Introduction to Sketching 1 Introduction As mentioned before Sketched Features are created by employing 2D sketches. In SOLIDWORKS sketches are drawn on existing planes or on flat surfaces of previously created objects. In order to draw a sketch, user needs to activate the Sketch Mode. 1.1 Activating Sketch Mode Sketch Mode can be activated with several ways: Sketch Toolbar: Click on Sketch Tab on Command Manager to display Sketch Tools then press Sketch icon or any active icon (except Smart Dimension icon ). Observe that cursor changes to pointer . Also observe that predefined planes become temporarily visible in Graphic Area (see Fig 1). Hover on the plane on which you want to draw sketch. When this plane is highlighted press left mouse button to select it. Pay attention to the changes on screen (Fig 2). User can also use Feature Manager Design Tree instead of Graphics Ara . After pressing Sketch icon in Sketch Tab , locate and click the plane name displayed in Feature Manager Design Tree . Feature Manager Design Tree Press the Feature Manager Design Tree tab. Locate and select the plane on which sketch will be drawn. Click on Sketch Tab on Command Manager to display Sketch Tools then press sketch icon or any active icon (except Smart Dimension icon ). User can also use right-mouse button to activate Sketch Mode. To do that right-click on the plane located in Feature Manager Design Tree then press Sketch icon on displayed pop up menu toolbar (Fig 3). Graphics Area: Locate the plane or Flat Surface (on which sketch will be drawn) in Graphics Area . If necessary use your middle mouse button to change the orientation so that plane or flat surface is accessed easily. Rightclick on the plane or flat surface then press Sketch icon on displayed pop up menu toolbar (Fig 4). 1 2 Fig. 1. Activating Sketch Mode via Sketch Toolbar 3 Fig. 2. Activated Sketch Mode 4 Fig. 3. Activating Sketch Mode via Feature Manager Design Tree 5 Fig. 4. Activating Sketch Mode via Graphics Area A context menu (also called contextual, shortcut, and pop up or pop-up menu) is a menu in a graphical user interface (GUI) that appears upon user interaction, such as a right-click mouse operation. A flyout is a reference to a toolbar that is accessed from a single button on a toolbar. Flyout buttons have a black triangle in the lower-right corner which indicates that pressing and holding the pick button from the pointing device will reveal additional commands In computer graphics, snapping allows an object to be easily positioned in alignment with grid lines, guide lines or another object, by causing it to automatically jump to an exact position when the user drags it to the proximity of the desired location. In order to successfully use sketch tools, plane on which sketch is drawn (form now on called Sketch Plane ) should be parallel to screen. SOLIDWORKS usually aligns the Sketch Plane . If this is not the case or orientation of Graphic Area with respect to screen is changed then user should align the Sketch Plane manually. This is accomplished with Normal To icon which can be accessed by right-clicking on Sketch Name located in Feature Manager Design Tree (Fig 5) Parent Child Relation: Features are normally built upon other existing features. For example, you create a sketch by using existing plane or flat surface on previously created body. The original plane or body is the parent feature; the sketch is a child feature. The existence of a child feature depends on the parent. A parent feature is an existing feature upon which others depend. Parent/Child include the following characteristics: a) You can only view the relations; you cannot edit them. b) You cannot reorder a child feature before its parent. To view Parent/Child relations, in the FeatureManager design tree or in the graphics area, right-click the feature whose relationships you want to see. Select Parent/Child from the menu. 6 7 Fig. 5. Aligning Sketch Plane parallel to screen 2 Sketch Entities In this section items in Sketch Tools are explained. • Run the SOLIDWORKS • Click New > Part to create new part • Locate Top Plane in Feature Manager Design Tree and press right mouse button then click Sketch icon. • Make sure that Sketch Plane is aligned parallel to screen. If it is not then use Normal To icon. • Go to Tools > Sketch Settings and make sure that boxes next to Automatic Relations , Automatic Solve and Enable Snapping menu items are checked (see Fig 6). • If user is not sure which plane or flat surface is used as Sketch Plane then she/he can identify it by using the step(s) depicted in Fig 7. 2.1 Line 2.1.1 Introduction SOLIDWORKS offers two line types: Line : It may be also called Solid Line since it is used to draw the boundary of the geometric shapes. Centerline It is a construction line which is utilized to complete the geometry. For example user draws a horizontal centerline in order to specify the angle of tilted line. Property Manager : As the name suggest it manages the properties of features. User can specify the properties of feature during construction or, if desired, change them after construction. 