FIGURE 6.10 Using multiple sketch pictures Sharp edges When you are drawing a sketch of an object, you are usually drawing theoretically sharp corners of the model. Real parts usually have rounded corners, and so you may have to use your imagination to project where the 3D surfaces would intersect at an edge. When you are reverse-modeling a part from images, you are not using an exact science. It is better than not being able to put pictures into the sketch, but there is nothing about it that can be consid- ered precise. Using Sketch Text Sketch text uses TrueType fonts to create text inside a SolidWorks sketch. This means that any TrueType font that you have can be converted to text in solid geometry; this includes Wingdings and symbol fonts. Keep in mind that some characters in certain fonts do not convert cleanly into SolidWorks sketches. Sketch text still has to follow the rules for sketching and creating features such as closed contours, as well as not mixing open and closed contours. You can make sketch text follow a sketch curve; to space it evenly along the curve, you can control character width and spacing, as well as overall size by specifying points or actual dimensions. Sketch text can also be justified right, left, centered and evenly, as well as reversed, rotated, and flipped upside down. Figure 6.11 shows the Sketch Text PropertyManager and some of the possi- ble uses of sketch text. 193 Getting More from Your Sketches 6 12_080139 ch06.qxp 3/26/07 3:36 PM Page 193 FIGURE 6.11 Examples of sketch text The icons in the Sketch Text PropertyManager are fairly self-explanatory, other than the Rotated Text option, which rotates individual letters, and not the whole string of text. You can use the Sketch Text tool multiple times in a single sketch to make pieces of text with dif- ferent properties. Each string of text has a placement point located at the lower left of the text. This point can be given sketch relations or dimensions to locate the text. Overlapping characters 194 Building Intelligence into Your Parts Part II 12_080139 ch06.qxp 3/26/07 3:36 PM Page 194 If the text overlaps in places, as shown in Figure 6.10, you can correct this in a couple of ways. First, you can extrude it with the Merge option turned off so that each letter is created as a separate solid body. You can also explode sketch text so that it becomes simply lines and arcs in a sketch, which you can edit the same as any other sketch. Using Colors and Line Styles with Sketches Custom colors and line styles are usually associated with drawings, not sketches; in fact, they are most valuable when used for drawings. In sketches, this functionality is little known or used, but is still of value in certain situations. Color Display mode In drawings, you can use the Color Display Mode button to switch sketch entities on the drawing between displaying the assigned line or layer color and displaying the sketch status color. It has exactly the same effect here in part and assembly sketches. When you press the button, the sketch state colors are used. When the button is not pressed, any custom colors that you have applied to the sketch entities will display. If the button is not pressed and you have not applied colors to the entities, then the default sketch state colors are used. You can use sketch colors for emphasis, to make selected sketch entities stand out, or to make sketches with various functions immediately distinguishable. Color Display mode only has an effect on an active sketch. Once a sketch is closed, it returns to the gray default color for inactive sketch entities. Line color Line color enables you to assign color to entities in an active sketch. Whether the assigned color or the default sketch status colors are used is determined by the Color Display Mode tool. Edit color You can use the Edit Color tool to assign color to an entire sketch. The color that you assign in this way displays only when the sketch is inactive, instead of the default gray color. The colors that are assigned to sketches in this way also follow the toggle state of the Color Display Mode button. For example, if the Color Display Mode button is depressed, then inactive sketches display as gray. When the Color Display Mode button is not pressed, then inactive sketches display in any color that you have assigned by using the Edit Color tool. Line thickness and line style The Line Thickness and Line Style tools function independently from the Color Display Mode but- ton, but they are still used only when the sketch is active. As soon as a sketch that contains entities with edited thickness and style is closed, the display goes back to the normal line weight and font. 195 Getting More from Your Sketches 6 12_080139 ch06.qxp 3/26/07 3:36 PM Page 195 To assign a thickness or a style, you can select the sketch entities to be changed, press the button, and select the thickness or style. Although a single sketch entity may have only a single thickness or style, you can use multiple thicknesses or styles within a single sketch. Figure 6.12 shows a sketch with the