The Solidworks Interface
Introduction:
The Solidworks interface is what we see when
we open the Solidworks application.
To open Solidworks, double click on the
Solidworks icon on the Desktop. This is
known as a shortcut. It is useful to create
shortcuts on the desktop for applications that
you commonly use.
If the Solidworks shortcut is not on your
desktop, the following steps explain how to add
a shortcut to your desktop.
Exercise: To create a Solidworks shortcut on the desktop
Step 1: Click on ‘Start’.
Step 2: Now select ‘All Programs’.
Step 3: Point the mouse cursor to ‘Solidworks 2006 SP4.1’.
Step 4: A pop out menu appears. Right Click on the ‘Solidworks
2006 SP4.1’ icon on this pop out menu.
Step 5: Select Copy.
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Step 6: Now return to the desktop. Right click on an empty space
on the desktop (i.e. not on an existing icon.) On the pop out menu
select ‘Paste’.
Result: A Solidworks shortcut will be placed on the desktop.
Step 6
Result
Other Programs:
You can repeat the above process for programs such as Microsoft
Word, Excel and any other programs that you commonly use.
After creating the Solidworks Shortcut on the desktop, double click on it to open the
program. This lesson will now continue to look at the Solidworks interface and
familarise the user with the key features of the software. Having opened Solidworks, a
standard Microsoft Windows based toolbar appears along the top of the screen. This is
known as the Standard Toolbar. Above the standard toolbar are a number of drop down
menus which are also commonly found in other Microsoft Windows based programs. (i.e.
File, View, Tools, Help.)
If you hover the mouse cursor over any of the icons on the
standard toolbar, the name of that icon and its use appear.
The ‘white page’ icon on the standard toolbar is used to
create a new Solidworks document and the ‘yellow folder’
icon is used to open existing Solidworks documents.
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When we click on the ‘New’ (White page) icon on the standard toolbar we are presented
with the ‘New Solidworks Document’ window.
This window appears in two formats, ‘Novice’ and ‘Advanced’.
The Novice mode is a simpler version where a description of each file type is given. The
Advanced mode offers tabs where a more advanced user can choose to store preferred
templates and access tutorials.
To toggle between the two modes we use the button on the bottom left hand corner of the
‘New Solidworks Document’ window.
In Novice Mode select Part
and then select OK.
A Solidworks Part Document opens and the relative default toolbars also become
accessible around the border of the Graphics Area.
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We will now take a closer look at each of the individual areas of the user interface
outlined above.
The Standard Toolbar:
The Standard Toolbar controls File Management and Model Regeneration along with
some other functions. As shown below the toolbar is divided into different sections.
This toolbar contains some familiar Microsoft Windows based icons such as:
New Blank Document
Open
Save
Print
Print Preview
Undo
It also contains some Solidworks specific icons such as:
Rebuild
Edit Material
Add/Remove Buttons:
At some stage whilst using Solidworks you may notice that a function that you
commonly use cannot be accessed from a specific toolbar. For example, on the
Standard Toolbar in most windows based programs there are the five editing
icons (Undo, Redo, Cut, Copy and Paste). You
will notice that by default, Cut, Copy and Paste
are not available on the Solidworks Standard
Toolbar. To add these buttons to the Standard
Toolbar follow the following steps.
Step 1: Click on the ‘Tools’ Drop down menu.
Step 2: Select Customize. The Customize
Window appears.
Step 3: Click on the Commands Tab.
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Step 4: Within the Categories box scroll down and select Standard. This refers to the
Standard Toolbar.
Step 5: A list of the available buttons for the
Standard Toolbar appear on the right. If
you hover over any of these buttons the
name and use of that button will appear.
Find the Copy button using this technique.
Step 6: Left click on the Copy button and hold the left mouse button. Whilst holding
down the button, move the mouse cursor back to the standard toolbar on the user
interface.
As you move the mouse a silhouette of the copy icon should be attached to
the cursor as shown. A red X beside the cursor indicates that the icon
cannot be dropped at the cursor’s current position.
Hover over the standard toolbar within the editing section. (i.e.
beside the undo button) The red X changes to a green +. Release
the left mouse button. This procedure is known as Drag and Drop.
The Copy button will now be added to the Standard Toolbar.
Result:
The copy tool is now available on the standard toolbar.
Tip:
If you ever want to remove a button from a toolbar you can do so by
reversing the procedure above. E.g. Open the Customize dialog box as
above, Click on the Commands Tab, Select the relevant category in the
Categories Box and then reverse the process by dragging an icon from a
toolbar and dropping it into the Buttons list.
