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

Introduction 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

Introduction - Showing Understanding

This the pressure plate but to demonstrate understanding of SolidWorks I had changed the circles to hexagons.

SolidWorks Tutorials (Parts 1, 2 &3)

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

Lesson 2 - Assemblies

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

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

This is the top piece that will be used later for the assembly. Another piece will be inserted into the bottom as the shell program was used to allow the other piece to fit.

This is the bottom part of the assembly that wll be used in the next lesson. The extended part will allow it to be inserted into the bottom of the top piece.

This is the GIF of the assembly. This shows that both of the pieces will be able to connect.

Cube Challenge (Seven-Piece Puzzle)

Block 1

Block 2

Block 3

Block 4

Block 5

Block 6

Block 7

Entire Cube put together

Notes on the measurements

Introduction To SolidWorks

Fillets (process)

Building the Fillet Features Sample Part

In this lesson, you learn how to build the sample part used in the Fillet Features tutorial. You can capture the symmetry of a knob in the design intent of the part. You build one half of the sample part in this lesson, then in the Fillet Features lesson, you mirror the model to create the other half. Any changes you make to the original half are reflected in the other half.

Building the Fillet Features Sample Part

The steps include:

Using relations in sketches
Adding draft angles to extruded features

Fillet Features

This lesson describes how to use different types of fillets.

In this lesson, you modify this knob part by:

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

This is an image of the piece from an isometric view.

This is an image of the piece from the right side view.

This is an image of the piece from the left side view.

This is an image of the piece from a trimetric view.

This is an image of the piece from the right side view.

This is an image of the piece from the left side view.

This is a video of the final design.

This is a video of the piece prior to the next step in the design process.

Fillets (product)

This is an image of the sketch prior to the extrude cut.

This is an image after the extruded cut.

This is an image after the draft was created.

This is an image of the first fillet. It was a constant size fillet.

This is an image of the second fillet. It was a variable size fillet.

This is an image of the final fillet. It was a face fillet.

This is an image of the final product after the mirror.

This is another image of the final product from the front side fo the object.

This is an image of the final product from the right side.

This is a video of the final product.

Revolve & Sweep Features

Revolve and Sweep Features

In this lesson, you create the candlestick shown below. This lesson demonstrates:

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

Sketching the Sweep Path

A sweep is a base, boss, or cut created by moving a section along a path. In this part of the tutorial, you create the candlestick handle by using a sweep. First, you sketch the sweep path.

The path can be an open curve, or a closed, non-intersecting curve. Neither the path nor the resulting sweep can be self-intersecting.

This is an image of the piece from an isometric view.

This is an image of the piece from the front view.

This is a video of the piece prior to the next step in the design process.

This is an image showing the revolve process.

This is an image of the piece from the left side view.

This is an image of the piece from an isometric view after the sweep was completed.

This is a video of the final design.

Revolve & Sweep Features (product)

This is the original sketch of the shape before the revolve.

This is the image of the revolve.

This is an image of the sweep for the handle.

This is an image of the final product after the extruded cut.

This is an image from the right side.

This is an image from the left side.

This is a video showing the entire final product.

SolidWorks Pattern Features (Process)

Pattern Features

In this lesson, you learn how to create a linear pattern and a circular pattern. A linear pattern is a one- or two-dimensional array of features. A circular pattern is a circular array of features.

The steps include:

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

Building the original shape.

This is the extrude thin step after the revolve step.

This is the shell step.

This is the extrude step to make the first hole.

The is the linear pattern.

This is the circular pattern.

This is a video of the final product.

SolidWorks Pattern Features (Product)

This is building of the original shape.

This the the extrude-thin step after the revolved boss/base step.

This is the first extrude step.

This is the second extrude step.

This is the circular pattern step.

This is a video of the final product.

SolidWorks Loft (Process)

Loft Features

In this lesson, you create this hammer head using loft features.

A loft is a base, boss, or cut created by connecting multiple cross sections, or profiles.

This lesson demonstrates the following:

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

This is the creating and copying planes.

This is a video of the profiles that were created.

This is the first lofting step.

This is the second lofting step.

This is the flex step.

This is a video showing the flex and how it works.

This is a video of the final product.

SolidWorks Loft (Product)

This is the creating planes process.

These are the profiles that were created (the three circles).

This was the lofting process.

This was the flexing process

This was the block that was created to make it look more like a bent nail in a block or wood.

This is a video of the final product.

SolidWorks Mouse Gestures

Mouse Gestures

You can use a mouse gesture as a shortcut to execute a command, similar to a keyboard shortcut. After you learn command mappings, you can use mouse gestures to invoke mapped commands.

Mouse Gestures

In this tutorial, after customizing mouse gestures, you perform the following tasks with mouse gestures to create a simple 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.

This is an image of the mouse gestures that were used.

This is the sketch that was created & saved.

This is the final product.

SolidWorks Mouse Gestures (Product)

Base of object.

The two circles at the end of the objects.

The four squares on the ends of the object.

This is a video of the final product.

I like the adjustments that can be made to your mouse gestures. The number of options allows mouse gestures to become much more useful with the amount of things that you can do with them. For example, the ability to add sketches, smart dimensions and extruded bases saves so much time and gives the ability to do so many things so much faster. I also enjoy the ability to change the positions of the specific tasks. If you were to have a specific preference on the positions of the tasks on the mouse gestures then you could make that change. I did happen to change one of the options which was how many options I would get. I changed the amount of options from 8 to 16. I made this change just so I could save myself even more time when trying to do something to one of my designs on SolidWorks.

3D Sketching (Process)

3D Sketching

Using SOLIDWORKS, you can create 3D sketches. You use a 3D sketch as a sweep path, as a guide curve for a sweep or loft, as a centerline for a loft, or as one of the key entities in a routing system. A useful application of 3D sketching is designing routing systems.

This lesson introduces you to 3D sketching and describes the following concepts: