Learning Objectives

Understand the requirement of the sketching environment. Open a new part document. Understand the various terms used in sketching environment. Work with various sketching tools. Use the drawing display tools. Delete the sketched entities.

 The Sketching Environment

A solid model is a combination of sketched features, placed features, and derived features. The base feature of any design is a sketched feature and is created by invoking the Sketch button and then drawing the sketch in the sketching environment. The sketching environment of SolidWorks can be invoked any time in the Part mode, Assembly mode, and Drawing mode.

Sketch toolbar

Base feature A solid model

Sketch for base feature

the

 Open A New Document

When you start SolidWorks, the Tip of the day dialog box will be displayed, see Figure A. Choose the Close button from this dialog box, the Welcome to SolidWorks 2003 window is displayed, see Figure B.

Figure A Tip of the Day dialog box

Figure B Welcome to SolidWorks window

Choose New Document from the Welcome to SolidWorks 2003 window. The New SolidWorks Document dialog box is displayed, see Figure C.

The tabs available in this dialog box are:

Template
Part

Assembly

Drawing

Tutorial

The other options available in this dialog box are:

Large Icon button List button List Details button Preview area
Figure C New SolidWorks Document dialog box

 The Sketching Environment

When you choose the Part template a new part file will be opened in the part modeling environment. Choose the Sketch button from the Sketch toolbar to invoke the sketching environment. Figure A shows the initial screen of a part document in the sketcher environment.

Figure A Initial screen of a part document in the sketcher environment

 Setting Up The Document Options

The settings like dimensioning standards and units for measuring linear distances specified at the time of installation of SolidWorks 2003 are made the default settings and whenever you open a new SolidWorks document, the new file will have those settings. As per the design requirement you may be required to change the standards, units, and grid settings.

Modifying the Dimensioning Standards

Figure A shows the Document Properties dialog box. To invoke this dialog box, choose Tools > Options > Document Properties tab. You can select the required standard from the drop-down list provided in the Dimensioning Figure A Document Properties dialog box standard area.

 Modifying the Linear and Angular Units

In the Document Properties dialog box select the Units option from the area on the left. You can select the required Linear units and Angular units from the drop-down list provided in the respective area, see Figure B.

Figure B Setting the dimensioning units

 Modifying the Snap and Grid Settings

The default ratio between the major and minor grid spacing in the sketching environment is 10. To change the grid spacing, choose the Grid button from the Sketch toolbar. From the Document Properties - Grid/Snap dialog box you can enter the required values to for the Grid, see Figure C. If you do not want the cursor to snap a point, the Snap to points check box from the Snap area.

Figure C Modifying the Grid and Snap settings

 Learning About Sketcher Terms

Some terms that are used in the sketching environment are: Origin The origin is a red color icon (displaying the X and the Y axis direction) is displayed in the middle of the sketching environment screen. The point of intersection of these two axes is the origin point and the coordinates of this point are 0,0. Inferencing Lines

The inferencing lines are the temporary lines that are used to track a particular point on the screen. The inferencing lines that are displayed on the screen will be either blue or brown in color.

Using inferencing lines to locate the center of an arc

 Select Tool The Select tool is used to select a sketched entity or exit any sketching tool that is active. Remember that only those entities will be selected that lie completely inside the window that you have defined using Select tool.

 Drawing Lines
The lines are one of the basic sketching tools available. To draw a line in the sketcher environment of SolidWorks, choose the Line tool. You will notice that the cursor that was an arrow earlier is replaced by the line cursor. The methods to draw lines are: Drawing Continuous Lines This is the default method of drawing lines. In this method you just have to specify the startpoint and the endpoint of the line using the left mouse button. The line attached with the endpoint of first line even you are finished with drawing the first line, is called a rubber-band line. The reason it is called a rubber-band line is that this line will stretch like a rubber-band as you move the cursor. To exit the continuous line drawing process press the ESC key from the keyboard, or choose the Select tool, or double-click on the screen, or right-click to display the shortcut menu and choose the End Chain option from the shortcut menu.

