Part Creation Basics
The part shown in Figure 2.1 will be created using SW. The part and general approach was
taken from Introduction to Solid Modeling Using SolidWorks 2008 by William E. Howard and
Joseph C. Musto, McGraw-Hill, ISBN 978-0-07-337533-5 – ISBN 0-07-337533-0.
Figure 2.1
To prepare to create a part, the SW Flyout menu will be pinned to the window as shown
in Figure 2.2
Flyout pinned to window so
it is always visible
Right click on any tab to
bring up the window
shown
Click on item, to uncheck Figure 2.2
or check and thus hide or
unhide the tab.
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The basic part creation process is to:
* select a plane on which to sketch
* sketch a 2D shape or outline
* add dimensions and/or constraints and
* convert it to a 3D feature.
The first feature becomes * the basic part and the remaining features remain features.
Because only Features and Sketch will be used, the remaining tabs can be hidden by right
clicking on any tab and clicking on the tabs so the checkmark disappears. The tab is visible only
when a check mark appears. This is shown in Figure 2.2.
The Task Pane at the right side of the screen, which is used to access online resources and files,
will also not be used in this introduction. It can be turned off by using the View menu item and
unchecking Task Pane as shown in Figure 2.3
Task Pane unchecked or
hidden
Figure 2.3
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Create Base
To begin the part the Sketch tab is clicked. This changes the Command Manager display as
shown in Figure 2.4.
1. Sketch tab selected and
different commands appear in
Command Manager
3. Context
sensitive pop-up
menu appears
2. Front Plane is
selected for sketch
Figure 2.4.
2D sketching is done on a plane and there are 3 default planes in every new part.
The front plane will be used in this part and is selected by clicking on Front Plane as shown in
Figure 2.4.
A circle for the base of the part will be sketched first and is created by selecting the circle
command as shown in Figure 2.5.
The down arrow indicates there are more commands under the icon shown and selecting the
down arrow will display them. The last command used and available without using the down
arrow is shown on top.
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After selecting the circle command the view changes so one is looking down the normal to the
plane.
The down arrow is selected on the circle
command and then circle with center and
radius input is chosen.
Figure 2.5.
The origin is then selected for the circle center and the radius is dragged out from the center
point as shown in Figure 2.6
Accept sketch or
discard sketch
Figure 2.6
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To set the proper size of the circle select the Smart Dimension command as shown in Figure
2.8 and then click on the circle.
Select Smart
Dimension
Figure 2.8
One can then drag the dimension to a desired location and click to fix its placement.
Figure 2.9
A window is displayed as shown in Figure 2.10, that allows the precise diameter of 5.5 to be
entered. Pushing on the green check mark enters the value.
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Coincident
Constraint
Figure 2.10
In addition to the diameter having been defined, a symbol is shown at the center that indicates
the circle center is coincident with the origin. This is a constraint.
With the coincident constraint and the radius defined, the circle is Fully Defined. This is shown
by the circle turning black and the Fully Defined message appearing in the status line.
1. Circle is black which
means fully defined and an
appropriate message is shown
in the status line.
Figure 2.11
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Clicking on the icon in the upper right corner of the screen accepts the sketch. The X would
discard the sketch.
2. Click on
Features
1. Accept the
sketch
Figure 2.12
The sketch is turned into a solid using a feature command so the Features tab is selected as
shown in Figure 2.12 and then the Extrude Boss/Base command is selected as shown in
Figure 2.13.
Figure 2.13
The view of the part changes to a pictorial and the Extrude Properties Manager window appears
allowing the length of the extrude, direction and other parameters to be defined as shown in
Figure 2.14.
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Figure 2.14
The length is entered as 0.75 and the direction is checked that it is outward (select
“blind”). The OK check mark is clicked and the solid shown in Figure 2.15 is created.
Figure 2.15
The first extrude becomes the base and all subsequent extrudes are bosses.
