Auto-space Components in an Exploded View with SOLIDWORKS 2020

In SOLIDWORKS 2020, for Exploded Views you can turn on the option “Auto-space Components on Drag” even for existing explode steps. You can also select center, rear, or front of the bounding box for the order of auto-spaced components.

To create a new exploded view and explore these options, create a new exploded view from Insert > Exploded view. In the property manager for Explode Step Components, we are selecting 3 components for the following example.

The components for the explode step are selected

Then the components are dragged along the Y axis while having the option “Auto-space components on drag” checked. There are three bounding box options for the order of the components: center, rear, or front of the bounding box can be selected.

Bounding Box Options for Auto-space Components on Drag

If you have the “Use Center of Bounding Box to Order Components for Auto-Space” option on, the created step looks as the following image.

Use Center of Bounding Box to Order Components

You can see how your exploded step would be different if you used the “Use Rear of Bounding Box to Order Components for Auto-Space” or “Use Front of Bounding Box to Order Components for Auto-Space” options on in the following images.

Use Rear of Bounding Box to Order Components for Auto-Space