SKETCHES IN
SOLIDWORKS
FIRST YOU SKETCH…THEN YOU FEATURE
SKETCHES HAVE TWO TYPES OF
CONSTRAINTS
• DIMENSIONS
• GEOMETRIC
WE’RE TALKING ABOUT SKETCH
RELATIONS…
DIMENSION CONSTRAINS
• DEFINE SIZE
• DEFINE LOCATION
GEOMETRIC CONSTRAINTS
• Define the relationship of the element to other elements in
the sketch
SKETCHES CAN HAVE THREE STATES
• UNDERDEFINED
• FULLY DEFINED
• OVER DEFINED
UNDERDEFINED
• NEEDS MORE INFORMATION TO CONTROL THE
GEOMETRY
• THE COLOR BLUE – MEANS UNDERDEFINED
FULLY DEFINED
• SOLIDWORKS HAS ALL THE INFORMATION IT NEEDS
FOR THE GEOMETRY
• THE COLOR BLACK INDICATES FULLY DEFINED
FULLY DEFINED
• ON THE RIGHT CLICK MENU, SELECT FULLY DEFINE
SKETCH
• ON THE RIBBON, SELECT FULLY DEFINE SKETCH
FROM THE DISPLAY/DELETE RELATIONS DROPDOWN
OVERDEFINED
• SOLIDWORKS HAS TOO MUCH INFORMATION AND IS
CONFUSED
• YELLOW INDICATES OVERDEFINED
OVERDEFINED
• TO ELIMINATE THE OVERDEFINED ERROR – DELETE
EITHER A DIMENSIONAL CONSTRAINT OR A
GEOMETRIC CONSTRAINT
• USE DISPLAY/DELETE RELATIONS TO FIND THE
CONFLICTS
TO ADD A DIMENSIONCAL
CONSTRAINT
• USE SMART DIMENSION
TO ADD A GEOMETRIC CONSTRAINT
• USE ADD RELATION
TO DELETE A DIMENSION OR
GEOMETRIC CONSTRAINT
• SELECT IT
• PRESS THE DELETE KEY ON YOUR KEYBOARD
• RIGHT CLICK AND SELECT DELETE
TIME TO SKETCH…
TIPS FOR SKETCHING….
YOU CAN DRAG GEOMETRY TO THE LOCATION YOU
WANT IT
START OUT BIGGER THAN YOU NEED
DON’T DELETE AND UNDO – FIX IT!
It’s all about the Relationships
SKETCH
THERE IS ONE EXTRA
CONSTRAINT IN THIS
SKETCH