 Drawing Individual Lines This method is to draw individual lines. The startpoint of the next line will not necessarily be the endpoint of the last line. To draw individual lines, press and hold down the left mouse button and drag the cursor from the startpoint of the line to the endpoint. Once the cursor is dragged to the endpoint, release the left mouse button. To make the process of sketching easy, you are provided with the PropertyManager. The PropertyManager is a table that is displayed on the left of the screen as soon as you select the first point of any sketch entity, see Figure A.

Figure A Partial PropertyManager

display

of

When drawing lines in the sketcher environment, a numeric value is displayed above the line cursor, see Figure B. This numeric value indicates the length of the line that is drawn. This value is the same as that in the Length spinner of the Line PropertyManager. The only difference is that in the Line PropertyManager, the value will be displayed with more precision.

Figure B The length of the line displayed on the screen while drawing the line

SolidWorks automatically applies the Horizontal (H symbol) and Vertical (V symbol) relations to the lines drawn in respective horizontal and vertical directions. These relations ensure that the lines that you draw are vertical or horizontal and not inclined, see Figure C and D.

Figure C relation

Symbol of the Horizontal

Figure D relation

Symbol of the Vertical

 Drawing Construction Lines

Construction lines are the ones that are drawn only for the aid of sketching. These lines are not considered while converting the sketches into features. When you draw a construction line, using Centerline tool, the For Construction check box in the Line PropertyManager is selected.

 Drawing Circles
Choose the Circle button to draw the circle. The arrow cursor is replaced by the circle cursor, see Figure A. Specify the centerpoint of the circle using the left mouse button. Move the mouse on the screen to define any arbitrary radius of the circle. To modify the circle radius value to the desired value use the Circle PropertyManager, see Figure B.

Figure B Circle PropertyManager

Figure A Sketching a circle

 Sketching a Construction Circle

To sketch a construction circle, draw the circle using the Circle tool and then select the For Construction check box available in the Circle PropertyManager.

 Drawing Arcs
You can draw the arcs using three methods: Tangent Arc, Centerpoint Arc, and 3 Point Arc. All these methods can be invoked separately by choosing their respective buttons from the Sketch Tools toolbar.

Drawing Tangent Arcs

The tangent arcs are the ones that are drawn tangent to an existing sketched entity. Invoke the Tangent Arc tool and then move the arc cursor close to the endpoint of the entity that you want to select as the tangent entity. Notice that the arrow cursor is replaced by the arc cursor. An arc cursor consists of a pencil and an arc below the pencil, see Figure A.

Figure A tangent arc

Sketching a

When you complete a tangent sketch by specifying its endpoint, the SolidWorks information box is displayed as shown in Figure B. This dialog box will inform you to select the endpoint of a sketched entity to draw another tangent arc.

Figure B SolidWorks information box

You can draw an arbitrary tangent arc and then modify its value using the Arc PropertyManager, see Figure C.

Figure C Arc PropertyManager

 Drawing Centerpoint Arcs

The centerpoint arcs are the ones that are drawn by defining the centerpoint, startpoint, and endpoint of the arc. Invoke the Centerpoint Arc tool, the arrow cursor is replaced by the arc cursor. Press the left mouse button once at the location of the centerpoint. The size of the dotted circle will modify with the movement of the mouse as you approach to the startpoint of the arc, see Figure A. Press the left mouse button once at the startpoint of the arc. Move the cursor in the clockwise or counterclockwise direction, the resultant arc will be drawn in the respective direction. Specify the endpoint of the arc using the left mouse button, see Figure B.

