A Project Based Introduction to

SolidWorks
By: Fred Fulkerson
Table of Contents

1: Getting Started 1
Starting SolidWorks 2
User Interface 2
Starting a Model 4
Feature Manager Design Tree 5
Reference Planes 6
View Cube 7
Tools and Toolbars 8
Hide/Show Items 9
The Sketch Ribbon Bar 9
Docking the Menu Bar 10
Shortcut Keys/Adding Ribbon Commands 11
Mouse Gestures 14
File Types 15
Backing up Files 16
Parent-Child Relationships 16

2: Sketching Basic Entities 18

Lines 18
Fully Defining a Sketch 22
Dimensioning 23
Dimensioning Doubling 24
Arcs 28
Offset 30
Renaming Parts 31
Circle 32
Line/Arc Sketching 33
Sketch Chamfer 35
 Find Intersection 36
Revolved Boss/Base 37
Line Sketching Practice 38
Extrusions 39
Straight Slot / Extrude Cut 41
Corner Rectangle / Extrude Cut 44
Relationships 46
Editing a Sketch 47
Feature Fillets 49
Adding Material 50
Rebuilding 50
Mass Properties 51
Practice 52

3: Custom Templates 56
System Options 56
Customizing Your Templates 59
Drawing Templates 60
Toolbox Customization 62
Copy Settings Wizard 64
Renaming Parts/Drawings/Assemblies 65
Copy and Paste Properties 67

4: Introduction to Drawings 69
Starting a Drawing 69
Adding Views 72
View Style 73
Center Marks 73
Centering the Views 74
Scale 75
Dimensioning the Views 76
Setting the Dimensioning Standard 78
 Moving a Dimension 78
Deleting a Dimension 81
Ordinate Dimensions 81
Adding a Center Line 83
Broken-out Section 85
Adding to the Ordinate Dimensions 86
Editing the Part Sizes 87
Tolerances 88
Save as PDF 91
Title Block 92
Datum’s 92

5: Introduction to Extrusions 94
Extrude Boss/Base 94
Full Round Fillet 95
Creating a Work Plane 96
Extrude Cut Feature 98
Angled Dimensions 100
Sketch Mirror 101
Mirror Feature 102
Hole Wizard 104
Rollback Bar 107
Draft Extrusions 110
Changing the Sketch Plane 111
Ribs 111
Circular Pattern 115
Tapped Hole 117

6: Introduction to Revolves 119

Revolved Boss/Base 119
Chamfer 120
Revolved Cuts 123
 Cosmetic Thread 129
Evaluating the Part 130
Comments 132
Part Configurations 133
Thread Wizard 134
Sweep Cut 136

7: Introduction to Assemblies 141

Starting an Assembly 141
Adding Parts to the Assembly 143
Mates 143
Limit Distance Mate 144
Screw Mate 147
Editing a Part in the Context of the Assembly 150
Move Component 153
Limit Angle Mate 157
Toolbox Items 159
Cavity 162
Composite Curve 168
Assembly Configurations 171

8: Assembly Explosions/Animations/Drawings 175

Showing the Center of Mass 175
Exploded View 176
Animation Controller 179
Exploded Line Sketch 180
Motion Study 181
Assembly Drawings 183
Naming Sheets 187
Chamfer Dimension 192
Notes 192
Section Views 193
 Auxiliary View 195
Detail View 198
Find Intersection 199

9: Parametric Design/Excel 201

Equations 201
Rectangle 202
Shell 204
Dynamic Mirror 205
Linked Values 208
Linear Patterns 209
Copying a Sketch 210
Copying a Feature 212
Draft 214
Wrap 216
Folders 220
Correcting the Errors 222
Design Table 225

10: Sub-Assemblies and Drawing Revisions 229

Assemblies and Sub-Assemblies 229
Flexible Sub-Assembly 234
Adding Fasteners 234
Interference Detection 237
Repairing a Mate 240
Clearance Verification 240
Exploded View 241
Updating the Drawings 242
Magnetic Lines 243
Altering Balloons 244
Adding a Linked Note 245
Dual Dimensions 247
 Break Alignment 248
Overall Assembly Dimensions 248
Hole Table 253
Splitting and Merging Tables 255
Aligned Section View 256
Revisions 258

11: Top-Down Assemblies 261

Insert a New Part 261
Adding Surface Finish Symbols 264
Insert Mirrored Part 265
Symmetry Relationship 266
Trimming 266
Adding Datum’s and GD&T 268
Top-Down Assembly 269
Symmetry Mate 270
Insert New Part 271
Hole Series 274
Copying a Part 276
Form New Subassembly 277
Creating the Vise Base 281
Acme Screw 286
Break View 288
Width Mate 289
Swept Boss/Base 292
Adding a Taper Pin 296

12: Introduction to Lofts 299

Loft 299
Derived Sketch 300
Lofted Cut 304
Ellipse 304
Appearance 306
Sketch Picture 307
1: Getting Started
SolidWorks is a two-way parametric design tool.
Models are fluid in that when changed in shape or size,
the linked documents' such as the drawing and
assemblies, will also update, reflecting the changes. If
drawing dimensions are changed, the change will also
occur in the model, assembly, and all associated files.
Apart from the dimensional changes that occur, features
may be geometrically linked to others, such as two
surfaces will always remain parallel, or the depth of a
slot will remain exactly one- half of the overall part
thickness.
Models consist of features. Part features are first
sketched and then extruded, revolved, swept, or lofted.
Placed features such as holes, fillets, chamfers, and
patterns, can be added to pre-existing parts. Parts are
broken down into logical components that are created to
form the whole. Part features may either be added to or
subtracted from the base feature using the various
Boolean functions.
The model's physical properties can be quickly
calculated. Animations, showing a how parts and
assemblies’ function may be easily created. PhotoWorks
can also produce photorealistic images using the parts
or assemblies to help visualize the finished product.
Loads may be placed on the model to determine its
resistance to bending or analyze for weaknesses. Parts
and assemblies can be exported to other programs
which aid in analysis and machining .
Videos demonstrating all the topics from this chapter
can be found at the following link,
 chapter one videos.
By the end of this chapter, the learner should be able to:
Start SolidWorks.
Start a new part.
Recognize the components of the feature
tree.
Customize toolbars.

Be familiar with; the interface, view cube, visibility options, file

types, tool and ribbon bars, mouse gestures, parent/child
relationships.
Starting SolidWorks

Select Start.

Expand the SolidWorks folder

and select SolidWorks.
When the software first opens, your screen should look like
Figure 1.1.

Figure 1. 1

User Interface

Figure 1.1:
Area 1 is the SolidWorks "Task Pane" or file explorer. Here
you can:
preview your model before opening it.
select standard items such as fasteners to load into your
assemblies.
access SolidWorks online tutorials.
access SolidWorks chat groups.
access a SolidWorks forum.
start a new document.
get help.
 watch an instructional video.
and much more.
Area 2 is the drawing section or graphics area
where you will create and manipulate your
models.

Area 3 contains the standard drop-down menus, and

the pin allows you to lock this menu so that it

can always be seen or unlock it so that it will
expand when your mouse focus is over the
arrow beside the SolidWorks logo.
Area 4 contains drop-down menus allowing you to
perform common commands such as:
start a new document,
save,
print,
re-build your part,
set system options,

Area 5 contains:

o the help menu,

o the SolidWorks help and resources menu,

The standard windows minimize, full screen, and

close window options.

Area 6 is a quick access window that allows you to

open recent documents or look in commonly used
folders. Every time you start SolidWorks, it will
appear unless you
 check the "Do not show on startup"
box. The window will also disappear if
you click the mouse anywhere outside of it.

Areas 3 and 4 make up the Quick Access ribbon

menu. The commands available from these menus will
vary, depending on what you are working on, and can
be customized.
Starting a Model

From the quick

access, menu select New or select
File, New or press CTRL+N on your keyboard, and
a new window will open like Figure 1.2.
Figure 1. 2

From this menu, there are three options:

1. Start a new part.

2. Start an assembly.

3. Start a drawing.

Select part followed by OK.

Your screen will now look like Figure 1.3.
 Figure 1. 3

Feature Manager Design Tree

The feature manager design tree,

Figure 1.4, lists all the part or
assembly features as they are
created. By default, it is located on
the left side of the screen and can
be hidden if you desire a more
extensive working environment.

Figure 1. 4

The first item located at the top of the feature manager

design tree is the part name; part 1 is the default name,
which will remain until saved as a new name. The

graduation cap beside part 1 denotes the use

of the educational version.

Immediately below the part name is an empty folder

where the history of your design will be stored.
Next is a folder for any sensors, if employed.
The annotations folder allows the visibility of the various
annotations to be turned on/off, such as sketch and
feature dimensions.

The next item is the part material, and it is

chosen by right-clicking on the material.
The remaining items are the top, front, right side planes,
and the origin. All sketches should be locked to or
dimensioned relative to the origin.

As new sketches and features are created, they

appear in the tree, starting below the origin.

Reference Planes

Figure 1. 5
Located at 90° relative to one another are the three main
reference planes, Figure 1.5. Planes are up to 1000
meters (SolidWorks maximum feature size) in size and
can have their visibility turned on/off and their relative
size changed by dragging on a corner. The origin is
located at the intersection of these three planes.
In the Feature Manager Design Tree, click on the Front
plane and select the Eye to make

it visible.
Select the Front plane again, then the Eye to turn the
visibility off.

Select the Top plane,

followed by the look Normal To, to look directly at (90°) the
plane.
Press the Space Bar to open the Orientation menu and
the View Cube, select the

Isometric View, Figure 1.6.

Figure 1. 6
View Cube
The view cube will present itself every time the Space Bar is
pressed. To turn it off, select icon #1, as shown in Figure 1.6.
The view cube simplifies the task of orienting your
part/assembly into a standard view quickly. With the view cube
active, hovering your mouse over one of the faces will generate
a preview of the part/assemblies' view if that face is selected,
Figure 1.7.
 Figure 1. 7

Tools and Toolbars

At the
top and center of the graphics area, is the View (Heads
Up) toolbar, as shown in Figure 1.8.
Figure 1. 8

From left to right, the icons are:

1. Zoom to fit the image to the screen.
2. Zoom to the selected area.
3. Return to the previous view.
4. Create a section view.
5. Select a standard view.
6. Image display state.
7. Hide/show items.
8. Edit/Add an appearance.
9. Apply a scene.
10. View settings.
Hide/Show Items

The hide/show items

options can help increase your productivity as you become more
familiar with solid modeling. Selecting the eye icon itself will hide
or show all item types. Selecting the drop-down arrow will open
the menu, as shown in Figure 1.9, and allow you to hide/show
many items.
Figure 1. 9

The Sketch Ribbon Bar

All part features start with a sketch. SolidWorks is a true

sketching tool, meaning when you begin your sketch, focus on
creating the approximate shape of the item, do not focus on its
size. The sketch will re-scale as soon as the first dimension is
added, and the part shape will be finalized by adding dimensions
and relationships per your design intent.

The sketch panel, Figure 1.10, is active while in the sketch mode.
Any commands which are greyed out will become active once
geometry exists for which these commands can be utilized, as they
are context sensitive.
Figure 1. 10

Once you are familiar with the various ribbons' commands, you
may want to increase the graphics area's size and remove the
icons' descriptions. To do this, right-click on the ribbon and
uncheck Use Large Buttons with Text.
The sketch ribbon will now look like Figure 1.11.

Figure 1. 11

To return to the large icons, right-click on the ribbon,

and enable the option to Use Large Buttons with Text.

Docking the Menu Bar

The command manager can be free-floating on the screen or
locked to either side or the top. To change its location:
Click and hold on one of the tabs, such as the Sketch tab.
Move your mouse, and the command manager is now
free to be relocated or left free-floating.
While still holding the mouse button, move over the left-
pointing arrow, Figure 1.12, and release the mouse to
dock the menu on the left side. (Releasing the mouse
button over any of the three arrows will dock it at that
location.)

Move the command manager back to dock it at the top

of the screen, the default position.
Figure 1. 12
 Double-clicking on the floating menu bar will also re-
dock the Command Manger to the top.
Shortcut Keys/Adding Ribbon Commands
There are several short cut keys that many designers
find useful, such as:

Pressing the S key while the mouse is in

the graphics area will open the context-
sensitive shortcut menu to start standard
features,

select items, or reference geometry.

Pressing the R key will open a window to allow you

to select a
 recently closed item.
The standard Windows shortcut keys will also work
within SolidWorks.

Not all the commands are on each ribbon. Only

the commonly used ones are placed there by
default. All the controls are available from the
drop-down menus found near the SolidWorks
window's upper left-hand corner.
To customize a ribbon/toolbar and add commands:
Right-click on the ribbon and select
Customize, as shown in Figure 1.13.
 Figure 1. 13

When the
Customize window first opens, it will default to
the Toolbars tab. The toolbars can be turned on
or off by clicking in the check box beside the
desired one. On the right side of this window, you
can change the icon size.
To assign keyboard short cuts, select the Keyboard tab

, and add your favourite short cuts.

To add/remove an icon to a ribbon bar:

Select the Commands tab in the Customize

window.

In the Categories section, select

Standard Views.
Click and drag the Isometric view into the View (Heads
Up)
toolbar, as shown in Figure 1.14. As soon as your cursor
changes

from having the red "X" to displaying the green "+,"

release the mouse button,

and the icon will remain at the desired
location.
 Figure 1. 14

Add the Normal To icon to this toolbar, as shown in

Figure1.14.
To remove an icon, open the customize
window, click, and drag it away from the
toolbar, and release it when the red X
appears beside the icon.

Add the Dynamic Mirror Entities icon to the

Sketch ribbon.

Select the Sketch ribbon.

In the Categories section of the

Customize window, select the
Sketch option.
Add the Split Entities and the Dynamic
Mirror Entities to the sketch ribbon, as
shown in Figure 1.15.
 Figure 1. 15

Mouse Gestures

Mouse gestures can save significant design time, and the

number of options for a gesture can be set here:

Select the Mouse Gestures tab.

Enable the check box.
From the drop-down, menu select how many gestures you
would like to see.
Select 4 Gestures.

Select OK to close this window and end your

customizations.
Holding the right mouse button while moving the mouse
will bring up common commands directly related to the
currently active command state. These are known as
"mouse gestures." For example, if you have a blank part
with nothing started, the view

orientation will populate the mouse gesture options.

If you are in an active sketch, the

common sketching commands will populate the mouse
gestures. To select the desired option, move the mouse
over that section.

File Types

There are seven basic file types:

File Extension File Type

.sldprt part file (individual models)

slddrw drawing file (drawing files from models)

.sldasm assembly file (a collection of parts and

standard components mated together
into an assembly)

.prtdot part modelling template file (a part template

created which includes common
elements, such as your name, company,
and so on, into your part properties)
.drwdot drawing template file (a drawing template
created to load common elements into
your drawing sheets)

.asmdot assembly modelling template file (an

assembly template created to load
common elements into your assemblies)

.slddrt SolidWorks sheet format

Backing up Files

Files should be backed up regularly to prevent losing

valuable data. The default backup location may not be
convenient for your needs if you work on a network
computer with "Deep Freeze." If this is the case, follow
these steps to change the backup location or if you wish to
change the default location.

From the drop-down menus across the top, select Tools.

Select Options (or select the gear icon

found near the top middle of your window.)
In the System Options general window, select the System
Options tab.
 From the column on the left-hand side of the
window, select Backup/Recover.

In the Backup section, set up the location and

how often you would like the system to back up

your files.

Select OK.

Parent-Child Relationships

The dependencies or parent-child relationships, as they are

often called, of features can be seen when desired. In Figure
1.16, the blue and purple arrows show the dependencies.
Displaying these relationships will help the user understand
the consequences of changes to one element on another.

16
 Figure 1. 16

When on, Dependencies will only show when the mouse hovers over a

feature in the tree. To turn these on/off, right-click on the part name
at the top of the feature tree

The parent icon shows the blue upward facing arrows.

The child icon shows the darker downward facing arrows.
17
 2: Sketching Basic Entities
When creating sketches, always start at or
relative to the origin, then create freehand drawings of
the part/feature profile, which resembles the final
shape. Sizes do not matter, just the necessary form. At
this point, all your sketches should be a closed contour.
Videos demonstrating this chapter’s topics can be
found at this link,

chapter two videos.

By the end of this chapter, the learner should be able to:
Sketch; lines, arcs, circles, rectangles,
straight slots.
Create the following features; fillets, extrude
boss, extrude cut.
Start a sketch in a plane or on a face.

Add the following sketch relations; coincident, horizontal,

vertical, parallel, colinear.
Add smart dimensions.
Add material.
Add a part comment.
Find the mass properties.

Lines

Lines are one of the most common items used to

create solid models and orthographic drawings. The
line sketch tool will be used to generate the sketch
shown in Figure 2.1.

Start a new SolidWorks inch part.

(Recall: the units are shown in the lower right-
hand corner of the screen, and they may be
changed here if

needed. )

Start a sketch in the front plane by:

 Clicking on the Front Plane in the Feature Tree.
Select Sketch.

From the sketch ribbon, select the down arrow beside the
line command, then

choose Centerline.

Figure 2. 1
To create the center line as shown in Figure 2.1.
Position your mouse over the Origin, as shown
in Figure 2.2. Click to start the center line.

You should see the pencil icon,

letting you know that you are in the
sketching mode. The blue dotted
line indicating that your new line
will be a center or construction line.
The two lines with the large dot,
highlighted in yellow lets you know
that the endpoint will be coincident
with the Origin. If the two lines
with the dot are white the
relationship would be an inferred
relationship and not be added. The
relationships highlighted in yellow
are added when you click the
mouse to place the endpoint.
Relationships will be discussed
thoroughly as needed.

Figure 2. 2

Move your mouse straight down and click to

create the line. Be careful to maintain the
Vertical constraints (the black vertical line,
highlighted in yellow, at the end of the pencil).
Your screen should now look like Figure
 2.3. (The length of the line is not important.)
(When the inferred relationship changes
from being in a white box to a yellow box,
SolidWorks is letting you know that it will
add this relationship if you click the mouse.)

Figure 2. 3

Press the Esc key to

exit the command. You
should now notice two
important items:
1) Your line should be black in colour, with the lower
endpoint blue, as shown in Figures 2.1 and 2.5.

2) Across the bottom of your screen in the status

bar, on the right-hand side, you will see that your
sketch is Fully Defined.
 All your sketches, at this point, should be fully
defined. (If your sketch is not fully defined, then drag
any blue entities endpoint around to see if a
relationship and/or a dimension is missing.) When an
entity turns black, it is fully defined; if it is blue, then it
is under defined (meaning that it can still be changed);
and if it is red, it is over-defined (meaning that two or
more dimensions and/or relationships are generating
conflicting solutions).
So why does the system tell you that this line is fully
defined if the end points are blue? Since this line is a
center line, the length does not need to be fixed to a
specific length. (It will be used as an axis of symmetry
for your sketch, and its length is irrelevant.)
Click on the blue end points and hold down
the mouse button. Now, drag the endpoint
around to change the center lines length.
Release the mouse button.
 Click (select) on the line. Your screen should look like
Figure 2.4.

This line currently has

two constraints that fully
define it: the vertical
(meaning the line
is vertical) and the
coincident (meaning
the entity is in line with
another object, in this case,
the Origin). In the Options
section the For
construction check box is
enabled, meaning this entity
does not make up a part
edge but will be
used in the construction of the part
geometry.

Figure 2.4

Activate the Line tool, either by clicking on the Line icon in the
Sketch
ribbon or by selecting Tools, Sketch Entities, Line or
by pressing the L key

or by using the mouse gestures.

Select (click on) the Origin and move your
mouse to the right, then click to create line 1
as shown in Figure 2.5, this line should be
horizontal (watch for the presence of the
horizontal relationship before clicking to create
the second end point). The exact length is
not critical. When sketching, also remember
that you need to click your mouse in the
graphics area to start the sketch entity and to
end the sketch entity.

To create the first

vertical line, move your
mouse down and click.
 Be careful to see the vertical
relationship before clicking to
create the line.
Next move your mouse
to the left, with the horizontal
relationship showing, click to
create the third line.
Continue creating vertical and
horizontal lines as shown in
Figure 2.5 until the last vertical
lines second endpoint is at the
Origin over the first horizontals
lines endpoint and you have
created a closed shape. Do not
go below the end of the center
line. The last vertical line will
overlap the center line.
Press the Esc key to exit the line
command.

Figure 2.5 Figure 2.6

Remember: the size does not matter just the
approximate part shape and that you make a closed
entity. The center line does not count as part of a
closed entity.

Fully Defining a Sketch

 When fully defining a part by adding dimensions
and sketch relations, it does not matter if the
dimensions or the relations are added first. There are
also many ways to constrain this part other than the
ones described here.
Dimensioning

Add the dimensions to your sketch as shown in Figure

2.6.

Select Smart Dimension from the Sketch ribbon or

by using the mouse

gestures.
Select the upper most vertical line as shown in
Figure 2.7 (1). (It will turn orange when
selected. Do not select the line at the center or
the dimension will not appear as shown.)
Move your mouse to the right and click to
place the dimensions, Figure 2.7(2).

Enter 0.192 as the feature size, Figure 2.7(3).

Accept this, by selecting the green checkmark, to
create the dimension.
Figure 2.7

(As soon as you enter the first dimension you

should notice the part will scale itself based on
the feature size you just entered.)
 Add the second 0.192 and the 0.568
dimension by selecting the appropriate vertical
lines.
When dimensioning features, you should notice when the
Modify dimension window opens, the input field will be
highlighted blue. Therefore, all you need to do is to type the
desired feature size and accept your input by pressing the
Enter key or selecting the green check mark. Pay attention as
SolidWorks will often pre-highlight an input field in blue,
thereby allowing you to be a faster designer, as you will not
need to move your mouse to the field, but just enter the
required feature size.

Dimensioning Doubling

The center line in this sketch will be used to create a revolved

part and the geometry drawn will be rotated about this center
line to create the part. Since the part will be round the
diameters will be dimensioned even though only the radius of
the part is currently modelled.

If Smart Dimension is not active, activate it.

Select the upper vertical line. (Do not select the line
near an endpoint or near the midpoint, as this will
create the dimension from the point and not from the
line as required.)
Then select the center line, as shown in Figure 2.8A.
Move your mouse to the left of center line and the
dimension will now double, representing the diameter of
the feature, as shown in Figure 2.8B. (If you move your
mouse back to the right side of the center line the
dimension will change back to the radius value, try it.)
With your mouse on the left side of the center line, click to
place the dimension and enter 0.588 as the feature size.
 Accept this to create the dimension.
Figure 2.8
You should notice your cursor now has a D and a
center line beside it, this is letting you know that
dimension doubling is now active, and it will stay active
until the ESC key is pressed. To add the remaining
diameters, only the object line is selected.

If placing a dimension makes your part look like

Figure 2.9, with one or more of the vertical lines on the
left side of the center line, you will need to fix them
before proceeding. To do so press the ESC key twice to
exit dimension.
 Then click
and hold your mouse on the entity which is on the left
side of the center line and drag it back to the right side
of the center line.
Figure 2.9 Figure 2.10
 Add the remaining two dimensions as shown
in Figure 2.10. (0.180 and 0.25) Your sketch should
now be fully defined as indicated in the
status bar across the bottom of the window.

Exit the sketch by selecting the

Exit Sketch command. It can be found
near the upper right-hand corner of the
graphics area and in the upper left- hand
corner of the window or by right clicking in
the graphics area.
 In the Feature Manager
Design Tree, you will see your newly created sketch
at the bottom of the list.
There are several things that you should be aware of at this
point:

1) If there is a Negative sign in front

of the sketch name, then the sketch is not fully
defined. This is a dangerous way to leave a sketch,
as you can easily alter a non-fully defined sketch
without realizing what you have done.

2) If you right click on the feature Sketch1, many

options will appear (right clicking will always
bring up helpful menus, you may have a different
sketch number than 1).

3) Clicking on the feature Sketch1, you can choose to edit

the sketch by selecting,

Edit Sketch.
 4) If you started the sketch in
the wrong construction plane,
you could change the sketch
plane by selecting Edit Sketch
Plane.

5) If you right click on the

sketch, then scroll down
and select Feature
Properties, the creator of
the geometry as well as;
the exact
date and what time the feature was created
can be seen.
6) If you perform a slow double click on the sketch name, it
can be renamed.

7) The symbol beside the sketch in the feature tree

will vary, depending on several factors. If the sketch
is shared by more than one feature, it will show a
hand holding it. If it has more than one enclosed
shape, this symbol will change to a polygon with a
hole in it. Currently, this symbol tells you that it
is a simple sketch, with
 no more than one closed, fully defined shape. If
there is a negative sign on the left side, then the
sketch is not fully defined.

Renaming the Sketch

Right click on Sketch1 in the feature tree.

Select Feature Properties.

In the Name field enter DRing.

Accept this change.

Your feature tree should now look like Figure 2.11.

Figure 2.11

Save your work as “0001”. (By default, the

part name will be the drawing number in the title
block of your part drawing once it is created.)
 Close the part by
selecting File, Close or by pressing the Ctrl + W keys.
Arcs
Start a new SolidWorks inch part.

Start a new sketch in the front plane.

From the Sketch

ribbon bar select the down arrow beside the Arc
command and select Center Point Arc. (With
this icon whichever of the three available arc
creation methods was last active will be currently
displayed in the ribbon bar.)
On the left side of the screen will be the Arc options, at

this location the style of three- point arc can be

changed to a Center point Arc or a Tangent

Arc or the

Three Point Arc. The paramaters of the arc can

also be set here, however; setting these will not fully
define the arc, they will just create the desired arc,
which will still need to be fully defined through the use
of relationships and dimensions.
Click on the Origin to place the arc center coincident with
it.
Move your mouse to the right and click to start the
arc. (Recall: if the implied relationship is white as
shown in Figure 2.12 then it is not added. In this
case the white horizontal line by the pointer is
telling me the endpoint is horizontal to the Origin,
but the relationship will not be added because it is
not highlighted in yellow.)
Move your mouse to the left of the Origin and
click to finish the creation of the arc. As shown in
Figure 2.13.
Press the Esc key to exit the command.
 Figure 2.12 Figure 2.13
Select one of the end points or the arc.
While holding the CTRL key select the other endpoint and the
Origin.
Release the CTRL key and do not move your mouse. (You
should notice a pop up of relationships which could be
added, but only if you do not move your mouse. If you did
move your mouse the relationships which can be added
will be on the left side of the window.)

Add the Horizontal relationship (by selecting it) as shown in Figure

2.14.
Figure 2.14 Figure 2.15

Activate Smart Dimension.

Dimension the arc 0.4 as shown in Figure 2.15. (Your
sketch should be fully defined.)
Offset

From the Sketch ribbon select Offset Entities.

Select the arc as the entity to offset.
Set the offset amount to 0.1.
Enable the check box to Add dimensions, and to Cap
ends.
Set the end cap style to Lines. (If the preview is
not as shown in Figure 2.16, with the offset
towards the Origin, check the option to Reverse
the direction.)
Accept these settings to create a fully defined sketch.

Figure 2.16

Exit the sketch.

Rename the sketch DScrewHandle.
Save this as “0002.”

Close all open parts.

Renaming Parts
It is always a good practice to name your
sketches, features and parts in a logical manner that
will make it quick and easy to edit later. SolidWorks has
options which will allow sketches and features to be
named upon creation, to turn these on:

Select the System Options, the gear, icon from the

top middle of the window.

In the System Options section select

Feature Manager.

Enable the checkbox to Allow

component files to be renamed from
FeatureManager tree.

This will allow a part to be safely re-named by right clicking on

its name at the top of the feature

tree and selecting Rename Part.

 Enable the checkbox to Name feature on creation.

Select OK to apply these changes.

With these options turned on, as soon as you exit a
sketch or feature, it will be highlighted in the feature tree
allowing it to be renamed.
Circle

Start a new inch part.

Start a new sketch in the front plane.

From the Sketch ribbon bar select Circle.
Click on the Origin to make the circle center coincident.
Move your mouse away from the center and click
to create the circle as shown in Figure 2.17.
 Dimension the circle 0.53. (The sketch should be fully
defined.)

Figure 2.17

Close this part.

Line/Arc Sketching
Lines and arcs are some of the most sketched
elements, because of this SolidWorks has two built in
shortcuts to switch to arc creation while using the line
command. To use the line/arc sketching:
Start a new inch part.
In the front plane, sketch the lines as shown in Figure
2.18.

Figure 2. 18

With the line command still active, press the A key

on your keyboard, then move your mouse to the
right and click to create the arc as shown in Figure
2.19. (Pressing the A key will cause the sketching
tool to switch to a two-point arc as soon as the arc
is created the sketching tool will go back to line.
Moving your mouse away from a line’s endpoint
and then back over the end point will also change
the sketching tool to a two-point arc.)

Figure 2. 19
Create the next arc as shown in Figure 2.20,
however; to switch to a two-point arc move the
mouse away from the last end point and then back
over the end point. Now position the mouse over
the center line and click to create the arc and
switch back to the line tool. (If the arc is not the
correct shape, move your mouse back over the
endpoint and away again, this will change the
shape. Try to place the arc center point close to the
horizontal line.)
Figure 2. 20

Close the sketch off by creating a horizontal line

ending at the origin, as shown in Figure 2.21.

Figure 2. 21

Each time you close a sketch SolidWorks will shade the

shape as shown in Figure 2.21.

