Dear all, welcome to this new tutorial! In just 13 minutes we are
going to see everything you need to know about SolidWorks - one of the
most powerful and complete CAD software!
SolidWorks is available for Windows operative system in several versions.
We are going to see SolidWorks 3D CAD, optimized for
professional 2D drawings and complex 3D projects.
As you open SolidWorks its welcome screen shows up in order to go ahead
with any existing project you have or start with a new one.
There are three kinds of projects: Part is used to build 2D drawings or single
3D components; Assembly to combine these 3D components together and Drawing
to get a 2D description of any built component, very useful to realize
documents.
To see how to use SolidWorks, let's start with a Part project. This opens
a big preview with the Command Manager on top - with the main tools to
draw and edit - and several panels divided in sections for additional
options. You can find further tools from View, Toolbars.
At first you may need to set the main project properties, such as the units
to use. Click on Options on top to adjust either the basic System Options
or the Document Properties specific to your current project. For example on
System, Colors you can choose a Dark theme for the general interface; on
Document, Units you can adjust the units to use and on Dimensions you can
set how to show measurements in detail.
At this point you are ready to start drawing! In a Part project you can
drop 3D objects called Features and 2D drawings called Sketches, starting
from elements like lines and curves called Entities. Let's start making
2D drawings.
From the Sketch section on top you find all the tools to 2D-draw. The first
time you enable any tool you have to choose the plane to draw on, from
either the preview or the quick selection list on the left. We suggest to
always draw 2D objects on the Top Plane, which represents the ground plane.
At this point you can start drawing!
With the Line tool you can drop consecutive straight segments by clicking
multiple times, using the Escape key to stop drawing. Use the Enter key to
always recall the latest tool and draw again.
With the Spline tool you can draw a spline curve by fixing several nodes,
double-clicking on the last one to apply. Whereas use the Arc tool to drop
an arc with two points for the radius and another for the arc length.
Enable the Circle and the Ellipse tool to drop circles and ellipses with
two or three points. Whereas use the Rectangle and the Polygon tools to drop
regular shapes by clicking twice. Consider that all rectangles and polygons
are simply groups of straight segments combined together.
Each 2D tool includes other drawing modes under the down arrow. You can
hover over the main button to get useful tips.
Furthermore the Property Manager on the left allows to change the drawing
mode as well as the drawing properties, such as the sides of a polygon.
Remember to use CTRL+Z to undo your latest actions.
SolidWorks has several drawing aids. While drawing it shows live
measurements on length and radius, as well as dashed guidelines to follow
perpendicular or tangent directions. You also get snappings to object
keypoints like endpoints, midpoints and centers that you can disable by
holding down the CTRL key. Special symbols on your cursor or on sides show
the kind of relations applied on such entities.
All drawings made are part of a single 2D Sketch called Sketch1, as you can
see at the bottom. You can check these by zooming in and out with your
mouse wheel and moving around with the arrow keys while holding down the
CTRL key.
To apply this Sketch and exit from it, use CTRL+Q. At this point you
can select any Sketch from the Feature Manager to move it with the arrows
or scale it with its nodes. You can also right-click on it and go to Delete...
to remove it.
Whereas to go on with a new 2D Sketch exit from any and draw with any tool,
selecting the right plane again.
To edit existing drawings double-click on any Sketch to enter it first.
With no tools enabled you can use your cursor to select points, lines and
curves, setting their options from the Property Manager on the left. These
include relations, length, inclination and center positions, according to
the entity selected.
You can cut, copy and paste a selected entity with CTRL and X, C and V.
Cut any entity to remove it in no time.
You can drag any node to move it or any side or circle to adjust length
an radius. From the dialog box you also get additional options, such as
Horizontal or Vertical to make any side parallel to main directions with a
proper relation or Construction Geometry to turn the entity into a
guideline for your next drawings.
With SolidWorks you can also make precise drawings while using your
keyboard. If you enable Smart Dimension on top you can select points, sides
and curves to drop useful annotations on any distance, length or radius but
also correct them on-the-go by typing in and applying with the Enter key.