Figure A Specifying the centerpoint and dragging the cursor

Figure B Specifying the startpoint and endpoint of the arc

 Drawing 3 Point Arcs

The 3 point arcs are the ones that are drawn by defining the startpoint and endpoint of the arc, and a point somewhere on the arc. Invoke the 3 Pt Arc tool, the arrow cursor is replaced by the arc cursor. Move the arc cursor to the point to specify the startpoint of the arc, see Figure A. To specify the direction of the arc specify a point on screen using the left mouse button, see Figure B.

Figure A Specifying the startpoint and dragging the cursor

Figure B Specifying the point somewhere on the arc

 Invoking the Options to Draw an Arc from within the Line Tool
The option to draw an arc using Line tool can be invoked only if at least one sketched line, arc, or spline exists on the screen. To draw an arc tangent to the last line drawn using the current Line tool sequence, move the cursor in the direction in which the arc should be drawn from the endpoint of the line and then move it back close to the endpoint, see Figure A. The line cursor is replaced by the arc cursor and the Line PropertyManager is replaced by the Arc PropertyManager. To draw a normal arc, move the cursor away from the endpoint and then move it back close to the endpoint. Move the cursor normal to the existing line and then move the cursor in the direction in which the arc should be drawn, see Figure B.

Figure A Drawing the tangent arc

Figure B Drawing the normal arc

 Drawing Rectangles
A rectangle can be drawn by specifying two opposite corners of the rectangle. Invoke the Rectangle tool. The arrow cursor will be replaced by the rectangle cursor. Move the cursor to specify the first corner point of the rectangle. Press the left mouse button once. Move the cursor and specify the other corner of the rectangle using the left mouse button. The length and width of the rectangle are displayed above the rectangle cursor. The length is measured along the X axis and the width is measured along the Y axis, see Figure A.

Figure A Drawing a rectangle by specifying two opposite corners

 Drawing Parallelogram
The Parallelogram tool Tools > Sketch Entity > Parallelogram can be used to draw a parallelogram and also to draw a rectangle at an angle. The methods to draw both these entities are:

Drawing a Rectangle at an Angle

Invoke the Parallelogram tool. Move the parallelogram cursor to the startpoint of one of the edges of the rectangle. Press the left mouse button once. Move the cursor to size the edge. Based on the current position of the cursor, a reference line will be drawn either horizontal, vertical, or aligned. Specify the endpoint of the edge. The resultant reference line is at an angle. Move the cursor to specify the width of the rectangle. A reference rectangle is drawn Figure A Rectangle at an angle. The width will be specified normal to the first edge. at an angle Using the left mouse button, specify a point on the screen to define the width of the rectangle. The reference rectangle will be converted into a sketched rectangle, see Figure A.

 Drawing Parallelogram
The process of drawing a parallelogram is similar to that of drawing a rectangle at an angle. Invoke the Parallelogram tool from the menu bar. The cursor will be replaced by the parallelogram cursor. Specify two points on the screen to define one edge of the parallelogram. Next, press the CTRL key from the keyboard once and then move the mouse to define the width of the parallelogram. The width is no more added normal to the first edge. A reference parallelogram will be drawn with the movement of mouse. Specify the point on the screen to define the size and shape of the parallelogram. Figure A shows a parallelogram drawn at an angle.

Figure A Parallelogram drawn at an angle

 Drawing Polygons
A polygon is defined as a multisided geometric figure in which the length of all the sides and the angle between all the sides are the same. In SolidWorks, a polygon with the number of sides ranging from 3 to 40 can be drawn. The dimensions of a polygon are controlled using the diameter of a construction circle that is either inscribed inside the polygon or circumscribed about the polygon. Invoke the Polygon tool. The arrow cursor will be replaced by the polygon cursor. Using the left mouse button, specify a point on the screen after reaching the desired length and rotation angle of the polygon. To modify the parameters such as the centerpoint of the polygon, the diameter of the construction circle, the angle of rotation of the polygon, and so on use the Polygon PropertyManager, see Figure A.

Figure A Polygon PropertyManager

Figure B shows a six-sided polygon with the construction circle inscribed inside the polygon.

