SolidWorks

SOLIDWORKS is used by millions of designers and engineers at hundreds of thousands of companies. It’s one of the most popular design and engineering software on the market. Known for its range of features and high functionality, SOLIDWORKS is used across multiple professions and industries around the world. SOLIDWORKS uses parametric design, which is why it’s such an effective tool for designers and engineers. This means that the designer can see how changes will affect its neighboring components, or even the overall solution. For example, if the size of a single component is increased, this would affect the joint or hole it’s attached to. This allows designers to spot and correct issues quickly and easily "

Intro to Solidworks

Creating base, boss, and cut features from sketches
Adding fillets to smooth edges
Creating a circular pattern
Adding drawing views
Adding centerlines, center marks, and dimensions to the drawing

Creating a base/boss from Sketches

This picture is of an extrude boss. This feature takes a two-dimensional shape and turns it three-dimensional. In this instance, it was a sketch of a circle and it turned it into a cylinder.

Creating an Extruded Cut from Sketches

This is a picture of an extrude cut. An extrude cut takes a sketch and cuts into a face. In this example, a circle is being cut into the previous extrude boss/base.

Adding a Fillet to Smooth Edges

The next feature was a fillet. A fillet takes an edge and cuts a small circle onto the edge. It is used in order to make smooth edges on a part. In this example A fillet is smoothing all of the outside edges of the part.

Creating a Circular Pattern

This feature is called a circular pattern. It takes a feature and revolves it around an axis. It is used to easily duplicate features on a part. In this example, a cylinder is revolved around the extrude cut in the middle.

Adding Drawing Views, Centerlines, Centermarks, and Dimensions

The image to the left is a drawing view of the part mentioned above. It takes images and sketches from a part and puts them onto a two-dimensional paper. There are also marks on the paper that show the dimensions of the shape.

Final Product

Show my Understanding

Lesson 1

Lesson 1 - Parts - Overview

Setting up a new part document
Creating the base feature
Adding a boss feature
Creating a cut feature
Adding fillets
Adding a shell feature
Editing features
Completed Part

For lesson one there I had to create a square with a circle in the center that went all the way through. It also had to be shelled in order to have a hole in it.

Lesson 2

Lesson 2 - Assemblies

Adding parts to an assembly
Moving and rotating components in an assembly
Creating display states in an assembly

For lesson 2 I had to make a second part that would slot into the first. After making this part I turned it into an assembly and mated them together. I used a coincident mate which locks the selected faces together.

Lesson 3

Lesson 3 - Drawings

Opening a drawing template and editing a sheet format
Inserting standard views of a part model
Adding model and reference annotations
Adding another drawing sheet
Inserting a named view
Printing the drawing

For this lesson I had to create a drawling from all of the parts made before. It was able to make automatic dimensions and I made a second page to the document that showed the assembly I made.

Final Product

7 Shaped Puzzle Cube

Fillets

Objectives :

Using relations in sketches
Adding draft angles to extruded features
Adding different fillet types: Face Constant radius Variable radius
Using mirroring to assure symmetry
Applying a library feature

Designing:

(Using Relations) (Adding draft angles to extruded features) (Using Relations)

(Face Fillet) (Constant Size Fillet) (Variable Size Fillet)

(Using mirroring to assure symmetry) (Applying a library feature)

Final Design

Fillet Product

(Using Relations) (Name) (Adding Daft angles to existing features)

(Constant radius Fillet) (Variable Radius Fillet) (Face Filllet)

(Using Mirroring to assure symmetry) (Applying a library feature) (final product)

Revolve and Sweep

Objectives:

Creating a revolve feature
Creating a sweep feature
Creating an extruded cut feature with a draft angle

(Creating a revolve feature) (Creating a sweep feature) (Creating an extruded cut feature with a draft angle)

Revolve and Sweep Product

(Creating a revolve feature) (Creating an extruded cut feature with a draft angle) (Creating a sweep feature)

Pattern Features

Objectives

Creating an oblong cut
Creating a linear pattern
Creating a circular pattern
Using an equation to drive the circular pattern

(Creating an oblong cut) (Creating a linear pattern) (Creating a circular pattern)

Pattern Features Product

(Creating an oblong cut) (Creating a linear pattern) (Creating a circular pattern)

Loft Features

Objectives

Creating planes
Sketching, copying, and pasting the profiles
Creating a solid by connecting the profiles (lofting)
Adding a flex feature to bend the model

Creating planes Sketching, copying, and pasting the profiles Creating a solid by connecting the profiles (lofting)

Adding a flex feature to bend the model

Loft Features Product

Creating planes Sketching, copying, and pasting the profiles Creating a solid by connecting the profiles (lofting)

Adding a flex feature to bend the model

Mouse Gestures

Objectives:

Start a sketch for a part.
Sketch a rectangle and a circle.
Save the sketch.
Dimension the sketch.
Extrude the sketch.
Change the view of an extruded part.

(Start a sketch for a part) (Sketch a rectangle and a circle) (Save the sketch)

(Dimension the sketch) (Extrude the sketch) (Change the view of an extruded part)

The adjustments made to the mouse gestures help speed up the process of designing. I found it a struggle at first always having to rethink how to do it but after a while I got used to it and it allowed for me to design much faster. Having 8 options is the limit I have found to easily select from the task bar. The position of them doesn't matter as long as you are able to get used to where each one is. I did not change any of the buttons while I was making the object above I liked the settings that were already there.

3D sketching

Objectives:

Sketching relative to coordinate systems
Dimensioning in 3D space
Mirroring features

(Sketching relative to coordinate systems (Dimensioning in 3D space) (Mirroring features)

Initials:

(Sketching relative to coordinate systems (Dimensioning in 3D space) (Mirroring features)