This will help you visualize the creation of a closed

shape. Most of your sketches should be closed shapes. If
you do not like the shading effect, click on the Shaded
Sketch Contours icon on the

Sketch ribbon to turn this feature off.

Use Smart Dimesnion to add the dimensions as shown
in Figure 2.21.
Add any missing relationships to fully define your
sketch, using Figure 2.21 to guide you.
To add the angle dimension select the angled line and
followed by the longer,
3.750, horizontal line, then click to place the dimension.
To add the 1.750 dimensions select the two
vertical lines, then click to place the dimension.
To add the coincident relationship between the
R0.500 arc’s center point and the 3.750 line, select
the center point, hold the Ctrl key and select the
line. Release the Ctrl key and add the coincident
relationship. (Ensure your sketch is fully defined
before continuing.)
Sketch Chamfer
Chamfers can be added to a sketch or as a feature. To
add a sketch chamfer:

Fron the Sketch ribbon select the down arrow beside

Sketch Fillet, then select

Sketch Chamfer.

In the sketch chamfer properties select select he

Distance – distance radio

buttion and make the chamfer size 0.075.

Select the upper left-hand corner of the part as
shown in Figure 2.22 to create the chamfer.
(Alternatively the the two lines may be selected.)
The chain link symbol beside the 0.075 dimensions
shows these dimensions are linked, meaning if one is
altered, both will update to the new size. Try it, double
click on one dimension and change it to 0.125, once
this new value is accepted, both dimensions will
change.
Figure 2. 22 Figure 2. 23

Accept this to close the chamfer command.

Delete both 0.125 chamfer dimensions by clicking
on a dimension to select it and then pressing the
delete key. (Delete both dimensions. Be careful to
only single click the dimension to select it. If the
modify dimension window opens, exit it, and try
again.)
 Find
Intersection
A virtual sharp is the point where two sketch
entities would intersect if they were extended. It is
common to dimension sketches to a virtual sharp. To
do this:
Activate Smart Dimension.
Right click on the horizontal line, #1, as shown in Figure
2.23.
Select Find Intersection.

Select the vertical line, #2.

Now select the upper end point of line #2.

Move to the left and click to place the dimension.

Set the size to 0.075 and accept this selection.

 Add the remaining 0.075 dimension to the chamfer
to fully define the sketch. This time, with Smart
Dimension still active, select the angled chamfer
line. Move your mouse up so that the horizontal
0.125 dimension is displayed (you may need to
move your mouse around to force the dimension to
change from aligned with the angle to horizontal).
Click to place the dimensions, set the size to 0.075
and

accept this.

Exit the sketch.

Name your sketch NutCrackerScrew.
Revolved Boss/Base

Basic solid parts often start with an extrusion or a

revolve. This sketch will become a revolved part. To
create a revolved part from this sketch:

Select the NutCrackerScrew sketch in the feature tree.

From the Features ribbon select Revolved

Boss/Base.
Your preview should look like Figure 2.24, if does not set
all fields as shown.

Figure 2. 24

Since this sketch has only one center (construction)

line, SolidWorks assumes this is the line to revolve the
sketch around, if no axis of revolution is selected,
select the center line. The default settings will also
revolve the sketch three hundred and sixty degrees
about the axis, which is what we require.

Accept these selections.

Name this feature ScrewNutCracker.

Save this part as 0123455.
 Add the description, NUTCRACKER SCREW, to the
Description field in the

save dialogue.
When a drawing is created for this part, the drawing
number will be the file name, 0123455, and the
drawing description will be NUTCRACKER SCREW.
Close this part.

Line Sketching Practice

Start a new SolidWorks inch part.

Start a new sketch in the front plane.

Right click on the Front Plane in the Feature Tree.

Select Sketch.
Create the sketch as shown in Figure 2.25, be
certain that the part origin is locked to the lower
left-hand corner of the part. When dimensioning
this part do not select any end points, only lines.
 To activate the line command try using the mouse
gesture described in chapter one. (Click and hold
the mouse, move to the right and release your
mouse over

the line sketch icon.)

Pay
attention to the automatic relationships, such as the
horizontal, parallel, and vertical. As you draw your
second angled line, watch for the first angled line to
turn orange, this will indicate that the parallel
relationship will be added.
Figure 2.25

For the 2.8 dimension select the top line, followed

by the bottom line, then click to place the
dimension.
When adding the 1.4 horizontal dimension to the
angled line, select the line and then move the
mouse down until a horizontal dimension is
achieved. (Notice how the dimension changes from
angled to horizontal or vertical as the position of
the mouse changes.)

To add the 5.8 dimension, select the vertical line on

the right side of the part, then the vertical line on
the left side of the part and then click to place the
dimension.

The two angled lines should have the parallel

relationship.
 Exit the fully defined sketch.

Extrusions

With the sketch highlighted in the feature tree,

select the Features

tab. (If the sketch is not highlighted, select

it.)
 Select Extrude Boss/Base. (As soon as the
extrusion window opens the depth field will be
highlighted in blue, this is so you can immediately enter
the dimension. If you watch this will be true of many
commands and can save you valuable time when
modelling.)

Set the extrusion Direction 1 to Mid Plane, as shown

in Figure 2.26, make the thickness 3.0 inches and

accept these selections. (The mid-plane extrusion

will extrude the part half of the thickness in each
direction from the sketch plane.)
Figure 2.26
Save your work as 1000. (As soon as you accept the
extrusion settings the field in the feature tree for the extrusion
name will be highlighted in blue, so that you can enter the
feature name as soon as it is created. If you do not wish to
name the feature, clicking anywhere will force acceptance of
the default feature name.)
 From the
View Heads Up toolbar select the Shaded With Edges view.
Again, from the View Heads Up toolbar select the
Isometric view. (This was added as part of the
customizations in chapter one.)
 Now select the Zoom to Fit option.

Straight Slot / Extrude Cut

Select the top face of the block as shown in Figure 2.27.

Figure 2.27

Select the option to look Normal To this face by

selecting the icon as shown in Figure 2.27, #1.
Select the top face again, then select Sketch (Figure
2.27, #2) to start a new sketch on this surface. (Do not
select Edit sketch or you will edit the sketch used to
create the part.)
From the Sketch ribbon bar select the Straight Slot tool.
Select the Straight Slot option, enable the Add dimensions
check box and the
Center-to-Center dimension option as shown in Figure 2.28.
Figure 2. 28 Figure 2.29

Create the slot sketch by clicking on the face in the

approximate three locations as shown in Figure 2.29.
When creating a straight slot, you first create the center line
which will control the center-to- center slot length, then move
away from the second endpoint and click to finish the slot.
The dimensions will be part of the sketch as soon as it is completed.
Press the ESC key to exit this command.
Edit the dimensions by double clicking on them, one at a time,
make the length
 1.5 and the width 0.75 as shown in Figure 2.30.
Figure 2.30

Select the Origin and the center point of the slot, while holding
the CTRL key.
 Add the Horizontal relationship.
Right click on the upper edge of the part as shown in Figure 2.31 and
choose

Select
Midpoint.
Figure 2.31

Hold the Ctrl key on the keyboard and select the center line of the
slot.

Release the Ctrl key and add the Coincident

relationship to fully define the sketch.

Exit the sketch.

With your mouse in the graphics area, press and hold the
middle mouse wheel, then move the mouse to rotate the part,
in any orientation where you can still see the sketch on the
face. Your screen should look like Figure 2.32.
Figure 2.32 Figure 2.33

Select the sketch in the feature tree in the feature tree or on the part
in the

graphics area.
 Then select the Features tab.

Select Extruded Cut.

If the preview does not show the part being cut,

flip the

direction of the cut.

Enter 0.875 as the cut depth and accept

this selection. Your part should now look like

Figure 2.33.
 Notice how the feature name is highlighted in
blue assuming you will rename it as soon as you exit
the extrude cut feature.
Type Top Slot and press the enter key to rename this
feature.
Save your work.

Corner Rectangle / Extrude Cut

Select the lower face, which is 1.4” up from the

bottom, look Normal To it and start a new

Sketch as you did earlier.

Select the Corner Rectangle command.

Click on the part edge at point 1, then on the other
edge at point 2, as shown in Figure 2.34. (The
exact location you click does not matter, the only
thing that matters is the first corner is above the
Origin and the second is below.)
Press the ESC key to exit this command.
Figure 2.34 Figure 2.35

Fully define the part using the dimensions and

relationships as shown in Figure 2.35, add the 0.25
dimension before the 0.5. (When adding the 0.25
dimension select the Origin, then the line and then click
to place the dimension.)
Rotate the part as you did earlier (so that you can clearly
see the cut direction) and exit

the sketch.

With the sketch selected in the feature tree,

select the Features tab.

Select Extruded Cut.

Enter 0.25 as the cut depth, select the Blind
cut option and

accept this selection. Your part should now look like

Figure 2.36. (After you enter the depth of 0.25, if you
do not move your mouse, the cursor will change to have
a picture of a mouse with a green arrow over the right

mouse button . This is SolidWorks letting you

know that if you right click you can accept the depth and
exit the command.)
Name this feature Lower Slot.
Figure 2.36

Save your work.

Relationships
Relationships in SolidWorks can make entities
parallel, horizontal, vertical, perpendicular, equal, collinear,
concentric, etc. They allow the sketch to become fully
defined with minimal dimensions. They also greatly
influence our design intent, as you learn more about
SolidWorks, you will begin to understand what is meant by
design intent and you will learn when you should use a
dimension or a relationship to fully define a part.
The automatic relationships which are added during
sketching should be watch closely, as they can make your
designing life simpler or more complicated. Adding
relationship accidentally while sketching can slow down the
design process considerably.
When the automatic relationship is yellow it will be added
when you click your mouse, however; when it is white it will not
be added, but the entity will appear as if it has been. For
example, if the perpendicular relationship appears in white as
you add a line, the lines will be perpendicular, but this can be
altered by adding a dimension or other relationship. These
relationships shown in white are inferred.
 If the perpendicular relationship was yellow as the line
was created, then these lines would remain at ninety degrees
to one another unless the relationship were deleted. In this
instance adding an angled dimension, would create a driven
dimension because the angle is driven by the perpendicular
relationship and this dimension cannot be altered unless the
relationship is removed. If the perpendicular relationship was
white when the line was created, and a dimension added it
would show up as ninety degrees but could be changed to
any angle and this dimension is now driving the design,
rather than the perpendicular relationship.
Editing a Sketch

Click the arrow beside the first feature in the tree to expand
the feature and see the

consumed sketch.

Click on the sketch and look Normal To it.

Click once in the white space of the graphics area to

remove the focus from the feature tree.

Click on the sketch, in the feature tree and select Edit Sketch.
If the sketch is rotated ninety degrees to what you expected, you
can look normal to it again to flip it.
 Add the circle and dimensions (Diameter 0.5, 1.625, 0.813)
as shown in Figure 2.37. (By default, SolidWorks will
dimension to the center of a circle, therefore; you do not
need to select the circle center when dimensioning its
position, selecting anywhere on the circle will work. Recall:
to dimension the distance from the edge to the circle select
an edge followed by the circle, then click to create the
dimension.)
Figure 2.37

Exit the sketch and your model should update cleanly

showing the hole through the part as shown in Figure
2.37.
Figure 2.38

Rebuild the part and save it. ( The rebuild icon

can be found across the top of the SolidWorks
window.)
If your part does not have the hole when you exit the sketch you will
need to edit the feature. To do this

click on the feature in the tree and select Edit Feature .

Next expand the
Selected Contours section on the left side of the
window by selecting the down arrow. Click in the
field to make it blue and then click inside the shape to select it
as the extrusion,
Figure 2.38
The image beside this sketch should now have updated to a picture of
pentagon with a circle

inside of it, this is how you know that there is more than one
closed shape in
the sketch, whereas; the next sketch which has only one closed shape
has a picture of four joined lines. (Sometimes the sketch icon image will
not change until the part is closed and re-opened.)

Feature Fillets

From the Features tab select Fillet.

Enter 0.125 as the size.
Select the Constant Size Fillet.
 Select the two-part edges as shown in Figure 2.39 and accept

these selections. (You will need to rotate the part to select

these two edges.)
Figure 2.39
Adding Material

In the feature tree right click on the Material and select Edit
Material.

Expand the Aluminum Alloys.

Scroll down and select 6061 Alloy as the material.

Apply this section and Close the window.
Save your work.
Open your part 0123455, NUTCRACKER SCREW, and set
the material to 6061 Alloy.
Save and close the NUTCRACKER SCREW.
 As you have worked through the creation of these parts
you will have noticed that with each change to the sketch or
part after it was saved, an asterisk will appear beside the
part name across the top of the window.

This indicates that the part has been altered since it was last
saved.

Rebuilding
As your part changes, you will use the Rebuild or CTRL+B
to update all the changes.

When a rebuild is initiated, SolidWorks will update all

dimension and feature changes since the last rebuild. To see
how long each feature takes to rebuild:

From the Evaluate tab select Performance

Evaluation.
This will list the time it takes each feature and sketch to
update as shown in Figure 2.40. the feature which takes the
longest to regenerate will be at the top of the list.
Close the Performance Evaluation window.
Figure 2. 40 Figure 2. 41

Occasionally a forced rebuild will be required. To

initiate a forced rebuild press the CTRL + Q keys. This will
ensure all feature and sketches fully rebuild and it will take
longer than a regular rebuild.
The forced rebuild is a diagnostic tool to see if any
newer part features are causing errors in earlier features and
will fix or highlight any errors the standard rebuild does not
fix.
CTRL + B will rebuild only features that have changed
since the part was last saved, the CTRL + Q will rebuild all
model features.

Mass Properties

To find the mass of your part:

Select Mass Properties from the Evaluate tab.

 All the properties will be
displayed in a window as shown in Figure 2.41. The center of
mass will be displayed and can remain as a feature if the
checkbox is checked.
Close the mass properties window.
Save and close your part.
Practice
Create the following inch sketches, work in either the top,
front or right-side plane.
Part Number 100215.

Part number 100208.

Part number 100209.

Part number 100210.

Part number 100211. This sketch will not be fully defined until
later.

Part Number 100213.

Part number 100205.

Part number 100201.

Part number 100202.

Part number 100203.
3: Custom Templates
The environment for creating models, drawings and
presentations is highly customizable. For instance, you
may want automatic retrieval of dimensions to take place,
have specific creation icons show on existing or user-
defined menus, or control the background colors of the
screen. The drawing file may also require some explicit
title blocks, dimension styles, or logos to appear.
All of these are controlled by Template Files. These
are pre-existing start-up files that contain the set options
you need—they are not overwritten by the part or
drawing creation but can be saved as template files so
that customization of your working environment can take
place. You can save yourself a considerable amount of
time if you take a few minutes to customize SolidWorks.
The following steps will ONLY be done ONCE.
Before starting close any open parts.
By the end of this chapter, the learner should be able to:
Customize part, assembly and drawing templates.
Add commands to any ribbon toolbar.
Customize basic toolbox features.
Correctly use the copy settings wizard.
Safely rename parts, drawings, and assemblies.
Copy properties from one part to another.

System Options
Download the file $SolidWorksSetup.zip.
Extract the files to your computer. (If you are
working on a network drive, then extract the folder
to your network drive space.)
Select the gear icon at the top of the screen or from
the drop-down menu, select
 Tools, Options.
Next, we need to tell SolidWorks where to find these templates.

Select File Locations from the System Options tab as shown in

Figure 3.1.
Figure 3.1

Select the Document Templates location from the

drop-down list to Show folders for. (It should be the
default.)

Select Add and navigate to the location of your

$SolidWorksSetup

folder then select it.

Click on Select Folder.
Select the location that you just added as shown in Figure 3.2.
 Figure 3.2

Click on the Move Up button until your new file location is at the
top of the list.
 From the System Options list select Default
Templates.

Enable the radio button to “Prompt user to select

document template.”

Select OK to close the System Options window.

When prompted if you would like to make changes, select

Yes.
(If your computer asks if you want to allow the program to make
changes to your computer select

yes. You may need to do this twice)

From this point forward, every time you start a new
part, you will use your templates by selecting the

Advanced tab and then the

$SolidWorksSetup tab in the New SolidWorks
Document window as shown in Figure 3.3.
Figure 3.3
Customizing Your Templates

Open SolidWorks if it is not already open.

From the Task

Pane on the right-hand side of your screen select the File
Explorer tab.
Expand the desktop by clicking on the triangle beside the
word Desktop.

Navigate to where you saved the $SolidWorksSetup

folder and expand it.

Click and hold on the ANSI-MM.prtdot file.

Drag and drop it the graphics area.
Click in the graphics area to set the focus back to the
template.

It is important to understand that what you are

doing now is customizing the templates to suit your
needs. This will only be done once, and you will never
open these files in this manner again, unless you wish to
alter the template.
From the drop-down menu select Files Properties.

In the Summary Information window, select the

Summary tab . Add Your Name as the

Author.
Select the Custom tab.

In the tenth row of the Value/Text Expression column,

enter Your Name as the
DrawnBy author.

For the DrawnDate enter $PRP:"SW-Short

Date" (This will enter most recent saved date.)
Select OK.
 Save your changes.

Close the template by selecting the X in the

upper right hand corner of the graphics area.
Now, every time you start a new metric part, your name will
be included with the part. After you edit each template,
never open them this way again. You should also never
save anything else to your $SolidWorksSetup folder.

Repeat these steps again to add your name to the

ANSI-MM.asmdot (the metric assembly template),
ANSI-INCH.prtdot (the inch part template) and

the ANSI-INCH.asmdot templates.

Drawing Templates

Drag and drop the ANSI-A-Size-

INCH.DRWDOT template into the graphics area.

Right click in the graphics area and select Edit Sheet Format.
Double click on the writing in the PROPRIETARY section
of the title block and change the statement to reflect your
company name.
Click in the white space of the drawing sheet template.

Double click on the company information section (the

upper right-hand cell of the title block) and replace with
your address.
Select the picture of the pink ribbon and press the Delete key on
your keyboard.

Confirm the deletion of the picture.

From the drop-down menu select Insert , Picture.
Browse to a location on your computer where you have
saved your company logo.
Select the image file and select Open.

(You may be prompted to choose low

or high resolution for the image. Select one.)

Select the Zoom to Fit.

Click and drag the image into te center of the page.

Resize your picture by dragging one of the corners.

Then move the picture, by clicking on it and dragging
it, to where the ribbon was and resize to fit within the
space.

Select OK to close the picture and stop editing.

Stop editing the sheet by right clicking in the sheet and

selecting Edit Sheet or by
 selecting the icon in the upper right-hand corner of the
graphics area.

Save your changes.

Select File , Save Sheet Format.

Navigate to your $SolidWorksSetup folder.

Save the file as ANSI-A-SIZE-INCH.slddrt.
If asked if you would like to replace the existing file,
answer Yes.
Close the template.
Repeat these steps for the remaining DRWDOT
inch and metric templates, sheet sizes A through to
E.
Do not edit any of the blue writing in the templates.
These are the links of the properties from the part and
assembly templates where you added your name.
 To all of your drawing templates make and save the
following changes:
1. To the NOTES section add BREAK ALL AHARP EDGES.
2. Change the inch drawing standard from ASME
Y14.5 - 1994 to ASME Y14.5 – 2018, and the
metric to ASME Y14.5M – 2018.
3. Set the general tolerances for each sheet size as shown in Table 3.1.
Metric Sheets
Sheet Fine +/- Medium Coarse +/- Very
Size +/- Coarse +/-
A 0.05 0.1 0.3 0.5
B 0.1 0.2 0.5 1
C 0.15 0.3 0.8 1.5
D 0.2 0.5 1.2 2.5
E 0.3 0.8 2 4

Inch Sheets
A 0.002 0.004 0.012 0.02
B 0.004 0.008 0.020 0.04
C 0.006 0.012 0.03 0.06
D 0.008 0.02 0.05 0.1
E 0.012 0.03 0.08 0.15
Table 3.1

Toolbox Customization
 If you are working on a network and using different
computers in different rooms, you will also want to
configure your toolbox. The toolbox contains numerous
standard components—bolts, nuts, washers, bearings,
and so on.
Select the drop-down arrow beside Options.
 Select Add-Ins

In the Add-Ins window, check in the boxes on each

side of the SolidWorks Toolbox Library and

SolidWorks Toolbox Utiliites.

Accept these selections.
Note: The more add-ins you turn on, the longer it
will take SolidWorks to start up. So, do not turn on an
add-in unless you are going to use it.
Where you created your $SolidWorksSetup
folder, create another empty folder called
$ToolboxParts.

On the right side of your screen select the Design Library.

Select the Configure Toolbox icon it looks like a bolt.

When the Toolbox configuration window opens, select step

3, Define user
 settings.

In the Files sections, select the radio button for Create

Parts:
Select the icon with the three dots in the Create parts in
this folder box:

Navigate to where you created your $ToolboxParts folder

and select it.

Save your changes.

Close this window.
If you work on a network and do not setup the toolbox
this way, then when you open an assembly, the toolbox
will try to look on the C drive of the computer where the
assembly was first created. If you are not on the same
computer, it will not be able to find the correct part. This
will cause your assembly to look like Figure 3.4.
Figure 3.4

Copy Settings Wizard

Saving Your Settings

If your school or workplace computers have Deep
Freeze or similar software installed, you will need to
save a copy of all your settings in your network drive
space and reload it each time you start using
SolidWorks. If you do not have Deep Freeze at home,
you will not need these extra steps, but if you want to
copy your setting to a different computer, then this is
one way.

Select the SolidWorks Resources tab found on the

right side of your screen.

In the SolidWorks Tools section,

select the Copy Settings Wizard
Select the Save Settings option, then Next:
 Browse to your $SolidWorksSetup folder and name the
file

swSettingsYourName.sldreg.
Select Finish and then select OK.

Restoring Your Settings

If you want to copy your custom settings to a

memory stick and install them on a new computer or
copy them each time you first use SolidWorks on a
computer with Deep Freeze, you will need to run the
copy settings wizard. This time just use the Restore
Settings option and select your settings file.

Renaming Parts/Drawings/Assemblies
Often a part is started, saved and then you decide
the name should be changed. This must be done properly
otherwise any drawing or assembly which references the
part will no longer be able to find it.

There are several safe ways to rename

a part. One is to use the File Save As
Option. Then in the Save As window
select either the Save as copy and
continue
 or the Save as copy and open option.
Using this method will mean that you have two
copies of your file.

The other method is to use File Explorer

on the right side of

your screen. Then navigate to the part you wish to

rename. Right click on the file, select the SOLIDWORKS
folder, then select the Rename option.
In the Rename Document window enter the new name in the
To:

field and select OK to

rename the

part. Lastly select Yes to accept the new part

name.
This may also be used to safely change the location of a
file, or to replace an assembly component.
SolidWorks drawings and assemblies contain links
to the referenced parts, if a file needs to be renamed it
must be done in a manner which does not break the link.
Never rename a file using windows explorer, this will
corrupt the links and the drawing and assembly file
associated with the part will not open correctly.
A part whose link is broken in an assembly will
generate load the part as suppressed because the part can
no longer be found and for the assembly to work the link
will need to be restored. Figure 3.5 shows an assembly
with this issue.

Figure 3.5
A drawing with a broken link will load a square with lines
through it as shown in Figure 3.6 if the link has been
broken. Restoring the links will be discussed later.

Figure 3.6
 To avoid these issues files must be renamed or moved properly as
described here. SolidWorks part files which do not have a drawing
associated with them or are not part of an assembly can be moved
using any method, however; once a drawing is associated with the
part or it is part of an assembly “Pack and Go” must be used to
move it to a new location within the computer or to a new
computer.

Copy and Paste Properties

Now that you have customized all your templates, you will want to
copy and paste the properties into the parts and sketches that you have
already started. To do this:

Start a new inch or metric part.

From the drop-down menu select File, Properties.

Select the Custom tab.

Click in cell number 1, hold the Shift key, and click in cell number
15.
 Press the CTRL+C keys on the keyboard to copy the
properties as shown in Figure 3.7.
Figure 3.7
Close the window and then close the part.
For each part and sketch you have created so far:
From the drop-down menu select File,
Properties.

Select the Custom tab.

Click in cell number 1.
Press the CTRL+V keys to paste the properties.
Select OK to close the window.
Save and close your part.
4: Introduction to Drawings
Drawings are how we communicate our design to the
manufacturer. It is critical that they be neat, clear, concise,
and complete. Part drawings can be started by selecting File,
New and then a drawing template or by starting with a part
or assembly open and then selecting File, Make
Drawing from Part, or Assembly.

Videos demonstrating all the topics from this chapter

can be found at the following link,

chapter four videos.

By the end of this chapter, the learner should be able to:

Create a standard three view part drawing.
Add standard views to a drawing.
Select the view style.
Add center lines and center marks.
Set a drawing scale.
Dimension drawing views.

Select a dimenion standard.

Move dimensions.
Delete dimensions.
Create section views.
Add tolerances.
Save a drawing as a PDF.

Starting a Drawing
Open your “Counter Block” saved as part number 1000.
From the drop-down menu select
File, Make Drawing from Part.
In the New SOLIDWORKS Document window select
the Advanced tab if it is not already
selected.

From the top of the window select the

$SolidWorksSetup tab.

Select the ANSI-B-SIZE-INCH sheet.

Select OK to start a new drawing.

 The template will open and on the right-hand side of the
screen the standard views will appear, these can be dragged
and dropped into the drawing sheet. Just above these will be
options which control what is included with the view when it
is brought onto the sheet.

From the Drawing tab, the top, front and right-

side views of your part can be inserted by selecting the

Standard 3 View option or any model view can be

inserted by selecting the

Model View option. If the standard three view option

is used, the parts front view will be the drawings’ front
view, the parts rights side view will be the drawings right
side view, etc. If a view is dragged and dropped from the
View Palette found on the right side of the window,
any part view can be brought in as the drawings front view.

From the Drawing tab select Standard 3 View.

The Standard 3 View dialogue window will open on the
left-hand side. All currently open parts will be listed in the
Open Documents section as shown in Figure 4.2.
Whichever part is highlighted in blue will be used to create
the three views when the green check mark is selected. If
the part has multiple configurations, the desired configuration
to be used for the drawings can be selected from the
Reference Configuration section.

Figure 4. 1 Figure 4. 2

With the CouterBlock highlighted select Ok

and the three views will be placed on the sheet as
shown in Figure 4.1.
 If you look at the title block all the part properties will
have populated the appropriate fields. The drawing title will
state “FILL ME IN TO DISPLAY IN DRAWING.”
Move your mouse pointer near one of the drawing
views until you see an orange rectangle around it,
as shown in Figure 4.3.
Once you see the orange rectangle click and select Open Part.
(As soon as you click the rectangle its color may change to
blue.)

Figure 4.
3

From the File drop down menu, for the part, select
Properties.
Select the Custom tab.

The first property is Description, enter COUNTER BLOCK.

Rebuild and save your part.

Press the CTRL + Tab to switch back to the drawing sheet.
 The title block
should now show COUNTER BLOCK as the Title.
Press the CTRL + Tab to switch back to the part.
Set the part material to 6061 Alloy.
Enter appropriate values for each part property, so that
the title block is completely populated with the correct
information.

Set the Finish to BLUE POWDER COAT.

​
Save and close the part.
Currently the views are not centered nicely on the drawing
sheet, the scale may not make the best use of the sheet and
there are no dimensions or isometric view. All these issues will
now be corrected.
Adding Views
The drawing does not yet have all the views to help the manufacturer
clearly see the part.

An isometric view always helps people visualize what they need to

manufacture and can greatly reduce the chance for costly mistakes. To add
an isometric view:

From the Drawing tab.

Select Projected View.

Position your mouse near the front view until the box appears
around it and click to select this view to project from.
Move your mouse up and to the right, then click to place the isometric
view.
Select the isometric view.
On the left side of the screen change the display style to Shaded
with Edges, as shown in Figure 4.4.
Enable the radio button for High quality display and accept these

selections.
 Next the isometric view will be moved closer to
the upper right-hand corner of the sheet.
Figure 4. 4 Figure 4. 5

Again, move your mouse near the isometric view until the rectangle
appears around it.
Click and hold the right mouse button, then drag it to the upper
right-hand corner of the sheet, so that your drawing sheet looks
like Figure 4.5.
View Style
The current part views show only the solid object lines,
sometimes showing the hidden lines will add to the ability to
clearly see the part and sometimes there are too many
hidden lines, and they distract from the clarity of the part. To
change the view style:
Select the front view, click once you see the
rectangle around it as your mouse approaches
the view. Try not to click on an object line of the
view.

On the left side of the screen

the display style of the view cam be changed. The
same display styles as were discussed in chapter one
for the solid model can be selected here.
Scroll down to the Display Style section and select the

Hidden Lines Visible style.

(The second icon from the left.)
Notice how all views now show the hidden lines, this is
because the front view is the parent view and controls how the
top and right-side view appear.

To change the display style of the right side or top view:

Select the top or right-side view.

 Uncheck the option to Use parent style.
Switch this view style to the Hidden Lines Removed.
(The hidden lines will no longer be visible.)
Go back and turn on the check box to use the parent style.
Click anywhere in the paper space of the sheet to stop
editing the display style.

Center Marks
All holes in all views should have center marks, currently the
views in my sheet, Figure 4.5, do not have center marks, to
add them:

Select the Annotation ribbon.