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Create a Boss
Next the 2.75 inch diameter boss will be added to the part. The boss will have a height of 1.5
from the top of the base or 2.25 from the base of the base. One could draw a circle on the face of
the existing base and extrude it but an alternate approach is to define an additional plane 2.25
inches from the front plane and draw on this plane. This would permit the circle to be
maintained at a 2.75 inch diameter while still adding draft (taper so part can be removed from a
mold).
To begin the process one selects:
Features Tab,
Reference geometry and
Plane
as shown in Figure 2.16.
2. Reference 3. Plane
1. Features
geometry
Figure 2.16
The new reference plane is then defined by the steps shown in Figure 2.17. (Note that new
reference plane will be 2.25 units away from the front plane.)
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2. Click on Front Plane as
1. Expand Feature Manager tree by
plane to be used to create the
clicking on + to left of Part 1
new reference plane.
6. Push
Ok
3. Front Plane
appears here
4. Enter offset
distance = 2.25
5. Reverse
direction if
necessary
Figure 2.17
Reference plane 1 is created as shown in Figure 2.18
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Figure 2.18
To create the boss, with Plane 1 still highlighted click on the Sketch tab and then use the View
Orientation Tool to select the Normal To view as shown in Figure 2.19
View Orientation
tool Normal To view
Figure 2.19
The circle tool is used to sketch the circle with its center coincident with the origin.
The Smart Dimension command is used to set the diameter to 2.75 inches which then fully
defines the circle as shown in Figure 2.20.
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Figure 2.20
The View Orientation tool is used to return to a Trimetric view as shown in Figure 2.21
Figure 2.21
The boss is created using the Features tab and the steps shown in Figure 2.22
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1. Click on Extrude
Boss/Base
2. Change direction of
extrude if necessary
3. Click on Up to Next
4. Click on green
check for OK
Figure 2.22
The new part is shown in Figure 2.23 but Plane 1 is distracting and can be turn off using the
Hide/Show tool and clicking on Planes as also shown in Figure 2.23.
Figure 2.23
Create Hole in Boss
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The next feature to be added is the hole in the boss just created. Again a sketch must be created
on a plane but this time, rather than create a reference plane, the front surface of the boss will be
selected.
As one moves the cursor across the part when it is on a surface a green square is shown and the
boundary turns red as in Figure 2.24. When it is over an edge the square becomes a line.
Figure 2.25
Clicking while on the surface selects the surface and brings up a context sensitive menu as
shown in Figure 2.26.
Figure 2.26
Selecting the Normal To icon gives a view ready for the sketch of the circle for the hole. The
hole is created using the procedure given in Figure 2.27.
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1. Sketch tab
4. Use Smart
Dimension, 2. Circle tool
select circle,
and set diameter
to 1.5. 3. Click on center
and drag to
approximate
radius
Figure 2.27
Use View Orientation tool to set view to Trimetric as shown in Figure 2.28
Figure 2.28
The hole in the boss is an extruded cut and is created using the steps in Figure 2.29.
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1. Select Features
tab
2. Select Extrude Cut
3. Change direction if
necessary
4. Select Through All
5 Click on OK
Figure 2.29 The
part with the hole is shown in Figure 2.30
Figure 2.30
CreateOneMounting Hole
Select the front surface of the flange as shown in Figure 2.31
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1. Select surface
using green square 2. Select Normal To
and clicking on context sensitive
pop-up menu
2.31
Construct the bolt circle (circle through the centers of all the hole) using the standard sketch
procedure with one addition as shown in Figure 2.32
1. Sketch tab
5. Use Smart
Dimension, 2. Circle tool
select circle,
and set diameter
to 4.25. 3. Click on center
and drag to
approximate
radius
4. Addition: because the
bolt circle should not be
part of the extrude cut it
must be set to For
construction
Figure 2.32
Create the first bolt hole by following the procedure in Figure 2.33
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1. Sketch tab
4. Use Smart
Dimension, 2. Circle tool
select circle,
and set diameter
to 4.25. 3. Click on
quadrant point 4. Use Smart Dimension
and drag to to set diameter to 0.5
approximate
radius
Figure 2.33
As done earlier, use the View Orientation tool to change the view to trimetric and use the
Features tab to cut the hole as shown in Figure 2.34.
