Rotating Inserted Components in SOLIDWORKS Assemblies

When inserting components into a SOLIDWORKS assembly, you will see a context sensitive toolbar pop up before placing the component.  This will allow you to rotate your component to the proper orientation before placing which can help when adding mates.  The default angle of rotation is 90 degrees and you can choose to rotate about the X, Y or Z axis with the buttons.  Using the TAB key will quickly rotate 90 degrees in the most recently selected direction in case you need to rotate a few more times.

Quick Rotate toolbar

In previous releases, you would first insert the component and then rotate.  Rotating components after inserting is still accomplished by any of the following methods:

1. Right-click and drag on the component in the graphics area
2. Use the “Rotate Component” command found under the Assembly tab of the CommandManager (under the Move Component flyout)
3. Right-click on the component in the graphics area and choose “Move with Triad”.  Select the rings to rotate.

To learn more about working with components in SOLIDWORKS consider taking our SOLIDWORKS Assembly Modeling training class live online or in-class near you.