Then select Center Mark.
To add center marks, you can now click on each hole
individually or select the check box to add center marks to all
holes.
 On the left side of the screen enable the check boxes
to add center marks for all holes, fillets and slots as
shown in Figure 4.6.
In the Slot center marks section, select the option to
place the center marks for the slot at the ends, Figure

4.6.
Click on the front and top view to add the center marks.

Accept these selections and your top and front views

should look like Figure 4.7.

Figure 4. 6 Figure 4. 7

Save your work.

Centering the Views

The views should always be roughly centered on the
sheet so that they are easy to interpret and make good use
of the sheet.
To move the views:
Position the mouse pointer near the front view until
the box appears around it, then click and hold the
mouse button down.
Drag the view until it is roughly in the same
position as that shown in Figure 4.8, notice how all
three views move in relation to the front view.
Move the right side and top views so they are also
in roughly the same location as Figure 4.8.
Figure 4. 8

Scale
The sheet scale is currently 1:1, as seen in the title block,

but there is plenty of blank space on the sheet,

changing the scale to increase the size of the views would
make better use of the sheet. The views can have a different
scale than the sheet, but this is not recommended and
should be avoided (Figure 4.8 shows the view scale at 1:2
because ethe sheet scale is not being used, this will now be
corrected.). A standard scale which makes good use of the
sheet should be determined.

To do this:
Select the front view.
On the left side in the Scale
section, select the radio button to Use custom scale.
Below this select the down arrow and try several
different scales (all the current standard’s scales
are listed). Select the 1:2 scale.
If the 1:1 scale is chosen, the views are too large. The part
scale should always be a standard scale and the same as the
sheet scale in case the manufacturer uses a ruler to estimate
the size of an unimportant feature.
Switch to the Use sheet scale option in the Scale
section.

Accept this selection. (The views will be too large but

will be fixed next.)
 On the left side of the window, right click on
Sheet1 and select Properties.

Change the sheet scale to 1:2.

Select Apply Changes.

All views should now be at a scale of 1:2 and the sheet scale
should read 1:2 as shown in Figure 4.9.
Figure 4. 9
Dimensioning the Views
For the part to be manufactured it must be clearly
dimensioned. The dimensions used for the part creation can
be imported directly into the model by using the insert model
items options, or the views can be individually dimensioned as
required.
When checking a drawing for proper dimensioning,
always ask yourself if every feature has a size and a location.
The model dimensions were used to follow the design intent
of the part, however; these may not contain enough
information for manufacture, therefore; the designer must
always double check that all dimensions required for the parts
manufacture are included.
When adding dimensions always try to place the
dimensions between the views, never dimension to hidden
features, do not overlap dimensions and never allow the extension
lines to overlap the object lines.
To dimension these views:

From the Annotation ribbon select Model

Items.

On the left side set the Source/Destination to Entire

model and leave Import items into

all views checked.

In the Dimensions section leave the check box enable to

Eliminate duplicates
and select the option to import only the
dimensions Marked

for drawing.
Accept these selections and the dimensions will appear like
Figure 4.10.
The dimensions currently are not very neat and may not
be in the desired location or view, however; it will not take
long to correct them. Typically, dimensions should come from
one- or two-part datum’s, not the nearest corner of the part
and dimensions should go between the views when there is
room.
The dimensions will also all come into the drawing with
the preset decimal place accuracy of the template, in this
case three decimal places. This means all features will
require the three decimal place accuracy as shown in the
title blocks general tolerance table. This may or may not be
accurate for each feature’s functional requirements. The
decimal place accuracy of each dimension will need to be
considered.

Figure 4. 10
Setting the Dimensioning Standard

Near the top center of the SolidWorks window is the

picture of a gear , select it to open the system

options. (Alternatively, you can select Tools ,

Options

from the drop-down menus.)

Select the Document Properties tab.

If the Overall Drafting Standard is not set to ANSI, select

it from the drop-down list.

On the left side of the window select the Units.

Click in the Length, Decimals cell and select the
down arrow and set the overall precision to two
decimal places as shown in Figure 4.11.
 Select OK to override the drafting standard
and change all dimensions to two decimal place
accuracy.

Figure 4. 11

Moving a Dimension
The R0.13 and the 0.75 dimension in the top view should
be between the top and front view as should be the overall
length in the front view. To correct this:
 Click and hold on the dimension and drag it to the
desired location. Move the R.13 and the .75 dimension
so that they are below the top view as shown in Figure
4.12.

Figure 4. 12

Next these two dimensions will need to be corrected, as

the extension lines for the ¾ slot width overlap the object lines
and the arrowhead for the radius does not touch the radius.

To fix these:
Select an extension line for the .75 dimension.
Click and hold the mouse on one of the blue
endpoints and drag it below the slot, as shown in
Figure 4.13, then release the mouse button when the
gap is reasonable.
Repeat this procedure for the other extension line and
your dimension should look like Figure 4.14. (The gaps
should be roughly the same as the 1.50-dimension
gaps.)
 Figure 4. 13 Figure 4. 14

Select the leader for the radius dimension, it will turn blue.
 Drag and drop the box at the end of the arrowhead
onto the lower part radius, as shown in Figure 4.15.

The radius will turn orange when the mouse can

be released, if there is a red circle with a line

through it, the leader will not change its location if the
mouse button is released at this point.

Figure 4. 15

This radius is also at two locations on the slot,

therefore; the dimension needs to be updated. To do this:

Select the dimension or the leader, then hover the mouse over
it until the icon appears to

expand the Dimension Text.

 Move the mouse over this icon and click to open the
dialogue window. (Alternatively, the dimension can be
altered using the fields on the left side of the SolidWorks
window.)

In the Text on left field enter “2 X.”

Then click outside of this window to close it and accept the
changes.
Next, the 5.80 dimension should be between the views. To do
this:
Click and hold on the 5.80 dimensions.
Hold the Shift key on your keyboard and drag the dimension
to the top view.
Once you see the Dimension symbol beside the mouse

pointer release the mouse button and then the

shift key to move the dimension to the top view. The
dimension will
 not move if the mouse button is released while the symbol
beside the pointer is a black

circle with a line through it . (Holding the CTRL key will

copy the dimension.)
Fix the extension lines as you did earlier so that your view
now looks like Figure 4.16.

Figure 4. 16

Move the 2.80 dimension from the front to the right-side

view.

Deleting a Dimension
The front view is dimensioned from both the left and the
right side of the part, this is a poor dimensioning style, and all
dimensions should come from one datum for this part. To fix
this, the dimensions will be deleted and new dimensions from
one corner datum will be added. To delete a dimension:
Select the 3.00” dimensions extension line and press the
Delete key on your keyboard.
Other than the 0.50 diameter dimension delete all
dimensions from the front view.
Ordinate Dimensions
One way to dimension from a datum is to use ordinate
dimensions.
To do this:

From the Annotation ribbon select

the down arrow below Smart Dimension.
Now select Horizontal Ordinate Dimension.
Select the far-left vertical line as the part zero, move
your mouse above the part and click to place the
dimension. Your view should look like Figure 4.17.

Figure 4. 17 Figure 4. 18

Continue to select line endpoints and the circles center point

to add dimensions.
Press the Esc key when done and your view should look like
Figure 4.18.

From the Annotation ribbon select the down

arrow below Smart Dimension.
Now select Vertical Ordinate Dimension.
Select the bottom horizontal line as the part zero, move
your mouse to the right and click to place the dimension
between the front and right-side views.
Add the dimensions as shown in Figure 4.19 and press
the Esc key to exit the ordinate dimension.
 Figure 4. 19

Examine the drawing for completeness. The position

of the half inch wide slot is not given, and the 0.25
dimension is currently to no part feature. The three-quarter
wide slots position is also unknown as are the depths of both
slots. These omissions will now be corrected.
Adding a Center Line
Both slots, top view, are centered about the parts three-inch
dimension. To show this a center line can be added, to add a
center line:
From the Annotations ribbon, select
Centerline.
Select the top views upper horizontal line followed by
the lower horizontal line (3.00 dimensioned lines) to add

the centerline and accept this selection. Your view

should now look like Figure 4.20.

Figure 4. 20

Next, the dimensions should be neatened up on the drawing.

Click and hold on the 5.80 dimension, drag it until it is

easy to read as shown in Figure 4.20, then release
ethe mouse.
Neaten up all dimensions.

Right click on the 3.00-dimension, extension line, select

Display Options, and uncheck
 the option to Center Dimension.
Drag the dimension above the 1.50-dimension.

Adding the left side view would allow the depth of the half inch
wide slot to be shown and a section view would allow the
three-quarter wide slot to be fully dimensioned.

From the Drawing ribbon select Projected

View.
Select the front view as the view from which to project.
Move your mouse to the left and click to place the view.
Re-center your views to look like Figure 4.21.
From the Annotation ribbon select Model Items.

Uncheck the option to Import items into all views.

Set the Source drop down menu for the
Source/Destination to Selected Feature.
Click inside the Destination view(s) box so that it turns
blue.
Click on the right most vertical line of the slot as shown
in Figure 4.21 to add the related dimensions and accept

this selection.
Delete any unwanted dimensions (click on the dimension to
select it, then press the delete
key).
Place the 0.25 slot depth between the left side and
the front view, be sure to fix the extension lines if
required.
Figure 4. 21
Broken-out Section.

A full section view could be used to show the location and

depth of the three-quarter wide slot in the top of the part,
however; there is not enough room on the current drawing
sheet without changing the scale. A broken-out section will
work just as well to show the part features and will not
require more space on the sheet. To add a broken-out
section:

From the Drawing ribbon select Broken-

out Section. (The spline sketching tool

will now be active. )

Click above and to the right of the front view to start the
spline, see Figure 4.22.
Move the mouse around the part clicking to create the
spline points, with the last click over the first to finish
the creation of the spline. Your spline should look like
Figure 4.22. (Once the spline is closed it will no longer
be visible.)
Figure 4. 22 Figure 4. 23

On the left side of the screen enable the check box for the
Preview.

When creating the section, the desired

depth can be entered or
you can click in the blue field and then
select geometry from another view to set the section depth.
You should also notice the other views will have a yellow line
through them showing the depth of the section view.
Click in the blue depth field.
To set the depth of the section view, from the top view
select the lower horizontal line which represents the
edge of the half inch wide slot as shown in Figure
4.23.

Accept this selection to create the broken-out

section view. Your front view should now look like
Figure 4.24.
 Figure 4. 24

The spline defining the section, or the depth can be edited at any
time by:
Select the front view of your part.

On the left side of the screen, it will state which view number
this is, in my case my front
view is Drawing View 11.
Click anywhere on the drawing but not over a view to
close the drawing view menu on the left side or select

the green check mark in the view properties

window.

In the tree, on the left-hand side expand the drawing view for
the front view, drawing

view 11 in my case.
 By right clicking on
the Broken-out Section1 in the tree, the section
depth can be edited by selecting Edit Definition and
the spline shape can be altered by selecting Edit
Sketch.

Adding to the Ordinate Dimensions

The position of this slot can now be added to the ordinate
dimensions. To do this:
Right click on one of the vertical ordinate
dimensions and select Add To Ordinate.

Select the bottom of the slot and accept this selection.

Press the Esc key to stop adding ordinate dimensions.
Repeat this procedure for the horizontal ordinate dimension.
 To dimension to the center of the slot, right click on
the object line at the bottom of the slot and chose
Select Midpoint as shown in Figure 4.25.

Figure 4. 25 Figure 4. 26

Select OK if you receive a warning that this

dimension is driven. (Because it is driven by the
midpoint relationship used when fully defining the
sketch.)
Press the Esc key to stop adding ordinate dimensions.
Your front view should look like Figure 4.26.

Editing the Part Sizes

The part and the drawing are linked in such a way that if
the designer becomes aware during the drawing stage that a
feature size is wrong it can be fixed on the drawing and the
part will also be updated, or if the part is altered the drawing
will update. To see this the 1/8-fillets will be changed to
3/16. To do this:
Double click the 2 X R.13 dimension in the top view.
The Modify dimension window will open, change the size
to 0.1875.
 Rebuild the part and accept this

change. The drawing should

now show the dimension as 2 X
R.19.

Right click on the isometric view and select Open Part.

Double click on the fillet and the new size of R.188 will
be displayed as shown in Figure 4.27.
Figure 4. 27 Figure 4. 28

Double click on the top slot in the solid part.

Double click on the 0.875 slot depth. (Notice how the cut
extrusion depth is blue and the sketch dimensions are
black.)
Change the 0.875 depth to 0.8125.

Rebuild the part and accept this change.

Save and close the part.
If the ordinate dimension for the slot depth did not
update press the CTRL+Q keys to force a rebuild and
it should now look like figure 4.28.

Tolerances
All the feature sizes and locations are now dimensioned, to
two decimal places.
Following the general tolerance table means, all features
have a tolerance of +/- ten thousandths of an inch (0.01).
Typically, the general tolerance table does not work for all
part feature sizes functionality.
The next step in the design process for this part, is to
determine which of the dimensions will not allow the part to
function according to its design intent, based on the general
tolerances. These features will require specific tolerances.
 For demonstration purposes the half inch hole will
become a slide-fit, the part width 2.995 and 3.005, the 0.75
slot width will be changed to three decimal place precision
for the width and the location from the bottom of the part
and the have a minimum slot length of 1.50.
To change these tolerances:
Select the 0.5 diameter dimension.

On the left-hand side, in the Tolerance/Precision

section select the first drop down arrow and select Fit
with tolerance.
In the next selection box select
Clearance , this will limit the next
selection to clearance fits only.

In the third selection box chose the H6 fit.

Enable the check box to Show parentheses.

Set the dimension precision

and the tolerance precision to four decimal places.
Accept these settings and reposition the dimension so
that it does not interfere with other dimensions, Figure
4.29.

Figure 4. 29 Figure 4. 30

Select the 3.00 dimension in the top view.

Select the Limit dimension style and set the plus and the
minus to 0.005.
Set the precision to three decimal places, accept these
settings. The top view should look like Figure 4.30. (Be
certain to neaten up the dimension if required.)
Select the 0.75 slot width, hold the CTRL key, and
select the 1.99 vertical ordinate dimension.
 Set their precision to three
decimal places and accept this selection.
Select the 1.50 dimension in the top view.
From the Tolerance Type menu select MIN and accept
this selection. Continue to neaten up the dimension
placement.
Right click on the three-inch limit dimension, top-view
and select Display Options and then uncheck Center
Dimension as shown in Figure 4.31.
Neaten up the dimension in the top view and move the
dimension text for the three-inch limit dimension up as
shown in Figure 4.32.
 Figure 4. 31

Save your work. Your drawing should look like Figure 4.32.
Figure 4. 32
Save as PDF
Often customers require our engineering drawings as a PDF
(Portable Document Format).

To save you’re drawing as a PDF:

From the File menu select Save As.
In the Save As window select Adobe Portable
Document Format

as the file type and select Save.

Close the drawing.
The part can also be saved as a three-dimensional PDF.
This allows the file to be sent in a format the customer can
look at from all angles, as well as the ability to zoom in and
out. To do this:
Open the CounterBlock part 1000, if it is not open.
(Recall: pressing the R key will open recent
documents and it can be selected from this menu.)
From the File menu select Save As.
(If a warning pops up stating the file is being
referenced by another open document, select “save as”
again.)

In the Save As window select Adobe Portable

Document Format as the file type.
Enable the check box to Save as 3D PDF.
Save the part as “1000_3D.”
 When the PDF document opens select the option to trust the
document always.

Click inside the paper space

of the PDF and the part will appear, if it does not close and
reopen the 3D PDF. Rolling the middle mouse wheel will
zoom in and out on the part. Press and holding the left
mouse button will allow the part to be rotated.

There should also be a menu across the top of the paper space,
as shown in Figure 4.33, explore

what each option does.

Figure 4. 33
Title Block
The title block and notes for all drawings should have all
sections filled in. The information for each cell comes from the
drawing’s properties. To properly add all the required information
to the title block:
Follow the steps on page 67 from chapter 3 to copy and
paste the properties into your part 1000.

Fill in all the properties, save and

rebuild the part. Your drawing
should now look like Figure 4.34.
Figure 4. 34

Datum’s
Currently our drawing has implied datum’s, the ordinate
dimension zero’s. To identify these as datums:

From the Annotation ribbon select Datum Feature.

Click on the lower horizontal line of the front view, move
your mouse down and click to add the datum.
Add datums’ B and C as shown in Figure 4.35.
Press the Esc key to exit the command.

If the datums’ do not have the desired letter. Click on the

datum and alter the letter in the

Datum Feature, Label Settings.

Save your work.
Close your part and drawing.
Figure 4.35
5: Introduction to Extrusions

Extrusions will take a two-dimensional sketch and

thicken it into a three-dimensional object. Videos
demonstrating all the topics from this chapter can be found at
the following link,

chapter five videos.

By the end of this chapter, the learner should be able to:

Create an extruded feature.
Create fillet features.
Create a work plane.
Create an extrude cut feature.
Use sketch mirror.
Mirror a feature.

Add hole wizard holes.

Use the rollback bar.
Add draft to features.
Change the sketch plane.
Add rib features.
Create circular patterns.
Extrude Boss/Base

Open your part 0002, it should look like Figure 5.1.

Figure 5. 1

Select the sketch in the feature tree.

 From the Features ribbon select Extrude
Boss/Base.

Set the extrusion End Condition (Direction 1) to Blind.

Set the depth to 0.125.

Accept these selections and the isometric view of

your part should look like Figure 5.2.

Figure 5. 2 Figure 5. 3

Full Round Fillet

A full round fillet will create a fillet which removes a
flat face joining two faces and replace it with a filet or radius
equal to the distance between the two faces. To add a full
round fillet:
Select Fillet from the Features ribbon.

Select Full Round Fillet as the Fillet Type.

Rotate the part into an orientation like Figure 5.3.
Select the face as shown in Figure 5.4A as Face Set 1.
If you do not move your mouse after selecting this face,
you should see the pointer has a picture of a mouse with

a blue check mark on the right mouse button,

right click to end this selection and highlight the cell for
face set 2. If you do not see the pointer change, click in
the face set two, cell as shown in Figure 5.4B.
Select the bottom face as Face Set 2, Figure 5.4C.
Rotate the part so the back face can be seen.
Click in the side Face Set 3 box, Figure 5.4D.
Select the back face as Face Set 3, Figure 5.4E.
Accept these selections.
 Repeat this procedure for the other end of the part and your
part should now look like Figure 5.5.
Figure 5. 4

Figure 5. 5

In the feature tree right click on

the Material and select Edit Material.
Select Chrome Stainless Steel as the material.

Apply this selection.

Close this window.
Save your work.

Creating a Work Plane

This part requires two cuts on a forty-five-degree angle to
the center plane. To be able to make the cuts, a work plane
must be made to create the cut profile sketch on. To create this
work-plane an axis must first be created. To create an axis and
a work plane:

From the Features ribbon select the down arrow below

Reference Geometry

and then select Axis.

On the left side of the window, as the creation method, in
the Selections section

, select Two Planes.

The feature tree will now be in the top left-hand corner of

the graphics area, select the

down arrow.
Select the Top and Right planes from the feature tree
which is now located in the upper left-hand corner of
the graphics area, Figure 5.6.

Accept these selections to create the axis as shown in

Figure 5.6.

Figure 5. 6
 When creating planes or axis or fillets or chamfers, the
command can be activated first and then the geometry to be
used selected or the geometry to be used in the creation of
the new feature can be selected and then the command
activated. To create the axis the command was first
activated, this time to create the plane the geometry will be
selected first.
Hold the CTRL key, select the Right plane followed by the
Axis in the feature tree.
Release the CTRL key.

From the Features ribbon select the down arrow

below Reference Geometry

and then select Plane.

 In the First Reference section select the option to
create a plane At angle, as shown in Figure 5.7 and
set the angle to 45 deg. (You may need to check the
box to Flip offset so that the plane is at the correct
angled. It must go in the same direction as that shown
in Figure 5.7.)
The Message “Fully defined” will appear above the

First Reference section, accept these settings .

Figure 5. 7

Planes and axis are infinite length, if you do not like

the position or size of this or any plane, the size can be
changed by selecting a corner and dragging it to where you
would like it to be.

Extrude Cut Feature

This part is a handle for the D ring sketch created earlier
and the cuts are so a person can use their finger to lift the
handle. To make the first cut:
Name the newly created plane “45 Angle Plane.”
Select the plane and look Normal To it. (If your
part is not in the same orientation as shown in Figure
5.8, look normal to it again and it will flip its
orientation.)
Figure 5. 8 Figure 5. 9

With the plane still selected, select Extrude Cut

from the Features ribbon. (This will start a

sketch on this plane and activate the sketch ribbon.)
The sketch for the cut feature needs to be on the parts
center, so a center line will be added, however; to ensure this
line stays on center, even if the thickness of this part is
changed, the center line will need to be locked to the parts
center.

From the Sketch ribbon select Convert Entities.

Select the parts outer vertical edges as shown in Figure

5.9. (The part edges will turn orange when the mouse is
close enough for them to be selected. The edge will turn
blue after it is selected.

Converted entities will have the on-edge

relationship. )
 Accept these selections. (Recall: after selecting the
second part edge if you do not move

your mouse, you can right click to accept these selections

and exit the command. )
Add a line joining these two converted lines across the flat
end.
Hold the CTRL key and select these three lines.

On the left-hand side in the Options, enable the For

construction check box to change
these line to construction lines or select

the icon. (These three lines are now construction

lines.)
Converted entities are fully defined, but their end points
can still be moved, if the end points are not moved, they will
stay black, fully defined, if the end points are moved, the end
points will turn blue, not fully defined.
Click and drag the free end points of the two converted
edges, one at a time, and move them beyond the part,
Figure 5.10. (Your sketch will still be fully defined
because the length of construction entities does not
matter, it is also now easier to see that these are
construction lines.)
From the Sketch ribbon select Centerline.

Create a vertical centerline from the midpoint of the horizontal

line to beyond the part.

Your sketch should now look like Figure 5.10.

Figure 5. 10 Figure 5. 11A Figure 5. 12B

Create the sketch as shown in Figure 5.11. (A or B, depending

on your parts orientation.)
Add a Coincident relationship between the
endpoint of the horizontal line and the middle center
line.
Angled Dimensions
Angles can be dimensioned by selecting two lines or by
selecting three points. For this sketch two lines will be
selected.

Activate Smart Dimension.

Select the angled line followed by the center line or the
center line followed by the angled line.
Move the mouse up and click to create the dimension.
Set the angle to 45 degrees and accept this.
Fully define the sketch by adding the dimensions as shown in
Figure 5.12.
 Figure 5. 13 Figure 5. 14

Sketch Mirror
Before the sketch can be used to cut the part, it must be a
closed shape, to create the closed shape the two lines will be
mirrored about the center line. To do this:
Select Mirror Entities from the Sketch ribbon.
As the Entities to mirror select the horizontal and the
angled object lines. (As soon as the command is
activated, the selection field will be highlighted so you
do not need to waste time clicking in the cell, but rather
just start your selection.)

As soon as you select the second line, right click

to switch the selection field to the Mirror

about option. If you did move your mouse before
right clicking, you will

need to click in the Mirror about field on

the left. (Do not uncheck the copy option.)
 Select the middle center line to mirror about and
accept these selections. Your sketch should now look
like Figure 5.13.
The 0.025 dimension and the 0.05 dimension are required
to fully define the sketch, however; these dimensions would be
meaningless or difficult to verify, if added to the part drawing.
Therefore, they will not be marked “for drawing.” By default,
all dimensions are marked to be used in the drawing, but this
can changed by:

Right click on the 0.025 dimension and

uncheck the Mark For Drawing option.
Repeat this procedure for the 0.05 dimension. Both
dimensions should now be purple as shown in Figure
5.13 and will not be brought into a part drawing when
the dimensions are imported.
 Exit the sketch.
Set the End Condition for the cut to Through All –
Both. Figure 5.14 and accept this selection. Your
part should now look like Figure 5.15.

Figure 5. 15 Figure 5. 16

Save your work.

Mirror Feature
This cut is required on both sides of the part. To add it
to the other side the mirror feature will be used.

Select the right plane. (This will be the plane to mirror

the cut through and by selecting it before activating
mirror, it will be set as the mirror plane.)
From the Features ribbon select Mirror.
As the Features to Mirror select the cut extrude,
either from the part or from the feature tree as shown
in Figure 5.16.
Accept this selection and your part should now look like Figure
5.17.
Figure 5. 17 Figure 5. 18
 Next a fillet will be added to all edges so that no one can injured
their finger when using this part.

From the Features ribbon select Fillet.

Select the Constant Size Fillet as the Fillet Type.

Set the size to 0.01.

Select the outer edge of the part as the item to fillet and do not
move your mouse.

When creating fillets, as soon as the first part edge is selected, if the
mouse is not moved, selection options will pop up as shown in Figure
5.18. As the pointer is moved over each option the preview will show
you where fillets will be added if that option is selected.
Figure 5. 19

Select the option to filet all edges as shown in Figure 5.18 and
accept these selections to exit the fillet command.
Save your work.
Hole Wizard
A roll pin will be used to attach this part to the D ring
screw, to make the hole a hole wizard will be used. First a
plane parallel to the right plane will need to be created for
the hole. The right plane could be used but, hole wizards will
only put a hole in one direction and the desired hole needs to
go through both sides of the part, thus creating a new plane
on one side of the part will allow the hole wizard hole to pass
through both sides with only one-hole wizard, rather than
two.
Select the right plane in the feature tree.

From the Features ribbon select the down arrow

below Reference Geometry

and then select Plane. (By default,

an offset plane will be selected in the first reference
section.)
Make the offset distance 0.4, as shown in Figure 5.19,
the side the plane is offset to does not matter.
The plane should be fully defined, accept these settings.
Name this plane “Hole Plane.”
 Figure 5. 20

The hole wizard allows for the quick and easy creation of
one or more tapped or clearance holes. It combines two
sketches into one feature. One sketch contains all the hole
locations, and the other sketch contains the cross-sectional
profile of the hole.
Select the Hole Plane. (Although it is not necessary to
select a face or plane before starting a hole wizard, I
would highly recommend that you always do. By
preselecting a face or plane the hole will always be
normal to (or square to) the selected face, if the hole
wizard is started without a plane or face being
preselected then a three-dimensional sketch will be used
to position the hole and if the designer is not careful, an
angled hole will be created into the part. Which is most
likely not desired.)
From the Features ribbon select Hole Wizard.

Hole Specification Property Manager

In Section 1, of the Hole Specification
Property Manager, you select the type of
hole. There are nine types of holes that can
be selected:
Type A will create a
counter-bored hole. Type
B will create a counter-
sunk hole. Type C will
create a drilled hole.
Type D will create a
straight tapped hole.
Type E will create a
tapered tapped hole.
Type F will create a legacy hole (these
are user-defined holes). Type H will
create a counter bored slot.
Type I will create a
counter sunk slot hole.
Type J will create a
straight slotted hole.

In Section 2, you set the hole

specifications, such as the tap type and size or
the drill diameter or the type of fastener the
clearance hole is for.

In Section 3, you set the end condition for the

hole.

In Section 4, you set options for the hole,

such as counter sinks on various locations of the
hole.
The hole wizard will be looked at several
times throughout this book. For now, it is just
being introduced.
 In section 5, you will set
the desired tolerance and precision of the
hole(s).
Figure 5. 21

As the Hole Type select Hole.

Set the Standard to ANSI Inch.

Set the Type to Dowel Holes.

Set the Size to 1/16.

The End Condition to Through All.

Uncheck the near and far side countersinks.

Select the Fit with tolerance and use the Clearance H6 fit.

Set the precision to four decimal places.

Back at the top of the Hole Specification section, select the
Position tab.

(This will allow the creation of center points for each hole

location; you should notice that the point creation tool

is now selected and the mouse pointer shows it is set to
create points

.)
Look Normal To the plane, if the part did not auto rotate into
this view.
Hover over the radius edge as shown in Figure 5.21
until the center point appears, then click on the center
point to lock the hole to the center of the arc.
The sketch should be fully defined, accept these
selections to exit the hole wizard and create the hole.
Your part should now look like Figure 5.22.
Save your work.
Figure 5. 22 Figure 5. 23

Rollback Bar
Upon examination of the part the customer has decided that
the extrude cut features are too deep and has ordered a
change. The new depth will be 0.025. Changing this feature
may cause issues with features which were created after it, if
a good design intent was not followed. To minimize
immediate issues the rollback bar will be moved to just below
the creation of these cuts and then moved down one feature
at a time, correcting errors as they occur, if any. To do this:

In the feature tree click on the Mirror and select

Rollback.
(This will move the rollback bar to just above the mirror
feature suppressing all features below it. Alternatively, the
mouse could have been positioned over the rollback bar until
it changed to a picture of a hand pinching the bar, then
the mouse button clicked and held while the rollback bar is
dragged to the desired location.)
Double click on the cut feature in the graphics area
or in the feature tree and the dimension will
appear as shown in Figure 5.23.
 Figure 5. 24

Double click on the 0.05 dimension.

Change it to 0.025, Rebuild and accept this change.

Position the mouse over the rollback bar until it looks
like a hand pinching it, click and hold and drag it
down below the Mirror feature, then release the mouse.
(The feature should rebuild without error.)
Continue moving the rollback bar down the feature
tree, one feature at a time, until it is at the bottom of
the tree again. All features should rebuild without error
and your part should now look like Figure 5.24.
Figure 5. 25 Figure 5. 26

The feature tree can also be rearranged when needed if the

parent child relationships allow.
For example, if I wanted the 1/16 hole to be the second feature,
I would first show the parent child relationships as was
discussed in chapter one. To do this:
Right click on your part name at the top of the feature tree
and turn on the Parent or

Dynamic Reference Visualization.

