SolidWorks 2010- P7 potx

Create a Drawing from a Part In the previous chapter, you created a 3D model of the lamp base, and you will be using that model to create a drawing.. Since you are using a drawing templa

Creating Your First Drawing

Create a Drawing from a Part



Add Views



Annotate the Drawing



Finalize the Drawing



Share the Drawing





Prior to the introduction of computers to the engineering world, drawings

were painstakingly drawn by hand by drafters who were artists in their own right Using straight edges, triangles, scales, and graphite pencils of varying hardness, drafters would create drawings that could be placed on the walls

in any art museum Not only were they created with a certain artistic flair, these hand-drawn drawings were precise instructions that gave the manufacturer all the information needed to accurately produce the product being depicted

Gone is the era of hours, days, weeks, and even months of hand-cramping ings With today’s 3D CAD applications such as SolidWorks, creating an accurate

draw-drawing is easier than ever In SolidWorks, models are created to capture the design intent and to be 100 percent accurate The models are then used to create the draw-

ings As the models are revised, the drawings will automatically update as well

This, of course, all depends on whether the correct procedures are followed

Drawings that are incorrectly produced may still be dimensionally accurate, but revisions often take longer to document than the original drawing did But

by following the steps described in this chapter, you will be able to quickly create drawings that will be even easier to revise in the future Some of the steps may seem like they create extra work, but we promise you that they will all be worth

it in the future

As you might have noticed so far in this book, many tasks in SolidWorks can

be performed in different ways yet still have the same result The steps described

in this chapter are just one approach to creating drawings, but throughout the book we will be introducing you to alternative approaches as well

Create a Drawing from a Part

In the previous chapter, you created a 3D model of the lamp base, and you will

be using that model to create a drawing There are more than a couple of ways

to create drawings from models, but this chapter will concentrate on probably the quickest and easiest ways This chapter will use a drawing template that has been created with predefined drawing views Predefined drawing views are cre-ated in templates to automatically create orthographic drawing projections from

a model Without predefined drawing views, you would need to create the jections manually when creating a new drawing

pro-The most common way to make a drawing is to insert the part into a drawing and then create the necessary projections before applying dimensions When com-pared to using a template that has predefined drawing views, this approach adds only a minute or two to the overall time it takes to create a drawing But when you begin making many drawings for a large project, those couple of extra minutes per

create drawing views throughout this book.

Download and Install the Drawing Template

Before going any further, you will need to download the drawing template named

FDC Size B from the companion site After downloading it, save the template to

the Document Templates folder If you don’t place the template into the correct

folder, it will not show up in the New SolidWorks Document window Not only is

the Document Templates folder used for drawing templates, but it is also used for

part templates, assembly templates, and other templates The folder can reside

on your computer’s hard drive, or it can reside on a network drive In fact, many

companies, to ensure that all drawing, parts, and assemblies are consistent, will

store all of their templates in a public folder on the network that will be shared by

all installations of SolidWorks

If you do not know where your Document Templates folder is located, you can

check where SolidWorks is looking for templates You can find this information

in the File Locations section of the System Properties window The File Locations

section not only specifies where document templates can be found but also where

sheet formats, color swatches, the materials database, and other files are located

To look up the location of the Document Templates folder, do the following:

1 Enter the System Options window by clicking the Options button in

the menu bar

2 Click the File Locations link in the left pane of the System Options

window

3 In the File Locations section of the System Options window, click the

Show Folders For field, and select Document Templates from the list

if it is not already selected

4 In the Folders field, you will see the full path of the Document

Templates folder Make note of the folder path shown in the field

5 Using Windows Explorer, browse to the folder specified in the System

Options window Copy the template downloaded from the companion site, and close Windows Explorer

O

In Chapter 15, you will learn how to create the template used in this chapter.

