SOLIDWORKS 2016 Flatten Surface Tool Enhancements [VIDEO]

Article by Rod Mackay updated September 26, 2015

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SOLIDWORKS 2016 Flatten Surface Tool

SOLIDWORKS 2016 Flatten Surface Tool

The SOLIDWORKS Premium 2016 Flatten Surface Tool provides more control and more variations of surfaces that can be flattened. You can flatten any face, surface, or set of faces with internal geometries such as holes or extruded cuts. You can select curves and sketches on the surface to flatten. You can also select curves, sketches, and edges on the surface to be relief cuts or split lines. When you select these entities in the graphics area or the FeatureManager design tree, they display in the Flatten PropertyManager.

Check out the video below to see the SOLIDWORKS 2016 Flatten Surface Tool in action:

To flatten a surface:

  1. In an open part, click Flatten (Surfaces toolbar) or Insert > Surface > Flatten. The Flatten PropertyManager displays.
  2. Select faces in the graphics area or from the FeatureManager design tree.
  3. Then select a vertex. A preview of the flatten surface appears.
  4. You can also choose to include relief cuts or not. In the PropertyManager, click Relief Cuts. You can select curves or sketches as cuts to relieve stress in the flattened surface.
  5. You can transpose additional sketch entities, curves or lines to a flattened surface. However, you cannot modify the sketch in a flattened surface feature. To use the entities in other sketches, use the Convert Entities tool.
  6. To add a deformation plot, right-click the flattened surface in the graphics area and select Deformation Plot.

Learn more about SOLIDWORKS 2016

To learn more about the latest SOLIDWORKS release you can attend a Launch Broadcast on either Thursday October 1st or Tuesday October 6th. Please visit our registration page to register for a Broadcast event.

Register for a Launch Event

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Rod Mackay

Rod has been using 3D CAD software for over 25 years and has trained thousands of designers to use their CAD systems more effectively. Rod is the Javelin Webmaster and is based in Ottawa, ON., Canada.