copyright - planchard 2012 solidworks basic concepts stephen h. simmons tdr 200

Copyright - Planchard 2012

SolidWorks Basic Concepts

Stephen H. Simmons

TDR 200


SolidWorks Basic Concepts• SolidWorks® is a mechanical design automation

software package (tool) used to build parts, assemblies and drawings that takes advantage of the familiar Microsoft® Windows graphical user interface.

• SolidWorks provides various analysis tools, (SolidWorks Simulation, SolidWorks Motion, SolidWorks Flow Simulation, Sustainability, etc.)


SolidWorks Basic Concepts• Associativity. Model dimensions between parts,

assemblies and drawings ensure that changes made to one document are automatically made to all other documents.

• Sketches are the foundation for creating features. SolidWorks provides the ability to create either 2D or 3D sketches.

• A 2D sketch is limited to a flat 2D Sketch plane located on a reference plane, face or a created place.– Three default reference planes


SolidWorks Basic Concepts• Does it matter where you start sketching? • Yes! When you create a new part or assembly, the

three default reference planes are aligned with specific views.

• The plane or face you select for your first sketch determines the orientation of the part. This is very important.

• In SolidWorks, the name used to describe a 2D or 3D profile is called a sketch.– Open vs. closed profile. What's the differences?


SolidWorks Basic Concepts• Use Construction geometry to assist in creating your

sketch entities and geometry that are ultimately incorporated into the part.

• Construction geometry is ignored when the sketch is used to create a feature.

• Construction geometry uses the same line style as a centerline.


SolidWorks Basic Concepts (Cont:)• Document. A SolidWorks file containing a part,

assembly or drawing.• SolidWorks model. Consist of 3D solid geometry in a

part or assembly document. Typically, you begin with a sketch, create a Base feature, and then add additional features to your model. Note: You can also begin with an imported surface or solid geometry.

• Feature. The individual shapes that, when combined, make up the part. You can also add some types of features to assemblies.

• Direction of Extrusion. Normal to the Sketch plane.


SolidWorks Basic Concepts (Cont:) • Refining the design. Perform the following types of

editing feature operations:– Rollback the part to the state it was in before a selected

feature was added either with the:

• Edit the definition, the sketch, or the properties of a feature by:– Selecting the feature or sketch in the FeatureManager. The

Pop-up Context toolbar is displayed. Select the Edit command.

– Selecting the feature or sketch in the FeatureManager, right-click in the Graphics window. The Feature dialog box is displayed. Select the Edit command.


SolidWorks Basic Concepts (Cont:) • Edit the definition, the sketch, or the properties of a

feature by (Cont):– Control the access to selected dimensions. Click on either a

feature or sketch in the FeatureManager or Graphics window. View the illustrated dimensions.

– View the Parent and Child relationships of a feature.– Use the feature handles to move and resize features.– Modify the order in which features are reconstructed when

the part is rebuilt.


SolidWorks Basic Concepts (Cont:) • Geometric Constraint. SolidWorks supports

numerous constraints. Constraints are geometric relations such as: Perpendicular, Horizontal, Parallel, Vertical, Coincident, Concentric, etc.

• Associativity. Model dimensions between parts, assemblies and drawings ensure that changes made to one document are automatically made to all other documents.


SolidWorks Basic Concepts (Cont:) • SolidWorks utilizes default colors to indicate status of

sketches and features. Default colors indicate the status of a sketch. Color indicates the state of individual sketch entities.

• Sketches are generally defined in one of the following states:– Under defined - Prefix (-) The sketch is displayed in red.– Fully defined - No prefix The sketch is displayed in black.– Over defined - Prefix (+) The sketch is displayed in blue.

• Fully define your sketch when possible.


SolidWorks Basic Concepts (Cont:) • Right-click Select to deselect a tool, and to select

geometry and sketch entities.• The Instant3D tool provides the ability to drag

geometry and dimension manipulator points to resize and create features directly in the Graphics window. Click the face. Select a manipulator point. Click and drag. Click a location along the ruler for the required dimension. The rule increments are set in System Options.


SolidWorks Basic Concepts (Cont:) • The process of placing the mouse pointer over an

existing arc to locate its center point is call “wake up”.• An assembly is a document that contains two or more

parts. An assembly inserted into another assembly is called a sub-assembly. A part or sub-assembly inserted into an assembly is called a component.

• Establishing the correct component relationship in an assembly requires forethought on component interaction. Mates are geometric relationships that align and fit components in an assembly.


SolidWorks Basic Concepts (Cont:) • Mates remove degrees of freedom from a

component. Mates reflect the physical behavior of a component in an assembly.

• If you delete a mate and then recreate it, the mate numbers will be in a different order.


SolidWorks Basic Concepts (Cont:) • A SolidWorks drawing displays 2D and 3D views of a

part or assembly. • The foundation of a SolidWorks drawing is the

drawing template. Drawing size, drawing standards, company information, manufacturing, and or assembly requirements, units and other properties are defined in the drawing template.


SolidWorks Basic Concepts (Cont:) • The sheet format is incorporated into the drawing

template. The sheet format contains the border, title block information, revision block information, company name and or logo information, Custom Properties and SolidWorks Properties.

• Custom Properties and SolidWorks Properties are shared values between documents.

• When a dimension in the drawing is modified, the part or the assembly is automatically updated.


SolidWorks Basic Concepts (Cont:) • Overall drafting standard. The default setting was chosen and

set during the initial software installation. The default standard during this initial software installation was ANSI. The drop-down menu provides the ability to select the following default drafting standards:

• ANSI. American National Standards Institute• ISO. International Standards Organization• DIN. Deutsche Institute fur Normumg• JIS. Japanese Industry Standard • BSI. British Standards Institution• GOST. Gosndarstuennye State standard• GB. Guo Biao

copyright - planchard 2012 solidworks basic concepts stephen h. simmons tdr 200

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