thickness and style edited. FIGURE 6.12 A sketch with edited line thickness and line style You can create custom line styles, but only in a drawing document; you cannot use custom line styles in the part environment. Line thickness and line styles are covered in more detail in the discussion of drawings in Chapter 20. Tutorial: Editing and Copying This tutorial guides you through some common sketch relation editing scenarios and using some of the Copy, Move, and Derive tools. Follow these steps to learn about editing and copying sketches: 1. Open the part named Chapter6 Tutorial1.sldprt from the CD-ROM. This part has several error flags on sketches. In cases where there are many errors, it is best to roll the part back and go through the errors one by one. 2. Drag the rollback bar from just after the last fillet feature to just after Extrude3. If Extrude3 is expanded so that you can see Sketch3 under it, then drop the rollback bar to after Sketch3. If a warning message appears, telling you that Sketch3 will be temporarily unabsorbed, then select Cancel and try the rollback again. Figure 6.13 shows before and after views for the rollback. CROSS-REF CROSS-REF 196 Building Intelligence into Your Parts Part II 12_080139 ch06.qxp 3/26/07 3:36 PM Page 196 3. Edit Sketch3 and turn off the Sketch Relations display (View ➪ Sketch Relations). Click Display/Delete Relations on the toolbar (the Eyeglasses tool), and set it to All in This Sketch. Notice that all of the relations conflict, but only one is unsolvable: the Equal Radius relation. This appears to be a mistake because the two arcs cannot be equal. 4. Delete the Equal Radius relation. The sketch is still not fixed. 5. Click the green check mark icon to close the Display/Delete Relations PropertyManager. 6. RMB click the graphics window and select SketchXpert. Click Diagnose. FIGURE 6.13 Rolling the part back to Extrude3 7. Using the double arrows in the Results panel, toggle through the available solutions. All of the solutions except one remove sketch relations. Accept the one solution that removes the dimension, and click the green check mark icon to exit the SketchXpert. The sketch no longer shows errors. 8. Close the sketch. Notice that the error flag does not disappear until the sketch has been repaired and closed. 9. Use the rollback bar to roll forward to after Extrude2 and Sketch2. Figure 6.14 shows the tooltip message that appears if you place the cursor over the feature with the error. With time, you will begin to recognize the error messages by a single keyword or even by the shape of the message text. This message tells you that there is a dangling relation — a rela- tion that has lost one of the entities. Model in rolled back state Rollback bar Rollback cursor 197 Getting More from Your Sketches 6 12_080139 ch06.qxp 3/26/07 3:36 PM Page 197 FIGURE 6.14 The Error tooltip 10. Edit the sketch. Figure 6.15 points out the dangling errors. If you show the Sketch Relation icons again, the errors will be easier to identify. When you use Display/Delete Relations, the first two Coincident relations appear to be dangling. Clicking the relation in the Relations panel of the Display/Delete Relations PropertyManager shows that one point was connected to a line and the other point was connected to a point. 11. When you have fixed the errors, exit the sketch and confirm that the flag is no longer on Sketch2. 12. Drag the rollback bar to just before CutExtrude1. Edit 3DSketch1. This sketch is overde- fined. If the Sketch Relations are not on at this point, then turn them on again. Because this is a task that you will perform many times, this is a good opportunity to set up a hotkey for this function. As a reminder, to set up a hotkey, go to Tools ➪ Customize ➪ Keyboard, and in the Search box, type relations . In the Shortcut column for this com- mand, select a hotkey to use. 13. Double-click one of the relation icons; the Display/Delete Relations PropertyManager appears. Notice that one of the sketch relations is a Fixed relation. Remove the Fixed rela- tion, and exit the sketch. 14. RMB click anywhere in the FeatureManager and select Roll To End. 15. Click CutExtrude1 in the FeatureManager so that you can see it in the graphics window, and then click a blank space to deselect the feature. 16. Ctrl-drag any face of the cut feature, and drop it onto another flat face. The Ctrl-drag function copies the feature and the sketch, but the external dimensions and relations become detached. TIP TIP 198 Building Intelligence into Your Parts Part II 12_080139 ch06.qxp 3/26/07 3:36 PM Page 198 FIGURE 6.15 Fixing dangling errors 17. In the prompt that appears, click Dangle in response to the prompt. This means that you will have to reattach some dangling dimensions rather than recreating them. Edit the newly created sketch, which now has an error on it. 18. Two of the dimensions that went to external edges now have the olive dangling color. Select one of the dimensions; a red handle displays. Drag the red handle and attach it to a model edge. Do this for both dimensions. The dimensions update to reflect their new locations. Exit the sketch and verify that the error flag has disappeared. 