DISQUS

Bruce Buck · 2 years ago

Excellent suggestions. I've been utilizing many of them for a couple years now, they've really helped out my workflow and have helped in collaborative environments as well.

Just to elaborate on some of your suggestions.

Extrusions - Full extrusion profile in the first sketch, including all fillets. Extrude from Mid-Plane. All secondary operations after that.

Die Castings - Major geometries first, drafts second (if not at feature level), fillets last (most but not all).

Flexible components (labels, decals) - One feature using flat geometry, the other (suppressed)the "installed" geometry. Use derived configuration.

Josh · 2 years ago

Great additions Bruce! Thanks!

Ernest hafner · 2 years ago

I have discovered that the “Forming Tools” in Solid Works located in “C:\Solidworks Data\User-design library\forming tools”
do not work because of a default setting established during software installation as “C:\Program Files\SolidWorks\data\design library\forming tools”

SolidWorks recommends that all libraries be re-created in “C:\Solidworks Data\user-xxx.....” since any development would be lost during

software upgrades / re-installations if kept in “C:\Program Files\SolidWorks\data”

To rectify this problem, you must designated “C:\Solidworks Data\User-design library\forming tools” as a forming tool folder.

To do this, please do the following:

- start solid works
- go to “Tools / options / file locations / design library” make sure “C:\Solidworks Data\User-design library” is in the path.

If you see “C:\Program Files\SolidWorks\data\design library\forming tools” – remove it.

- save & close settings tab.

- In solid works, go to the design library window to the right of the design window.

- expand the “user-design Library “ tab

- right click on “Forming Tools” Folder.

-in the fly-out, check of “Forming Tool Folder”

- When asked if this is the default forming tool folder, reply “yes”.


This means that if you have 5 locations of forming tool folders,
you would have to activate the one you want to use before it will work.


These steps are necessary each time you re-install SolidWorks or upgrade.

Josh · 2 years ago

Great addition Earnest, Thanks.

aWhatmough · 2 years ago

YES YES YES Bruce Extrude from Mid-Plane

This is SO Key... a part that is symtrical around the origin will save you more headaches then you can imagine.

you can use the planes to mate it centered to antother part in an assembly

you can add and axis between two planes to create a circular pattern

you can created mirrored features

you can easly center features on perpendicular faces

.....

this list goes on

Rod_Uding · 2 months ago

Excellent post Josh and an several great comments on other pointers. The one thing I do to help make the part more useful for me and easier to position is an assembly is to add a mate reference. It helps take out one of the manual mating operations when I insert the part.