2.1.2 Line Drawing In freshly installed SOLIDWORKS, line types are grouped together under Line Flyout Button . User can view the line types by pressing and holding left-mouse button on black triangle placed next to line sign (see below). User can utilize drop-down menu to select desired line or just click on the Line Flyout Button and use Property Manager (Fig 8). 8 Endpoints Line It is the default line type. User specifies the end points of line by clicking left-mouse button. 1. Click on Line Flyout Button or expand drop-down menu and select Line menu item 2. Select a place on Graphics Area and click the left-mouse button. 3. Move your mouse and click the left-mouse button. 4i User can keep on drawing joined lines by clicking. 5. In order to finish user can either • Move mouse and double-click on left-mouse button. Observe that Insert Line Property Manager is still active and cursor is still displayed as pointer . User can change the settings and keep on drawing lines (Fig 9). User may also click on another item such as Circle and draw that item. or . Observe that Property Manager • Press ESC or click on Select icon is deactivated and Feature Manager Design Tree is displayed (Fig 10). Student should try the Horizontal , Vertcal and Angle options displayed under Orientation menu located in Property Manager . Centerline It is drawn in the same way as Endpoints Line . 1. Expand drop-down menu and select Centerline menu item or Click on Line Flyout Button then select Centerline located under Options menu. 2. Follow the steps 2-5 given above. Selection of an item is important to use SOLIDWORKS successfully thus it will be covered in detail: • In order to select an item, move your mouse and hover around the item. • When color of item changes, it is ready to be selected. Just click on leftmouse button. User can also use the cursor to decide if item is ready for selection. When item is ready to be picked up, cursor changes to pointer. • When item is selected, it is color changes in other words it is highlighted. If Edit Sketch mode is active then Property Manager of item is also activated. Selection procedure is demonstrated as follows: 1. Draw two tilted lines which are connected then either press ESC or click 9 on Select icon (Fig 11) 2. Hover your cursor around the item you want to select (Fig 12-In order to reduce figure number, several figures are superimposed together). 3. Selection of Point and Line is depicted in Fig 13. • Since Selection is important, there is a toolbar dedicated to selection: Selection Filter . In order to activate the Selection Filter toolbar, right-click on Statusbar and select Selection Filter as shown in Fig 14. User can use items located in Selection Filter toolbar to restrict the selection. For example clicking on Filter Sketch Segments restricts the selection to line and curve segments. User can select more than one icon. For example selecting Filter Sketch Segments and Filter Sketch Points limits the selection to line and curve segments, and points. Hover around Selection Filter toolbar items to display the tool-tips (Fig 15). When items in Selection Filter is activated, cursor changes to pointer with Funnel sign under it . User who is new to SOLIDWORKS may activate Selection Filter items accidentally. This is usually very annoying. See Fig 15 in order to learn how to turn off Selection Filters. 2.1.3 Displaying and Changing Existing Line Properties: Property Manager User can display and change properties of existing line with the help of Property Manager . When line is selected, Property Manager is automatically activated: Existing Relations : There are two types of relation which can be defined on selected line: • Relations between space and line: They are Horizontal and Vertical relations which align the line horizontally and vertically with respect to screen, respectively. Since SOLIDWORKS automatically assigns a coordinate system to Sketch Plane , defining Horizontal or Vertical relations makes the line parallel to X-axis or Y-axis, respectively. Under Defined means that all of the information required to locate the line with respect to coordinate system is not given. In other words location of line is not fixed. User can use Fix relation to fully define the line. But Fix relation will not be used in this class. If line is under-defined then user may stretch, rotate or move it with mouse, depending on parameters left undefined. • Relations between line and other sketch entities: They are relations between current line and sketch entities such as other lines, circles, points etc. Relations listed in Existing Relations window are also displayed in Graphics Area . Add Relations : These are relations which can be defined between space and 10 line. Options : User can change Line to Centerline , or vice versa. If box next to Infinitive Line is checked then it can not be unchecked. Thus user should be carefully while using this option. Parameters Boxes in this window display the current length and angle of the line. Angle is measured with respect to X-axis. If desired, new values can be entered. Additional Parameters Boxes in this window display the current X- and Ycoordinates of the end points. Distances along X- and Y-axis between end points are also displayed. If desired, new values can be entered. 