SolidWorks Teacher Guide Lesson6

School’s Name
Teacher’s Name
Date
Engineering Drawings

• Drawings communicate three things about the

objects they represent:
– Shape – Views communicate the shape of an object.
– Size – Dimensions communicate the size of an
object.
– Other information – Notes communicate non-
graphic information about manufacturing
processes such as drill, ream, bore, paint, plate,
grind, heat treat, remove burrs, and so forth.
Sample Engineering Drawing
General Drawing Rules – Views

• The general characteristics of an object will

determine what views are required to describe
its shape.
• Most objects can be described using three
properly selected views.
– Sometimes you can use fewer.
– However, sometimes more are needed.
Drawing Views

• Why do we need
three views?
– The Front and Top
views of both parts
are identical.
– The Right side view is
necessary to show the
characteristic shape.
Drawing Views: When Three is not
Enough

• Three standard views do not fully describe

the shape of the cut-out in the angled face.
Drawing Views: When Three is too Many

• The Right side view is unnecessary.

Dimensions

• There are two kinds of Size

dimensions: Dimensions

– Size dimensions –
how big is the feature?
– Location dimensions –
where is the feature?
Location
Dimensions
General Drawing Rules – Dimensions

• For flat pieces, give the thickness

dimensions in the edge view, and all other
dimensions in the outline view.
General Drawing Rules – Dimensions

• Dimension
features in the
view where they
can be seen true
size and shape.

• Use diameter dimensions for circles.

• Use radial dimensions for arcs.
General Drawing Rules – Dimensions

• Omit unnecessary dimensions.

This Not This

Dimension Guidelines – Appearance

• Place dimensions away from the profile lines.

• Allow space between individual dimensions.
• A gap must exist between the profile lines and the
extension lines.
• The size and style of leader line, text, and arrows
should be consistent throughout the drawing.
• Display only the number of decimal places required
for manufacturing precision.
• Neatness counts!
Drawing Appearance – Not Good
Drawing Appearance – Much Better
What is a Drawing Template?

• A Drawing Template is the foundation for

drawing information.
A drawing template specifies:
• Sheet (paper) size
• Orientation - Landscape or Portrait
• Sheet Format
– Borders
– Title block
– Data forms and tables such as bill of materials or
revision history
Drawing Templates Choices in
SolidWorks

• Standard SolidWorks drawing template

• Tutorial drawing template
• Custom template
• No template
To Create a New Drawing Using a
Document Template:

1. Click New on the Standard toolbar.

2. Click the
Tutorial
tab.
3. Double- Drawing Icon
click the Tutorial Tab
drawing
icon. Preview
Sample Drawing Template
Edit Sheet vs. Edit Sheet Format

There are two modes in the drawing:

• Edit Sheet
– This is the mode you use to make detailed drawings
– Used 99+% of the time
– Add or modify views
– Add or modify dimensions
– Add or modify text notes

• Edit Sheet Format

– Change the title block size and text headings
– Change the border
– Incorporate a company logo
– Add standard text that appears on every drawing
Title Block

• Contains vital part and/or assembly information.

• Each company can have a unique version of a
title block.
• Typical title block information includes:

Company name Material & Finish

Part number Tolerance
Part name Drawing scale
Drawing number Sheet size
Revision number Revision block
Sheet number Drawn By/Checked By
To Edit the Title Block:

1. Right-click
in the
graphics
area, and
select Edit
Sheet
Format from
the shortcut
menu.
Editing the Title Block:

2. Zoom in on the title block.

Editing the Title Block:

3. Double-click the note that says

<COMPANY NAME>.
The PropertyManager and the
pop-up formatting toolbar appear.

4. Enter your school

name in the text
insertion box.
Editing the Title Block:

5. Set the text justification to

Align Left and change the size and style
of the text font.

6. Click OK to apply the changes and close

the PropertyManager.
Editing the Title Block:

7. Position the note so it is centered in the

space.
Customizing the Part Name

Advanced Topic
• The name of the part or assembly shown on
the drawing changes with every new drawing.
• It is not very efficient to have to edit the sheet
format and the title block each time you make
a new drawing.
• It would be nice if the title block would
automatically be filled in with the name of the
part or assembly that is shown on the drawing.
• This can be done.
Editing the Part Name:

Advanced Topic
1. Click Note on the Annotation
toolbar, or click Insert,
Annotations, Note.
The PropertyManager appears.
2. Click the Link to Property
button .
Editing the Part Name:

Advanced Topic
3. Click Model in view
specified in sheet
properties, and
choose SW-File
Name from the list
of properties.
4. Click OK to add the
property.
Editing the Part Name:

Advanced Topic
5. In the PropertyManager,
set any other text properties
such as justification, or font.
Editing the Part Name:

Advanced Topic
6. Click OK to apply the
changes and close the
PropertyManager.
Advanced Topic

Advanced Topic
7. Results.
Currently the title block
shows the text of the
property. However, when
the first view is added to
the drawing, that text will
change to become the file name of
the referenced part or assembly.
Switching to Edit Sheet Mode:

1. Right-click in
the graphics
area, and
select
Edit Sheet from
the shortcut
menu.
2. This is the
mode you must
be in when you
make drawings.
Detailing Options

Dimensioning Standards
• Dimensioning standards determine things
such as arrowhead style and dimension text
position.
• The Tutorial drawing template uses the ISO
standard.
• ISO stands for International Organization
for Standardization.
• ISO is widely used in European
countries.
Detailing Options

