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 "

Tutorial Training

Introduction to SolidWorks (Pressure Plate)

Pressure Plate

Process

In this picture I am using the circular patter feature. The only circle I drew up was the pink highlighted one.

This lesson includes:

- 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

Drawing of the pressure plate with all of the measurements.

Product

Show Your Understanding

This lesson includes:

- 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

Lesson 2: Assemblies

This lesson discusses the following:

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

Isometric view

Construction of the part: adding fillets

Lesson 3: Drawings

This lesson includes:

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

7 piece block puzzle challenge

For this block puzzle I ordered the pieces In the order you put them together.

piece 1

piece 2

piece 3

piece 4

piece 5

piece 6

piece 7

Fillets

Building the Fillet Features Sample Part

Using relations in sketches
Adding draft angles to extruded features

Fillet Features

Adding different fillet types:
- Face
- Constant radius
- Variable radius
Using mirroring to assure symmetry
Applying a library feature

Product

We had to make a product using each of the section's goals,

Adding different fillet types:
- Face
- Constant radius
- Variable radius
Using mirroring to assure symmetry

Uses face, and symmetry

Uses the face fillet feature and the spline sketch option to create the first half

Revovle and sweep

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

Clear views to show the inside lines and the curves

Product

We were tasked to create any product that uses all of the lesson goals.

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

video of finished product

Pattern features

Creating an oblong cut
Creating a linear pattern
Pattern direction

used patterns and equations to copy a pattern around the axis, a clear view of 4 patterns is shown.

Creating a circular pattern
Using an equation to drive the circular pattern

PRODUCT

For this product i used the extrude cut feature, then i used the linear and circular pattern features, to create a strange pattern.

Creating an oblong cut
Creating a linear pattern

Creating a circular pattern
Using an equation to drive the circular pattern

Lofts

all the planes

using the flex feature

Final part

rotating gifs

Lofts product

Loft Features

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

Adding a flex feature to bend the model

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

Finished video

Mouse Gestors

Mouse Gestures

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.

Mouse gestures are very useful tools when designing in Solidworks, but they have limits. The maximum spaces for items is 12, so if a project uses more than that, the top toolbar has to be used. I like using the top toolbars better than the mouse gestures, but if I use the mouse gestures enough, they will be faster than the top. During the making of the above object, I did change Chamfer to be on the wheel, since it was used to much on the outside. This wheel can be useful to make projects easier and less time-consuming, it just needs to be used more.