11 12 Fig. 6. make sure that boxes next to Automatic Relations , Automatic Solve and Enable Snapping menu items are checked 13 Fig. 7. Identification of the plane on which sketch is drawn 14 Fig. 8. Line Property Manager 15 Fig. 9. Finishing line drawing with Double-click 16 Fig. 10. Finishing line drawing with Select icon or ESC Fig. 11. Draw two tilted lines then click on Select icon or press ESC Fig. 12. Selecting Point and Line 17 18 Fig. 13. Selection of Point or Line activates its Property Manager Fig. 14. Activating Selection Filter toolbar 19 20 Fig. 15. Tool-tips for Selection Filter toolbar 2.2 Rectangular 2.2.1 Introduction SOLIDWORKS employs Line tool to construct a rectangular. For this reason there is no Property Manager by which properties of existing rectangular can be changed. Property Manager of rectangle is accessed only during construction. After rectangular is drawn SOLIDWORKS treats it as four individual perpendicularly aligned merged lines. 2.2.2 Rectangle Drawing SOLIDWORKS offers several methods to draw a rectangular. Depending on SOLIDWORKS’s version, number of the types may change. User specifies the method to draw a rectangular by activating Rectangular Property Manger . Corner Rectangular Sides of the rectangular being drawn is parallel and verti- cal to axes of coordinate system assigned to Sketch Plane. Since orientation of rectangular is defined, specifying two end points of a diagonal is enough to draw. User may add construction lines by checking box located next to Add construction lines then by selecting the one of arrangement displayed: From Corners : diagonals are added as construction lines. From Midpoints : lines connecting the midpoints of opposite sides are added as construction lines. 21 Center Rectangle User first specifies the midpoint of rectangle then one of the corner points. Since orientation is defined a priori, two points are enough to draw rectangle. Midpoint is used during sketching thus construction lines are always displayed but their alignment can be changed. 22 3 Point Corner Rectangle It is used to draw arbitrarily oriented rectangle in plane. User specifies three adjacent corner points by clicking successively in Graphics Area. If desired, construction lines may be added as explained above. 3 Point Center Rectangle It is used to draw arbitrarily oriented rectangle in plane. User specifies center of a rectangle, midpoint of a side and end point of that side by clicking successively in Graphics Area. Midpoint is used during sketching thus construction lines are always displayed but their alignment can be changed. 23 Parallelogram In plane a parallelogram can be drawn through three non- collinear points. User specifies three adjacent corner points by clicking successively in Graphics Area. If desired, construction lines may be added as explained above. 2.3 2.3.1 Circle Circle Drawing SOLIDWORKS offers two methods to draw a circle: Circle: User specifies the center then the boundary point, by clicking in Graphics Area. Perimeter Circle: User specifies three boundary points. Student may remember the high school math: A circle can be drawn through three noncollinear points. 24 2.3.2 Displaying and Changing Existing Circle Properties: Property Manager User can display and change properties of existing circle with the help of Property Manager . When circle is selected, Property Manager is automatically activated: Existing Relations : They are relations defined between selected circle and sketch entities such as other lines, circles, points etc. User can delete any displayed relation by right-clicking on it then selecting Delete command. Clicking on a relation highlights the sketch entities, on which that relation is defined, in Graphics Area. Relations listed in Existing Relations window are also displayed in Graphics Area . Under Defined means that all of the information required to locate the circle with respect to coordinate system is not given. In other words location of circle is not fixed. User can use Fix relation to fully define the circle. But Fix relation will not be used in this class. If a circle is underdefined then user may stretch, rotate or move it with mouse, depending on parameters left undefined. Add Relations : It lists the relations which can be defined between space and circle. Options : User can change Circle to Construction Circle , or vice versa. Parameters Boxes in this window display x- and y-coordinates of the center, and the radius of the circle. 