N O t e If you need to specify another folder for your document plates, click the Add button next to the Folders field, browse to the new location in the Browse For Folder window, and click OK.

tem-Open the Drawing Template

Once you’ve downloaded the drawing template and copied it to the appropriate folder, the template will be available for use in the New SolidWorks Document window Since you are using a drawing template that contains predefined draw-ing views, it’s easier to create the drawing from the part model rather than inserting the model view into the drawing To create a drawing from the part model, do the following:

1 Click Open on the menu bar, and browse to the folder that you saved

the Base, Lamp model from Chapter 3

2 Select the Base, Lamp model, and click Open.

3 Click the downward-pointing arrow next to the New button on the

menu bar, and select Make Drawing From Part/Assembly

4 In the New SolidWorks Document window, click the Advanced button

located in the lower-left corner of the window

t I p You can always return to the simple interface for opening templates

by clicking the Novice button in the lower-left corner of the New SolidWorks Document window

5 In the Advanced view of the New SolidWorks Document window,

select the FDC Size B drawing template, and click OK (see Figure 4.1)

As soon as you click OK in the New SolidWorks Document window, the new drawing will be created with the predefined views displaying the projected views of the lamp base, as shown in Figure 4.2 This cuts out at least a couple of minutes that would otherwise be used to place the initial views and create the required projections



You can also access

the Open window by

pressing Ctrl+O on

your keyboard.

F I g u r e 4 1 Advanced view of New SolidWorks Document window

F I g u r e 4 2 Drawing created with predefined views

6 Click the Save button on the menu bar, and ensure that you are in

the current folder that the Base, Lamp model is saved Enter Base,

Lamp in the File Name field, and click Save.

Add Views

In the previous section, you saw firsthand the advantages of creating a drawing template with predefined views Taking the extra couple of minutes of planning when creating the template will save time in the long run, especially when you consider how many drawings you may create in an average week A couple of saved minutes per drawing adds up when you are responsible for making hun-dreds of drawings

Even though you were able to eliminate the need to create all the views in the drawing by adding predefined views, it is impossible to add every view that

is necessary to fully tell the story So, in addition to the views that were created automatically, you will need to add a couple more views to the drawing The drawing is going to require the addition of a section view, a projected view, a broken-out section, and a detail view, all of which are required to be able to fully describe what is going on with the part Since this is a fairly simple part, you can get away with only a few views, but it is not unheard of to have some draw-ings with anywhere from one to hundreds of views just to describe one part

Add Sectioned Views

Sectioned views are important in drawings to be able to show what is going on

inside a part Even though you could always show the part with hidden lines, this could be extremely confusing Plus, if you have ever taken a drafting class, you may remember your instructor telling you that you cannot dimension to

hidden lines Hidden lines are meant just for reference and clarity and should

not be used to actually manufacture the part

So, what is a sectioned view? Imagine taking the finished part for the lamp base and cutting it in half with a band saw The cross section allows you to see the shape and size of the inside geometry That is what a sectioned view in a drawing allows you to do It is a virtual cross section of the part and gives you access to the inside features of the part for dimensioning

The section is necessary to be able to show the depth of the pocket and other information on the inside of the part that would normally be obscured The fol-lowing steps will walk you through the process of creating a cross section of the lamp base:

1 Click the Zoom To Area button in the Heads-up View toolbar,

and drag a window around the Front view of the lamp base (see Figure 4.3)

F I g u r e 4 3 Zooming in on the Front view of the lamp base

2 Press S on your keyboard, and click the Drawings button on the

short-cut bar In the Drawings flyout, select the Section View flyout and then Section View, as shown in Figure 4.4 The mouse pointer will change to a pencil with a blue line under it to signify that a line must

be drawn

F I g u r e 4 4 Selecting Section View in the shortcut bar

t I p Throughout this book, you’ll use the shortcut bar almost sively Instead of pressing S on your keyboard each time, you can assign the Shortcut Bar command to the mouse gesture guides Select Tools➢

exclu-Customize, and select the Mouse Gestures tab Type Shortcut in the Search

For field, and assign a direction to the command

3 Move the mouse pointer to the midpoint of the top of the boss on

the Front view, and slowly move it up once the pointer includes a small yellow icon representing the coincident relation, as shown in Figure 4.5

