SOLIDWORKS Assemblies

What are SOLIDWORKS External References?

what are solidworks external references

What are SOLIDWORKS external references? In SOLIDWORKS assemblies, external references are relationships between components that exist outside the current assembly. SOLIDWORKS external references can be to other parts, assemblies, or drawings, and they allow the design of an assembly to be linked to external sources….

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Assembly Visualization and Image Quality – Why Are SOLIDWORKS Assemblies Slow

performance evaluation on engine

Large assembly performance can suffer from a multitude of reasons. Why are SOLIDWORKS Assemblies slow? There are many factors that play a role in the behavior of assemblies. Graphics triangles, part versions, circular mate references, configurations, specific feature choice, imported models, appearances, etc. SOLIDWORKS assemblies…

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Using the Width Mate in SOLIDWORKS Assemblies

width mate in SOLIDWORKS

Creating an assembly in SOLIDWORKS is an essential part of verifying the functionality of any design, but what holds that assembly together? Mates! Mates are the glue that hold each assembly component together, and with those mates there are several different options to choose from….

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How to use appearance hierarchy in SOLIDWORKS

change appearance of components and parts

Appearances can be viewed by creation order, alphabetically, or by hierarchy in SOLIDWORKS. Hierarchy can be a very informative option, because you can see how each level appears. If you add something to the part, then add something to just one face, the face takes…

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Make SOLIDWORKS FeatureManager More Useful with Component Name and Description

SOLIDWORKS Featuremanager example: 3d blender drawing

If you work with Assemblies in SOLIDWORKS, and your company uses some form of product numbering system, then chances are, your SOLIDWORKS FeatureManager looks something like this: You probably see a part name – which is probably its product number – followed by a whole…

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Why you should use the SOLIDWORKS Defeature Tool

The Defeature Preview Window rotates and zooms with the SOLIDWORKS viewport, making it easy keep tabs on the simplification process

Creating a digital twin of your real-life assembly can provide a lot of benefits; including accurate bills of materials, machining instructions, true-to-life simulation results, or stunning renders out of SOLIDWORKS Visualize. However, all of this can result in performance slow downs, this is where SOLIDWORKS…

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Control the display of SOLIDWORKS Component and Top Level Annotations

Starting with SOLIDWORKS 2015, it is easier to control the display of SOLIDWORKS component annotations and top level annotations in an assembly file.  They now have separate display options in View > Hide/Show, which can help reduce the visual clutter in assembly models. These annotation display…

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SolidWorks Tutorial: Advanced Mate References [VIDEO]

Mate references can be set up in two parts to correspond to each other.  When created this way it is up to the user to add the appropriate part, but not to select a location for such a part. Follow the video below to see…

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Flexible Sub Assemblies: What a Drag! [VIDEO]

When I used to design automated machinery, I would use configurations to show my machine in various stages of the cycle. This worked great for providing drawing views of my assemblies, but didn’t work so great for detecting interferences between moving components along the path of motion. For instance, if I had a pick and place robot (picks a part up from point A, then moves to point B) that crashed somewhere in the middle of its path of motion, I wouldn’t know until it was too late (sorry about that, Chief). Thankfully, there’s a way to drag my parts and sub-assemblies through their full path of motion without the need to dissolve all my subassemblies. I can do the same thing at the station…

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