1. Select Features
tab
2. Select Extrude Cut
3. Change direction if
necessary
4. Select Through All
5 Click on OK
Figure 2.34
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Create Remaining Bolt Holes
The remaining three bolt holes could be individually created or the pattern (array) tool can be
used as shown in Figure 2.35
1. In Features Command click
on the down arrow under the 2. Click on circular
Linear Pattern icon pattern
Figure 2.35
The Property Manager then permits the pattern to be defined as shown in Figure 2.36
1. Click in the pattern
axis square and then
pick the large hole
surface
[Link] arrows to set
number of items
3. Click on Equal
spacing
5. Click on OK 4. Click on Features
to Pattern box and
then pick top hole
surface
Figure 2.36
The part with mounting holes is shown in Figure 2.37
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Figure 2.37
Add Fillets and Chamfer
The last features to be added are the fillets and chamfer. The
fillets are added by following the steps in Figure 2.38
1. Click on the 2. Click on Fillet
Features tab
3. Set the radius to
0.25
4. Click on the edges to
be filleted.
5. Click on OK
Figure 2.38
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The chamfer on the center hole is created using the chamfer tool as shown in Figure 2.39
and then following the steps in Figure 2.40
Figure 2.39
1. Select the edge
to be chamfered
2. Enter distance
of 0.08
3. Push green
arrow for Ok
Figure 2.40
The completed part is shown in Figure 2.41
Figure 2.41
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3. Saving a Part
To save the part follow the steps in Figures 3.1 and 3.2
1. Click on File
2. Click on Save As
Figure 3.1
1. Browse to find
appropriate folder
3. Click on Save
2. Enter file name
Figure 3.2
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The file should be saved frequently during creation not just at the end as
was done here. While the Undo command is helpful it is also good to
have a backup in case a command produces unexpected results or the
system crashes.
4. Viewing the part
A number of viewing options are available in SW. They can be divided into two categories:
Heads-Up Viewing toolbar as shown in Figure 4.1
Dynamic View options as explained later in this section
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Previous View Hide/Show
View
Zoom to Fit Orientation View Settings
Zoom to Area Display Style
Section View Apply Scene
Figure 4.1
View Orientation: the meaning of the icons are shown in the adjacent diagram.
Top Isometric Trimetric Dimetric
Left Front Right Back
Bottom Normal To
One Two Horiz. Two Vert. Four
Viewport Viewports Viewports Viewports
Figure 4.2
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Display Style is summarized in Figure 4.3
Shaded with Edges
Shaded without Edges
Hidden Line Removal
Hidden Lines Dashed
Wireframe
Figure 4.3
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Hide and Show is summarized in Figure 4.4
Planes Origins
Axes Temporary Axes
Coordinate Systems Points
Curves Parting Lines
Sketch Dimensions Annotations
Sketches 3D Sketch Planes
Sketch Relationships Grid
Lights Camera
Routing Points
Figure 4.4
Dynamic Viewing Options Using Middle Mouse Button:
Cannot be shown in a printed document so they will simply be described here and demonstrated
in class.
Rotate part – hold middle mouse button down and move mouse
If cursor is on a vertex, edge or axis when held down, the rotation is about that item.
Pan part – hold CTRL and middle mouse button down and move mouse
Zoom part – hold SHIFT and middle mouse button down and move mouse.
5. File Manager Design Tree
The File Manager Design Tree is a sequential record of how the part is built. For the part
constructed earlier in this lesson the File Manager Design Tree is:
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Standard planes and Origin
Base extrude and its sketch
Reference plane for boss
Boss extrude and its sketch
Hole in boss and sketch
Mounting hole and sketch
Bolt hole array
Fillets
Figure 5.1
The File Manager Design Tree is not only useful to see how a part was built it can also be used
for editing as will be seen in a later lesson.
The names in the tree can be changed to make them more meaningful. Simple click twice (with
more delay between clicks than a double click) and change name as shown in Figure 5.2.
Figure 5.2
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