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The View Toolbar:
This is another default toolbar on the user interface. It is used to control the way we view
the model we have created. There are a number of different options within this toolbar,
some which are more commonly used than others.
Displays the previous view
Zoom to Fit (Shortcut key; F)
Zoom to Area
Zoom in/out (Drag the pointer up to zoom in and down to zoom out.)
Zoom to Selection (Fills the graphics area with the currently selected feature.)
Standard Views (Access the standard views by clicking on the drop down arrow.)
A number of different detail modes including Wireframe, Hidden
Lines Visible, Hidden Lines Removed, Shaded With Lines and
Shaded.
Shadows In Shaded Mode (Toggles on/off shadow in the graphics area whilst in
Shaded mode)
Sectional View (the model is displayed as if cut by planes and faces that you specify)
Real View Graphics (Provides a realistic render of the model created)
The buttons explained above are the default buttons available on the view toolbar. Extra
buttons can be added if you require them, using the same add buttons procedure
previously explained.
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The Command Manager:
The command manager is a context sensitive toolbar. This means that it updates
depending on the task that the user is carrying out at a specific time. By default the
Command Manager has toolbars embedded in it based on the document type.
(The toolbars that are embedded in the Command Manager for a part file are different to
the toolbars in the Command Manager for a drawing file.)
Within a part file the command manager has two default toolbars embedded within it.
These are the Features Toolbar and the Sketch Toolbar. The Command Manager has a
Control Area (Shown below) where either of the embedded toolbars can be activated
depending on the activity that the user is carrying out at a specific time.
The main advantages of this dynamic toolbar setup are that the maximum amount of
space is kept free for the Graphics Area at all times and it allows the user to easily find
the function that they require.
Accessing the Command Manager:
To access the Command Manager click Tools, Customize. In the dialog box on the
toolbars tab, select Enable Command Manager. Click OK.
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To Use the Command Manager:
Select the toolbar that you wish to use by selecting it in the Control Area of the
Command Manager. The fly out toolbar associated with the button you pressed appears.
From that fly out toolbar you can then select the function that you wish to use.
For example within a part file, the initial step in the modeling of a
part is to create a base sketch on one of the three planes. This is
done by selecting the Sketch toolbar within the control area of the
command manager and then from the fly out toolbar selecting the
sketch function that we require. (i.e. Rectangle, Circle, etc.)
When our base sketch is complete the next step is to create a
feature from that sketch. (Sketch Driven Feature) We therefore
need to access the features toolbar which is achieved by selecting
the features button in the control area of the command manager
and the features toolbar replaces the sketch toolbar accordingly.
Remember:
If a function that you require is not available on a toolbar
within the Command Manager, you can add the required
function using the very same procedure as previously
discussed in this handout.
Note: The Polygon tool is a useful tool on the sketch
toolbar. It is not on the toolbar by default and therefore
needs to be added manually.
Practice this:
Open a Solidworks part. Notice that the command manager
has the Feature and Sketch toolbar in the Control Area by
default.
Click on the Sketch button within the control area. Notice
how the fly out toolbar has all the functions necessary to
perform a sketch.
Now toggle to the features toolbar by selecting features in
the control area of the command manager. Notice how the
fly out toolbar changes and now the buttons available are
associated with creating a feature.
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To add Buttons to the Control Area of the Command Manager:
As previously mentioned the Features and Sketch toolbars are available in the control
area by default. If there is a toolbar that you commonly use and would like to include it
in the Command Manager you can do so by adding a button to the Control Area.
Step 1: Right-click anywhere in the Command Manager and select Customize
Command Manager.
Step 2: A Menu appears containing all of the available
toolbars. (Notice that Features and Sketch are already
selected) Select the toolbar that you wish to add to the
Control Area of the Command Manager.
(e.g.
Standard Views)
Result:
The selected toolbars are now available for selection
within the Control Area of the Command Manager.
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The Feature Manager/Design Tree:
Note: the following examples are carried out on the Memo Block model which can be
found on the Day 4 DCG CD.
The feature manager design tree is an interactive outline of the part, assembly or drawing
document being created.
As shown in the picture
opposite it contains the
features used to create a part.
This makes it easy to see how
the model was designed and
constructed.
It is within the feature
manager that we can carry
out the following very useful
procedures.
1. Select items in the model by name
Left-clicking on an items name in the
Feature Manager selects the feature and
highlights the existing faces of that
feature in the Graphics Area.