2.4 2.4.1 Arc Arc Drawing SOLIDWORKS offers three methods to draw an arc: Centerpoint Arc : User draw Center point arc by clicking three times in Graph- ics Area: First click specifies the arc center, second click specifies the radius 25 and one of the end points, and third click specifies arc angle and the other end point. Radius and arc angle are displayed during construction in order to guide the user. Tangent Arc : It is used to draw tangent arc to existing Sketch Entity which has identifiable end points. This command does not work on circle because it does not have identifiable end points. User clicks first on the end point of Sketch Entity in order to specify arc center direction and one of the end points of arc. Second click specifies arc center, angle of arc and other end point. Radius and arc angle are displayed during construction in order to guide the user. Tangent Arc tool works similar to Line tool. User can draw interconnected and tangential arcs. Sequential arc drawing is terminated with double click. 3 Pointt Arc : User draw 3 point arc by clicking three times in Graphics Area: First two clicks specify the end points of arc and direction of arc center. Last click specifies center and angle of arc. Distance between end points, radius and arc angle are displayed during construction in order to guide the user. 26 2.4.2 Displaying and Changing Existing Arc Properties: Property Manager User can display and change properties of existing arc with the help of Property Manager . When arc is selected, Property Manager is automatically activated: Existing Relations : They are relations defined between selected arc and sketch entities such as other lines, circles, points etc. User can delete any displayed relation by right-clicking on it then selecting Delete command. Clicking on a relation highlights the sketch entities, on which that relation is defined, in Graphics Area. Relations listed in Existing Relations window are also displayed in Graphics Area . Under Defined means that all of the information required to locate the arc with respect to coordinate system is not given. In other words location of arc is not fixed. User can use Fix relation to fully define the circle. But Fix relation will not be used in this class. If an arc is under-defined then user may stretch, rotate or move it with mouse, depending on parameters left undefined. Add Relations : It lists the relations which can be defined between space and arc. Options : User can change Arc to Construction Arc , or vice versa. Parameters Boxes in this window display x- and y-coordinates of the arc end points and center as well as its radius and angle. 2.5 2.5.1 Ellipse Introduction The following figure depicts ellipse. Minor and major axes are perpendicular and intersect at ellipse center. 27 2.5.2 Ellipse drawing User draws Ellipse by clicking three times in Graphics Area: First click specifies the ellipse center, second click specifies the radius and end point of one of the axes, and finally third click specifies the radius and end point of the other axis. Radius of Minor and major axes are displayed during construction in order to guide the user. 2.5.3 Partial Ellipse drawing User draws Partial Ellipse by clicking four times in Graphics Area: First click specifies the ellipse center. Second click specifies the radius and end point of one of the axes. Third click specifies the radius and end point of the other axis along with one of the end points of partial ellipse. Finally fourth click specifies the other end point of the ellipse. Radius of Minor and major axes are displayed during construction in order to guide the user. 28 2.6 2.6.1 Parabola Introduction Parabola, open curve, a conic section produced by the intersection of a right circular cone and a plane parallel to an element of the cone. As a plane curve, it may be defined as the path (locus) of a point moving so that its distance from a fixed line (the directrix) is equal to its distance from a fixed point (the focus). The vertex of the parabola is the point on the curve that is closest to the directrix; it is equidistant from the directrix and the focus. The vertex and the focus determine a line, perpendicular to the directrix, that is the axis of the parabola. 2.6.2 Parabola drawing User specifies the Focus point by clicking on Graphics Area. Second click defines the Vertex point. Third and fourth clicks specify the end points. Shape of the parabola, and distance between focus and vertex points are displayed during construction in order to guide the user. 29 2.7 2.7.1 Conic Introduction Conic section, also called conic, in geometry, any curve produced by the intersection of a plane and a right circular cone. Depending on the angle of the plane relative to the cone, the intersection is a circle, an ellipse, a hyperbola, or a parabola. Conic command creates a conic by specifying two points on the conic section, an anchor point to determine the starting and ending slopes, and intermediate point. The projective discriminant, Rho, is determined by anchor and intermediate points. Consider a line you construct from the anchor point to the midpoint of the line connecting the two endpoints of the conic section. The intermediate point on the conic section lies somewhere along this line. In the figure below, Rho value is determined from the value entered for the distances D1 and D2. The value of Rho is between 0 and 1. The type of conic section created is determined by this value. 