F I g u r e 4 5 Icon next to pointer representing coincident relation

4 With the mouse pointer a small distance above the top of the boss,

click the left mouse button and release to begin drawing a line

5 Draw the line vertically down, bisecting the lamp base.

6 When the line extends slightly below the bottom of the lamp base,

click and release the left mouse button to complete the line, as shown

in Figure 4.6

F I g u r e 4 6 Drawing a line to bisect the part model

7 A section arrow will now be drawn where the line was created, and all

that is left to do is place the section view Press F on your keyboard or double-click the scroll wheel to fit the entire drawing on the screen

8 Move the section view to the left of the Front view of the lamp base,

and then click and release the left mouse button

9 In the Section View PropertyManager, enable the Flip Direction

option, as shown in Figure 4.7 Click the green check mark to accept the changes

F I g u r e 4 7 Section View PropertyManager

The part has now been sectioned, giving you access to the inner geometry for

dimensioning The new section view will automatically be labeled as Section

A-A, as shown in Figure 4.8, and if you were to create a second sectioned view, it

would be labeled as Section B-B

N O t e In later chapters, you will be exploring the section views in more detail, but in the meantime, we encourage you to explore the options available in the Section PropertyManager Simply select the section view in the graphics area, and you will be able to make adjustments to the view in the PropertyManager

F I g u r e 4 8 Newly created section labeled Section A-A

Add Projected Views

The drawing template downloaded from the companion site already has

pre-defined views for the Front, Top, Right, and Isometric views For many

draw-ings, these views are more than sufficient to fully describe the part For this

particular part, you will need a couple of additional views in order to be able to

show the features on the back and bottom of the part

Using projected views allows you to add these views and take on the properties from the parent view such as Scale and Display Style These new projected views

will also be connected to the original views, which means that if one of the views

is moved on the sheet, the dependant view will move along with it, ensuring that the integrity of the drawing layout is preserved

The following steps describe the process for creating the two new views from the existing views instead of adding new views to the drawing:

1 Select the Right view by clicking and releasing the left mouse button

with the pointer inside the bounding area of the view

2 Press S on your keyboard, and click the Drawing Commands button

In the flyout, click the Projected View button

3 Place the projected view of the back of the lamp base to the right of

the view

4 Select the Front view of the lamp base, and once again click the

Projected View button in the shortcut bar

5 Place the new projection below the Front view to create a view of the

bottom of the lamp base, as shown in Figure 4.9

F I g u r e 4 9 Projected view of bottom of lamp base

Add a Broken-out Section

A broken-out section is similar to a section view in that it is used to show the

internal geometry of a part, but instead of creating a new view that shows the

section, the parent view shows a broken area This is equivalent to getting a

hammer and knocking off a chunk of the part to be able to see the inside The

rest of the view shows the outside geometry, but in the broken-out section, the

inside geometry can be seen and dimensioned

The advantage of using a broken-out section is that you will not need to create

a new view, which is extremely important if space is a consideration Plus, if you

need to show only a small area of the part, it seems to be overkill to create a large

section view In the example drawing, instead of creating a new section view to

be able to show the cross section of the AC cord hole, you’ll use a broken-out

sec-tion Here’s how to do it:

1 Zoom in closer to the Bottom view by using the Zoom To Area button in

the Heads-up View toolbar or by using the scroll wheel on your mouse

2 Select the Bottom view by clicking and releasing the left mouse

but-ton with the mouse pointer directly over the view

3 In the Heads-up View toolbar, click the Display Style button, and click

the Hidden Lines Visible button in the flyout

4 Select the Sketch tab in the CommandManager, and click the Spline tool.

5 Create a closed spline profile that completely surrounds the

hid-den lines that represent the hole on the back of the base by clicking around the area as many times as required to create a spline that somewhat represents the one shown in Figure 4.10

N O t e Splines are 2D or 3D curves that are defined with multiple

points As points are selected, a continuous smooth line is created Splines have many uses in SolidWorks, and you will be using them throughout your career as a SolidWorks designer But in this section, you will be using the spline solely for creating the break-out section