Repeat this for the child relationships.
Hover over the 1/16-hole wizard feature and the
relationships or dependencies will be shown as seen in
Figure 5.25.
The blue arrows show everything that this hole is dependent
upon, and therefor; the hole cannot be moved before these
features. The hole was sketched in the hole plane and therefor;
cannot come before it.
Too see that this cannot be moved as it currently is:

Try to drag the 1/16-hole wizard feature above the plane.

The mouse pointer will change
to a black circle with a line through it be moved here.

meaning it cannot

Drag and drop the Hole Plane above the Mirror feature.
(You will know it can be moved

here because SolidWorks will display a blue return

arrow.) )
Repeat this procedure for the 1/16 hole and your
feature tree should look like Figure 5.26.
Save your work and close this part.
 Figure 5. 27

 Open your 0003 part.

Draft Extrusions

Select the sketch in the feature tree.

From the Features ribbon select Extrude Boss/Base.

Set the Depth to 0.412.

Turn on the Draft and set the angle to 3.00 degrees.

 Accept these selections and your part should look like
Figure 5.27.

Figure 5. 28 Figure 5. 29
Changing the Sketch Plane
Unfortunately, this part was started in the wrong sketch
plane, it should have been started in the top and not the front
plane. To fix this:

Click the arrow beside the Boss-Extrude feature in the

tree so that the sketch can be seen.

Click on the sketch and select Edit Sketch Plane.

Right click on the

word Front and select Clear Selection or Delete.
Expand the feature tree, found at the upper left-hand
corner of the graphics area.

Select the Top plane.

Accept this selection and your part should now look

like Figure 5.28.
Save your work.
 Ribs

Ribs are often added to part to strengthen them and are a feature
which unlike all the

other features we have looked at so far cannot be made from

a closed sketch but must be made from an open sketch.

To add a rib to this part:

Select the Front plane.

Select Rib from the Features ribbon.

Look Normal To the plane.

Add the sketch as shown in Figure 5.29, being sure that
both lines are coincident with the part edges. (Recall:
the part edge will turn orange when the coincident
relationship can be added.) Do not created a closed
sketch.
 Figure 5. 30

Fully define and exit the sketch.

Set the Thickness to offset equally on both sides of

the sketch as shown in Figure 5.30.

Make the thickness 0.125.

Set the Extrusion Direction, Parallel to the sketch.

If the grey arrow on the sketch does not point

towards the part, then enable the check box to Flip
material side or click on the arrow to flip its direction.

Add 3.0 degrees of outward draft.

Accept these selections and your part should look like Figure
5.31.
 Figure 5. 31 Figure 5. 32

Save your work.

Add a full round fillet which will round off the top as
shown in Figure 5.32.

From the Features ribbon select Fillet.

Chose Face Fillet as the fillet Type.

Set the Radius to 1/16.

Set the Profile to Circular.

 Figure 5. 33 Figure 5. 34

 Select the two sides of the rib, as Face Set 1 and

the front as Face Set 2, as shown in Figure 5.33 and

accept these settings . Your part should now look

like Figure 5.34.

Figure 5. 35

Save your work.

Circular Pattern
This part requires four equally spaced ribs around the
outside, the simplest way to create them is with a circular
pattern. To do this:

Select the down arrow beside the eye icon in the View
(Heads-up) toolbar.

Turn on the visibility of the Temporary Axes.

Click in the graphics area to minimize this menu.

From the Features ribbon select the down arrow below

Linear Pattern and select Circular
Pattern.

Expand the feature tree and select the rib and the two
fillets as the Features and Faces to pattern. (This
field will be highlight as soon as the command is
activated making it fastest to select the pattern features
first.)

Click in the Pattern Axis cell at the top of the window.

Select the temporary axis, now visible in the middle of the

part as shown in Figure 5.35.

Enable the Equal spacing radio button.

Set the Angle to 360 and the Number of Instances to

4.

Accept these settings and your part should look like

Figure 5.36.
 Figure 5. 36 Figure 5. 37

Turn the visibility of the temporary axes off, from the View

(Heads-up) toolbar.
Save your work.

This part will be threaded onto the assembled D ring

and is used to protect the thread.

Make the material Butyl Rubber.

Select the top edge of the part as shown in Figure
5.37, do not move your mouse and select Fillet from
the pop-up window.

Figure 5. 38 Figure 5. 39
Set the Constant Size Fillet make the size

1/64. (Do not exit the command.)

Right click on the top of one of the arcs of the rib as shown in
Figure 5.38 and choose
Select Tangency.
Repeat this last step so all ribs have the fillet and
accept these selections. Your part should now look
like Figure 5.39.
Figure 5. 40 Figure 5. 41

Tapped Hole
Rotate the part around so the bottom is visible as shown in
Figure 5.40.

Click on the bottom face and select Normal To.

With the bottom face still selected (I.E., it will be blue)

select the Hole Wizard
from the Features ribbon.

Set up the ¼-20 bottom tapped hole as shown in

Figure 5.41, make the position the part origin and accept

these settings. Your part should now look like

Figure 5.42.
Save your work.
If the dimensions appear as shown in Figure 5.43, right
click on the Annotations in the feature tree and
uncheck Display Annotations to hide them.
Save your work.
 Figure 5. 42

Figure 5. 43 Figure 5. 44
6: Introduction to Revolves

Revolved parts, like an extrusion will start with a two-

dimensional sketch, which is revolved about an axis to create a
three-dimensional object. Videos demonstrating all the topics
from this

chapter can be found at the following link, chapter six

videos.

By the end of this chapter, the learner should be able to:

Create a revolved boss.
Add a feature chamfer.
Create a revolved cut.
Add a cosmetic thread.

Analyze a part.
Add comments.
Create part configurations.
Use the thread wizard.
Create a sweep cut feature.

Revolved Boss/Base
Open your part 0001. It should look like Figure 6.1.
Figure 6. 1

Select the sketch in the feature tree.

From the Features ribbon select Revolved Boss/Bass.

The part preview should look like Figure 6.2, accept
these default settings to create the revolved part.
 A revolved part
requires an axis to
revolve the geometry
about. Because this
sketch had a single
center line SolidWorks
assumed that was the
axis of revolution.
Which was correct in
this case. The default
settings also revolved
the part through a full
360 degrees, again
what this part
required.

Figure 6. 2

Save your work.

By now you may have noticed when creating revolves and
extrusions that there is an option to create a Thin Feature.

If you notice that the check box for the thin

feature is enabled, you should not finish creating the feature,

but cancel the operation, return to the sketch and repair

it. This book will not discuss the creation of thin features.
The software will assume you wish to create a thin feature if
the sketch is not a closed shape and for an introduction to
SolidWorks, all your sketches, unless for a rib, should be a
closed shape. The

thin feature allows you to set the desired wall thickness of

your part and is useful when creating hollow parts.
Unfortunately, if you accept the creation of a thin featured
part, unlike all other SolidWorks features, it cannot be
undone without deleting the feature.

Chamfer
Chamfers much like fillets are simple features to add
to a solid model. But, cost significantly less to manufacture
than a fillet, on external corners and when there is an option
to use either a chamfer or a fillet, the chamfer is typically the
cheaper manufacturing choice.
Common uses of chamfers are to break sharp corners and
provide a start for a thread. To add a chamfer to this part:
 Select the top edge as shown in Figure 6.3, pause all
mouse movements until the pop-up menu appears, then
select Chamfer. (Alternatively, select the down arrow
below Fillet, then

select chamfer. )

Figure 6. 3 Figure 6. 4

Enter 0.025 as the chamfer size. (Like many

SolidWorks features this command is designed to save
you time and will open with the chamfer size field
highlighted, so all you need to do is type the value to
create the default chamfer.)
The default chamfer creation method of Angle

Distance with the angle set to 45 degrees is

what is required for this part, therefore; the settings can
 be accepted. Your part should now look like Figure
6.4.
Next the thread chamfer will be created, there is no
standard as to the size for this chamfer other than it must be
larger than the depth of the thread. This part will have a
¼-20 UNC thread, therefor; its thread depth =
0.61343*Pitch = 0.61343* 1/20 = 0.03 inches. Since the
chamfer must be larger than the thread depth a 0.05”
chamfer will be added.

To add a 0.05 chamfer to the thread-end of this part:

From the Features ribbon select the down

arrow below Fillet and select Chamfer.
Again, the default chamfer will be created, enter 0.05 as
the size.
Select the bottom edge of the part.
Right click and select OK to accept this. Your
part should now look like Figure 6.5.
 Figure 6. 5 Figure 6. 6

This part will be turned on a lathe, with this knowledge its

design can be improved. All the internal corners as shown in
Figure 6.6 should not come to a point, since turning tools
have a tool nose radius. Because of this, these corners
should be given a radius which is built into the turning tools
nose. To do this:

Expand the Revolve feature in the feature tree.

Click on the sketch and select Edit Sketch.

Look Normal To the sketch.

From the Sketch ribbon select Fillet.

Set the size to 1/64.

Select the two corners as shown in Figure 6.7 and accept

these selections. The sketch fillet will still be active,

as SolidWorks assumes you wish to create more fillets of
different sizes, exit this command.

Exit the sketch and your part should look like Figure
6.8.
Figure 6. 7 Figure 6. 8

Save your work.

Revolved Cuts
A revolved cut is a revolved feature which is cut into a part
by revolving a shape about an axis. To add a revolved cut to
this part:
Select the top part face as shown in Figure 6.9.
Figure 6. 9

From the Features ribbon select Reference Geometry,

Plane.
The default Offset plane is required, make the offset

distance 0.375 above the part.

The plane should be fully defined , accept

this setting.
Name this plane “RevolveCutPlane.”
Select the plane and look Normal To it.

With the plane still highlighted (selected), select Revolved

Cut from the Features
ribbon.
Create the sketch as shown in Figure 6.10 (The midpoint
of the vertical line is coincident to the part origin.)

Figure 6. 10
Exit the sketch.
Set up the Revolved Cut as shown in Figure 6.11 and
accept these settings. You may need to change the

feature direction to cut the part.

Name this feature “ScrewDriverSlot.”
 Figure 6. 11

Save your work.

To make this part easier to use a cut for a hex key (“Allen
key”) will also be added. To do this:

Select the top face.

From the Features ribbon select Extrude Cut.

Select Polygon as the shape to create from the
Sketch ribbon.
Click on the origin to lock the center of the polygon on the
part center.
Move your mouse out and click to create the basic shape.

Set the number of sides to 6 and

the creation method to use an Inscribed circle.

Accept these settings to exit the polygon creation

window.
 Press the Esc key to stop creating polygons.

Look Normal To the sketch.

Fully define the sketch by making one line horizontal

and adding the 3/16 diameter dimension as

shown in Figure 6.12. (Enter “3/16” in the dimension
window.)
Sometimes a radius dimension better describes the
feature size than a diameter and sometimes a diameter
dimension is better. SolidWorks allows a circular dimension to
be easily switched between radius and diameter. To do this:
Right click on the diameter dimension and select Display
Options, Display As

Radius.
dimension should now look like Figure 6.13.

Your

Switch this dimension back to its diameter value by right

clicking on it and selecting

Display Options, Display As Diameter.

Exit the sketch.

Name this feature Coin Slot.
 Figure 6. 12 Figure 6. 13

 For the End Condition select Up To Vertex and

select the lowest point on the circle, as shown in Figure
6.14. If the vertex does not appear, select the edge,
shown as orange in Figure 6.14, the cut will go to the
vertex of the arc.
 Figure 6. 14

Accept these selections and your part should look like

Figure 6.15.
Name this feature “HexKeySlot.”
Save your work.

Figure 6. 15

Set the material to Chrome Stainless Steel.

This part requires a 1/16 hole for a roll pin to attach the
handle to it. To create this hole:
From the Features ribbon select Reference Geometry,
Plane.
 Set up the Plane as shown in Figure 6.16 and accept
these selections. The first reference is the outside
diameter face, with a tangent relationship. The second
reference is the right plane with a parallel relationship.
Name this plane RollPinPlane.

Figure 6. 16 Figure 6. 17

With the plane selected choose Hole Wizard from the

Features ribbon.
Create a 1/16 dowel hole as shown in Figure 6.17 and
accept these settings. Your part should now look like
Figure 6.18. (Press the ESC key after adding the point,
then add the 0.1 dimension and the vertical
relationship.) Select the H6 Fit with tolerance option.
Figure 6. 18
Cosmetic Thread
To complete this part the ¼-20 thread must be added, to do
this:

From the drop-down menu select Insert,

Annotations, Cosmetic
Thread.
Set up the Cosmetic Thread as shown in Figure 6.19
and accept these selections. Select the chamfer edge
as the circular edge, use the ANSI Inch standard,
make the Type Machine Threads, set the Size to
¼-20, the end condition to Up to Next, enable the
Thread class checkbox, and select 2A.

Expand the Revolve feature and the Cosmetic Thread

can be seen in the feature tree

, to edit it right click on the

cosmetic thread, as you would any feature and select
Edit Feature. (The cosmetic thread will now populate
the part drawing when the model items are inserted.)
Figure 6. 19 Figure 6.
20

To see a representation of the cosmetic thread:

Select the Options from the top center of the

SolidWorks window.

Select the Document Properties tab.

Select the Detailing option.

Enable the check box in the

Display Filter section to show Shaded cosmetic
threads.
 Select OK to apply this change.

To see the shading right click on Annotations

in the feature tree and enable

the option to Display Annotations and

disable the option to Show Feature Dimensions.
Save your work. Your part should look like Figure 6.20.

Evaluating the Part

Performing a visual examination of the part, the material
may not be thick enough between the hole and the slot for
the hex key. To check the thickness:

From the View (Heads-up) menu select the

Wireframe display style. (It is located at the

bottom of the drop-down list.)

Press the Space Bar and select the Front view.

Visually it can be seen that the wall between these two
features is thin.

Another method to help see how thin the wall is to:

 Set the display style back to Shaded With Edges.

From the View (Heads-up) menu select the Section View.

In the Section 1 area of the Section View window set the

Front

plane as the cutting plane and accept this

selection.

Select the Section View again to

stop viewing the section. To measure
exactly how thin the wall is:
Select the Evaluate ribbon then select Measure.
Select the bottom face of the hex cut and the hole, as shown
in Figure 6.21, by default the
distance shown, ∆Y 0.0375, is from the face to the center of
the hole.
 To find the wall thickness select the drop-down arrow in
the upper left-hand corner of

the Measure window and select Minimum

Distance. Here the
wall thickness is approximately six thousandths of an inch,
as shown in Figure 6.22.
Close the measure window.

Figure 6. 21 Figure 6. 22

To thicken this up:

Double click on the 1/16 hole to show the dimensions.
Double click on the 0.1 dimensions.

Alter it to 0.125, Rebuild and accept this change.

Another method to check the thickness is to perform a

thickness analysis and look for any areas which are less than
the desired minimum thickness. To do this:
Select Thickness Analysis from the Evaluate ribbon.

Set the Target Thickness to 0.05 in the Analysis

Parameters.
Enable the radio button to Show thin regions.
Click the Calculate button.
The color coding shows that the areas around the hole
are between 0.04 to 0.06 inches as shown in Figure
6.23. (If this was not acceptable the part would need
to be altered.)
 Close this window.

Figure 6. 23

Comments

When designing parts, we often add comments to our

designs to explain revisions or to save pertinent information
with a feature or for many other reasons. Comments can be
added to any feature, sketch, or part name. For this part the
mass will be stored in a comment, to do this:

Select Mass Properties from the Evaluate

ribbon. (This will open a window displaying
the mass and other useful properties of this part.)

Select the Copy to Clipboard button.

Close this window.

Right click on your part name in the feature tree.

Select Comment, Add Comment.

Press CTRL+V to paste the mass properties into the

comment.
Select Save and Close.

The
feature tree will now show a comment folder, if this is
expanded and the mouse hovered over the comment,
the comment will be displayed.
Part Configurations
As designed the screw is fine, a proper part print can
be created from the part, but if this part were to be first
made on a rapid prototype machine (3D printer) the thread
would still need to be cut after printing because cosmetic
threads do not print.
Design configurations allow you to create one part
that can have multiple variations in its sizes and feature. This
is known as parametric modelling since the design
parameters can be changed to create multiple variations of a
part. When creating design configurations, you are not
required to rename features and dimensions, but it will help
to keep things organized and easier to work with. The
configurations can be created solely within SolidWorks or in
a spreadsheet, which can be linked to your part or assembly
file.
There are two ways to add the thread to this part, but first,
the part configurations should be created allowing the designer
to easily switch between the part variations. To create part
configurations:

Select the
Configuration Manager tab, located at top of feature
tree.
Right click on the part name and select Add
Configuration.

(Do not right click on the Default configuration or you will

create a derived configuration of it, and this is not what
is wanted at this point.)

Name this configuration “SweepCutThread.”

Add the Description

“Thread made using the sweep cut feature.”

Accept these to create the part configuration.

 Repeat this procedure and create another configuration
named “ThreadWizardThread.”

(Remember to right click on the part name at the top to

create this configuration. If your new configuration is not as
shown here but instead is a new branch off and

below the original configuration, delete it and start

again.)
Save your work.
Currently both configurations are exact copies of the
original part. From this point forward when a configuration is
selected, and the part altered in any way, the alterations are
only visible in the configuration they were created in and will
be suppressed in all other configurations.
Double click on the ThreadWizardThread configuration to
ensure it is the active one.

You will know it is the active configuration because it will not be

greyed out and there will
be a green check mark in front of it.

Switch back to the Feature Manager Design Tree.

Thread Wizard
The thread wizard will create many common threads, but
not all, for the ones it will create it is a valuable time saving
tool. The threads may be created by adding or removing
material. To model a thread using this wizard and subtracting
material from the part:

Select the down arrow below Hole Wizard from the

Features ribbon and then select

Thread.
Select OK to dismiss the warning about the thread quality.
Set up the Thread settings as shown in Figure 6.26.
(The offset cause the thread preview to move towards

the front chamfer, if it does not flip the direction. )

Select Locate Profile.

Select the point as shown in Figure 6.24, accept these

settings to exit and create the thread. Your part
should look like Figure 6.25.
Figure 6. 24 Figure 6. 25
Figure 6. 26

Save your work.

 To verify this cut thread is not present in the other part
configurations:

Switch to the Configuration Manager.

Double click on the
SweepCutThread configuration to
make it active.
Switch back to the Feature Manager Design Tree.

You should see the Cut-Extrude feature at the bottom of the

tree is greyed out and the part

will return to its original shape. Repeat

this procedure for the default part configuration. The
thread profile sketch may still be visible if it is:

Sweep Cut
The sweep cut method of creating the thread will
make a similar thread and will work for all threads. A swept
feature whether a cut or an extruded requires two sketches,
a profile, and a path (unless the profile is round), therefor; in
most instances the feature cannot be selected before the
sketches are created.
The two sketches for a sweep are the profile and the
path to sweep the profile along. In the case of a thread the
profile is the thread profile, think of it as a lathe threading
tool and the path is a helix. To create a helix a circle must
first be sketched.
Much like cutting a thread on a lathe this will work
best if the path starts in front of the part and continues
past the end of the thread.
 To make a swept cut thread:

Switch to the Configuration Manager.

Double click on the
SweepCutThread configuration to
make it active.
Go back to the Feature Manager Design Tree.
The thread profile sketch for the previous operation may be
visible as shown in Figure
6.27. If it is, expand the thread feature, click on the sketch,
and select Hide.

Figure 6. 27

Select the end face on the bottom of the part and

create an offset plane which is offset 1/20 (one pitch
increment) from the end as shown in Figure 6.28.
 Name this plane “ThreadHelixStart.”

Figure 6. 28 Figure 6. 29

Click in the white space of the graphics area so that the

plane is no longer selected.
Click on the plane and select Sketch.

From the Sketch ribbon select Convert Entities.

Select the 0.25 diameter edge at the end of the chamfer as

shown in Figure 6.29.

Accept this selection and exit the sketch.

With the sketch selected in the feature tree, select the

down arrow below Curves from the
Features ribbon and select Helix and Spiral.
Set up the Helix/Spiral settings, for the sweep path, as
shown in Figure 6.30. (Pitch – 0.05, start angle – 0,
Revolutions – 6, Clockwise, you may need to reverse the
direction.)

Accept these settings. (Be certain the start angle is

zero degrees.)
Figure 6. 30 Figure 6. 31

With the start angle set to zero degrees the start of the helix
should touch the right plane as shown in Figure 6.31, if it does
not, edit your spirals start angle to correct this before
continuing.
 In the feature tree select the
Right plane and look Normal To it.
Click in the white space of the graphics area so that the plane
is no longer selected.

Click the right plane again and select Sketch.

Create the thread profile sketch, in roughly the same

location, as shown in Figure 6.32. (All of the sketch
should be below the helix, the angled lines
symmetrical about the horizontal center line and the
horizontal center line is on the center of the .006 line.)
Figure 6. 32
Figure 6. 33

The two angled lines will need to be symmetrical about the

center line. To add this mate:

Hold the CTRL key, select the two angled lines and the
horizontal center line.
Then release the CTRL key and add the symmetric mate.
To fully define the sketch, select the top endpoint of
vertical center line, hold the CTRL key then select the
helix near the end closest to the sketch but not at the
end, as shown in Figure 6.33.
Release the CTRL kay and add the Pierce relationship.
(Occasionally, the pierce relationship will not appear, if
this happens use the coincident.)
Exit the sketch.

Name this sketch “ThreadProfile.”

From the Features ribbon select Swept Cut.

Select the radio button for Sketch Profile.

Select the ThreadProfile sketch as the Profile.

Select the Helix as the Path and

accept these selections to create the thread. Your

part should now look like Figure 6.34.
Save your work.
Figure 6. 34

You may want to turn the visibility of the helix,

off. In the
 Configuration

Manager double click on each configuration to ensure

they rebuild succesfully, each should have a check mark
beside their name.
7: Introduction to Assemblies

Assemblies bring two or more parts together

into a functioning component. SolidWorks assemblies make it
easy to find interferences, check for clearance and many
other functional requirements so that flaws can be corrected
before any part is manufactured. Videos demonstrating all the
topics from this chapter can be found at the following link,
chapter seven

videos.

By the end of this chapter, the learner should be able to:

Start an assembly.
Add parts to an assembly.
Create basic assembly mates.
Create a limit distance mate.
Create a screw mate.
Edit a part in the assembly.
Move an assembly component.

Create a limit angle mate.

Add toolbox items.
Use the cavity feature.
Create a composite curve.
Create assembly configurations.
Repair mate errors.
Starting an Assembly
Start with your 0001-part open.

From the drop-down menu select

File Make Assembly from Part.

Select the ANSI_INCH template followed by OK.

In the Begin Assembly window turn on the following
options:

Graphics preview. (This will show the part or assembly

in the graphics area.)

Show rotate context toolbar.

(This will allow the component to be rotated about
the selected axis by the set angular increment, so
the part can be oriented as desired.)
Fix/float component, only fix first component. (This
will fix the first components top, front, and right
planes to the assembly planes.)
The Begin Assembly window will open on the
left and should look like Figure 7.1. All open
documents will be listed in the Open
documents section, here the part or assembly
required to be inserted into the current
assembly will be selected and then added to the
assembly. Below this section is the
Configuration selection and if your part has
multiple configurations they can be selected.
Next is a preview window of what the selected
part.

Assemblies do not
have to be fully defined and often we do not
want them to be fully defined because they
will be set up with Mates to make them
behave as the parts would in the physical
world.
Figure 7. 1 Figure 7. 2

With the 0001-part highlighted and the

SweepCutThread configuration selected, click in the
graphics area to place this part into the assembly. Your
assembly should look like Figure 7.2.
Press the CTRL+Tab keys to switch back to the part file.
Close this part. (This will ensure you do not confuse
the assembly with the part and become frustrated if
something does not work.)
Save your assembly as “0004_YourName.”

Before clicking Save enter

“D_Ring_Assembly” as the desription, then select Save.
Beside your part in the feature tree is the letter “f”

, this is letting you know that this part is fixed

and cannot move. When the first part is inserted its top,
front, and right- side planes are mated to the assemblies’
top, front and right-side planes. If this is not the desired
orientation, right click on the part in the feature tree and
select Float, this will allow the part to be reoriented as
required.
 Adding Parts to the Assembly

To complete this simple four-part assembly the roll pin, part 0002
and part 0003 will be added and mated into their proper place. To do
this:

From the Assembly ribbon select Inset Component.

If no parts or assemblies are open, the Open window will appear.

Navigate to where you
saved part 0003, select it and select Open.

The part will now follow your mouse around the graphics area until you
click to place it in the assembly. In the graphics area will be an option
to reorient the part by a set angle in the X, Y

or Z axis. Try clicking these until your part is in

the orientation as shown in Figure 7.3.

Click in the graphics area to the left of the screw to place the part
into the assembly.
Figure 7. 3 Figure 7. 4

Mates
 The next step is to add Mates to align and control this parts
behavior as it would in the physical world. To do this:
Select the outside diameter (OD) of the screw as shown in
Figure 7.4 and then select Mate. (This will open the mate
properties and make your screw transparent, alternatively you

can select Mate from the Assembly ribbon.)

Select the hole in your 0003 part as shown in Figure 7.5. (As soon
as the hole is selected, this
part will move over the screw as shown in Figure 7.6 and SolidWorks
will prompt you to select the desired mate, while recommending the
Concentric mate. )
Figure 7. 5 Figure 7. 6

Accept the Concentric mate.

Close the mate property.

With the concentric mate that was just added there was an
option to Lock rotation.
 This is a great time saving option when you
do not want the part to rotate, however; these two parts
thread-together and we want to simulate this in the
assembly, so it was not used.
These two parts are still not mated to make them behave as the
actual physical parts would.

To see the effect of the concentric mate, drag the 0003 part
around. In the feature tree you
should also notice the negative sign beside the 0003
part. This means it is not fully defined in the
context of the assembly, it will never be fully defined,
because we want to show how it will thread on and off the
part.
When working with assemblies it is a good practice to
save your work every time you add a mate or a new part and
are happy with the assembly. Especially when first learning
assemblies, because you will make a mistake and it is often
easier to close and not save the assembly, than to try and fix
it. If you save often, minimal work will be lost.

Limit Distance Mate

Before adding the limit distance and the screw mate, a
mate will be added to orient the parts relative to one another
so that all figures will look like your part does while you work
through this exercise.
 Select the Front plane of the rubber thread protector, part
number 0003 and then select

Mate. (To select the front plane, expand the part in the feature
tree, click on the front plane and

select mate.)

Select the Front plane of part 0001 from the feature tree
and add the Coincident mate.

Close the mate property.

To finish mating these two parts, a screw mate and a limit
distance mate will be required.
Before proceeding move part 0003 below the screw. To add
these mates:

Rebuild and save your work.

Press the space bar and select the Top view.

Select the face of the rib from part 0003, as shown in

Figure 7.7, then select Mate.

Figure 7. 7 Figure 7. 8

Right click on the top face of the screw and click on

Select Other as shown in Figure 7.8. (A list of faces
and/or parts edges which can be selected will appear, as
you hover over a list item, the part feature will turn
orange.)
Select the bottom face of the part as shown in Figure 7.9.
Figure 7. 9 Figure 7. 10

Select the Distance mate option.

(Do not accept this mate yet. The distance at this
point does not matter.)

Select the
Advanced Mates tab, found near the top of the Mate
 property window.
Set the Maximum distance to 1.0, Figure 7.10 (2), and the
Minimum distance to 0, Figure

7.10 (3) and accept these settings. (Figure 7.10 (1)

shows the current distance if the part 0003 was not
below the screw when you started this mate you will
likely need to Flip the mate

alignment. )
Close the mate property.
Verify the mate works by moving the part on and off the
screw. At one extreme the two- part faces should touch
as shown in Figure 7.11A and when the distance is
analyzed at the other extreme it should be one inch,
Figure 7.11B.

Figure 7. 11

Save your work.

 At the bottom of the feature tree, you will notice a
MateGroup1
folder, in this are all the mates which control the behaviors of
the assembly. There will also be a

new mate folder in each part in the feature tree

of the assembly.
At any point when working in an assembly or a part, if
you wish to expand all parts of the feature tree, select the
part or assembly name at the top of the feature
tree, then press the “*” key on your keyboard to expand all.
To collapse all the feature tree, click in the

white space of the graphics area so that nothing is selected in

the feature tree, then right click in the white space of the
feature tree, and select Collapse Items.

Screw Mate
To add the final screw mate:
Expand the Mate folder for part 0003.
 Select the
Coincident mate between the two front planes and
suppress it.

From the Assembly ribbon select Mate.

Expand the mechanical Mates.

Select the Screw mate.

Select the face of the screw, followed by the circular
edge of the cap and set up the mate as shown in Figure
7.12. (Be certain to select the face of the screw first
and the edge of the hole second. If the pink rotation
arrow on top of the screw is not pointing clockwise, you
will need to check the option to reverse it.
When setting up a screw mate you can tell it how many
revolutions are required for the part to travel one inch,
as was done here, or you can tell the system the pitch
(distance/revolution).)
 Accept these selections and close the Mate Property
Manager.