The Graphics Area and the Feature
Manager are dynamically linked. You
can select Features, Sketches and
Construction Geometry in either. To
select a feature in the Graphics Area,
double click on a face that the required
feature created.
2. Display a features dimensions by double-clicking on the features name
Double click on a features name in the feature manager
and the related dimensions for that feature appear in the
Graphics Area. If you double click on these dimensions
they can be modified in context. After editing a
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dimension in context you must use the rebuild tool
complete the modification.
3. Rename Features
on the standard toolbar to
Select a feature in the Feature Manager and press F2. The name of the feature becomes
highlighted and the user can now type a new name for this feature. It is best practice to
rename features as it makes it a lot easier to recognize each feature within the feature
manager for future editing.
4. Use the Rollback bar to temporarily roll back the model to a previous state
The Rollback Bar is found at
the bottom of the Feature
Manger underneath the last
feature created.
Point the mouse cursor over the
Rollback bar and the cursor
changes to a hand. Left click
and hold down the mouse
button and drag the bar up or
down through the Features
within the Feature Manager to
step forward or backward
through
the
regeneration
process.
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5. Add or Modify a Material applied to a part
Within the Feature Manager,
right click on Material
and select Edit
Material from the pop out
menu.
The Materials Editor appears.
Select a material from the list
and click OK.
6. Toggle between the Feature Manager, the Property Manager, the Configuration
Manager and the Add In tabs.
The four tabs at the top of the feature manager allow
the user to toggle between the Feature Manager, the
Property Manager, the Configuration Manager and
Add in tabs. The first tab is the Feature Manager tab
which we have just looked at in detail. Here are brief
explanations of the uses of the other tabs.
The Property Manager:
The property manager tab opens automatically when you start a command or select
various entities in the graphics area.
When a feature is being
created it is within the
property manager that the
variables with regard to that
feature are set. E.g. When
creating
an
Extruded
Boss/Base, the start and end
condition and the depth of the
extruded feature are defined
within the property manager.
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Other additional variables are also available. E.g. Within the extrude property manager it
is optional to select a draft angle for that extrude, and also to select a second direction of
extrusion.
When the user has finished entering variables for a feature, the OK button
to complete the command.
is pressed
The Configuration Manager:
The configuration manager is a means to create,
select, and view multiple configurations of parts
and assemblies in a document.
A simple example is to create a number of
different configurations of a single part
consisting of various material types.
First, select the configuration manager tab.
Right click on the part name. A right click
menu appears. Select ‘Add Configuration’.
The Add Configuration window appears within
configuration manager.
Type a name for the new
configuration in the box provided. Additional information
can be added in the ‘Description’ and ‘Comments’ boxes
(Optional).
Having created a new configuration it will then appear in
the Configuration Manager.
Double click on the new configuration to select it. You
can then access the feature manager for that configuration
by clicking on the Feature Manager tab. Then right click
on Material, and Edit the material to Pine as previously
described. The new configuration (Wood) now has a
different material applied to it than our default
configuration. Within the Configuration Manager toggle
between the Default and Wood configurations by double
clicking on their name and notice how the Material changes within the new configuration.
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Add-ins Tab
Some applications that work in conjunction with Solidworks
can be added in as an Add-in tab allowing for easy access
whilst using Solidworks. A default Add-in tab is available
for Photoworks which is an add-on application for
Solidworks used to render completed models.
Note: Not all Add-ins place a tab as explained above.
The Task Pane
The task pane appears when you open the Solidworks software.
It can be shown or hidden by clicking on View, Task Pane.
The Task Pane is displayed on the right hand side of the
Graphics Area. It can be expanded or collapsed at any time by
using the arrow button.
Highlighted below are the four tabs within the Task Pane and
also the Expand or Collapse button, as previously mentioned.
Solidworks Resources Tab
Also highlighted above is the Online Tutorial option within the Solidworks Resources tab
which gives the user access to a number of Solidworks lessons. These lessons work
sequentially through the features of the software that can be used to create models of
simple to more complex parts. The Solidworks Resources tab also allows the user to
open new or existing documents.
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Design Library Tab
The Design Library tab gives the user access to the Solidworks Toolbox which is a
library of existing Solidworks parts, including standard nuts and bolts. It also provides
access to 3D Content Central which is an online library of existing Solidworks parts.
File Explorer
The File Explorer tab in the Task Pane duplicates Windows Explorer from your local
computer and allows you to browse your computers hard drive and also to view a list of
currently open Solidworks documents.
Photoworks Items
The Photoworks tab is only available if the Photoworks tool has been added in.
Photoworks is used to render completed models.
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