F I g u r e 4 1 0 Creating a closed spline profile

6 After creating the closed spline profile, press S, and click the

Drawings button on the shortcut bar

7 Click Broken-Out Section in the flyout.

8 Pan to the Back view of the lamp base, and select the circumference

of the hole, as shown in Figure 4.11 This will set the depth of the out to be exactly the center point of the hole

cut-F I g u r e 4 1 1 Defining the depth of a broken-out section

W a r N I N G You can also define the depth of the broken-out tion in the PropertyManager, but if you take that approach, the depth will not change as the surrounding geometry changes This is why here you have selected the circle that makes up the hole in the back of the lamp base If the location or size of the hole changes, the broken-out section will always be based on the center of the hole

sec-9 Click the Preview option in the Broken-Out Section PropertyManager

to see what the broken-out section will look like when created (see

F I g u r e 4 1 2 Previewing the broken-out section

10 Click the green check mark in the Broken-Out Section

PropertyManager to complete the section

11 Make sure the Bottom view is selected, and click the Hidden Lines

Removed button in the Heads-up View toolbar

The broken-out section is now ready to be dimensioned, but because of the

size of the part, it may be a little difficult So, in the next section, you will be

creating a detailed view that will allow you to apply dimensions to a larger

repre-sentation of the section

Add a Detailed View

A detailed view is a partial view of a part that is most often at a larger scale than

the original part, allowing for greater detail Using detailed views allows you to

dimension smaller features of a part without having to increase the overall scale

of the drawing, which is another way to conserve valuable sheet real estate The

following steps will create a detail of the broken-out section created in the

previ-ous section:

1 Press S on your keyboard, and click the Drawing Commands button

in the shortcut bar

2 In the Drawing Commands flyout, click the Detail View button.

3 Click near the center of the cross section of the hole in the

broken-out section you just created

4 Drag the circle out from the center until the entire broken-out

sec-tion falls completely inside Click the left mouse button to create the circle, as shown in Figure 4.13

F I g u r e 4 1 3 Selecting part of the model to view in detail

5 Move the mouse pointer (with the detail view attached) to an empty

area of the drawing, and click the left mouse button to place the view (see Figure 4.14)

F I g u r e 4 1 4 Placing a detail view in the drawing

Unlike projected views and sections, a detail view can be moved anywhere in the drawing sheet without limitations In fact, if it is necessary, you can move the detail view to a completely different sheet in the drawing This is hugely helpful

if you are short on space in the drawing Also, the scale of the detail view can be changed independently from the rest of the views in the drawing If you think the current detail view is still too small at its current scale, select the view and adjust the scale in the PropertyManager

Annotate the Drawing

With all the required views created on the drawing, it is time to start applying dimensions Many users opt to add dimensions manually at this point, but that approach would cause you to miss out on one of the greatest advantages to cre-ating drawings in SolidWorks—bidirectionality When done correctly, not only are dimensions on the drawing updated when the part model is revised, but it

is quicker and easier Reference dimensions that are manually added to a

draw-ing do not affect the part geometry but will update automatically as the part

is updated However, if the part was not created with fully defined sketches or

the sketches were not defined with the design intent in mind, adding reference

dimensions would be quicker and easier than making changes to the part model

With the steps described in this section, you will learn how to use the

pre-ferred method of annotating a drawing, but we would like to stress that it is not

the only accepted technique Instead of adding dimensions to the drawing, you

will be importing the dimensions that you used to fully define the lamp base

model in both the sketches and features This is one of the main reasons we’re

stressing the importance of design intent when defining sketches and features

If you did the model correctly, the model dimensions that are imported into the

drawing would be those required to make the part per your design intent

with-out the need for adding too many extra dimensions

Of course, as we have mentioned a few times already, there is more than one

way to do most things in SolidWorks The steps described here are not the only

way and may not be the preferred method to some users, but we find these are

the easiest ways to annotate your drawing In later chapters, you will be

explor-ing more options for annotatexplor-ing drawexplor-ings that will also meet the requirements

Un d e r sta n d i n g di m e n s i o n s

Throughout this book, we will often mention the various elements of a dimension It is important to understand what the different elements that make up a dimension are before continuing

You can see a dimension, dimension line, and extension line here

Extension Line Dimension Dimension Line