30 If Rho is < 1/2, an ellipse is created. If Rho is = 1/2, a parabola is created. If Rho is > 1/2, a hyperbola is created. 2.7.2 Conic drawing User creates conic by clicking four time in Graphics Area. First two clicks specifies the end points. Third click determines the Anchor point. Finally fourth click specify the intermediate point. Rho value is displayed during construction in order to guide the user. 31 2.8 2.8.1 (Regular-Convex) Polygon Introduction Regular polygon is a polygon that is equiangular (all angles are equal in measure) and equilateral (all sides have the same length). A convex polygon is a simple polygon (not self-intersecting) in which no line segment between two points on the boundary ever goes outside the polygon. Vertices of the regular polygon lie on the same circle which is called the circumscribed circle. Moreover edges of the regular-convex polygon are tangent to the same circle which is called the inscribed circle. Circumscribed and inscribed circles are concentric. 2.8.2 Polygon drawing In order to draw polygon, user first enters the number of edges in Property Manager, then clicks two times in Graphics Area. First click specifies the center of Circumscribed circle and second one of the vertices. Radius of Circumscribed circle as well as angle between positive X-axis and the line connecting the center and the specified vertex are displayed as Sketch Feedback. 32 User can change the number of edges after drawing the polygon: First activate the selection mode then right click on the polygon and select the Edit Polygon in pop up menu. 2.9 2.9.1 Slots Introduction Slotted holes are basic geometric shapes consisting of two semicircle connected by straight lines or arcs. 33 2.9.2 Slot drawing SOLIDWORKS offers four types of slot: Straight, Centerpoint Straight, 3 Point Arc and Centerpoint Arc slots: Straight Slot User clicks three times in Graphics Area in order to draw Straight Slot. First two clicks specify the end points of the center line, and third click determines radius of the end caps. User may add the dimensions by checking the box next to Add Dimensions menu item. Length of the center line is displayed as Sketch Feedback Centerpoint Straight Slot User clicks three times in Graphics Area in order to draw Centerpoint Straight Slot. First click specifies the Centerpoint, second click defines one of the end points and finally third click determines radius of the end caps. User may add the dimensions by checking the box next to Add Dimensions menu item. Distance between center and end points is displayed as Sketch Feedback 34 3 Point Arc Slot User clicks four times in Graphics Area in order to draw 3 Point Arc Slot: First two clicks determine the end points of the center arc. Third click defines the midpoint of the arc. Finally fourth click specifies radius of the end caps. User may add the dimensions by checking the box next to Add Dimensions menu item. Angle and radius of center arc are displayed as Sketch Feedback Centerpoint Arc Slot User clicks four times in Graphics Area in order to draw Centerpoint Arc Slot. First click determines the centerpoint. Second and third clicks defines the end points of the center arc. . User may add the dimensions by checking the box next to Add Dimensions menu item. Angle and radius of center arc are displayed as Sketch Feedback. 3 Sketch Tools Sketch Tools are used to manipulate the existing Sketch Entities. 35 3.1 Sketch Fillet The Sketch Fillet tool trims away the corner at the intersection of two sketch entities to create a tangent arc. 3.1.1 Sketching Sketch Fillets Click on this link: SOLIDWORKS help 3.1.2 Sketch Fillet PropertyManager Click on this link: SOLIDWORKS help 3.2 Sketch Chamfer The Sketch Chamfer tool applies a chamfer to adjacent sketch entities. 3.2.1 Sketching Sketch Chamfer Click on this link: SOLIDWORKS help 3.2.2 Sketch Chamfer PropertyManager Click on this link: SOLIDWORKS help 3.3 Sketch Offset Offset command is used to create parallel or concentric copies of lines, polylines, circles, arcs, or splines. 36 3.3.1 Using Offset Entities Click on this link: SOLIDWORKS help 3.3.2 Offset Entities PropertyManager Click on this link: SOLIDWORKS help 37 4 Sketch Relations and Sketch Feedback Sketch is composed of several Sketch Entities such as line, arc, circle, etc. These entities are geometrically related to each other as well as to 2D coordinate system which is assigned automatically to Sketch Plane. In order to draw a Sketch accurately, geometric relations should be specified in SOLIDWORKS. These can be accomplished by using Sketch Feedback and/or Add Relation tool. Sketch Feedback informs the user about the command performed, entity on which cursor is placed, and geometric relations between entities and current pointer location. Feedback is conveyed to user in the form of symbol and color around the cursor (See below). Add Relation Tool : Properties of Add Relation tool is demonstrated by draw- ing four tilted lines and then by adding relations between them in a such way that they form a rectangular. 