SOLIDWORKS Sketch
Want quick access to a feature, sketch or mate without having to scroll or search the SOLIDWORKS feature tree every time? Simply right-click the item from your feature tree and select Add to Favorites. Note: Ensure you have the option to show the favorites folder from Tools > Options > FeatureManager. This creates a SOLIDWORKS Favorites Folder listed at…
Gotta pattern something in SOLIDWORKS? Reduce your effort with a Sketch Driven Pattern!
A SOLIDWORKS Sketch Driven Pattern is a great way to control instance locations, but did you know you can use the same sketch for both the instances AND the feature? You can! To demonstrate, we’re going to dive into the universe of one of my all-time favorite sci-fi novels and movies, “2001: A Space Odyssey”:…
There are many ways to start a SOLIDWORKS sketch. After starting a sketch, good chance you go straight to the line tool. Why not do both in a single keyboard key with the SOLIDWORKS Line Tool Shortcut. When you select a face or a plane, press “L” (not capital). This will immediately launch into a…
Here is a quick method to create SOLIDWORKS Sketch Normal to Curve without having to create a plane first, and then sketch on that plane. First, select the curve or edge, as shown in the sheet metal example below, then click Sketch from either the Insert menu or the Sketch CommandManager. This will start a sketch on…
A SOLIDWORKS Virtual Sharp in sketches and drawings provide the ability to dimension to the imaginary point where two lines would intersect in space. Our previous blog posts show how you can add a virtual sharp using the Point tool or using Find Intersection with the Smart Dimension tool. Did you know you can change…
Mirror Sketch Entities using Reference Planes and Planar Faces in SOLIDWORKS 2018
In all versions of SOLIDWORKS in the past, we had to draw a center-line to be used with the Mirror Sketch tool. Either the center-line or a straight edge of a solid body was necessary for Mirror Sketch to work. In SOLIDWORKS 2018, planes and faces of solid bodies have been added to the mirror…
Using Automatic Solve specifies whether SOLIDWORKS should automatically do the computation to solve the sketch geometry of your part as you create it. When you are in the process of changing many dimensions in an active sketch, you may want to turn off the Automatic Solve option temporarily. Same as older versions of SOLIDWORKS, the Automatic Solve could be turned…
An option to reverse arc and spline tangency is now available with SOLIDWORKS 2018
For the longest time when creating a tangential arc in a SOLIDWORKS sketch it was hit or miss if the arc was aligned correctly. We would create our arc and hope it would be in the right direction…If not, we would need to delete it and recreate it being careful with our mouse movements. Now…