Move the components to see how the mates affect their behavior.
You should find that this works but it is awkward and not yet
realistic, because; when assembling these components, the cap
would not start turning until it engages the thread. This issue will
now be fixed.
Figure 7. 12 Figure 7. 13

To fix the mate issue:

Ensure the thread protector is below the other part.

From the Evaluate ribbon select Measure.
Measure the distance from the bottom of the screw to the
underside of its head as shown in Figure 7.13. You should
find it is 0.376 inches.

Close the measure window.

Select the Screw mate and Suppress it.

Unsuppress the Coincident mate.

 Double click on the Limit Distance
mate in the feature tree, MateGroup folder.
Double click on the dimension in the graphics area to bring
up the Modify window.

Make the Maximum distance 0.376.

Rebuild and accept this change.

Suppress the Coincident mate, again

and Unsuppress the Screw mate.
The next step is to bring in the handle for this assembly.

From the Assembly ribbon select Inset

Component.
 Browse to where you saved your handle, part
number 0002, open it and click in the graphics area
to place it.

Select the hole in the handle and select Mate.

Select the hole in the screw as the second
component of the mate and accept the concentric
mate as shown in Figure 7.14.

You should notice that the handle

interferes with screw, this will be fixed
shortly.

Figure 7. 14

Close the mate property.

When all components are functioning correctly the handle
would be centered on the screw. The next mate will center
the two parts. There are several ways to center this but
only one will be employed for now.

In the feature tree expand the handle, part 0002.

Select the Right plane.

Expand the screw in the feature tree.

Hold the CTRL key and select its Right plane.

Release the CTRL key,

without moving your mouse and select the coincident mate.
At this point you should see that the handle can rotate
completely around the screw and that it interferes with the
screw. The interference issue will be corrected first.

Editing a Part in the Context of the Assembly

If the hole in the screw had not been lowered this
interference problem likely would not exist, however; it was
altered because the wall was too thin. To fix the interference
the handle will be redesigned within the assembly.
To do this:
 Click on
part 0002 in the graphics area or in the feature tree and
select Edit Part as shown in Figure 7.15. (As soon as
you do this, all-other parts in the assembly will become
transparent, as shown in Figure 7.16 and the part tree
will be blue.)
This option can be changed from the Features ribbon,
by selecting Assembly Transparency. Selecting the
Opaque option will make all parts appear in the standard
shaded solid state, Maintain Transparency will keep any
parts transparency state as it was before the edit and
Force Transparency will force all parts not being edited
to be transparent.
 Figure 7. 15 Figure 7. 16

Since redesigns are common, it would be nice if this part

was designed to always be larger than the screw, even when
the screw size is changed.
Double click on the first Boss-Extrude feature in the
tree or on the handle in the graphics area to bring up
the dimensions.
Double click on the R0.400 dimensions to open the
Modify window.

Delete the dimension and enter the equals sign to start

and equation.

(The red equal sign means the equations is

not valid.)
Double click on the screw head to bring up its dimensions
as shown in Figure 7.17.
Double click on the 0.588 diameter dimension of the
screw head to use this dimension as the first part of the
equation.
 Figure 7. 17

Complete the equation as shown in Figure 7.18.

Click the green check mark at the end of the
equation. (The green check mark means the equation is
solvable and the equation symbol will appear in
front of the equation after it is selected.)

Rebuild and accept this. (Double click on part 0002 again,

notice the red equation symbol with

the dimension. )
Your part should now appear to have the required clearance as
shown in Figure 7.19.

Figure 7. 18 Figure 7. 19
In the top right-hand corner of the graphics area,
select the icon to stop editing the part and return to
the assembly.
Rebuild and save your work.
Move Component

Before completing any more of the assembly, we should be

certain the handle will rotate freely about the screw as
designed. To do this:

From the Assembly ribbon select Move Component.

In the Options enable the radio button for Collision

Detection.

Select the radio button to Check between These

components.

Enable the check box for Stop at collision.

Click inside the box to Check clearance between.

Select the handle and the screw as shown in Figure 7.20.

Right click on the rubber thread protector

part number 0003 and select Hide.

Click Resume Drag and move the

handle until it stops due to the collision with the
screw.
 The handle should move until it
collides with threaded part. The
surfaces which make contact will
turn blue as shown in Figure
7.21.

This
is what was expected, the next
step will be to measure the
angle the handle is at and set a
limit angle mate.
Figure 7. 20 Figure 7. 21

In the Move Component window

enable the check box to turn on Dynamic Clearance.
Click in the Check clearance between box.
 Select the handle and the screw as the components to check
the clearance between.

​
This time as you move the handle the clearance will be
displayed between the two parts in blue and when you stop
moving the handle the current clearance will be displayed at
the bottom of the Dynamic Clearance window as shown in
Figure 7.22.

Select OK to exit Move Component.

Figure 7. 22
 Select part number
0003 in the feature tree and select Show Components.
You may have noticed that the 1/16 hole in the handle is
no longer completely through the part, Figure 7.21, even
though the end condition was set to through all. However,
the end condition is not causing the problem, it is the plane
the hole was created in. The design intent when the plane
was created did not consider that the part size might change.
To fix this issue:
Expand the handle, part number 0002, in the feature tree.
 Click on the part and select Edit Part.

Click on the Hole Plane and select Edit Feature.

The issue is the offset distance. This should be redesigned so
that the plane is always on the outside of the part.

Select OK to leave the plane unedited.

Double click on the handle to bring up the dimensions.
Double click on the R0.49 dimension to open the Modify
window.

Just above the equation

is the dimensions name. Currently it is
D1@DScrewHandle. Click in this field and change the
dimension name to “HDia.”

Accept this change to close the window.

From the drop down, menu select Tools and then
select Equations.

Click in the white cell below Global Variables and type

“X” (be sure to type the

quotation marks).

Press the Tab key to move to the cell to the right.

Click on the cell immediately below the word

Equations to insert the handle diameter
into the Value/Equation cell for the “X” variable. (The
Equations cell

is in the same column as the Global Variables.)

Click OK to accept the equation. (The Evaluates to

field will now display 0.49in.

)
 Select OK to close the equation window.

Double click on the Hole Plane to bring up its dimensions.

Double click on the 0.400 dimension.

In the Modify window type “=” then move your
mouse to the Global Variables and select
X(0.49in) as shown in Figure 7.23. Alternatively, you
can type “X.”

Figure 7. 23 Figure 7. 24

Accept this and rebuild the part.

The plane is now good but there may be an issue with the
hole which is causing an issue with the mates, as shown in
Figure 7.24. This emphasizes how important a good design
intent is. This issue will now have to be fixed. To fix the
issues:

Click on the 1/16 hole and select Edit Feature.

Immediately close the hole wizard again and all should

be fine. (SolidWorks just needed to rebuild the hole.)

Stop editing this part.

Rebuild and all the error should be gone.
Save your work.
Limit Angle Mate
Before setting up the limit angle mate the rubber thread
protector should be in the position which represents it when
fully threaded onto the part. To do this:
Turn the thread protector until it stops against the face
of the thread as shown in Figure 7.25.

Figure 7. 25 Figure 7. 26

To ensure it is in contact with the face a temporary mate will

be added, used to help in the calculation of the angle and
then suppressed.

Suppress the screw mate.

Add a coincident mate between the two faces as

shown in Figure 7.26. (The top face of the thread
protector and the lower face of the screw.)
Name this mate “TempCoincident.”
Unsuppress the coincident mate between the front
planes of parts 0001 and 0003.
Move part 0002 so it is not touching or interfering with
any other parts.

Look at the right-side view.

Use Move Component with Collision

Detection again, this time stop when the handle
collides with the rubber thread protector cap, part
number 0003, when it is rotated to the left side of the
part.
As soon as the movement stops at the collision, exit

the command, but do not move the part again.

 From the Evaluate ribbon select Measure.
Expand the feature tree and select the Front planes
of both the handle (0002) and the screw (0001).
The resulting angle between the planes should be
approximately 83 degrees as shown in Figure 7.27A.

Figure 7. 27A

Close the measure window.

Move the handle away from the part so that it no
longer interferes with or touches the rubber thread
protector.
Repeat the Move Component, moving the handle to
the right side and again analyze the angle. It should be
approximately 83 degrees, Figure 7.27B.

Figure 7. 28B
Close the measure window.
Rotate the handle so that it is to the right side of the part.

From the Assembly ribbon select Mate.

 Expand the feature tree and
select the Front planes of both the handle and the screw.
Select the angle mate and set the angle to 83 as shown in
Figure 7.28. (You may need to

alter the Mate Alignment. )

Figure 7. 28

Expand the Advanced Mates and make the Maximum

Value 277 (=360 - 83).

Accept this and close the mate property manager.

Toolbox Items
The last component required to complete this assembly is the
roll pin. To add it:

On the right side of the window select the Design

Library.

Expand the Toolbox.

Select the ANSI Inch folder.
Select the Pins folder, followed by the All Pins folder.

Click and drag the Spring Pin Slotted into the

assembly.

Release the mouse button to place the roll pin into

the assembly. (If you are careful the appropriate
mates will be added when the part is dropped into
the assembly.)
 Set the size of the pin to 1/16.

Set the length to 0.75.

In the Configure Component section add the Comment

“1/16 Roll Pin.”

Accept these settings.

Press the Esc key or select Close so that only one pin is
added to the assembly. (Until this is closed, every time
you click in the graphics area a copy of this pin will be
placed into the assembly.)
Add the Concentric mate as shown in Figure 7.29
and the Tangent mate (between the end of the pin
and the face on the handle) as shown in Figure 7.30.
Exit the mate properties.

Figure 7. 29 Figure 7. 30
 You should notice that the pin is too short, to fix this:
Click on the screw and select Change Transparency
as shown in Figure 7.31, then click again in white space
of the graphics area. (You should now be able to see
through this part, which will make it easier to see the
end of the pin as the length is changed.)

Figure 7. 31 Figure 7. 32

In the feature tree or in the graphics area right click on the

pin and select Edit Toolbox

Component.

Change the length to 0.938

Accept this change.

Select the screw and turn off the transparency.
Your part should now look like Figure 7.32.

Delete the tangent mate between the pin and the screw.
To center the pin:

From the Assembly ribbon, select Mate.

Select the Advanced tab.

Select the Width mate.

Select the end faces of the pins as the Width selection 1,
select the face of the pin as
Width selection 2 and accept these selections as shown in
Figure 7.33.
Close the mate window.
Save your work.
 Figure 7.33

Cavity
Currently part number 0003, the rubber thread cover,
has a cosmetic thread and like part 0001, if it were to be 3D
printed it would not have the thread. To fix this the thread of
part 0001 can be used. To add a physical thread to this
part:
Click on the part and select Edit Part.
From the drop down, menus select Insert Molds
Cavity.

As the Design Component

Parts (the parts to create the cavity from) select part
0001.

Accept this selection. (Do not worry if a mate error

appears, it will be corrected.)
 Stop editing this part to return to the full assembly.
Click on this part and select Open Part in Position as
shown in Figure 7.34.

Figure 7. 34 Figure 7. 35

Select the Front plane.

Select the section view , Figure 7.35 and accept

this to create a section view.
 With the section view displayed, you can see the thread is
not all the way through the part and therefore, would not be
functional if 3D printed in its current state. Also, as created
the cavity will change its location as the parts in the
assembly are moved, this is because of the InContext
relationship. (The arrow at the end of the
feature lets you know that an in- context relationship exists.)

To fix this:

Right click on the Cavity in the feature tree and select

External References.

​
Select OK to accept the warning.

Select OK and then close the window. (The cavity

will now show an x beside it in the feature tree to
 show you the references are now broken and no
longer controlling this feature.
)
Select the Section View from the View Heads Up toolbar
to shut the section off.

In the feature tree select

the front plane and look Normal To it.
Click in white space so that the front plane is no longer
selected (no longer blue).

Select the front plane again and start a new Sketch.

Create the section again.

The current thread profile is the same size as the screws

thread, this is not the best design as it will tend to bind up
and can be difficult to turn. An easier functioning thread
would have some clearance. To create this internal thread
with clearance:

From the Sketch ribbon, select the down arrow below

Convert Entities
and select Intersection Curve.
 Select the three faces of the thread as shown in Figure
7.36 and accept these selections.
Close the Intersection Curve property manager.

Change the display style to Wireframe. (From the

View Heads Up toolbar , top cenetr of the graphics
area.)
Delete all but three of the entities until your sketch looks like
Figure 7.37.

Figure 7. 36

Figure 7. 37 Figure 7.
38

Right click on one of the three entities, choose

Select Chain, and change them

to Construction Geometry as shown in Figure
7.38.
Hold the CTRL key and select all three entities.

From the Sketch ribbon, select Offset Entities.

Make the offset distance 0.002 as shown in Figure

7.39 and accept these selections.
 Figure 7. 39 Figure 7. 40

Drag the two free endpoints of the angled lines to make

them longer and finish the sketch as shown in Figure
7.40, the vertical line is 0.002 from the end points of the
converted entities.

Switch the display style back to Shaded With Edges.

Exit the sketch.

Select the Top plane.

From the Features ribbon select Reference

Geometry, Plane.

In the First Reference section select Parallel.

Select the endpoint, as shown in Figure 7.41 as the Second
Reference.

The plane should now be fully defined, accept these

selections.

Name this plane “HelixForThread.”

Exit the section view.
Figure 7. 41 Figure 7. 42

Look Normal To the HelixForThread plane.

Sketch a circle in this plane as shown in Figure 7.42 and
exit the sketch. (The Circle should be coincident with
the endpoint used to create the plane.)

Switch to the Section view again.

Select the circle sketch then from the Features ribbon

select the menu for the Curves

and then select Helix and Spiral.

Set the Pitch to 1/20.

Set the Revolutions to as many as required to have the
spiral go below the part.

(The spiral should go towards the bottom of the

part as shown in Figure 7.44.)

Set the Start angle so the helix starts at the thread profile
point used for the plane

creation.

Select the Counterclockwise or Clockwise radio button

so the helix overlaps the cavity

thread edge.
Accept these selections.
Create another helix as shown in Figure 7.43. This one
will start at the same thread profile point and continue
up above the part. (To do this the circle will need to be
create again, as a helix will not share its sketch, try
converting the first circle on top of itself.)
 Figure 7. 43 Figure 7. 33

Composite Curve

This internal thread will be created using the sweep cut

feature, which can only use one sketch as its path, because
of this these two helixes will need to be joined into one. To
do this:

From the Features ribbon select the menu for the

Curves and then select
Composite Curve.

Expand the feature tree and select the two Helix/Spiral

features as the Entities to Join

into the composite curve.

Accept these selections to create the composite curve.
From the Features ribbon select Swept Cut.
As the Profile select the thread sketch as shown in Figure
7.45.
As the path select the Composite Curve.

Select the Bidirectional option.

Accept these selections and exit the section view.

Hide the composite curve.

 Figure 7. 45

Your part should now look like Figure 7.46.

Rebuild and save your work.

Figure 7. 46 Figure 7. 47

This part should have two configurations, one with the

¼-20-hole wizard and one with this swept cut thread. To
create these configurations:

At the top of the feature tree

select the Configuration Manager.
 Right click on the
part name and select Add Configuration.

Name this configuration “WithCutThread.”

Go back to the Feature Manager tab.

Expand the ¼-20 Tapped Hole feature.

Right click on the Hole Thread

and select Configure Feature.
Click in the check box to Suppress this feature in the
WithCutThread configuration as shown in Figure
7.48.

Figure 7. 48 Figure 7. 49
Select Apply followed by OK.

Select the Cavity in the feature tree, hold the Shift key
and select the Cut-Sweep feature. All the features
between these two should be selected as shown in
Figure 7.49.
Right click and select Configure Feature.
Suppress all these features in the default configuration as
shown in Figure 7.50.

Select Apply followed by OK.

 Figure 7. 50

Verify both configurations rebuild with no errors, as you did

earlier.
Save and close this part to return to the assembly.
Creating the internal thread in this manner will ensure that
if a section view is shown of the assembly the threads will
always match as shown in Figure 7.47.
Rebuild and Save the assembly.

Assembly Configurations
Like parts, assemblies can also have configurations. To
create an assembly configuration:

At the top of the feature

tree select the Configuration Manager.
Right click on the assembly name and select Add
Configuration.

Name this configuration For3DPrinting.

Accept this to create the new assembly configuration.

(This should now be the active configuration and

you will know it is active because it will not be greyed
out and will have a

green check mark beside it.)

Switch back to the Feature Manager Design Tree.

Click on part 0001 in the feature tree.

Move your mouse to the right and from the drop-down
menu select the

SweepCutThread configuration and accept this,

as shown in Figure 7.51. (Be certain that the

This Configuration option is selected. )
 Figure 7. 51

Click on part 0003 in the feature tree, select its

WithCutThread configuration and accept this as
shown in Figure 7.52.

Figure 7. 52

At the top of the feature tree

select the Configuration Manager.
Double click on the Default configuration to make it active.

Switch back to the Feature Manager Design Tree.

Select the Default

configurations for both parts 0001 and 0003.
Verify both configurations rebuild without errors when
they are selected. the cross section of the Default
configuration should look like Figure 7.53 and the
cross section of the For3DPrinting should look like
Figure 7.54.
Save your work.
 Figure 7. 53 Figure 7. 54

The screw mate may show as having an

error. To fix this:

Suppress the TempCoincident mate.

Close the What’s Wrong message.

 Click on the screw mate and select Edit Feature.

The original circular edge used in

the screw mate no longer exists and hence the error message.
 Right click on the
Missing Edge message and select Delete.
Select a circular edge that will not be changed with
future edits, such as that shown in Figure 7.55.

Figure 7. 55

Accept this change and close the mate window.

Rebuild and save your assembly.
8: Assembly
Explosions/Animations/Drawings
Once an assembly is completed, an exploded view and
drawing sheet set will need to be created. Animations and
motion studies of the assembly are often created to help the
customer see how to correctly assemble the parts and how
they move. Assemblies contain a great deal of useful
information for the designer such as the weight, center of
mass, center of gravity and many others.

Videos demonstrating all the topics from this

chapter can be found at the following link,

chapter eight videos.

By the end of this chapter, the learner should be able to:

Show the center of mass.

Create an exploded view.
Add exploded lines.
Create an animation of an assembly exploding.
Create a basic motion study.

Create assembly drawings.

Add chamfer dimensions.
Create section views.
Create an auxiliary view.
Create detail views.
Dimension to an intersection of two edges.
Showing the Center of Mass
To see the center of mass and the effect moving the handle
will have:
Look at the assembly in the isometric view.

Move the handle as far as it will go to the left.

From the Evaluate ribbon select Mass

Properties.

Make a note of the center of mass.

Enable the check box to Create Center of Mass feature.
Close the Mass Properties window.
With the center of mass turned on, every time you move
the handle and rebuild the assembly, the new location of the
center of mass can be seen.
Exploded View
To help people understand how to assemble your parts an
exploded view is typically used.

To create an exploded view:

In the feature tree click on the Center of Mass and hide it.

Select the Configuration Manager.

Select the Default configuration for your assembly.

Right click on the Default configuration and select New

Exploded View

or from the Assembly ribbon

select Exploded

View.
When creating an exploded view, try to separate the parts
as if you were disassembling the parts.

As the Explode Step Type select Regular Step.

Select the roll pin as the Explode Step Components.
Select the X axis arrow, as shown in Figure 8.1, as the
direction to move the pin.
Set the distance to 1 inch.
Select Add Step to apply this movement and end the editing
of this step.

Figure 8. 1

For the second step select the handle (part number 0004).
 Click and hold on the Y axis arrow.

Drag it above the part and release the mouse set the
distance to 0.75, then click Done
to finish the step, Figure 8.2.

Figure 8. 2

The final step in creating the explosion will be to unthread

the rubber thread protector and then move it away from the
body. To do this:
Select part 0004.
Select the Y axis.

Reverse the direction of the pull.

Select the rotation ring which rotates about the Y axis, the
ZX Ring.
Set the distance to 0.375 as shown in Figure 8.3.
Set the rotation angle to 2700 degrees and reverse the

direction of rotation .
Select Add Step.
Select Done.
 Figure 8. 3

Select part 0004 again.

Click and drag the Y axis arrow so all the part can be
seen without any other parts overlapping, set the
distance to 0.375 and select Done. (As soon
as you release the mouse you can right click to exit the

explosion. )

Accept these steps and exit the explosion.

Your explosion should look like Figure 8.4.
Save your work.

Figure 8. 4
The next step is to verify that all the explosion steps are
correct. To do this:

Expand the Default configuration

in the Configuration Manager.
Right click on the Exploded View (Exploded View) in the
Configuration Manager Tree

and select Collapse. (Right

clicking on the explosion in the tree again will allow you
to explode the assembly.)

Again, right click on the

Exploded View and this time select Animate explode.
The assembly will now play an animation of the part
exploding, pay close attention and make certain all parts are
moving correctly. If your part is not rotating in the correct
direction or any part is not moving correctly, the steps can be
edited by:

Close the Animation Controller window.

Right click on the Exploded View and select Edit
Feature.

Click on the step you wish to change to open its properties.

Make the necessary changes and select Done.
 Exit the explosion, run the animation, and verify it is now
correct.
Save your work.

Animation Controller
Again, right click on the Exploded View and this time
select Animate explode or
collapse.
The Animation Controller, Figure 8.5, will animate
the explosion or collapse of the assembly. The
buttons from left to right are:
Return to Start.
Rewind.
Play/pause.
Fast Forward.
Skip to the End.
Save the animation as a video file.
Playback Mode: Normal.
Playback Mode: Loop.
 Playback Mode: Reciprocate.
Half speed animation.
Double speed animation.

Figure 8. 5

Close the Animation Controller.

Exploded Line Sketch

Exploded lines help anyone interpreting your drawings to

see how the parts assemble. To create an exploded line
sketch (if your part is not in the exploded state, explode it):

From the Assembly ribbon select the down arrow

below Exploded View
and select Insert/Edit Smart Explode Lines.
The smart exploded line will select all components to
create exploded lines for, as well as giving you the option of
creating the exploded lines from the center of a bounding
box around each component or from the component origin or
from a selected point on the part as shown in Figure 8.6. If
you are unhappy with the exploded lines, they can be edited,
deleted, or recreated manually using the exploded line sketch
option.
Accept the default settings to create the exploded

lines. Your screen should look like Figure 8.7.

Save your work.

Select the Feature Manager Design Tree.

Right click on the part name

and select Collapse. (The exploded lines will disappear.)
 Figure 8. 6 Figure 8. 7

Motion Study

Motion studies, allow the study of how your assembly will

behave under a set of predefined parameters. They also allow
for nice animations of an assemblies functioning. Here only the
animation of the assembly explosion will be discussed. To
create a new motion study:

Select New Motion Study from the Assembly ribbon.

At the lower right hand corner of the screen there is an

arrow pointing up , cliciking this will expand the

motion study window. When it is pointing down

selecting it will minimize the motion study window.
Expand the motion study window.

Select the Animation Wizard.

As the Animation Type select the Explode radio button.

Select Next.

Change the Duration to 4.5 seconds

and set the Start Tine to

0.5.
Select Finish.
Play the animation. (If any part of the animation is
wrong, select the Model tab across the bottom,
to the left of the Motion Study tab, correct the
exploded view and then create a new motion study by
right clicking on the Motion Study tab and selecting
Create New Motion
Study. )
To save the motion study as an animation file select the
Save Animation button and follow the steps.
The motion study options and controllers from left to right are
shown in Figure 8.8.
Type of study.
Calculate (Calculate the motion study.)
Play from the start.
Play.
Stop.
Timeline.
Playback speed.
Playback mode.
Save the animation.
Animation wizard.
Autokey.
Add a key.
Add a motor.
Add a spring.
Add contact between parts.
Add gravity.
Settings.
 Figure 8. 8

Next the part will be made to rotate a full revolution while it is

exploding. To do this:
Select the Animation Wizard.
As the Animation Type select the Rotate model
option.
 Select Next.

As the axis of rotation select the Y-axis radio button.

Set the Number of rotations to 1.

Set the direction to Clockwise.

Select Next.

Change the Duration to 4.5 seconds and

set the Start Tine to

0.5.
Select Finish.
Play the animation.

Select the Model tab to the left of the Motion Study

tab, located at the bottom left- hand corner of the
SolidWorks window.
Save your work.

Assembly Drawings
Assembly drawings are how we communicate all the parts of an
assembly and how they combine into the final assembly to the
customer. To create a set of assembly drawings:
From the drop-down menu select File, Properties

and fill in all the properties.

Rebuild and save your assembly.

From the drop-down menus select

File, Make Drawing from Assembly.

Select the ANSI-B_SIZE-INCH as the drawing sheet.

Select OK.

The View Palette will open on the right side of the screen.
Uncheck the option to

Import Annotations and Design Annotations.

 Drag and drop the isometric view into the drawing as
shown in Figure 8.9. (Once a view is in a sheet the view
palette will show a green check mark beside that view.)

Figure 8. 9

Since assemblies typically have various materials, stock sizes

and finishes, the current notes section do not apply. To edit the
drawing sheet:
Right click in white space on the drawing
sheet and select Edit Sheet Format.
Select the notes and press the Delete key to remove
them. (This will only remove them from this sheet.
When editing a sheet, all the links to the part or
assembly properties are shown in blue and typically
should not be altered.)

Stop editing the sheet by selecting the icon in the

upper right-hand corner or by right clicking and
selecting Edit Sheet.
Select the view and change its display style to Shaded with

Edges. (With the view

selected you also have the option to

display it in the exploded state, at the
top of the Drawing View Properties
window.)
From the View Palette drag and drop the
Isometric Exploded view onto the sheet so that your
sheet now looks like Figure 8.10. Set the exploded
views display state to Shaded with Edges.

Select the explode view and

uncheck Show in exploded or model break state.
Select the isometric view on the left side of the drawing and
enable the exploded state.
 Figure 8. 10

Right click on Sheet 1 and select Properties.

Name the sheet Exploded and set the sheet Scale to 4:1.

to accept this and close the

properties window.
Recenter your views on the sheet, if required.
 When creating an assembly drawing the next step is to add a
bill of materials (BOM) and the balloon items to correspond to
the BOM. To do this:

Select the exploded view. (Recall; a view is selected when a

blue rectangle is show around it.)
From the Annotation ribbon select Auto
Balloon.

Accept the default settings and your drawing should

look like Figure 8.11 . (Drag the balloons around so that
they are in the same position as shown in Figure 8.11.)
 Figure 8. 11 Figure 8. 12

From the Annotation ribbon select the drop-down

arrow below Tables

and select Bill of Material.
As the view to create the BOM from, select the exploded
view.

Again accept the default settings and place the

table just above the title block. Your drawing should
 now look like Figure 8.12.

If the part descriptions state “FILL ME IN TO DISPLAY IN

DRAWING” then you have not filled in the properties for your
parts and you will need to do so. Once they are filled in the
description will update.

Press the CTRL+Tab keys to switch back to the assembly.

Expand the spring pin slotted.

Set the material for the pin to Stainless Steel (ferritic).

Right click on the pin and select Edit Toolbox
Components. If prompted save the
changes.

Select the Add button found in the Part Number

section.

Enter 92373A015 as the Part number.

Enter 1/16 x 15/16 Slotted Spring Pin as the

Description.
Select OK to apply these changes.
Accept these changes.
Rebuild and save the changes to the assembly.
 Press the CTRL+Tab keys to switch back to the drawing
and your BOM should now have a description for the pin
as shown in Figure 8.13. (If your parts do not have the
properties, remember they can be cut and pasted from a
blank part into your parts.)

Figure 8. 13 Figure 8. 14

To change the default settings of the BOM:

Position your mouse near the upper left-hand corner and

click on the crossing arrows to

bring up the settings. (The BOM can be

changed to suit the required format by positioning
your mouse near the edge and selecting the desired
settings.)
Close the BOM property window.

Position your mouse near the top of the Part Number

column and click when you see the
down arrow beside the letter B.
Center all the text as shown in Figure 8.14.

Rows and/or columns can be inserted by clicking in a cell and

selecting to insert a row or a
column.

Naming Sheets
Next you will be creating a sheet set of drawings and it
will be quicker to navigate through the sheets by naming
them. To name a sheet:

Right click on the sheet tab at the bottom of the window

and select Rename

or perform a slow double click to rename the

sheet.
Name this first sheet “DRingAssembly.”
To add another sheet to the set, select the Add Sheet
tab across the bottom.
 If a blank sheet opens:

In the feature tree right click on the sheet and select

Properties.
In the Sheet Properties window, select the Standard
sheet size radio button.

to the location of your sheets.

Select the desired sheet.

Select Open.

Select Apply Changes to select the desired

sheet.
If this happens the next time you add a sheet in this
sheet set, this sheet will be the default sheet.
Add two more sheets, so there are now a total of four sheets
in the set.

For this sheet set we would like each parts properties to

populate the title block, however; in some occasions, one
part or assemblies properties is selected to populate all
sheets title blocks. To check and/or change this setting:
 Open the drawing properties.

Select the Document

Properties, Drawing Sheets

and uncheck the option to Use custom

properties values from this sheet on all sheets, in
the

Multi-sheet custom properties source section.

Select OK to accept these selections and close the window.