19. Expand CutExtrude1, and select Sketch5 under it. Ctrl-select a flat face on the model other than the one that Sketch5 is on. In the menu, select Insert ➪ Derived Sketch. You are put into a sketch editing the derived sketch. 20. The sketch is blue, and so you should be able to resize it, right? You can test this by drag- ging the large circle; it only repositions the sketch as a unit. Drag this point to this corner Two points with dangling relations Drag this point to this edge 199 Getting More from Your Sketches 6 12_080139 ch06.qxp 3/26/07 3:36 PM Page 199 21. Dimension the center of the large circle to the edges of the model. 22. Drag the smaller circle, and notice that it swivels around the larger circle. Create an angle dimension between the construction line between the circle centers and one of the model edges. Notice that the sketch is now fully defined. 23. Exit the sketch, and look at the name of the derived sketch in the FeatureManager. The term derived appears after the name, and the sketch appears as fully defined. 24. RMB click the sketch and select Underive Sketch. Notice that the sketch is now underde- fined. The Underive command removes the associative link between the two sketches. Tutorial: Controlling Pictures, Text, Colors, and Styles This tutorial guides you through some of the miscellaneous functions in sketches, and shows you what they are used for and how they are used. Follow these steps to learn how to control these items: 1. Open a new part using a template with inches as units. Open a sketch on the Front plane, and draw a construction line 12 inches down (negative Y) from the Origin. 2. Insert a sketch picture in this sketch. Use Sketch Picture 1.tif from the CD-ROM for Chapter 6. 3. Resize the image so that the endpoints of the construction line are near the centers of the holes on the ends of the part. To move the image, just double-click it first, and then drag it. To resize it, drag the corners. 4. In the Transparency panel of the Sketch Picture PropertyManager, select the Eyedropper tool and click in the white background of the image. Make sure that the color field next to the Eyedropper tool changes to white. 5. Slide the Transparency and Matching Tolerance sliders all the way to the right, or type 1.00 in the number boxes. 6. Close the sketch, and rename it Sketch Image Front View. 7. Put the image Sketch Picture 2.tif, also from the CD-ROM, on the Right plane, and resize it to fit with the first image. Center it symmetrically about the Origin. Also set the trans- parency to the same setting as the first image. 8. Open a new sketch, also on the Front plane, and draw two circles to match the features on the ends. Extrude them using a Mid Plane extrusion to match the image in the other direction (about 2.5 inches), as shown in Figure 6.16. 9. Open another new sketch on the Front plane and draw the tangent lines to form the web in the middle of the part. Close the sketch to make a solid extrusion. Extrude this part .5 inches Mid Plane. 200 Building Intelligence into Your Parts Part II 12_080139 ch06.qxp 3/26/07 3:36 PM Page 200 FIGURE 6.16 Using sketch pictures 10. Open a new sketch on the face of the large flat web that you created in the previous step, and offset the arc edge of the larger circular boss by 2.1 inches. 11. Change the arc to a construction arc and drag its endpoints to approximately the position shown in Figure 6.17. The endpoints of the arc are blue after you drag them. Give them a Horizontal relation, and then dimension them as shown in Figure 6.17. FIGURE 6.17 Creating an offset arc 12. Click Tools ➪ Sketch Entities ➪ Text to initiate the creation of sketch text. 13. Select the construction arc to go into the Curves window. 14. In the Text window, type SolidWorks. Select the Full Justify option. 201 Getting More from Your Sketches 6 12_080139 ch06.qxp 3/26/07 3:36 PM Page 201 15. Deselect the Use Document Font option, click the Font button, and then set the Units to .50 inches. Click the Bold button to make the text thicker. Click OK to exit the dialog box. Click the green check mark icon to exit the sketch text, and then exit the sketch. 16. Extrude the text to a depth of .050 inches with 3 degrees of draft. The part at this point resembles Figure 6.18. FIGURE 6.18 Creating extruded text Sketch Text is a real performance killer. The more text that you use, the longer it takes to extrude. Draft on the extrusion adds to the time required. 17. Select the flat face on the other side of the part from where you just extruded the text, and open a sketch. 18. Select the face and click the Offset button to make a set of sketch entities offset to the inside of the face by .50 inches. 19. Turn on the Line Format toolbar (RMB click any toolbar other than the CommandManager and select Line Format). 20. Select all of the sketch lines, and change their color using the Line Color tool. Change the line thickness and the line style using the appropriate tools. The sketch now looks some- thing like Figure 6.19. 