks automatically solve it for you
That takes care of the first two. Next we’ll talk about assemblies and what’s important to know about those. But I’m wondering, is there anything you would add to the two above?
