Section 2: Working with Sketches

Section 2 : Working with Sketches

In this section you will learn the first step of any SolidWorks drawing; how to create a sketch.
If you are coming from another parametric 3D modeller, many of your skills will be transferable to
SolidWorks.
If you have never used CAD before, think of the sketch-feature relationship as creating a simplified
2D drawing that represents a portion of the part that you can make with some sort of process such
as extruding the shape in the 2D drawing, or revolving it.
After starting/launching the software SolidWorks, create a new file, click in the blank-sheet in the
title bar.

Figure 2.1 New blank-sheet

Through a window interface SolidWorks will ask you what document type you would like to work
on: part, assembly or drawing, so click “Part” and then “ok”.
Then click on the Sketch tab, as shown in figure 2.2.

Skecth

Figure 2.2 Sketch Toolbar

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In the left column, you can chose/select the work plane for draw the sketch, where planes are
identified by the Cartesian reference system used; this is visible at the bottom-left of the screen.
The work plane is a geometric plane where you can draw.
Figure 2.3 shows the work plane in isometric view.

Front plane

Right plane

Cartesian reference

Figure 2.3 The work plane

Choose which plane you want to work on, for example by clicking on this.
Another way of doing this is clicking on “sketch” as shown in figure 2.2, then click on Sketch in the
CommandManager, and finally select the plane that you want (Figure 2.4-2.5).

Sketch

Figure 2.4 Sketch

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Right plane

Front plane

Top plane

Figure 2.5 Plane

SolidWorks has many types of Sketches :

• Line;
• Circle;
• Spline;
• Corner rectangle;
• Centerpoint Arc;
• Ellipse;
• Straight Slot;
• Polygon;
• Sketch fillet;
• Point;
• Text;
• Trim Entities;
• Mirror Entities;
• Linear sketch pattern;

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2.1 Line
In this part you will learn how to create a line.
Click on the line tool, and with the pencil draw a line (Figure 2.6).

Line tool
Origin

Line Properties and Help

Length and angle

Line

Figure 2.6 Line Sketch

In the left-hand side of the SolidWorks interface you can see the properties of the line. These can
be changed, and for example, it where possible to add a relation like horizontal or perpendicular
to another line or sketch.
Example : I want to draw two perpendicular lines.
Draw the first line, then draw the second. Select the first line, then CTRL + select the second line,
this will open its properties on the left of the screen. Here you can select “perpendicular”, so the
two lines become perpendicular (Figure 2.7).

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Icons for perpendicular

Selected lines

Perpendicular

Figure 2.7 Line perpendicular

The selection of the lines is shown in Selected Entities.

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2.2 Circle
In this part you will learn how to create a circle.
Click the circle tool, then click on the work plane to position the origin/centre of the circle.
Move the cursor away from the origin.
The radius of the circle will appear close to the cursor, establish the approximate length of radius,
and when the cursor is at the right position, click again to draw the circle (Figure 2.8).

Figure 2.8 The circle

Example : Draw two tangential circles , and the line to one of circles.
Draw two circles and then click both (click on the first circle, then pushed CTRL+click on the second
circle), in Properties, under Add Relations, select Tangent.

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Add relations

Tangent

Figure 2.9 Tangent circle

If you have a problem in selecting the circles, click on the arrow select (Figure 2.10).

Arrow select

Figure 2.10 Arrow select

If you click on the origin of one circle you can rotate this circle around the other.
To draw the tangent line, draw a line near one of the circles first, then use exit from the tool line,
click on the arrow select in title tools, click both line and circle, then select Tangent under
Properties/Add Relations (Figure 2.11).

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Arrow for select everything

Tangent

Figure 2.11 Circle and line

The line should now be tangent to the circle (Figure 2.12).

Figure 2.12 Tangent line

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Example : Draw two concentric circles.

Draw two circles first, where one is approximately concentric to the other, then click both circles
with the “arrow” (Present in the title bar figure 2.10) and select Concentric under properties.