21. When you click the Color Display Mode tool, the colors return to regular sketch colors. When you exit the sketch, the line weight and style also return to normal. PERFORMANCE PERFORMANCE 202 Building Intelligence into Your Parts Part II 12_080139 ch06.qxp 3/26/07 3:36 PM Page 202 [...]... just make life a little easier, or the presentation or editing of data a little better When you explore the capabilities of SolidWorks, it usually rewards you with functionality that others might not find 2 03 6 12_080 139 ch06.qxp 3/ 26/07 3: 36 PM Page 204 13_ 080 139 ch07.qxp 3/ 26/07 3: 37 PM Page 205 Choosing a Feature Type W henever I do a woodworking project, the most frustrating part of the job is to envision... 212 13_ 080 139 ch07.qxp 3/ 26/07 3: 37 PM Page 2 13 Choosing a Feature Type FIGURE 7.7 The Loft PropertyManager While this sort of functionality may be attractive for a lot of reasons, you should not choose this way Unless you are dealing with the simplest of geometry and sketch relations, 3D sketches — and more specifically 3D sketch planes — are simply not up to the task It is definitely true that 3D sketches... to create between sketched profiles 218 13_ 080 139 ch07.qxp 3/ 26/07 3: 37 PM Page 219 Choosing a Feature Type SelectionManager The SelectionManager simplifies the selection of entities from complex sketches that are not necessarily the clean, closed loop sketches that SolidWorks works with most effectively NEW FEATURE The SelectionManager is new in SolidWorks 2007, and is used only for loft, sweep, and... helix This means that the difference in taper angles between the two helices is what drives the change in diameter of the sweep 2 23 7 13_ 080 139 ch07.qxp Part II 3/ 26/07 3: 37 PM Page 224 Building Intelligence into Your Parts FIGURE 7.16 A 3D sweep Creating Curve Features Curves in SolidWorks are often used to help define sweeps and lofts, as well as other features Curves differ from sketches in that curves... that applies to a 3D out-of-plane edge or curve without projecting the edge or curve into the sketch plane It acts as if the 3D curve is a length of thread and the sketch point is the eye of a needle, where the thread pierces the needle 222 13_ 080 139 ch07.qxp 3/ 26/07 3: 37 PM Page 2 23 Choosing a Feature Type eye The Pierce relation is most important in the Sweep feature when it is applied in the profile... from a constant width to a tapered or stepped shape, thin features do not handle this kind of change well Figure 7 .3 shows different types of geometry that are created from thin features 207 7 13_ 080 139 ch07.qxp Part II 3/ 26/07 3: 37 PM Page 208 Building Intelligence into Your Parts FIGURE 7 .3 Different types of geometry created from thin features Sketch types I have already mentioned several sketch types,... difficult if you do it directly by using a tool such as a 3D sketch spline; however, if you know what the curve looks like from two different directions, then it becomes easy Figure 7.21 illustrates this visualization method 227 7 13_ 080 139 ch07.qxp Part II 3/ 26/07 3: 37 PM Page 228 Building Intelligence into Your Parts When you think of describing a complex 3D curve in space, one of the first methods that usually... enclosed areas where the sketch entities themselves actually cross or otherwise violate the usual sketch rules One of these conditions is the selfintersecting contour 208 13_ 080 139 ch07.qxp 3/ 26/07 3: 37 PM Page 209 Choosing a Feature Type SolidWorks works best with well-disciplined sketches that follow the rules As a result, if you plan to use sketch contours, then you should make sure that it is not simply... cover the ship, and the spars of the hull very much resemble loft sections With the splines or slats bending at each spar, it is easy to see how the modern CAD analogy came to be 2 13 7 13_ 080 139 ch07.qxp Part II 3/ 26/07 3: 37 PM Page 214 Building Intelligence into Your Parts Lofts and splines are also governed by similar mathematics You have seen how the two-point spline and two-profile loft both create... enclosed area from a single self-intersecting profile Selecting multiple areas as contours in a sketch Selecting the border as a contour 209 7 13_ 080 139 ch07.qxp Part II 3/ 26/07 3: 37 PM Page 210 Building Intelligence into Your Parts When you make an extrusion from a 3D sketch, the direction of extrusion cannot be assumed or inferred from anything — it must be explicitly identified Extrusion direction from . capabilities of SolidWorks, it usually rewards you with functionality that others might not find. 2 03 Getting More from Your Sketches 6 12_080 139 ch06.qxp 3/ 26/07 3: 36 PM Page 2 03 12_080 139 ch06.qxp 3/ 26/07. Figure 6. 13 shows before and after views for the rollback. CROSS-REF CROSS-REF 196 Building Intelligence into Your Parts Part II 12_080 139 ch06.qxp 3/ 26/07 3: 36 PM Page 196 3. Edit Sketch3 and turn. change well. Figure 7 .3 shows different types of geometry that are created from thin features. 207 Choosing a Feature Type 7 13_ 080 139 ch07.qxp 3/ 26/07 3: 37 PM Page 207 FIGURE 7 .3 Different types