38 (1) Draw four tilted lines as shown above. (2) Activate Selection Mode. Observe that cursor is displayed as an arrow in Selection Mode (3) Select Add Relation command from the drop down menu located in Display/Delete Relations icon. (4) Observe that Add Relations Property Manager is activated. Haze Blue color in the Selected Entities box informs the user that selection of entities is in progress. (5) Select a line and observe the changes in Property Manager. Since there is no relation defined on that line Existing Relations box is empty. Add Relations box displays list of the possible relations which can be defined on that line. Because single entity is selected, user can only specify geometric relations between Sketch Plane and line. (6) Select the second line. Observe that this line is added to the list displayed in Selected Entities box. Since no relation is specified between these lines, Existing Relations box is empty. Possible relations which 39 can be defined between selected lines are listed in Add Relations box. Lines listed in Selected Entities box are highlighted in Graphic Area. This is the example of Sketch Feedback utilizing color change in order to inform the user. If user clicks on an entity listed in Selected Entities box then this entity will be boldly highlighted so user can distinguish individual entity. (7) Locate the perpendicular relation in Add Relations box and click on the icon . Observe that perpendicular relation is added to Existing Relations box. Notice in Graphics Area that these lines are oriented perpendicularly with respect to each other and symbol depicting the perpendicular relation is displayed next to lines. Number displayed at bottom right corner of the symbol can be used to identify the entities on which relation depicted by symbol is defined. It should be mentioned that when user aligns two lines perpendicularly, SOLIDWORKS orients only their directions (see next page). If user accidentally adds relation then she/he can delete it by rightclicking on the relation located in Existing Relations box and selecting the Delete command displayed in pop-menu. 40 (8) In order to define relations between different entities user needs to clear Selected Entities box. This can be accomplished by right-clicking on Selected Entities box and selecting Clear Selections command. In SOLIDWORKS there are two types of point: point as independent sketch entity and point as part of existing entity. Point as a sketch entity exists independently. Origin is an example. On the other hand point located on the boundary of an entity can not exist independently. End points of a line are the example of this type of point. Since they are different so their display and treatment by SOLIDWORKS are different. If point is part of existing entity then user can not delete it. (9) Clear Selected Entities box, select the end points of perpendicularly in order to merge points. Since they aligned lines and click on icon are boundary points of existing entities, when they are merged they 41 become the same point. For this reason SOLIDWORKS treats them as a single point and assigns only one name as evident from the display of the Selected Entities box. Due to the same reason Merge relation does not have a symbol and nothing is added to Existing Relations box. Two lines are converted to a single path by merging them at boundary points. In other words they loose their independence at the merged point. Thus only single perpendicular relation symbol is displayed in Graphics Area. If user clicks on symbol then lines on which perpendicular relation is defined will be highlighted. (10) Repeat Steps 5-9 for the remaining lines. Dimensioning is another way to specify relations between objects. Relations depicted with symbols can be seen as the shortcut to dimensioning. 42 Sketch Feedback: In order to display relations offered by Sketch Feedback, box next to Enable Snapping should be checked. If user wants to add displayed relations automatically then box next to Automatic Relations should also be checked (see Fig 6). Relations presented by Sketch Feedback can be grouped under two categories: Automatic Relations: These are the relations added automatically by clicking the left-mouse button at the instant of appearance of symbol depicting the relation. They can be distinguished with the yellow color around the symbol. If Automatic Relations is deactivated then symbol is enclosed with white box. Entities, on which relation depicted by symbol exists, change color. Incident Relations: They are informational purpose only and can not be added automatically. For this reason symbol depicting relation is enclosed with white box. They are usually displayed together with dashed blue line. End points of dashed line indicate the entities between which depicted relation exists. 43
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