As part of the sheet set, all parts of the assembly will also
have a drawing within the sheet set. Create the drawings as
shown in Figures 8.15, 8.16 and 8.17. Give each sheet an
appropriate name. None of the drawings will be complete as
they appear in the Figures, the state of the figure represents
what you should already recall about how to make a good
drawing.
When adding views to each sheet try using the view
palette. To browse to a new part from the view
palette:
 Select the Browse to Select Part/Assembly
button and browse to each part.
Notes for Figure 8.15:
Name this sheet Threaded Body.
Use a sheet scale of 4:1.
When adding the center mark or center lines, just like
an extension line, it can be selected and then its length
changed by dragging the end points.

To show a different part configuration in the isometric

view, select the view and then

select the desired configuration.

 Figure 8. 15

Notes for Figure 8.16:

Name this sheet Handle.
Use a sheet scale of 4:1.
Notes for Figure 8.17:
Name this sheet Thread Protector.
Set the sheet scale to 4:1.
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Chamfer Dimension
To add a chamfer dimension:
Working with your Threaded Body sheet.
From the Annotation ribbon select the drop-down
arrow below Smart

Dimension and then select Chamfer Dimension.

In the front view select the angled line of the thread
chamfer and then the bottom line of the part, move the
mouse to the right and click to place the dimension. Your
drawing view should look like Figure 8.18. (When adding a
chamfer dimension always select the angled line first
otherwise the dimension will often be the incorrect size.)
Add the chamfer dimension to the top of the part in the front
view.

To set the number of decimal places for the angle, select the
chamfer dimension and set

the 2nd Tolerance/Precision to None.

 not work then add a note.)

(If the chamfer dimension will

Figure 8. 18 Figure 8. 19A Figure 8. 20B

Notes
Often notes are added to drawings to describe features
such as a knurled surface or in the case of this part the
cosmetic thread does not make a complete thread callout when
its callout is inserted into the drawing. To add the proper
callout for the thread:
From the Annotation ribbon select Note.
Click on the vertical line in the front view which represents the
side of the thread.
Move your mouse to the right and click to place the note.
 Enter ¼-20 UNC 2A in the note text box.
Click in the white space of the drawing to exit the note,
then press the Esc key. Your view should now look like
Figure 8.19A.

Alternatively, the cosmetic thread note can be added by:

Start Smart Dimension.

Select the two silhouette edges of the cosmetic thread as
shown in Figure 8.19B, then click to place the dimension.
(This dimension is controlled by the cosmetic thread
settings in the part.)
Delete the ¼-20 Machine Threads note.

Section Views
Section views allow internal and hidden features to be
properly viewed and dimensioned.
To properly show the depth and shape of the slot and hex cut
out in the top of this part a section view will be required. To add
a section view:
Move the right-side view close to the right side of the
sheet, so that there is a gap between the front and right-
side view. (Later it can be re-centered neatly on the
sheet.)
Select the right-side view.

From the Drawing ribbon select Section

View.
 Following Figure 8.20, select the vertical cutting line which
uses one-point placement and click on the midpoint of one
of the horizontal lines in the right-side view, to place the
cutting line.

Figure 8. 21 Figure 8. 22

Accept this selection and move your mouse between

the front and side view, click to place the view.
 In the Section View Properties set the direction of
the view towards the front view by selecting Flip

Direction, if required .

Accept this selection. Your section view should look like

Figure 8.21.
If a ¼-20 Machine Threads note appears, delete it.

Add the dimensions as shown

in Figure 8.22. To clarify that
the R0.438 cut goes 0.063
deep:

Figure 8. 23 Figure 8. 24
 From the Sketch ribbon select 3 Point Arc.
Sketch the arc on top of the view by selecting the three points
as shown in Figure 8.23.

Accept this to create the arc.

Save your work.
Select your Handle sheet.
This part has the same fillet all around the part, because of
this a new note should be added to the notes section stating
what size the fillet should be. To do this:
Right click in the white space of the sheet
and select Edit Sheet Format.
Double click on the Notes.
Click at the end of the last note.
Press the Enter key.
Add the note “5. ALL ROUNDS AND FILLETS 0.01 UOS.”

Stop editing the sheet by selecting the icon in the upper

right-hand corner or by right clicking and

selecting Edit Sheet.
The location of the hole in the right-side view is not yet
dimensioned. To dimension it:

Select Smart Dimension from the Annotation

ribbon.
Select the circle for the hole.
Then hold the Shift key while selecting the lower circular
part edge, release the shift as soon as the edge is
selected.
Move your mouse to the left and click to place the
dimension. Your view should now look like Figure 8.24.

If holding the shift key while

creating this dimension does not work
for you, it can be fixed after the
dimension is placed. To change how
this feature is dimensioned, first place
the dimension, then in the Dimension
Properties select the Leaders tab.
Then select the require radio button for
the arc condition until the desired
dimension is achieved.
 Figure 8. 25

Auxiliary View
To properly show the details of the cut out in the handle an
auxiliary view is required. To create one:

From the Sketch ribbon select Line.

Sketch a tangent line as shown in Figure 8.25. (Be certain

to add the tangent relationship. In a drawing the
relationships will show in the Properties window, in the
Add Relations section.)

(To add a sketch relation in a

drawing view, follow the same procedure as if adding the
relationship in a part sketch. Select the line, hold the CTRL
key, select the part edge, release CTRL, and add the
relationship.)

Close the Properties window.

 Figure 8. 26 Figure 8. 27

Select the line.

From the Drawing ribbon select Auxiliary View.

Move your mouse up and to the right, then click to place the
view.
Accept the default settings by clicking in the white
space of the drawing. Your sheet should look like Figure
8.26. (The BB section lines can be altered by clicking on
the line and

dragging it from one of the grips. )

From the Drawing ribbon select Section View.

In the Section View Assist Properties select the Auxiliary

Cutting Line style.
Select the midpoint of the line on the center of the cut
out, in the auxiliary view, as the first point, Figure 8.27.
Select the midpoint of one of the arcs as the second
point to define the cutting plane as shown in Figure
8.27.
Figure 8. 28 Figure 8. 29

Accept this selection to create the section view.

Move your mouse down and to the right and click to
place the section view. Your drawing should now look
like Figure 8.28. (Adjust the cutting lines as required.
After adjusting a cutting line, rebuild and save your
drawings.)
To ensure the cutting line angle does not change if the cutting
line is adjusted:

On the left-hand side, expand the Section View.

Right click on the Cutting Line and select Edit Sketch.

Select the cutting line, hold the CTRL key, and select the
part edge, release the CTRL key

and add the Perpendicular relationship.

Accept this selection.

Exit the sketch.

Rebuild and save your work.
Detail View

The newly created section view could be dimensioned, but the

slot is small, and a larger scaled view would show the details
better. To create a detail view:

From the Drawing ribbon select Detail View.

Click near the center of the V in the section view to
start the circle which defines the detail view.
Move your mouse out until you have a circle which
contains both sides of the part and click to create the
view.
Position your mouse between the front and right-side view and
click to place the view.
In the Detail View Properties set the scale to 16:1.

Accept this selection.

If the section view heading is over the part or title block,
click on it and drag it until it is no longer over the view
and can be clearly read. Your drawing should look like
Figure 8.29.

Figure 8. 30 Figure 8. 31

Add the dimensions as shown in Figure 8.30.

 Save your work.
Switch to your Thread Protector sheet.
Currently the drawing title is larger than the allotted space, to fix
this:
Right click in white space on the drawing
sheet and select Edit Sheet Format.
Double click on the name RUBBER THREAD PROTECTOR.

Change the font size to 20.

Close the Formatting window.
Click in the white space of the sheet to close the properties
window.
 Right click on the name, RUBBER THREAD PROTECTOR,
select Snap to Rectangle
Center.

Select the four title block lines which enclose the title, once
the fourth line is selected, the

title will recenter in the space.

Stop editing the sheet by selecting the icon in the upper

right-hand corner or by right clicking and selecting Edit
Sheet.

Find Intersection

Often when adding a dimension, the feature needs to be

dimensioned from the intersection of two entities. To do this:

Select Smart Dimension from the Annotation

ribbon or use the mouse gestures.
In the top view, right click on the arc as shown in
Figure 8.31 and select Find Intersection.
 Figure 8. 32 Figure 8. 33

Next select the arc as shown in Figure 8.32.

Repeat this procedure for the opposite side of this
feature and add the dimension as shown in Figure
8.33.
 Figure 8. 34

Finish dimensioning the Thread Protector so that your

drawing has all the same views and dimensions as Figure
8.34. These drawings are not yet complete.
Save your work.

Figure 8. 35

The OD’s (outside diameters) should not be dimensioned

in the top view, but rather in the view where they look
rectangular. To correct this, move the dimensions from the top
view to the front view as was demonstrated in chapter four.
9: Parametric Design/Excel
Parametric design means to design using parameters
and/or equations and allowing the parameters/equations to
drive the design. The use of equations and part configurations
has been briefly introduced, in this chapter they will be
examined in greater detail.
When working with parameters, the design intent must be well
thought out and drive the design, or the configurations will
become a constant frustration. First the smallest part of the
family of parts should be designed, so that it will contain all the
smallest feature sizes and they will only increase in size. This
will minimize the chance of rebuild errors.
The part used in this chapter will be a quick release mount
for camera designed to the international standard. The
previous

assembly is the thread for this base and even though the thread
is an inch thread the rest of the standard is in metric.

Videos demonstrating all the topics from this

chapter can be found at the following link,

chapter nine videos.

By the end of this chapter, the learner should be able to:

Create equations to drive part design.

Create a shell feature.
Use dynamic mirror is a sketch.
Link dimensions.
 Create a linear sketch pattern.
Copy a sketch.

Copy a feature.
Create a draft feature.
Create a wrap feature.
Use folders to organize the design tree.
Add a design table using Excel.

Equations

Equations are often used to drive our designs and when a family
of parts is to be created, setting up the equations are typically
the first step. To do this:

Start a new metric part.

From the drop-down menu select Tools,

Equations.

In the cell below, Global Variables enter “Ver.”

In the Value/Equation cell enter 5.

Make the next Global Variable, “L.”
 Press the Tab key to move to the Value/Equation cell,
then click on the Global Variable “Ver,” next add
“*10” to complete the equation.
Click the green check mark to solve the equation.
Add three more global variables, as shown in Figure 9.1, W, T
and SL. set the values to
38, 10 and 6 respectively.

Select OK to exit the Equations, Global

Variable and Dimensions window.

Figure 9. 1

Rectangle

The basic shape for this part is a rectangle, to create a

rectangular extrusion:

From the Features ribbon select Extrude

Boss/Base.

Select the Top plane to create the sketch in.

From the Sketch ribbon select Center Rectangle.
Click on the origin to lock the rectangle center to the part
origin.
Move your mouse away from the origin, in any direction and
click to create the rectangle.

Press the Esc key to exit the command.

Activate Smart Dimension.

Select the upper horizontal line, move your mouse up and click
to place the dimension.
Type “=” in the dimension size field, move your mouse
down to the Global Variables and select L (50) as
shown in Figure 9.2. (Recall: the green check mark
after the equation, verifies that it is valid and can be
solved. Alternatively, the variable “L” may also be entered
after the equals sign.)
Accept this equation.
Exit the Modify window.

Figure 9. 2

Dimension to the right vertical line, this time select the

global variable W (38) as the feature size, Figure 9.3.

Figure 9. 3

Press the Esc key to exit the command.

Exit the sketch.

For the extrusion thickness select the global variable T
(10), Figure 9.4 and accept this selection. Your part
should look like Figure 9.5.
 Figure 9. 4 Figure 9. 5

Save your part as 0005 and make the description PU QUICK

RELEASE.
Add 5mm fillets to each of the corners.

Shell
The shell command will remove material from the selected
faces of a part and leave the walls to a desired thickness. To
shell this part:

Select Shell from the Features ribbon.

Set the Thickness to 5 and select the bottom face of
the part as the Faces to Remove as shown in Figure
9.6 and accept these selections.
 Figure 9. 6

Set the Material to aluminum 6061 Alloy.

From the drop menu select File, Properties.
Set up all the parts properties. Set the first seven as shown in
Figure 9.7.
 Figure 9. 7

Dynamic Mirror
Earlier you added the dynamic mirror icon to the sketch
ribbon. When used the dynamic mirror will mirror entities
about a chosen center line as they are sketched. To create a
feature using dynamic mirror:
Select the right-side face of your part as shown in Figure
9.8 and look Normal To it.

Figure 9. 8 Figure 9. 9

With the face still selected select Extruded Cut from the
Features ribbon.
Add a center line to your sketch as shown in Figure 9.9.

From the Sketch ribbon select Dynamic Mirror

Entities.
Select the center line as the entity to mirror about.
(Notice that the Dynamic Mirror Entities in the ribbon
appears as a pressed button and that the center line has
two sets or horizontal parallel lines on it, as shown in
Figure 9.10, indicating that this command is active.)
 Figure 9. 10

Create the sketch, horizontally centered, as shown in

Figure 9.11. (Notice how each entity is mirrored as it is
created. The circles represent the ¼ inch dowels which
will be used to check the dovetail depth. When
dimensioning the circle, which is for construction, enter
“0.25 in” as the feature size and SolidWorks will convert it
to the metric equivalent. Remember to hold the Shift key
when dimensioning to outside of the circles or to use the
Leaders option to select the Max Arc Condition. The
part is displayed as a wireframe entity to make the sketch
easier to see. Be certain to close the triangle sketch.)
The following relationships will be required to fully define the
sketch:
Tangent between the construction circle and both angled
lines.
The angled lines are perpendicular.
The vertex of the angled lines is horizontal to the midpoint
of the center line.
 Figure 9. 11

Select Dynamic Mirror Entities again

to turn it off, once the sketch is completed. (The hash
marks on the center line will disappear once this
command is turned off.)
 Exit the sketch and select Through All as the End
condition

for the cut feature.

Name this feature Dove Tails. Your part should now
look like Figure 9.12.

Figure 9. 12

Add two ¼-20 Hole Wizard holes through the

top of the part at the locations shown in Figure 9.13.
(Recall: select the face before selecting the command.)
 Figure 9. 13

Save your work. Your part should now look like Figure
9.14.
 Figure 9. 14

Linked Values
Linking dimensions is another way of creating a simple
equation to drive features of a sketch. A linked dimension will
set a group of two or more dimensions equal and when one is
altered, all will update. To create a linked dimension:
Add another through all extrude cut feature to the top of
the part, using the sketch as shown in Figure 9.15. (Use
the straight slot sketch tool as you did in chapter two. The
horizontal slots length should be = SL. When adding the
slots, if you hover your mouse over a hole center, the
center mark will appear, and you can select it to start your
slot sketch.)

Figure 9. 15
Right click on one of the 5 mm dimensions.
Select Link Values.

Name this Shared Value “SlotWidth” and

select OK.
Right click on the other 5 mm dimension and select Link
Values.
 Select the drop-down arrow in the Name field of the
Shared Values window and then select “SlotWidth”
followed by OK, as shown in Figure 9.16. (You should
notice both dimensions now have a picture of a chain
link beside them, showing they are linked as shown in
Figure 9.17.)

Figure 9. 16 Figure 9. 17

Change one of the linked dimensions to 6 and rebuild

the dimension. (You should see both values change.)
Set the dimension back to 5, rebuild, exit the
sketch and complete the through all extrusion. Your
part should look like Figure 9.18.
Figure 9. 18 Figure 9. 19

Name this cut feature D Ring Slot.

Add the extrude cut feature to the top of the part as
shown in Figure 9.19. The extrusion depth is 0.5 mm, the
slot is SL x SL and 7.5 mm in both axis from the corner.
(Recall: the equation symbol indicates that the
global variable was used.)
Name this feature Felt Pocket.

Linear Patterns
Feature geometry can be patterned in a sketch or as a
feature pattern. The next steps for this part will include a
linear sketch and feature pattern. To create a linear sketch
pattern:
Copying a Sketch

Expand the Felt Pocket feature.

Right click on the sketch and select Contour Select Tool.

(You may need to expand

the right click window to see the tool.)

Press CTRL+C on your keyboard to copy the sketch.

You should notice that your mouse pointer has

changed to include a sketch.

Right click on the sketch again and select End Select

Contours.

Select the top surface of the part and start an Extruded

Cut from the Features
ribbon.
Press the CTRL+V keys to paste the copied sketch.
Select the Vertical relationship and press the
Delete key to remove it from this sketch.

Select the
down arrow beside Move Entities and select Rotate
Entities.
Select the pasted slot.
As the Center of rotation select the midpoint of the center
line.

Set the rotation angle to 90 and accept these settings.

Now select Move Entities and

move the slot into the approximate location as shown in
Figure 9.20.

As the Entities to Move select the Slot.

 Select the From/To radio button in the Parameters
section.

Click in the Start point cell so that it turns blue.

Select the center point of the slot, move your
mouse close to the upper right- hand corner of
the part, Figure 9.20, and click to complete the
move.
Add the dimensions and relationships to the
sketch as shown in Figure 9.20.

Figure 9. 20

From the Sketch ribbon select Linear Sketch

Pattern.
Set up the Direction 1 to be the X-axis with a spacing of
22.5, as shown in Figure 9.21.
Enable the check box to Dimension x spacing and to
Display instance count.
Set the number of Instances to 2.
Select an entity, line, or arc, of the slot and accept
these selections, you may need to reverse the direction.

Figure 9. 21

Exit the sketch, make the cut depth 0.5 and accept
this selection. You part should now look like Figure 9.22.
 Save your work.
Name this feature Linear Sketch Cut.

Figure 9. 22 Figure 9. 23

Add a Circular Pattern feature (just

like in chapter 5) of the Felt Pocket so that your part
looks like Figure 9.23. The pattern should be set up as
shown in Figure 9.24.
Figure 9. 24 Figure 9. 25

Copying a Feature
Features such as the cut extrude can be copied to a new position
on your part. To do this:
While holding the CTRL key click on the Felt Pocket
feature in the feature tree or on the part, then drag and
drop it onto the top of the part as shown in Figure 9.25.
Release the mouse button first followed by the CTRL key.

When asked if you wish to

Delete or Dangle the external relationships, chose Delete.
The sketch for this copied feature will be under-
defined . Edit the sketch until it is fully
defined as shown in Figure 9.26.

The sketch will need to

have the vertical relationship
deleted, then rotated and the
horizontal relationship added.
Be careful to use the global
variable for the slot
dimensions.
 Figure 9. 26

Name this feature Copied Cut.

The last item to add to the top of this part is one more slot
using a linear feature pattern. To do this:

Select the Copied Cut feature.

From the Features ribbon select Linear Pattern.

For Direction 1 select the lower horizontal edge of the
part as shown in Figure 9.27, or select the 14 mm
dimension. (When selecting the edge for a pattern always
select the edge near the end of the entity and the pattern
direction will be towards the opposite end of that entity. If
the direction is wrong, it can be switched by selecting the

grey arrow in the graphics section or by selecting

the flip direction icon .)

Set the spacing to 22.5 and the Number of Instances to
2.
Select the radio button to set the Spacing and instance.
Accept these selections and your part should look like
Figure 9.28.
Figure 9. 27 Figure 9. 28

Save your work.

Draft
Draft or a taper can be added to a feature as part of the
feature as was demonstrated in chapter five or it can be added
as its own feature. The draft feature will allow you to add draft
or to alter an existing draft angle. To add draft as its own
feature:

From the Features ribbon select Draft.

Select the Add tab.

Set the draft angle to 3 degrees.
Select the top face of the part as the Direction of
Pull or Neutral Plane, as shown in Figure 9.29.

As the Faces to Draft select the vertical pocket faces as

shown in Figure 9.29. (To make this selection easier, right
click on a face of the pocket and then choose Select
Tangency,
to select all the vertical faces of that pocket.)
Turn on the Auto paint option and all the pocket walls
should show as positive draft as shown in Figure 9.30.

Accept these settings to add draft to the pockets.

 Figure 9. 29

Figure 9. 30 Figure 9. 31

Save your work.

To verify the draft has the walls of the pockets tapering

out, use the section view and you should be able to

clearly see the tapered walls as shown in Figure 9.31.
(Use the
arrow to move the cut into the middle of a pocket. )
Wrap
Parts will often have logos engraved or embossed into them.
The wrap feature allows the addition of this type of feature to a
part. To add a wrap:

Select the right-side face and look Normal To it.

From the Feature ribbon select Wrap.
Add a horizontal center line 4 mm up from the bottom edge as
shown in Figure 9.32.

Figure 9. 32

From the Sketch ribbon select Text.

Select the center line as the Curve to create the text along, as
shown in Figure 9.33.

Enter FREDUMACATION as the text.

Uncheck the option to Use document font.

Select the Font button.

Set the font to Arial, Regular, 2 mm as shown in Figure 9.34
and select OK.

Select the option to Center Align the text.

Accept these selections to add the text.
 Figure 9. 33 Figure 9. 34

To fully define text, you will need to dimension to the

point created with the text or lock the point to the part
origin. There will be a point already at the part origin
which was created with the text, drag it off and then back
onto the origin to fully define the sketch by adding the
coincident relationship.

Exit the sketch.

 As the Wrap Type select Scribe.

As the Wrap Method select Analytical.

Select the right-side face again as the Face to Wrap
Sketch, as shown in Figure 9.35.
Accept these selections and your part should look like
Figure 9.36.

Figure 9. 35 Figure 9. 36

Add a 5 mm fillet to the bottom pocket corners as shown in

figure 9.37.

Figure 9. 37

This part requires two M3 x 0.5 tapped holes in the bottom,

so socket head cap screws can be added which prevent this
from accidentally being slide to far in its stand and dropping an
expensive camera. To add these holes the bottom requires
alterations.
Add two 5 mm radius bosses as shown in Figure 9.38.

Use the Up To Next end condition.

Name this feature M3 Thread Boss.
 Figure 9. 38

Add 1 mm fillets to the four internal corners as shown in

Figure 9.39.

Figure 9. 39 Figure 9. 40

Add two cut extrudes as one feature. Make the cut depth
2 mm and create the sketch as shown in Figure 9.41, by
first offsetting the arc, then moving the end points and
adding a vertical relationship between the two end points
and the arc center. Next add the horizontal and vertical
lines to close the sketch.
Add four 1 mm fillets as shown in Figure 9.40.
 Figure 9. 41

Add the M3 x 0.5-hole wizard tapped holes on the center

of the radius as shown in Figure
9.42 to complete this part. (Recall: select the face before
the hole wizard command and when adding the hole
positions if you hover you mouse over the radius it will wake
up the center point so that it can be selected as the
location.)
Save your work. Your final part should look like Figure
9.43.

Figure 9. 42 Figure 9. 43
Folders
Folders can help to organize assembly and part feature
trees by grouping related items such as fasteners or related
part features. For example, this parts feature would be shorter
if many of the common features were contained in one folder.
To add a folder:

Holed the CTRL key and select all the features in the feature
tree as shown in Figure 9.44.
Right click and select Add to New Folder.
Name this folder Felt Pockets.

Figure 9. 44 Figure 9. 45

Next three versions (configurations) will be created,

each will have the appropriate feature sizes update. This can
be done solely within SolidWorks as was done in chapter six or
can be done using Excel as will be done here.
To create the part configurations:
Select the Configuration Manager.
Add two configurations as shown in Figure 9.45, PU60 and
PU70.
 Now a design table will be created using an embedded
excel spread sheet. By creating the configuration copies first,
SolidWorks will know to add these names to the initial spread
sheets. If the configurations had not been created before the
spread sheet, then they would be created in the spread sheet.
Before creating the spread sheet, the global variable which
will change for each configuration will need to be set up. To do
this:

In the feature tree right click

on the Equations folder and select Manage Equations.
Near the upper right-hand corner of this window select the
PU60 configuration.

Double click in the Value/Equation =5 cell (the

“Ver” global variable).
 Select the drown arrow at the right-hand side of this cell
and select This Configuration
and set the value to 6. (The
single box icon in the drop- down menu represents the
current configuration. This will change this global variable
value only in this configuration.)

Double click in the SL Value/Equation cell

and set it value equal to 8 for
This Configuration.

As soon as you press the enter key or click in another cell a

warning will appear about the
draft feature, select the option to Continue (Ignore
Error) and Close the warning.

Switch back to the Default (PU50) configuration and

when asked if you wish to save the changes select OK

and close any warnings. (Its values should

remain unchanged, I.E. L=50 and SL=6.)

Select the PU70 configuration.

Set Ver to 7 and SL to 10.

(Again,
ensure you are changing only this configuration and you
may need to select the option to Continue (Ignore
Error).)
 Select OK to exit the window and apply the changes, accept
any warnings.
Select the PU60 configuration, it should look like
Figure 9.46.
Select the PU70 configuration, it should look like
Figure 9.47.

Figure 9. 46 Figure 9. 47

Both configurations have issues with the slots and a warning

for the Draft feature.
These will be corrected shortly.
Correcting the Errors
These errors were caused because the design intent did
not consider how the part would change with the various
configurations. The two errors which should be fixed are:
1. It would be better if the M3 tapped hole did not
break through the pocket wall in the PU60
configuration.

2. It would be better if the slots did not interfere in the

PU60 and PU70 configurations.
Select the Default (PU50) configuration.

All the features from the bottom up to and including the M3

Thread Boss were created to allow the addition of the M3
tapped holes and can be placed into a folder.

Move all these features to a folder and name it M3.

Drag and drop this folder above the Felt Pockets folder.
(If the folder will not drag and drop, drag each feature
within the folder, one at a time, then the folder and lastly,
place each feature back into the folder.)
Expand the M3 Threaded Boss folder and the M3 x 0.5
Tapped Holes feature.
Click on the first sketch of the hole wizard and select the option
to Show the sketch, thus

allowing the points to be used in the next sketch.

Edit the sketch of the original Felt Pocket feature.

Delete the two 7.5mm dimensions.
Add a coincident relationship to the center of the M3 hole
and the center of the top half round slot end as shown in
Figure 9.48.
Exit the sketch and save your work.
Figure 9. 48 Figure 9. 49

Select each configuration and rebuild it.

Now only the PU70 configuration should have issues as
shown in Figure 9.49. Again, this is caused by an unforeseen
issue with the design intent of the part and should be corrected
before continuing. To fix this issue:
If your circular pattern has an error.
 Edit the Circular Pattern feature.
Uncheck the Geometry pattern option
and accept this selection.
This will fix the circular pattern issue but not the draft. The
geometry pattern option will cause the feature to be copied but
not force it to be solved, meaning the end conditions and
calculations are ignored for the patterned feature. Using the
geometry pattern option can increase the rebuild speed.
The last issue will be fixed in the design tables. To fix this
issue a few more changes to the design will be required.
Select the Default (PU50) configuration.
Double click on the upper right felt pocket to bring up
the dimensions as shown in Figure 9.50 .
 Figure 9. 50 Figure 9. 51

Click on the extension line for 7.50 horizontal dimension.

In the Primary Value section of

the Dimension properties window, on the left-hand side
in the Dimension manager window, change its name to
EdgeDistance.
Repeat this procedure for the 22.5 dimension and change its
name to Spacing.

Double click on the lower right-hand pocket to bring up

its dimensions as shown in Figure 9.51.

Change the name of the 14 mm dimension to

LowerEdgeDis.

Double click on the lower left-hand pocket, then right

click on the 22.5 dimension and select Link Values.

Name this value Space and select Ok.

Go back and double click on the upper pockets, right click on
the 22.5 dimension, select
Link Values, and select the Space link value.
Save your work.
Design Table
To create an excel design table:

From the drop-down menu select

Insert, Tables, Excel Design Tables.

Accept the Auto-create option and the default

settings.

An excel spread sheet window will open in the upper left-hand

corner of the graphics area and the ribbon will be an excel
ribbon. As soon as you click outside of this section into the
white space, the table will close and update the configurations.
To make the excel window larger,

carefully position your mouse over the lower right-hand

corner until the cursor changes to a double arrow, click
and drag the window to the desired size. If the table is not
completed, it can be reopened by:
Expanding the Tables folder found just above your
configurations.
 Then right click on the Design Table and select Edit
Table or to open this table in its own

Excel window select Edit Table in New window.

The next step is to add all the global variables and any
other features or dimensions you wish to change for any
configuration to the excel table, the global variable may or may
not have loaded into the table. To do this:
In the $DESCRIPTION column change the description for
the default configuration to
PU50.
The $COLOR column is not required, right click on the
letter cell above this column and select Delete to remove
it, as shown in Figure 9.52.
Figure 9. 52 Figure 9. 53

Click in the first empty cell of row 2.

In the feature tree click on the Linear Sketch Cut feature
or on the part feature. (If you double click it will add the
column heading of $STATE@ Linear Sketch Cut and the
state will be unsuppressed, this column should be deleted
before closing Excel.)
If the state column is present, click in the next empty cell in
row 2 (to the right of
$STATE@ Linear Sketch Cut) then double click on the
7.50 vertical dimension to add it to the table if it is not
already there. (This is the EdgeDistance.)
Add the values 10 for the PU60 configuration and 13 for the
PU70.
Repeat this procedure for Space dimension if it is not in the
table.
Add the values 25 for the PU60 configuration and 27.5 for the
PU70.
Use these procedures to make your table as shown in Figure
9.54.
Click outside of the table or on the green check mark

found at the upper right-hand corner of the window,

to exit the spread sheet and update the configurations.
Each configuration will now have an X beside it; this
denotes that it is linked to an excel spread sheet and there will
be a tables folder above the configurations as shown in Figure
9.53.

Save your work.

Figure 9. 54 Figure 9. 55

Rebuild all configurations and you should notice that the

PU70 still has an issue with the draft because the slots on
the ends break out of the edge as shown in Figure 9.55.
To fix this last issue:

In the Configuration Manager expand the Tables folder,

right click on the Design Table

and select Edit Table.