Dimensioning Standards
• ANSI is widely used in the
United States.
• ANSI stands for American
National Standards Institute.
• Other standards include BSI (British
Standards Institution) and DIN (Deutsche
Industries-Normen).
• Customize the drawing template to use the
ANSI standard.
Detailing Options

Setting the dimensioning standard:

1. Click Tools,
Options.
2. Click the Document
Properties tab
3. Click Detailing.
4. Select ANSI from
the Dimensioning
standard list.
5. Click OK.
Detailing Options

Setting text fonts:

1. Click Tools,
Options.
2. Click the Document
Properties tab
3. Click Annotations
Font.
4. Select the
annotation type
from the list.
Detailing Options

Setting text fonts continued:

5. The Choose Font
dialog box opens.
6. Make the desired
changes and click
OK.
Saving a Custom Drawing Template:

1. Click File, Save As...

2. From the Save as type:
list, click Drawing
Templates.

The system automati-

cally jumps to the
directory where the
templates are installed.
3. Click to create a new folder.
Saving a Custom Drawing Template:

4. Name the new

folder Custom.
5. Browse to the
Custom folder.
6. Enter ANSI-MM-
SIZEA for the file
name.
7. Click Save.
Drawing templates
have the suffix
*.drwdot
Creating a Drawing – General Procedure

1. Open the part or assembly you wish to detail.

2. Open a new drawing of the desired size.
3. Add views: usually three standard views
plus any specialized views such as detail,
auxiliary, or section views.
4. Insert the dimensions and arrange the
dimensions on the drawing.
5. Add additional sheets, views and/or notes if
required.
To Create Three Standard Views:

1. Click Standard 3
Drawing View 2
View .
2. Select Tutor1 from Drawing View 1 Drawing View 3

the Window menu.

3. Click OK.

The drawing window reappears

with the three views of the
selected part.
Working with Drawing Views

• To select a view, click the view boundary. The

view boundary is displayed in green.
• Drawing views 2 and 3 are aligned with view 1.
• Drag Drawing View1 (Front). Drawing View 2
(Top) and Drawing View 3 (Right) move,
staying aligned to Drawing View1.
• Drawing View 3 can only be dragged left or
right.
• Drawing View 2 can only be dragged up or
down.
Working with Drawing Views

• Hidden line
representation.
– Hidden Lines Visible is usually
used in orthographic views.
– Hidden Lines Removed is
usually used in isometric
views.

• Tangent edge display.

– Right-click inside the view
border.
– Select Tangent Edge, Tangent
Edges Removed from the
shortcut menu.
Dimensioning Drawings

• The dimensions used to create the part can be

imported into the drawing.
• Dimensions can be added manually using the
Dimension tool .
Associativity
• Changing the values of imported dimensions
will change the part.
• You cannot change the values of manually
inserted dimensions.
To Import Dimensions into the Drawing:

1. Click Model Items on the

Annotation toolbar, or click
Insert, Model Items.
2. Click the Import items into all
views check box.
3. Click the option for Marked for
drawing and Eliminate
duplicates check box.
4. Click OK.
Manipulating Dimensions

• Moving dimensions:
– Click the dimension text.
– Drag the dimension to the desired location.
– To move a dimension into a different view, press and hold
the Shift key while you drag it.
• Deleting dimensions:
– Click the dimension text, and then press the Delete key.
• Flipping the arrows:
– Click the dimension text.
– A green dot appears on the dimension arrows.
– Click the dot to flip the arrows in or out.
Finish the Drawing

• Position the
views.
• Arrange the
dimensions by
dragging them.
• Set hidden line
removal and
tangent edge
display.
Associativity

• Changing a dimension on
the drawing changes the
model.
– Double-click the dimension
text.
– Enter a new value.
– Rebuild.
• Open the part. The part
reflects the new value.
• Open the assembly. The
assembly also reflects the
new value.
Multi-sheet Drawings

Drawings can contain more than one sheet.

• The first drawing sheet contains Tutor1.
• The second drawing sheet contains the Tutor
assembly.
• Use the B-size landscape (11” x 17”) drawing
Sheet Format.
• Add 3 standard views.
• Add an Isometric view of the assembly. The
Isometric view is a model view.
Three View Drawing of Assembly
Model Views

• A model view shows the part or assembly in a

specific orientation.
• Examples of model views are:
– Standard Views such as Front, Top or Isometric
view.
– User-defined view orientations that were created in
the part or assembly.
– The current view in a part or assembly.
To Insert a model View:

1. Click model View , or click

Insert, Drawing view, Model.
2. Click inside the border of an
existing view.

Important: Do not click directly

on one of the parts in the
assembly. Doing so will create a
named view of that specific part.
Inserting a Model View:

3. A selection of model view

icons appears in the
PropertyManager.

Select the desired view, in

this case, Isometric , from
the selection.
4. Place the view in the desired
location on the drawing.
Isometric View Added to Drawing
Specialized Views

Detail View – used to show

enlarged view of
something.
1. Click , or click Insert,
Drawing View, Detail.
2. Sketch a circle in the
“source” view.
3. Position the view on
drawing.
4. Edit the label to change
scale.
5. Import dimensions or
drag them into view.
Specialized Views

Section View – used to

show internal aspects of object.
1. Click , or click Insert
Drawing View, Section.
2. Sketch line in the
“source” view.
3. Position the view on
drawing.
4. Section view is
automatically crosshatched.
5. Double-click section line to reverse
arrows.