SolidWorks 2010- P7 potx

Chapter 4 Creating Your First Drawing Create a Drawing from a Part  Add Views  Annotate the Drawing  Finalize the Drawing  Share the Drawing  505434c04.indd 149 1/26/10 2:39:27 PM Chapter 4 • Creating Your First Drawing 150 P rior 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 draw- ings. With today’s 3D CAD applications such as SolidWorks, creating an accurate 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 pro- jections manually when creating a new drawing. 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 505434c04.indd 150 1/26/10 2:39:28 PM Create a Drawing from a Part 151 drawing can really add up. That is why we use a variety of drawing templates for each sheet size ranging from no predefined views up to all six views that would nor- mally be used for an orthographic drawing. Although this chapter concentrates on creating a drawing from a template with predefined drawing views, it is not the only, or even the best way, to create drawings. That is why we will show you how to use a variety of techniques to 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. 505434c04.indd 151 1/26/10 2:39:28 PM Chapter 4 • Creating Your First Drawing 152 NOte If you need to specify another folder for your document tem- plates, click the Add button next to the Folders field, browse to the new location in the Browse For Folder window, and click OK. 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. tIp 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. 505434c04.indd 152 1/26/10 2:39:28 PM Create a Drawing from a Part 153 FIGURE 4.1 Advanced view of New SolidWorks Document window FIGURE 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. 505434c04.indd 153 1/26/10 2:39:28 PM Chapter 4 • Creating Your First Drawing 154 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). 505434c04.indd 154 1/26/10 2:39:28 PM Add Views 155 FIGURE 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. FIGURE 4.4 Selecting Section View in the shortcut bar tIp Throughout this book, you’ll use the shortcut bar almost exclu- sively. Instead of pressing S on your keyboard each time, you can assign the Shortcut Bar command to the mouse gesture guides. Select Tools ➢ 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. 505434c04.indd 155 1/26/10 2:39:28 PM Chapter 4 • Creating Your First Drawing 156 FIGURE 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. FIGURE 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. 505434c04.indd 156 1/26/10 2:39:28 PM Add Views 157 FIGURE 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. NOte 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. FIGURE 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. 505434c04.indd 157 1/26/10 2:39:28 PM Chapter 4 • Creating Your First Drawing 158 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. FIGURE 4.9 Projected view of bottom of lamp base 505434c04.indd 158 1/26/10 2:39:29 PM [...]... Figure 4.10 N O TE  ​ 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 159 160 C h a p t e r 4 • C r e a t i n g Yo u r F i r... 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 creating drawings in SolidWorks bidirectionality When done correctly, not only are dimensions on the drawing updated when the part model is revised, but it Annotate the Drawing can go the other way If you make a change to... the drawing, the model will update at the same time Dimensions that are manually placed on the drawing are actually reference dimensions Many users or organizations tend to change the system options of SolidWorks to display reference dimensions as regular dimensions Although not technically correct, many users find that this approach to annotating a drawing is quicker and easier Reference dimensions... required to make the part per your design intent without 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... when you can control it, there should be a gap F i g u r e   4 2 1  ​ Lengthening the extension line of a dimension N O TE  ​ You can adjust the default gap distance that is automatically inserted by SolidWorks in Document Properties Select Dimensions in the left pane of the window and adjust the value in the Gap field in the Extension Line section Change Diameter Dimensions You can specify a diameter... mode that you want to be hidden once you exit the command The following steps describe the process for showing one of the dimensions that was hidden in the previous section: 1 Hover over or click the SolidWorks logo in the menu bar, and select Hide/Show Annotations in the View menu 2 Dimensions that have been hidden will be shown in light gray (see Figure 4.28) To show the hidden dimensions again, . hand-cramping draw- ings. With today’s 3D CAD applications such as SolidWorks, creating an accurate drawing is easier than ever. In SolidWorks, models are created to capture the design intent and. 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. 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,