If a window to Add Rows and Columns opens, select

Cancel to close it and

continue.

Select the first empty cell to the right in row two.

Select the Feature Manager Design Tree.

Double click on the original Felt Pocket feature in the
tree. This will add $STATE@Felt Pocket as
the column title. (The cell immediately below this one will
state that currently this feature is UNSUPPRESSED. )
In the cell below this type a U to also make this
feature unsuppressed for the PU60 configuration.
In the cell below that type an S so this feature
will be suppressed in the PU70 configuration, as
shown in Figure 9.56.
Change the value for the PU70 configuration EdgeDistance
to16.25.
Exit the Excel window.

Figure 9. 56

Rebuild and save your work.

All configurations should now rebuild correctly and your PU70
configuration should look like Figure 9.57. In the feature tree
you should notice that all features dependent upon this
suppressed feature are also now suppressed.
Figure 9. 57
10: Sub-Assemblies and Drawing
Revisions
Now that the base, PU50, 60 and 70, for the camera tripod
quick release has been created a new assembly should be
created and the drawings updated. As soon as the previous
assembly is brought into this assembly it will become a sub-
assembly.

Videos demonstrating all the topics from this

chapter can be found at the following link,

chapter ten videos.

By the end of this chapter, the learner should be able to:

Create a sub-assembly.
Make a sub-assembly flexible or rigid.
Add fasteners.
Check for interferenace.
Repair mate issues.
Verify clearance.
Reuse a sub-assembly exploded view.
Update drawings.

Add magnetic lines to a drawing.

Alter balloon items.
Use dual dimensions.
Break view alignments.
Add a hole table.
 Create an aligned section view.
Add and update a revision table.

Assemblies and Sub-Assemblies

Open your PU50 part.

Select the default (PU50) configuration.

From the drop-down menu select

File, Make Assembly from Part.

Select the ANSI_MM assembly template.

Click OK to start the assembly.
Click in the graphics area to fix this part in the assembly.
Press the CTRL+Tab keys to move back to the part file
and close the part.
 Select the Configuration Manager and create two new
assembly configurations,

PU60 Assembly and PU70 Assembly.

Configure each assembly to use the appropriate base part as

you did in chapter seven.

Make the PU50 configuration active.

Save your assembly as 0006, enter “PU Quick Release” as

the description.

From the Assembly ribbon select Insert

Component.
Browse to where you saved your 0004 assembly.
Select and open it.
Click anywhere in white space of the graphics area to place it.
As soon as an assembly is placed inside of another assembly
two things will happen that you should be aware of:
1. It is now a sub-assembly.
2. The assembly is rigid.
When an assembly is rigid it means it will not move, in this
case the rubber thread protector will not unthread, and the
handle will not rotate. This is done intentionally as a rigid
assembly is easier to mate than a flexible one. Flexible means
it will behave as the mates allow it to, in the original assembly.
To mate this sub-assembly:

From the Evaluate ribbon select Measure.

Measure the depth of the through slots as shown in Figure
10.1, it should be 5mm.

Figure 10. 1 Figure 10. 2

Exit the Measure tool.

Click on the sub-assembly, 0004 and select Edit
Assembly.

Expand the sub-assembly and its mate

folder.

Click on and suppress the TempCoincident mate.

Double click on the Limit Distance mate to
bring up its dimensions.

Double click on the dimension to open the Modify

window.
 Set the current separation distance to 5 mm,
rebuild and close the Modify window. (Because
this assembly was created in the inch template do not
forget to add the “mm” at the end of the five.)

Stop editing the sub-assembly.

If the parts do not move to the 5mm separation distance,
the TempCoincident mate is most likely not suppressed. To
suppress it, you will need to edit the assembly, suppress the
mate, rebuild the assembly and then stop editing.
Click and hold the middle mouse wheel and rotate the
assembly until the pocket can be seen.

From the Assembly ribbon select the down arrow

below Move Component and

select Rotate Component.

Rotate the sub-assembly until it is in the approximate
orientation as shown in Figure 10.2 and 10.3, then accept

this.
Add a Coincident mate as shown in Figure 10.2, between
the PU50 pocket face and the
screw face.
Save your work.
 From the Assembly ribbon select Mate.
Select the Advanced Mates option.
Select the Width mate as shown in Figure 10.3.
Set the Constraint to Centered.
Select the two faces of the slot as the Width Selections.
Select the cylindrical face of the part 0001 as the

Width selections 2 and accept these selections.

Figure 10. 3

The next step is creating a mate which will contain the sub-
assembly within the slot. To do this:

Exit the mate window.

Click on the PU50 part and select Edit Part.

Select the right-side face.

From the Features ribbon select Reference

Geometry and then Plane.

Select the Parallel option.

Select the slot edge as shown in Figure 10.4 as the second
reference.
 Accept these selections to create the plane.

Figure 10. 4 Figure 10. 5

Name this plane Right Offset.

Stop editing the part.

Click on part 0001, in the sub-assembly and select Edit
Part.
 From the Features ribbon select

Reference Geometry and then Axis.

Select one of the round faces, as shown in Figure 10.5, to
create the axis from.

Accept this selection.

Name this Axis1.

Stop editing the part.

Add a limit distance mate (0-6mm) between your newly
created plane and axis, this will keep the sub-assembly
contained in the slot correctly, as shown in Figure 10.6. (If
the limit distance mate allows the sub-assembly to move
into the part rather than the slot, right click on it and

select Flip Dimension. )

Rebuild and save your work.
 Figure 10. 6

Flexible Sub-Assembly
To make the sub-assembly flexible:
Click on the sub-assembly in the feature tree and select Make
Subassembly Flexible.

(It will now move as it was

designed to with
its mates.)

Adding Fasteners
The last item required for this assembly are two M3 socket
head cap screws (SCHS). To add these:
Select the Design Library on the right side of the
window.

Select the Toolbox.

Followed by ANSI Metric.

Then Bolts and Screws.
 Next select Socket Head Screws.
Rotate your part so that it is positioned like Figure 10.7.

Figure 10. 7

Drag and drop a Socket Head Cap Screw – ANSI B into

the part as shown in Figure 10.8.

(If you are careful, when you drop the screw into the
assembly both the coincident and the

concentric mates can be added.)

If you see a message stating “There is no matching size
for this component” ignore it.
 Figure 10. 8 Figure 10. 9

Set up the screw, M3 x 0.5 x 6, as shown in Figure 10.9

and accept these selections. (Recall: select the add button

, from the Configure Component window, to add

the description which will appear in the bill of materials
(BOM).)
Press the Esc key so only one screw is added to the
assembly.
 If the drag and drop of the screw worked well, there will
be a coincident and a concentric mate. If either is missing,
add it before proceeding. Alternatively, the screw can be
dropped into the white space and mated after its size is set
up. To verify the mates are present, expand the mate folder
for the fastener or try to move the fastener out of and away
from the hole.

Expand the Mates for the SHCS,

right click on the Concentric and select Lock Rotation.
Right click on the SHCs and select Copy with Mates.

At the right side of the Copy with Mates Property select

the blue arrow point to the right. (When this first

opens you have the chance to change the component you
wish to copy or continue with the selected component.)

Click in the check box to repeat the Coincident mate.

Select the other M3 hole as the new location for the
concentric mate as shown in Figure 10.10.
Figure 10. 10 Figure 10. 11

Accept this and exit Copy with Mates.

Save your work. The bottom of your assembly should

now look like Figure 10.11. The next step is to make all
configurations use these mates. To do this:
Select the PU60 configuration.

Select the Feature Manager Design Tree.

Expand the Mate Group folder.

Select all the greyed-out mates by clicking on the top

coincident mate, holding the shift key and clicking on the
last concentric mate.

Right click and select Configure Feature.

Uncheck all the checked boxes as shown in Figure 10.12

Figure 10. 12

At the bottom of this window select the option to Rebuild

All Configurations.
 Select Apply followed by OK.

Verify all three configurations function properly and save

your work.

Make the PU50 configuration active.

Select the isometric view and fit the geometry to the

screen.

Interference Detection

Before proceeding any further, the parts should be checked to

ensure that there is adequate clearance where required and/or
there are no unacceptable interferences. The evaluate tools will
be used for this.

Click on part 0003 and select Hide Components.

From the Evaluate ribbon select Interference
Detection.

In the Options section, check the box to Ignore hidden

bodies/components

Check the box to Create fasteners folder.

Select Calculate.
The results, Figure 10.13 shows four interferences, if we
ignore the fasteners. (To see where and how much an
interference is, select one of the interferences in the
Results window.)
The section view, Figure 10.14, highlights the areas
which must be fixed before proceeding.
 Figure 10. 13 Figure 10. 14

Close the Interference Detection.

To fix this problem one of the two parts must be altered.
The screw will be a purchased component which has been
modeled to a standard available size, therefore; to fix this issue
the thickness of the PU50 parts will need to be altered. There
should be 0.5 mm clearance between these two parts.

To fix this:
 First the design of the part must be examined. The
thickness is controlled by the shell feature, therefore; it will
need to be altered.

Click on the PU50 part and select Open.

Click on the Shell feature and select Edit Feature.

 In the Multi-thickness Settings set the thickness to
4.28 and select the top face of the part as the Multi-
thickness Faces as shown in Figure 10.15. (Be certain
that both thickness
settings are set to be applied to all configurations. )

Figure 10. 15 Figure 10. 16

Accept these selections.

A cross section of your part, through the right plane

should look like Figure 10.16. To verify the cut worked:

From the Evaluate ribbon select Measure.

Measure the thickness of the top face, it should be 4.28
mm.

Measure one of the wall thicknesses,

to verify it has stayed at 5mm.
Close the measure window.
Verify that the shell is correct in all configurations. If
this shell is suppressed in any configuration,
unsuppress it.

Rebuild, save and close this part.

Repairing a Mate

If you return to the assembly and the Coincident mate is

red, this is because the surface used in the mate
has changed. To fix this:

Click on the mate and select Edit Feature.

The missing face will be highlighted an off green color.

Right click on this Missing Face and select Delete.

Select the face as shown in Figure 10.17 and accept this
selection.
Close the mate window.

Rebuild and save your assembly (Verify all configurations

are error free.)

Figure 10. 17
Clearance Verification

To ensure the cut provided the 0.5 mm clearance the clearance

verification will be used.

Click on part 0005 and select Change Transparency.

Click in white space so the top face is no longer blue.

From the Evaluate ribbon select Clearance

Verification.
If your thread protector, part 0003, is visible, right click on
it select Hide. (This will make the selection of
the faces easier.)
In the Selected Components section choose the Select
Faces option.
Select the top face of part PU50 and the underside face of
0004 as shown in Figure 10.18.
(Rotate the assembly so the correct faces can be easily
selected.)
Select the radio button to Check clearance between
Selected items.

Set the
Minimum Acceptable Clearance to 0.5.
Figure 10. 18

Select Calculate.

The Results should show that there are no clearance

issues.

Close the Clearance Verification.

 Click on part 0005 and turn off the Change
Transparency.

In the feature tree,

select part 0003 and click on the Show Component icon.

Exploded View

Just like the previous assembly a new exploded view will need
to be created for this assembly. Typically, sub-assemblies are
not exploded again because they would be added to the
assembly in an assembled state, however; this sub-assembly
would need the rubber thread protector off, if it were to be
added. To create a proper exploded view for this assembly:

From the Assembly ribbon select Exploded

View.
Start by unthreading the rubber thread protector and
create an exploded view like Figure 10.19, do not forget
the exploded lines sketch and all parts must be clearly
visible.
 You will need to enable the
check box to allow you to Select subassembly parts.
Add exploded line sketches.

Rebuild and save your work.

(A good, exploded view will have white

space between all components, so they are
easy to find.)

Figure 10. 19

Updating the Drawings

Open your drawings sheet set, 0004, for the previous assembly.
Add the exploded view, BOM, balloons (try the manual
balloon this time) and two views of this assembly to a new
sheet as shown in Figure 10.20. Insert this sheet to be the
first sheet of the set. (Hint: the sheets can be rearranged by
dragging the sheet tab.)
Name this sheet Quick Release Assembly.
The sheet scale is 2:1.
Edit the sheet and delete the notes section.
Add sheets, as shown in Figure 10.24 and 10.25, for parts
PU50, 60 and 70. (These are not completed drawings, yet.)
Name these sheets appropriately (Be certain to use the inch
sheets).
Dimension your sheets as per Figures 10.24 and 10.25.

If the Revision Table is present on the new assembly

sheet, click on the crossing arrows in the upper left-hand
corner of the table and press the Delete key on your
keyboard.
Save your work.
 Figure 10. 20

Magnetic Lines

When the balloon items are added you may have noticed faint
grey lines joining them, these are called Magnetic Lines and
can help neaten up a drawing significantly. To see and
manipulate the magnetic line:

From the Annotation ribbon select Magnetic

Line.
Click above your first balloon, as shown in Figure 10.21,
move your mouse down and close to each balloon to
attach them to the magnetic line if one does not already
exist.
 Figure 10. 21

Click to end the line and accept this.

Click in white space away from the balloon to turn the visibility
of the magnetic line off.
To add a balloon to the magnetic line, select a balloon on the
line to make it visible.
Drag the line near a balloon and it will jump to the line or drag
a balloon near the line.
To remove a balloon, click on the balloon, then drag and drop it
off.
New magnetic lines can be added to the drawing as required.

Altering Balloons
The appearance of the balloons as well as how they
attach to a part can be altered by selecting a balloon on your
assembly drawing. The Balloon Properties window will then
open on the left-hand side. Here the shape, number of
characters, what text is displayed, and other properties can be
found and altered.
To alter how the attachment, point of the balloon:
Select a balloon leader as shown in Figure 10.22.
Then click and drag the endpoint, near the arrow head, to
the new location, Figure 10.23. (The leader will change to
from an arrow head to a dot, as per the current standard,
depending on if it is attached to a face or an edge.)
Figure 10. 22 Figure 10. 23

Add two more sheets to your sheet set as shown in Figure 10.24
and 10.25.

Add notes as shown in Figure 10.24 to label each configuration.

Figure 10. 24

Adding a Linked Note

To add a linked note:

From the Annotation ribbon, select Note.

Select the bottom edge of the part, move your mouse

below the part and

click to place the note.

 In the Notes property, Text Format section select Link to
Property.

From the Link to property window, select the Model found

here radio button,

use the Property name drop down menu

and select

Description.
Select OK.

Accept this to add the linked note.

Repeat this procedure for the other two, part configurations.

When the center marks are added to the slots, Figure 10.25, top
view, two circles will appear. These show up because of the use of
the circular pattern. To prevent them, uncheck the option to

add Circular lines in the Center Mark

properties window. Alternatively you can right
click on the lines and use the Hide option.
When adding the center marks to any of the views, using the
Auto Insert option, if a hole or slot is missed, add the center
mark by selecting the circular edge of the hole or slot. If a
center mark is too large, select it, then in the Center Mark
properties

window, uncheck both Use document

defaults, and Extend lines.

You may now

change the size until it looks correct.
 Figure 10. 25

Dual Dimensions
By now you will have noticed that your metric drawings
are in inches and if you change the units to metric the inch
drawings will be in metric. This is because some parts are in
inch and some are in metric, something which typically should
not be done. However; it is occasionally unavoidable. To allow
both drawings to be dimensioned in the appropriate units’ dual
dimension will be used, only on the metric parts.

To use dual dimensions:

Select your sheet which is like Figure 10.24.
Select all three dimensions while holding the Shift key.
At the bottom of the Dimension Property check in the
box to turn on Dual Dimension

and accept these selections .

will be dimensioned in inch.)

(The remaining parts

 On your sheet which is like Figure 10.25 turn on dual

dimensioning for the 0.394 the 1.969 and the

1.496 dimensions.

Break Alignment
Sometimes the alignment of the views on a sheet do not
allow for a neat placement of the views and the sheet would
be easier to read if the alignment of the views was altered. To
break the alignment:

On your sheet which is like Figure 10.24 select the view

for the PU60 part, right click and select Alignment,
Break Alignment.
Move this view so that it is centered on the right side of the
sheet.

After a view’s alignment has been broken it can be re-

aligned by right clicking on the selected view, selecting
 Alignment, and then choosing which of the
five

alignments is desired.

Overall Assembly Dimensions

Often the overall dimension of an assembly is required. To add
these:
Select the Quick Release
Assembly sheet tab across the
bottom, so this sheet is now showing.

Right click on the Quick Release Assembly sheet

tab across the bottom and select Copy.
Right click on this sheet again and select Paste.

In the Insert Paste window, select After selected sheet.

Then select OK.
Delete the balloons and BOM from the second sheet.
 Select the collapsed view, then change it to the Front by
selecting the front view

from the Orientation, Standard views.

Select the exploded view, uncheck Show in exploded or

model break state on the left

side of the window, in the Drawing View Properties.

Switch this view to the Right-side view.

`Before the dimension are added several items should be
corrected:
1. The thread protector should be touching the top face.
2. The handle should not be shown below the cavity of the
base.
To do these two new configurations will be created,
otherwise the drawing will update every time the assembly is
changed. To create the new configurations:

Open the assembly, 0006 by clicking

on a view and selecting Open Assembly.

Go to the Configuration Manager.

Right click on the Default configuration and select Add
Derived Configuration.

Right click on the Default configuration again and select

Add Derived Configuration.
Name this configuration HandleOut.
Open the sub-assembly, 0004.

Add two new configurations (not derived configurations).

Name them Handle Vertical

and Handle Horizontal.

Select the Handle Horizontal configuration.
Select the Limit Distance mate, hold the CTRL key and
select the Limit Angle mate.
Right click and select Configure Feature as shown in
Figure 10.26.
 Figure 10. 26 Figure 10. 27

Suppress both mates in the two new configurations as shown

in Figure 10.27

Select Apply and then OK.

Add a distance mate of 4.28 mm to replace the limit distance
mate as shown in Figure
10.28. (By entering the “mm” units, SolidWorks will convert
4.28 mm into inches.)
 Figure 10. 28 Figure 10. 29

Add a Parallel mate as shown in Figure 10.29, accept this and

close the Mate Properties.
(This mate is between the handle and the screw faces.)
Configure these two new mates as shown in Figure 10.30.
Figure 10. 30 Figure 10. 31

Select the Handle Vertical configuration.

Add a Perpendicular mate as shown in Figure 10.31.
Verify both configurations work, rebuild, save and close
this assembly.
If errors appear press the CTRL+Q keys to rebuild all and
the errors should go away.
In assembly 0006, click on the sub-assembly, 0004, and
make it Rigid.

​
Vertical configuration for the sub-assembly.
configuration active, select the Handle

Add a Parallel mate as shown in Figure 10.32.

Figure 10. 32 Figure 10. 33

Configure this mate as shown in Figure 10.33.

Select the HandleInPocket configuration and make the
sub-assembly rigid.

Select the
Handle Horizontal configuration for the sub-assembly.

Rebuild, save and close this assembly.

 In your drawing sheet select the front view and set the
Reference Configuration to

HandleInPocket.

On the right-side view select the

HandleOut configuration.
Use Smart Dimension to add the dimensions to the drawings
as shown in Figure 10.34.
(Remember to hold the Shift key when adding the dimension
to the handle.)

Figure 10. 34

Switch to your PU50 drawing sheet.

Currently this drawing does not have enough information to
manufacture the part and adding more information to this
sheet would make it far too crowded. To fully dimension this
part:
Select the right-side view, on the left side of your SolidWorks
window the Drawing View
Properties will open. (The represent the view number, in
my case it is 29.)
Click in the white space of the drawing sheet.

In the feature tree, on the left-hand

side, expand the part feature tree for Drawing View_.

Expand the Dove Tail feature.

Right click on the sketch and select Show.
Add the dimensions and note as shown in Figure 10.35.
 Figure 10. 35

Add another sheet to the set.

Name this sheet PU50 HoleDetails.
Add the top view of the PU50 part.

Hole Table
Hole tables can neaten up a drawing significantly. To add a hole
table:

Add center marks to all the slots and holes as shown in

Figure 10.36.

From the Annotation ribbon select the down

arrow below Tables and then select Hole Table.

In the Hole Table Properties click

inside the X axis of the Datum section.
Select the lower horizontal part edge.
Select the left vertical part edge as the Y axis.
Select the two M3 tapped holes.

Select the face of the part.

Enable the check boxes to; Include non-circular holes
(the ¼-20), and Include slots.
Accept these selections and select OK, if warned that
there are non-circular edges.
Place the table in the upper right-hand corner of the sheet, as
shown in Figure 10.37.

Figure 10. 36 Figure 10. 37

Position your mouse to the left side of the bottom row in the
table, right click and select
 Combine Same Size.
Neaten up the tags, so they can easily be read.

Both the holes and the slots’ locations are given from their
center. The two slots containing the 1/4-20 holes are not
included in the table. These two slots will need to be added to
another hole table. However; your table may have included
these slot position, if it does, skip to below Figure 10.39 and
continue.

From the Annotation ribbon select the down

arrow below Tables and then select Hole Table.
Select the same axis for the Datum.
In the Tag Type section, set the Start at to D.
Select the two loops as shown in blue in Figure 10.38 and

accept these selections.

Place this table below the first hole table, leave a small gap
between the two tables.
Your tables should look like Figure 10.39. The center
location of each slot is listed, but the size is missing. The slot
sizes are given as the diameter x center to center length and
the X/Y locations are the slots center.
 Figure 10. 38 Figure 10. 3937

Double click in the empty upper size cell for the second table.

Enter “.196 X .216” as the slot size.

Select both size cells, right click and select Merge cells.
When correcting a table this way, if the slot size is changed,
the table will need to be manually updated because this hole
position and callout are not linked to the hole property.

Splitting and Merging Tables

Currently, the way the two tables are separated is not logical.
Next you will make one table show just the hole sizes and
locations while the other show the slots. To do this:
Position your cursor to the left of the A2 tag.

Right click and select Split, Horizontally Below.

Repeat this procedure to split the table after tag B6.

Move the table with the B holes below the top view.
Reposition your table to look like Figure 10.40.
Figure 10. 40
The hole table and the dimensioned hole location, on
the PU50 sheet are over dimensioning this part. Only one of
the two methods should be used. Delete the ordinate
dimensions from the top view on the PU50 sheet and add the
two overall dimensions. To delete all the ordinate dimensions
at once:
Click on the 0 and press the delete key on your keyboard.

Aligned Section View

An aligned section view will cut the part in a zig zag pattern so that
multiple features can be included in the section view. To create an
aligned section view:

From the Drawing ribbon select Section View.

In the Section View Assist Properties, Cutting Line section
select Aligned.
Click on the hole center as shown in Figure 10.41,
position #1, then move your mouse to the right and click
on the hole center, position #2 and then move your
mouse down and click on the line, position #3, ensure
the line is vertical.

Accept this to create the section view.

Move your mouse down and click to place the section view
below the top view as shown in Figure 10.42.
If your direction arrows are not pointing in the same
direction as Figure 10.42, then select the Flip Direction

button located in the Section View

Assist Properties.

Accept this to close the properties window.

Delete the 1/4-20 and M3 hole callouts if they appear on
the section view.
Figure 10. 38 Figure 10.
39
Add the slot depth and angle dimensions as shown in Figure
10.43. Save your work.

Figure 10. 40

Add another sheet to show the pocket details for the

PU60 and PU70 as shown in Figure 10.44, alternatively,
hole tables can be used. Give this sheet an appropriate
name .
 Figure 10. 41

Revisio
ns
When changes are made to parts/drawings after the
parts have been produced, revision notes should be made on
the drawing. Before a revision can be added to a sheet in a
sheet set, the properties must be set up properly. To do this:

Select the Properties, from the middle top of the window.

Select the Document Properties tab.

Expand the Tables and select Revision.
 In the Multiple sheet style select the Independent radio
button.

​
To add a revision:
Open your PU50 part and select the PU70 configuration.

Configure the M3 tapped holes to be suppressed in

this configuration as shown in Figure 10.45.
 Figure 10. 42

Add 4-40 tapped holes in their place.

Right click on the 4-40 tapped hole in the feature tree and
select Comment, Add

Comment.

Add the comment “M3 hole replaced with 4-40.”

Select Save and Close.

Rebuild and save the part.

Close the part.
Select your sheet with the PU70 dimensioned part.
If the revision table is not in the upper right-hand corner:

From the Annotations ribbon select the

down arrow below Tables

and then select Revision Table.

 Accept the default settings.
Since this is a small sheet, the Zone column is not
necessary. If your revision table has the zone column:
Position your mouse above the zone column until the down
arrow appears.
Right click on the A and select Delete, Column as shown
in Figure 10.46.
Figure 10. 43 Figure 10. 44

Add the Hole Callout to both PU60 and PU70

parts as shown in Figure 10.47.
From the Annotation ribbon select Revision Cloud.
(These are used to draw the print readers’
attention to the change.)
Click above and to the left of the 4-40-hole callout, move your
mouse down and to the right, until all the hole callout is
within the cloud and click to create the revision cloud.

Accept this.

Position your mouse near the lower left-hand corner of the

revision table and select the return arrow as shown in Figure
10.48, or right click in a cell of the table and select
Revisions, Add Revision.

Figure 10. 45 Figure 10. 46

Drag and drop the revision symbol into the revision cloud as
shown in Figure 10.49 and press the Esc key to stop placing
symbols.
Double click in the Description cell of the revision table and
add the description “M3 HOLE CHANGED TO 4-40.”
Save your work and close your sheet set.
11: Top-Down Assemblies
The assemblies created so far are known as “bottom
up” meaning all parts were first created and then brought
together in the assembly. A “top down” assembly will have
some or all the parts designed within the context of the
assembly. This can be a very useful technique as it allows the
designer to work within the allotted space and to use features
from existing parts.

Videos demonstrating all the topics from this chapter

can be found at the following link, chapter

eleven videos.
By the end of this chapter, the learner should be able to:

Add surface finish symbols.

Create a mirrored part.
Add the symmetry relationship.
Use the sketch trim.
Add Datums’ and GD&T to a drawing.
Create a top-down assembly.
Use the symmetry mate.
Use the hole series.

Copy a part within an assembly.

Form a new sub-assembly from existing assembly
parts.
Design part features in the context of the assembly.
Create an acme thread.
Use the break view in a drawing.
Create a swept boss feature.
Insert a New Part

To create a top-down assembly:

Start a new inch assembly.

When prompted to select a part to insert select Cancel.

In the Begin Assembly properties manager, select

Cancel.

From the Assembly ribbon, select the

drop-down arrow below Insert Component

and select New Part.

 Select the ANSI-INCH template and OK.

Click in the white space of the assembly to create a new blank

part.

This will create a new blank part. This

part was created in the context of the assembly, as a top-down
designed part, the “^” after the default part name indicates
the in-context relationship to the assembly. The (f) lets you
know that this part is fixed in the assembly, meaning its top,
front, and right-side planes are coincident with assemblies’
planes.

Save the assembly as 10010, TWO PART VISE.

 Right click on the part in the feature tree and select Rename
Part.

Name the part 10001.

Again, right click on the part, select

Save Part (in External File).

In the Save As window, select Specify

Path, navigate to where you would like the
file saved and select the folder.

Select OK to save this part in a folder.

If the file is not saved externally, the part will only be present
in the assembly, meaning a separate part drawing can not be
made from it. The part can be saved externally at any point in
time.

Click on the part in the feature tree and select Open Part.

In the Front plane create the sketch as shown

in Figure 11.1.
 Figure 11. 1

Save this part, 10001 and add the Description “LEFT JAW.”
Finish this jaw and create the drawing as per Figure 11.3.
Your feature tree should look like Figure 11.2. (Do not forget
to edit the sheet and add the notes.)
This drawing is for machining, not for the cast part, the
reference dimensions are given solely to allow it to be modelled.
Figure 11. 2
 Figure 11. 3

Adding Surface Finish Symbols

Surface finish symbols as shown in Figure 11.3 are added to a
drawing to ensure material is removed if required and the
surface has the correct roughness. To add surface finish
symbols to your part drawing:
From the Annotation ribbon select Surface
Finish.
Click on the part edge in your drawing where you would like
the symbol placed.

The symbol must always be placed on the side of the

surface where the machining will take place. If the symbol
is on the solid material side use the buttons in the Angle
section

to correct its orientation.

Once all the symbols have been added, exit the Surface

Finish Properties.
Insert Mirrored Part
It is commonplace to design left- and right-hand parts.
The vise jaw above has been designed to the state for which
the left and right jaws are the same, after this point in the
design the jaws will not be the same. A simple way to create
the opposite hand part, in this case the right hand is to use the
mirrored part option.
To create the right-handed vise jaw:

Select the right-side face of the part as shown in Figure

11.4.

From the drop-down menu select Insert, Mirrored

Part.

Select the ANSI_INCH template and then select

OK.

In the Insert Part Properties accept the default settings.

(Ensure the option to Break

link to original part is not checked. By

leaving this unchecked if we alter the original part at a
later date this part will also update.)
If you receive a warning about the units select Yes.
 Save this part as 10002 and give it the description RIGHT
JAW.