Figure 2.13 Circle

Figure 2.14 Concentric Circle

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2.3 Spline
In this part you will learn how to create a spline.
Click on the Spline tool, then draw the spline on the work plane by clicking and thus defining the
constraining points of the spline.
See figure 2.15 for an example of a spline.

Figure 2.15 Spline

If you click on the spline, you can change its orientation, acting on the arrows that appear.

Arrow for change the orientation of the spline

Figure 2.16 Spline change

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2.4 Rectangle
In this part you will learn how to create a rectangle.
Click on Rectangle tool, then click and move the mouse pointer on the work panel, to define the
dimensions of the rectangle.

Figure 2.17 Rectangle

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2.5 Sketch fillet

In this part you will earn how to create a Sketch fillet.
After drawing for example a rectangle, you want to create a fillet at one of its corners. To do so,
click on “Sketch Fillet”, then select the two lines that define the corner, and through Fillet
Parameters (Figure 2.18) define the radius of your fillet.

Sketch Fillet

First line

Radius dimension

Second line

Figure 2.18 Fillet

Figure 2.19 Fillet with R

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2.6 Important aspects

This part explain important aspects that should be considered when drawing with SolidWorks.
• When you start drawing it is important to make the first sketch with a vertex or a point
connection with the origin of the axes, so the model can be easily located with respect to
the Cartesian frame of reference.

The line connect with origin

Figure 2.20 Origin

• To escape from the a function or Sketch, press “ESC” in the keyboard.

• For selection, press the arrow in the title tool.

Arrow for select

Figure 2.21 Arrow

• To cancel, select the entity that you want to delete in the work plane and press “delete”.

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2.7 Trim Entities

In this part you will learn how cut some parts of a sketch.
For this you can use the tool “Trim Entities”.

Trim Entities

Figure 2.22 Trim Entities

Example : Trim part of a circle by using an intersecting circle.

Draw two circles as show in figure 2.23.

Figure 2.23 Circle

Now click on the “Trim entities” tool and cut the lines of intersection.
Under Trim/Options on the left-hand side of the screen select “Trim to closest”, then click on the
part of the circle that you want to cut out.
In the interface in the left open the trim options, click on “Trim to closest”, then click in a part of
line that you cut.

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Trim to closest

Figure 2.24 Trim Entities

Then cut the segment of the circle, as shown in figure 2.25.

Figure 2.25 Trim

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2.8 Smart Dimension

In this part you will learn how to add dimensions to your sketches.
Click on the “Smart Dimension” tool, then click on the entities for which you want to define
dimensions.
Next, move the mouse and click again to add the dimension above the Sketch or the position you
want it to be.
A small menu automatically appears through which you can change the dimension to the desired
value, and after click ok (the green “ok” icon).
By using the submenus under “Smart dimensions”, you can specify horizontal or vertical
dimensions.

The
dimension

Figure 2.26 The Smart Dimension

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Figure 2.27 Dimension of circle

Figure 2.28 Smart Dimension

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2.8 Example 0

Draw two circles with diameter 400 mm and a distance of 400 mm between their centeres, as
shown is figure 2.29.

Figure 2.29 The final sketch

The first step is to draw the two circles, one circle with the centre in the origin of the frama of the
reference.Use the tool “Smart dimensions” to label its diameter, then draw the second circle,
whose centre should be 400 mm apart from the centre of the first circle, and aligned horizontally
with this.

Line orientation
Figure 2.30 Phase of the drawing

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Use the line orientation that appears when you move the pointer near the origin, to align the
second circle to the first one.
Using “Smart Dimension” click on both centres to label the distance between them. Then with a
line connect the two circles, the software gives an error , because this operation ultra-defined the
draw, the draw is done with more information that it wants, conflicts between the functions, but
click “ok”, and continue.

Figure 2.31 Phase

Click ok, then use the tool “Trim Entities”, to complete the final draw in figure 2.29.

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