These annotations also move and edit entities in order to respect their
relation.
From the Sketch section you also have advanced 2D tools. Select any entity
and enable Move Entities to move it without changing its properties,
right-clicking to apply.
These tools can also be applied to groups of entities.
Click and drag on it to select all of its sides or select each one
while holding down the CTRL key. At this point you can enable Rotate
Entities, define the center of rotation and then rotate the group. Always
check the entities selected on the left and all relations applied to them
in case the tool does not work as expected.
Besides 2D Sketches you can drop 3D Sketches to draw 2D entities in a 3D
environment. These differ since 2D Sketches physically lay on a single
plane, whereas 3D Sketches can be parallel to any plane or even spread
towards multiple planes.
The way to draw 3D Sketches is identical to 2D ones, enabling any drawing
tool and selecting the right plane. You can always change the plane to use
by selecting it and going to Normal To.
To get a complete 3D preview right-click, go to Rotate View and click and
drag around, using the Escape key to exit. You can also use the Spacebar
key to select specific views.
From the Orientation dialog you can also change the coordinate system. By
default SolidWorks uses XZ as ground plane and Y for depth but you can
switch to XY and Z for depth. Pay attention that this won't change the
existing planes you have.
If you are in a 3D view you can only draw 3D Sketckes. In this case the
cursor shows the reference plane that can be changed with the Tab key.
Always use CTRL+Q to exit the Sketch and enable another tool to make a
new independent 3D Sketch.
You can edit the entities of 3D Sketches in the same way, with some
additional options to make relations and additional axis when you move
or rotate these.
Now let's build 3D objects! On the Features tab you will find several tools to
build 3D objects from 2D entities that can be either 2D or 3D Sketches,
depending on the tool. Pay attention that these Sketches become part of the
new 3D Feature object, so make sure to dedicate an independent Sketch per
each new Feature you are going to make.
Enable Extruded and select a 2D Sketch entity to add extrusion to it,
adjusting proper options on the left. Then right-click or use the green
checkmark button to apply. The 3D Feature built shows some effects, such as
shadow and reflections.
The 2D Sketch used becomes a sub-component inside the 3D Feature but you
can always edit it as seen. The 3D Feature simply gets updated according to
your modifications.
Enable Revolved to build a 3D object by revolving a 2D section around an
axis. Click on Axis to select any line to use as axis. Then click on
Selected Contours to select the 2D entity to revolve. Make sure to adjust
properties and degrees from the left.
With Swept you can build tubes and conductors. Click on the blue slot to select
the entity to take as section and on the pink one to specify the conductor
path. Make sure that the original section is placed near the conductor
path. You can also select Circular Profile to use a circular section with
proper diameter.
Enable Loft to select the blue Profiles to use as section, applying at
each step and connecting these in the correct order. There is also the
possibility to specify a guide curve in pink color.
To edit these 3D Features you can select any face or contour and use the
arrows to adjust the extrusion or move these. You can also modify the
subcomponents to reshape the entire object.
SolidWorks collects several features to render your 3D project. Use Display
Style to change the preview mode and Apply Scene to set different lights
and environment.
As you finish designing your 3D component you can save it with File, Save
As in a .sldprt Part file. Even if your Part project collects multiple
Sketches and Features SolidWorks sees it as single 3D component, so part
of a complete and complex design.
To join all these 3D components together you must open an Assembly project
by going to New, Assembly. At this point import your first component from
the left - becoming your main reference. Then import all the others with
Layout, Insert Component.
Except for the reference you can select any Part to move or rotate it. You
can also right-click on it and go to Edit Part to modify its Features and
Sketches. The first time you must save your Assembly project in a
.sldasm file.
As you finish editing any Part you can return back by right-clicking on the
first level and going to Edit Assembly.
Moreover you can go to Appearances to apply a particular material to the
selected Part. This affects it entirely and it can't be applied on single
Sketches or Features inside it.
This is all! Thank you very much for watching! Do not forget to visit our
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