Your new part should look like Figure 11.5

Figure 11. 4 Figure 11. 5

You should notice that the feature tree for the right-handed
jaw has only one feature, the mirrored part with the arrow at
the end of it. This arrow tells you that it was created in the
context of the left-handed part. From this point forward if
there is a feature on the original jaw geometry which needs to
be altered, open the right-handed part, right click on it and
select Edit In Context to open the left jaw where
the edits should be made. This will create the edits in both
parts.
Start a new inch part named 10003, with the description
Solid Jaw and add a drawing for this part, this drawing
should be part of the file for the previous drawing to start
a sheet set, as per Figure 11.11. (Name your sheets
appropriately.)

In the front
plane create the sketch using two rectangles as shown in
Figure 11.6.
 Figure 11. 6 Figure 11. 7

Symmetry Relationship
Select the center line and then while holding the CTRL key
select the two 0.5-inch vertical lines.
Release the CTRL key and add the Symmetric mate as shown
in Figure 11.7.

Trimming

From the Sketch ribbon select Trim Entities.

Select the Power trim option.

Position your mouse as shown in Figure 11.8, then
click and drag it through the horizontal line to trim it
back to the center line as shown in Figure 11.9.
 Trim the same line on the other side of the center line
so your sketch now looks like Figure 11.10.
Close the Trim Properties.
Save your work.

Figure 11.8 Figure 11.9 Figure 11.

10
Use a mid-plane extrusion for this part.
Create a part drawing for this part as per Figure11.11,
the GD&T will be added in the next step.
Figure 11. 11
Adding Datum’s and GD&T
To add the datums’ and Geometric Dimensioning Tolerancing
(GD&T) to your part drawing:
From the Annotations ribbon select Datum
Feature.
Select the line in the drawing view which represents the
datum surface A, position the datum symbol, and click to
place the symbol, use the settings as shown in Figure
11.12.
Add datums’ B and C.

Press the ESC key when done adding datums.

Select datum B.
From the Annotations ribbon select Geometric
Tolerance.
Click beside the datum B symbol to place the feature control
frame.
Select the Perpendicular option as shown in Figure 11.13.
Figure 11. 12 Figure 11. 13 Figure 11.
14 Figure 11. 15

Set the range to 0.002, as shown in Figure 11.14.

Select Add Datum.

In the Datum window, add the letter A as shown in Figure

11.15.

Select Done to exit the command and close the window.

Add the remaining feature control frames, with the
geometric tolerances, as shown in Figure 11.11.
Top-Down Assembly
Close all open documents except the assembly 10010.
Right click on the jaw, part 10001, and select Float.
(This will delete the mates added when it
was created, the jaw can now be positioned anywhere
in the assembly.)
Insert the solid jaw and right jaw into the assembly.
Mate the planes of the Solid Jaw, 10003, to the
assembly planes. (Top to top, front to front and right to
right. This jaw is now fixed in the assembly.)
Add four Coincident mates to your assembly. (Mate the
front planes of each of the left and right jaw to the front
plane of the solid jaw. Mate the faces of each jaw as
shown in Figure 11.16. After the mates are added the
jaws should only move in the X axis direction.)

Figure 11. 16
Add a limit distance mates between the left jaw and the
solid jaw, or the right jaw and the solid jaw. Set the
minimum distance to 1.0 and the maximum to 6.0. When
the mate is at its minimum your assembly should look like
Figure 11.17 and at the maximum it should look like Figure
11.18.
 Figure 11. 17 Figure 11. 18

To add the next mate a new plane will need to be created in the
Solid Jaw. To this:
Click on the Solid Jaw part number 10003 and select Edit
Part.

Select the two faces as shown in Figure 11.19, be

certain to hold the CTRL key while selecting the
second face.

From the Features ribbon select Reference

Geometry, Plane.

Accept the creation of the Mid Plane as shown in Figure

11.20.
Name this plane Right MidPlane.

Stop editing the part.

 Figure 11. 19 Figure 11. 20

Symmetry Mate
When the vise is completed, the jaws will move in and out
together, to simulate this a symmetry mate will be added. To
do this:

From the Assembly ribbon select Mate.

Expand the Advanced Mates.
Select the Symmetric mate.
As the Symmetry Plane select the Right MidPlane of
the Solid Jaw, as shown in Figure 11.21.
As the Entities to Mate select the faces of the jaws and

accept these selections.

Exit the Mate Properties.

Move one of your

jaws after adding
the symmetry
mate and both
should move
symmetrically
about the solid
jaw.

Figure 11. 21
Insert New Part
A new blank part will now be added to the assembly and
the existing geometry will be used to drive the creation of this
new part. To do this:

From the Assembly ribbon select the down arrow

below Insert Components

and then select New Part.

Select the ANSI_INCH template and then select

OK.

Click in the graphics area to create a new blank part. (You

should notice that this part in the

feature tree is fixed .)

Right click on the newly inserted part and select Rename

Part.
Name this part 10004, Jaw Insert.
Select Save All from the File drop down menu.

In the Save As window, check the box to Don’t show again

and select the radio button to

Save externally.
Select OK.
In the feature tree click on 10004 and select Edit Part.
Select the face of the solid jaw as shown in Figure 11.22 and
select Sketch.
Figure 11.22 Figure 11. 23

Click in the white space of the graphics area, so the face is

no longer highlighted.
Use the convert entities to convert the two vertical edges
as shown in Figure 11.23.
(You may find it easier to select the solid jaw edges if the
part is rotated.)
Drag the end points of the lines as shown in Figure 11.23.
Complete the sketch as shown in Figure 11.24 by
adding the two horizontal lines, the 0.025 and the
2.75 dimensions.
 Figure 11. 24

Exit the sketch.

Extrude this sketch 0.5 inches as shown in Figure

11.25.

Figure 11. 25

Stop editing the part.

Save your work.
Hole Series
A hole series will create a hole through multiple parts
within an assembly. By using a hole series, the designer
ensures that the holes in all parts of the series are alignment.
Unlike a hole wizard, hole series start with the position sketch
and then the hole types are set up.
To create a hole series:
Select the face of Jaw Insert part number 10004 as shown in
Figure 11.26.
 Figure 11.26 Figure 11. 27

From the Assembly ribbon select the down arrow

below Assembly Features
and select Hole Series. (Do not select hole wizard.)
Add the two points, center line, symmetry mate and
dimensions as shown in Figure
11.27. (Have your sketch fully define before continuing.)

Select the Start Hole Specification. (The tab to

the right of the sketch tab, just below the red X.)
Set up the Start Hole Specification, clearance hole for
a ¼ socket head cap screw (SHCS) as shown in Figure
11.28.
The next tab to the right is the Middle Hole

Specification , but this hole series only has two

parts and does not have a middle hole so it will not be set
up.
Select the End Hole Specification, ¼-20 tapped hole

and set up it up as shown in Figure 11.29.

Select the solid jaw as the End Component and accept these

selections.
Figure 11.28 Figure 11. 29

Your assembly should

now look like Figure 11.30. At the bottom of the feature tree is
the hole series. You should also notice that all parts and/or
features created in the context of the assembly have an arrow
at the end of them. Save your work.
Figure 11.30 Figure 11. 31

Expand the Hole Series in the feature tree.

Select the Sketch and Hide it.

Copying a Part
This vise will require four of the jaw inserts. To copy this part:
Hold the CTRL key, click and drag the Jaw Insert part
number 10004 from the feature tree into the graphics
area and release the mouse to add a second Jaw
Insert. Your assembly should now look like Figure
11.31.

Mate this Jaw Insert to the other side of the Solid

Jaw part number 10003. (Be certain to have the
counter bore facing the correct way. Mate the faces
coincident and the holes
concentric. )
Rebuild and save your part.
Again, copy the Jaw Insert part number 10004, so
that there are now three in the assembly.
Add a Coincident mate between this Jaw Insert face
and the Left Jaw face. (Ensure the counter bored holes
are facing the correct direction.)
Add another Coincident mate between this Jaw Inserts
top face and one of the other
Jaw Inserts top face.
Add another Coincident mate between this Jaw Inserts
side face and one of the other
Jaw Inserts side face.
Select the Left Jaw part number 10001 and select Edit
Part.
Select the face as shown in Figure 11.32 and look Normal
To it.
Figure 11.32 Figure 11. 33

From the Features ribbon select Hole Wizard.

As the Hole Type select Straight Tap , ¼-20 Bottom

Tapped hole Blind hole.
As the position select the center of the Jaw Insert
holes as shown in Figure 11.33 and accept these

selections.
 Stop editing the part.
Save your work.
The right jaw should also have the ¼-20 tapped holes,
because; the link was not broken when it was created.
Add a Jaw Insert to the right jaw as you just did for the
left jaw, use the same mates used in the left jaw. Your
assembly should look like Figure 11.34.
 If you receive a
warning that no valid edges were found, ignore, and close the
warning.
Figure 11.34 Figure 11. 35

Add ¼-20 x 9/16 SHCS (Socket Head Cap Screws) to each

of the jaws, as you added them earlier in chapter 10. Your
assembly should then look like Figure 11.35 .

Form New Subassembly

 When these parts are assembled in the real world, they
most likely would be assembled as they are currently shown
and then brought to a new work bench to be added to the final
vise assembly. In other words, they would be three separate
sub-assemblies.

To create a sub-assembly after the fact:

Select the Left Jaw, its Jaw Insert and the two SHCS
as shown in Figure 11.36. (Hold the CTRL key while
selecting the items or rotate the assembly until it is easy to
window select just the jaw and its components.)

Right click and select Form New Subassembly.

 Figure 11.36 Figure 11.37

Select the ANSI_INCH template and then select OK.

If you receive a warning, select OK to break the links in the

warning.
 Rename the new
sub-assembly, 10010, Left Jaw Assembly.

Open the newly formed Left Jaw Assembly.

Drag the parts around and you should notice that some of your
mates no longer exists.
Mate the assembly plans to the jaw’s planes. (You may
need to move components to create the mates. When
saving is asked to save a fastener, close the save window
and do not save it.)
Add two more Concentric mates between the holes in
the Jaw and Jaw Insert to fully define the assembly.
(Ignore the fact that the holes may no longer in the
correct position.)
Rebuild, save, and close this sub-assembly.
Repeat this procedure to create a sub assembly for the
right jaw and the solid center jaw. Your assembly should
now contain only three sub-assemblies in the feature tree
as shown in Figure 11.38. (Close all warnings as you
proceed, all errors will be fixed shortly.)
 When you create the right jaw or the center, solid jaw
subassembly you may receive a warning as shown in Figure

11.37, select Move to accept this. Rename the new

sub- assemblies, 10011, Right Jaw Assembly and 10012,
Center Jaw Assembly and fix all mate issues.
Move your parts in the main assembly and you may notice
several issues including:
Part 10003, the Solid Jaw, is no longer fixed in the main
assembly.
The symmetry mate is gone.
And the jaws seem to be moving out of position as shown
in Figure 11.38.
In the feature tree all three sub-assemblies always
indicate that they need to be rebuilt and/or have errors
and warnings.

Figure 11. 38

To fix these issues (you may not need to correct all of these,
only correct what is required):
If the solid, center jaw is no longer fixed, add three
Coincident mates:
Mate the front plane of the assembly to the front plane
of the sub-assembly.
Mate the top plane of the assembly to the top plane of
the sub-assembly.
 Mate the right plane of the assembly to the right plane
of the sub-assembly.

If the jaws move out of

position, right click on the hole series, and delete it.
Select Yes to confirm the deletion.

Open the Center Jaw Assembly.

Delete any/all the mates

which are broken and shown in red.
 Select Yes to All to confirm the deletion of these
mates.

Each part will now have a warning that the hole is missing one or
more external references, this

is because the hole series was deleted.

One at a time select the hole from each part.

Then select Delete on your keyboard.

In the Confirm Delete window select Yes.
Delete all mates shich are red.
Move the socket head cap screws away from the main
assembly. As shown in Figure

11.39. If you cannot see all the screws, click on the solid jaw,
and select Change

Transparency. (Select Change Transparency

again to turn this off.)
Figure 11. 39

In this sub-assembly add the holes series in the same

location as you did before, and add all mates required to
fully define this sub-assembly. (Hint: you will need to lock
the rotation of the screws to fully define the
assembly.)
Add the four SHCS to a new folder named Fasteners.

Rebuild, save and close this sub-assembly.

Delete any mates in the main assembly, 10010, that are broken
and shown in red.
Repair the left and then the right jaw sub-assemblies as you
did this one.
Close all open assemblies except for the main assembly
number 10010.
In the right and left jaw sub-assemblies, you will need to:
Add a Coincident mate to the front planes of the parts.
 Add a distance mate of 0.275 between the jaw tops.
The depth of the tapped hole in the right and left jaw
hole series will be the default blind distance and not
through all.
Since the right jaw is created by mirroring the left
jaw it will have the tapped holes in the correct
location. To add the clearance holes to the jaw-
insert, edit the part and use the hole wizard.
Add the symmetry mate again to the final assembly,
10010.
Save your work.

Creating the Vise Base

From the Assembly ribbon select the down arrow

below Insert Components
 and then select New Part.

Select the ANSI_INCH template and then select

OK.

Click in the graphics area to create a new blank part.

Rename this part 10005.

Edit this new part.

Select the Right MidPlane of part 10003.

From the Features ribbon select Extrude

Boss/Base.

Look Normal To the plane.

Use the Convert Entities command to convert the

part edges as shown in Figure 11.40.
 Figure 11. 40

Move all the endpoints of the converted entities, just a

small amount, so that they turn blue. (You may need to
zoom in to the left and right hand corners of the
converted entities to see they do not meet.)
Select the two end points near the upper left-hand corner
of the converted entities, while holding the CTRL key.
Release the CTRL key and select Merge Points as shown in
Figure 11.41.
 Figure 11.41 Figure 11. 42

Repeat this step, merging the points, until your sketch looks
like Figure 11.42.
Complete this sketch to be the same as shown in Figure
11.43.
 Figure 11. 43

Exit the sketch.

Use the Mid Plane option and make the extrusion 18.5
long. As shown in Figure 11.44.

Accept these selections.

Stop editing the part. Your assembly should now

look like Figure 11.45.

Figure 11.44 Figure 11. 451

Use the Cavity command, as you did in chapter 7 to

remove the material where the solid jaw interferes. (You
will need to edit the part again.)
Make the material of part 10005, Cast Alloy Steel.

Rebuild, and save you assembly.

From the Assembly ribbon select the down arrow

below Insert Components

and then select New Part.

Select the ANSI_INCH template and then select OK.

Click in the graphics area to create a new blank part.
Name this part 10006 and make the description property End
Stop.
Edit this part.

Select the face as shown in Figure 11.46.

From the Features ribbon select Extrude

Boss/Base.

Look Normal To the plane.

Use the Convert Entities command to convert the
three, part edges as shown in Figure 11.47.

Figure 11.46 Figure 11. 47

Complete the sketch as shown in Figure 11.48.

 Figure 11.48 Figure 11. 49

Exit the sketch.

Extrude the sketch 0.75 as shown in Figure 11.49 and

accept these settings.

Add a 33/64-hole wizard hole through this part as
shown in Figure 11.50. (This is a close clearance hole for
a ½” screw.)

Stop editing the part.

Figure 11. 50
Acme Screw
Create a new part, not within the assembly, use Figures 11.51
through to 11.54 to guide the part. (Hint: create the acme
thread as a swept cut, see chapter 5, and then mirror the
feature to make the left-handed thread.)
Create a drawing of this part.

Insert this part into the assembly.

Figure 11. 51
Figure 11. 52 Figure 11. 53
NOTES
1 MATERIAL AISI 1020 Steel, Cold Rolled
2. STOCK SIZE: 1 x 20 118
3. FINISH NONE
4. REMOL\IE ALL SHARP EDGES

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Break View
To make the screw fit on the drawing sheet at a scale of
1:1, as shown in Figure 11.54, a break view is required. To add
this to your drawing:

Start a new drawing on an ANSI B size sheet and create

the views as shown in Figure 11.54.

Set the isometric view scale to 1:4.

From the Drawing ribbon select Break View.

Select the front view as the drawing view to break.

Set the Cut Direction to vertical.

 Set the Gap Size to 0.5in.

Set the Break line style to Zig Zag Cut.

Position your mouse where you would like the break to start
and click.
Move along your part to where you would like the break
to end and click to create the break.
Do this on both the left- and right-hand threads and accept

these selections.
Save your work.
Your part drawing should now look like Figure 11.54. Close
the screw part and drawing, open your assembly, if it is not
open.
Width Mate

From the Assembly ribbon select the Mate.

Select the Advanced Mates.

Then select the Width mate.

Select the faces as shown in Figure 11.55 as the Width
selections 1 and as the 2.
Set the Constraint to Centered.
Accept these selections to add the mate.

Figure 11. 552

Close the Mate Properties.
While holding the CTRL key select the two faces, the
hole and the shaft, as shown in Figure 11.56.
Release the control key, but do not move your mouse and

add the Concentric mate.

(Do not lock the rotation.) Your assembly should look like
Figure 11.57.
 Figure 11.56 Figure 11. 57

Select the Left Jaw, part number 10001, and select Edit
Part.

From the Features ribbon select No External

References.

Use the Cavity (Insert, Molds, Cavity) to cut the thread

into this part. (Use the threaded shaft to make the cavity.
Do not move the jaws in the assembly until the screw
mate has been added. Turning off the external references,
will prevent the cavity from requiring an update every
time the jaws move in the assembly.)
Check the box in the warning to Don’t show again.

Select OK to dismiss the warning about the broken

reference.
 Stop editing the part. (Both jaws, right and left,
should have the appropriate cavity, open each up to
double check.)
Use the cavity command again to add a cut to into the Solid
Jaw, part number 10003,
where the Screw, part number 10007 interferes. (Recall: you
must be editing the part.)
The thread on the jaws should have a chamfer on each end. To add
this:

Select your left jaw, part 10001, and

click on Open Part in Position.
In the feature tree click on the cavity and select Rollback.
(The “X” beside the cavity shows the external references
are broken.)
On the center of the face and 3/8 up from the bottom, add
a 13/32 clearance hole with a
0.55 chamfer on each end as shown in Figure 11.58.

Figure 11. 58
Move the rollback bar to the bottom of the feature tree
so that the cavity is no longer suppressed.
Rebuild, save, and close the part.
Add a screw mate between the screw and the chamfer
edge of the right jaw, as shown in Figure 11.59. (This is
for the ½-10 ACME thread, the pitch is 1/10.)
Save your work.
Figure 11.59 Figure 11. 60
 From the Toolbox add two 3/8 Wide Flat Washer Type B
as shown in Figure 11.60. This should include a Coincident and a
Concentric mate.

Swept Boss/Base

Earlier a swept cut feature was used to create a thread, now a swept
boss will be used to create the handle for the vise.

Start a new inch part.

In the front plane create the sketch as shown in Figure 11.61.
(A six-sided polygon, with an inscribed circle 5/8” diameter.)
In the top plane create the sketch as shown in Figure 11.62.
Figure 11.61

Figure 11. 62

From the Features ribbon select Swept

Boss/Base.
Select the hexagon sketch as the profile and the other
sketch as the path, as shown in Figure 11.63 and

accept these selections.

Figure 11. 63
Make the material AISI 1020.
 Add a blind 3/8-16-hole wizard hole to the end as shown in
Figure 11.64.
Save this part as 10008 and set the Description Property
to Handle.

Figure 11. 64 Figure 11. 65

Close this part and then insert it into the assembly.

Add a Concentric mate between the handle hole and the
thread.
Add a Coincident mate between the end face of the handle
and the washer.
Add a coincident mate between this handles top plane and the
screws top plane.

Save your work, your assembly should look like Figure 11.65.

Right click on the Vise Base, 10005 and select Edit Part.

Turn off the No External References option.

Use the Hole Series to add four ¼-20 tapped holes in
the vise base, 10005 and ¼ SHCS clearance holes in
part 10006. Follow Figures 11.66, 11.67, and 11.68.
Figure 11. 66

Figure 11. 67 Figure 11. 68

Add four ¼-20 x 1 socket head cap screws.

Adding a Taper Pin
To keep the handle from unthreading when the vise is
unclamped, a taper pin will be added. To do this:
Add a parallel mate between the handle and the top of the jaw
as shown in Figure 11.69.
Name this mate TempParallel.

Figure 11. 69

Drag and drop a #0 taper pin into the assembly. They can be
found in the Toolbox, Pins,
 All Pins, Taper Pin section.

Set the size to #0, and the length to 0.625.

Accept this and close the properties window.

Add a distance mate between Plane 1 of the taper pin,
and the face of the washer, make the distance 0.375.
Figure 11.70.
Add a coincident mate, Figure 11.71, between Plane 2
of the pin and the Right plane of the handle.
Add a coincident mate between Plane 3 of the pin and
the face of the handle, Figure 11.72.
Figure 11. 70 Figure 11. 71
 Figure 11. 72

Edit the screw , use the Cavity

to cut a hole where the Taper

Pin interferes.
Edit the handle, 10008.
Start a sketch in the right plane.

Convert the edges of the pin, Figure 11.73.

Complete the sketch as per Figure 11.73. (Change one
converted edge to construction geometry, add a center
line on the part edge from one converted edge to the
other, mate the vertical line, the one added to close the
sketch, coincident to the midpoint of this added center
line.)
Figure 11. 73 Figure 11. 73 Figure 11. 74
Create a revolved cut as shown in Figure 11.74.

Suppress the TempParallel mate.

Rebuild and save your work.
12: Introduction to Lofts
Lofts are shapes which gradually transform their shape along
their length, such as a square changing to a circle. Lofts require a
minimum of two sketches and their path shape can be controlled by
a center line which joins all the sketches or by sketches which join
the edges of the loft sketches or by both.
All sketches used to create a lofted profile should contain the
same number of sketch endpoints, circles can be broken into any
number of entities or left unbroken. A loft trying to join a rectangle
to a triangle would not work well, if at all because of the difference
in the number of sides of these shapes.

Videos demonstrating all the topics from this chapter

can be found at the following link,

chapter twelve videos.

By the end of this chapter, the learner should be able to:

Create a basic loft feature.

Create a derived sketch.
Use the loft cut feature.
Add a sketch picture.

Loft

To create a loft:
 Start a new inch part.
Select the Top plane.

Create an ellipse.
Edit the appearance of a part.

From the Features ribbon select Reference

Geometry, Plane.
Create an offset plane above the top at a spacing of 0.5625
inches, as shown in Figure 12.1.
 Figure 12. 1 Figure 12. 2

Name this plane One.

Create another plane offset 1.875 above the top plane.

Name this plane TopOfPart.

Create the 1-7/8 square with 1/16 fillet corners, as shown

in Figure 12.2 in the top plane and exit the sketch

when done.
Name this sketch BottomRectangle.

Derived Sketch
A derived sketch which is like a converted entity sketch,
with one main difference, it is not fully defined until
relationships are added to it and it does not have to be directly
in line with the converted entities. To create a derived sketch:
Select plane One, then hold the CTRL key and select
sketch BottomRectangle as shown in Figure 12.3
 Figure 12. 3 Figure 12. 4

From the drop-down menu select Insert, Derived

Sketch.
To fully define this sketch, add a Coincident relationship
between the two rectangles center points and add a
Collinear relationship between the same two lines in each
sketch as shown in Figure 12.4.

Exit the sketch.

Name this sketch TopRectangle. (The word “derived”
cannot be removed from the sketch name.)

Save this as 0123456.

Make the description NUTCRACKER BASE.

In the TopOfPart plane sketch a 1.625 diameter circle
with its center locked to the origin as shown in Figure
12.5.

From the drop-down menu select Tools ,

Sketch Tools , Split Entities.

Click on the circle 8 times in the approximate locations as
shown in Figure 12.5.
Add the relationships and dimensions to fully define the
sketch, Figure 12.5. (The points will have a horizontal
and vertical relationship to each other. To add the angle
dimension, select the three points.)

Exit the sketch.

Name this sketch TopCircle.

 Figure 12. 5

From the Features ribbon select Lofted Boss/Base.

When selecting the sketch profiles for a loft it is very
important to select each shape in roughly the same location.

Select the TopCircle and the TopRectangle sketches at

the approximate same location as shown in Figure12.6 by
the green dots. (Do not select the bottom rectangle
sketch.)
Right click in the graphics area and select Show All
Connectors.
When creating a loft, if the surface appears twisted, then
drag one of the connectors, the green circles, until the twist is
gone.
Accept these selections.
Name this feature Top Loft.
Figure 12. 6

Select the BottomRectangle sketch. Then select Extrude

Boss/Base from the

Features ribbon.
Set the End Condition to Up To Next.
Accept this selection and your part should look like
Figure 12.7.
Name this feature Base.
Save your work.
Figure 12. 7 Figure 12. 8
Lofted Cut
Select the bottom face and look Normal To it.
Create the 1-3/8 square with 1/8 fillet corners, as shown in
Figure 12.8.
Name this sketch Bottom Cut Rectangle.
Create an offset plane 0.25 above the bottom, name this plane
1_4UP.
In the 1_4UP plane sketch a 1.25 diameter circle.
Name this sketch Cut Circle.

From the Features ribbon select Lofted Cut.

Select the Bottom Cut Rectangle and the Cut Circle
sketches as shown in Figure 12.9 and accept this selection.
Your part should now look like Figure 12.10.
Name this feature Bottom Cut Loft.

Figure 12. 9 Figure 12. 10

Ellipse
Start a sketch on the top face.

From the Sketch ribbon select Ellipse.

Click on the origin to start the ellipse, move the mouse
to the right and click and then move your mouse up
and to the left and click to create the ellipse.
Press the Esc key to exit the command.
Dimension the ellipse 1.3125 horizontally, 1.0 vertically as
shown in Figure 12.11, and add the horizontal relationship
between the two elliptical points to fully define the sketch.
 Figure 12. 11 Figure 12. 12

Exit the sketch.

Name this sketch Top Ellipse.
Create a plane 1.25 down from the top and
name this plane Lower Ellipse.
In the Lower Ellipse plane create the circle sketch as
shown in Figure 12.12. (The circle is tangent to the
ellipse.)

Name this sketch Lower Ellipse Sketch.

Create a Lofted Cut from these two sketches and name
this cut Ellipse Cut.
Select the Front plane and create a Section View and
your part should look like Figure 12.13.

Figure 12. 13 Figure 12. 14

Exit the section view.
Set the material to Aluminum 6061 Alloy.
Add a 1/32 fillet to all edges.
Save your work and your part should now look like Figure
12.14.
Appearance
Appearances which represent finished and textures can
be added to your parts to make them seem more realistic.
These can be added by selecting the “beach ball” from
the right side of the screen or from the top of the feature tree.
Color and/or appearances should always be added after a
material has been assigned to the part, otherwise the default
color of the material will override the appearance.
To add a color to the part:
Click on your part in the graphics area and select the
drown arrow beside the colorful ball as shown in Figure
12.15.

Figure 12. 15

This menu allows you to add the appearance, from top to

bottom, to the selected face, feature, body, part or to
remove the current appearance. The next icon to right

allows the appearance to be copied and to the right of

that, the appearance can be pasted.

From this drop-down menu select to add the appearance to the

Part.
 Select a blue color from the left-hand side
of your window in the Color section.
On the right, in the Appearances, Scenes and Decals
section expand the Metal folder and select Aluminum.

Select the blue anodized aluminum and accept these

selections.
To see the appearance, from the View (Heads UP)
menu select View Settings, and then select
Real View Graphics. Your part
should now look like Figure 12.16.
From the View (Heads UP) menu select View
Settings, and then select Real View Graphics
to turn it off, as it will slow down the
performance of your computer. (The quality of your
graphics card will determine how realistic the part looks.)
Figure 12. 16 Figure 12. 17

Sketch Picture
Customer logos are often added to part faces and then
engraved using a CNC milling machine. The logo is often given
as a picture, and one method to add the picture is to insert it
into a sketch and then create geometry over the sketch.
 To add a sketch picture:
Select the right face as shown in Figure 12.17 and start a
sketch.

From the drop-down menus select Tools

, Sketch Tools , Sketch Picture
. (You may need to select the down
arrow to see the option.)

Download the picture found at this link.

Navigate to where you downloaded the
“DownArrow.png,” select it and

select Open .
Zoom to fit all geometry on the screen.
In the Sketch Picture properties window, set the Origin X
Position to 0.531, Origin Y

Position to 0.8125, the Angle to 90 deg and the Width to

0.75.

Accept these selections.

Sketch lines over the arrow edges as shown in Figure
12.18. Add the relationships and dimensions as shown,
to fully define the sketch.
Figure 12. 18 Figure 12. 19
Exit the sketch.

Select the sketch in the feature tree, then select

the Extrude Cut
option from the Features ribbon.
For the Direction select Offset From Surface.
Select the outside face of the part as shown in Figure
12.19, set the distance to 0.03125, and enable the
Reverse offset option.
Create an axis where the Lower Ellipse plane and the
Front Face meet as shown in Figure 12.20.
Create a plane at 15 degrees to the front face as shown
in Figure 12.21, name this plane 15 Deg.
Create a final plane, Figure 12.22, which is parallel to the
15-degree plane, with the point as shown as the second
reference, name this plane 15DegOffset.

Figure 12. 20 Figure 12. 21

 Figure 12. 22

Select the 15DegOffset plane and add a ¾-10 tapped

hole as shown in Figures 12.23 and
12.24. (The end condition for the hole will be the internal
face, using the up to surface option.)
The hole should be vertical with the origin and one inch above
it, Figure 12.24.

Figure 12. 23 Figure 12. 24

Rebuild and save your work, it should now look like Figure
12.25.
Create an assembly from this part and the handle, part number
0123455, Figure 12.26.

Figure 12. 25 Figure 12. 26