Figure C shows a five-sided polygon with the construction circle circumscribed outside the polygon.

Figure B

Figure C

Notice that the reference circle is retained with the polygon. Remember that this circle will not be considered while converting the polygon into a feature.

 Drawing Splines
Invoke the Spline tool to draw a spline. The splines can be drawn using two methods. In the first method, which is the default method, you can draw a spline by continuously specifying the endpoints of the spline segments using the left mouse button. In the second method of drawing a spline, you have to specify the first point of the spline and then press and hold the left mouse button and drag the cursor to define the second point of the spline, thus creating a segment of the spline. The number of points specified in a spline are taken as the handles or control points of the spline. These handles are used to modify the shape of the spline. Figure A shows a spline with startpoint as origin.

Figure A A spline with startpoint as origin

 Drawing Points
To draw a point, choose the Point tool and then specify the point on the screen to place the point. The Point PropertyManager will be displayed with the X and Y coordinates of the current point. Point PropertyManager can be used to modify the location of the point by modifying its X and Y coordinates in the.

 Drawing Ellipses
Invoke the Ellipse tool Tools > Sketch Entity > Ellipse from the menu bar. The arrow cursor will be replaced by the ellipse cursor. Press the left mouse button once to define the centerpoint. Then move the cursor to specify one of the ellipse axis. A reference circle is drawn and two values are displayed above the ellipse cursor, see Figure A. Using the left mouse button, specify a point on the screen to define the second axis of the ellipse, see Figure B. Figure C shows partial view of Ellipse PropertyManager.
Figure C Partial view of Ellipse PropertyManager Figure A Defining the first axis Figure B Defining the second axis for the ellipse

 Drawing Elliptical Arcs

Invoke the Tools > Sketch Entity > Centerpoint Ellipse tool from the menu bar. The process of drawing an elliptical arc is similar to that of drawing an ellipse. Follow the same process of defining the ellipse first. The point that is specified on the screen to define the other axis of the ellipse is taken as the startpoint of the elliptical arc. To define the endpoint of the elliptical arc specify a point on the screen, see Figure A. Figure B shows the Ellipse PropertyManager.

Figure B Ellipse PropertyManager

Figure A Drawing the elliptical arc

 Drawing A Parabolic Curve

Invoke the Tools > Sketch Entity > Parabola tool from the menu bar. The cursor will be replaced by the parabola cursor. Specify the focal point of the parabola and then specify two points (one the apex and the other the size) on the guide lines of the parabolic curve. You will notice that a reference parabolic arc is displayed, see Figure A. Figure B shows the Parabola PropertyManager.

Figure A Drawing the parabola Figure B Partial view of Parabola PropertyManager

 Drawing Display Tools

These tools allow you to modify the display of the drawing by zooming or panning the drawing. Some of the drawing display tools that are available in SolidWorks are:

Zoom to Fit

Zoom to Selection

Zoom to Area

Pan

Zoom In/Out

Redraw

 Deleting The Sketched Entities

Select the entities by picking them individually or select more than one entity by defining a window around the entities. The entities on selection, turn green in color. Now, press the DELETE key from the keyboard. You can delete the sketched entities by selecting them and choosing the Delete option from the shortcut menu that is displayed upon right-clicking.

 Tutorial 1
Draw the sketch of the model shown in Figure A. The sketch is shown in Figure B. Do not dimension the sketch. The solid model and the dimensions are given only for your reference. (Expected time: 30 min)

Figure A Tutorial 1

Solid model for

Figure model

Sketch of the

1.

Start SolidWorks by choosing Start > Programs > SolidWorks 2003 > SolidWorks 2003. Close the Tip of the Day dialog box. Choose the New SolidWorks Document from the Welcome to SolidWorks 2003 window. The New SolidWorks Document dialog box is displayed, see Figure C. Select the Part option and choose OK button from the New SolidWorks Document dialog box.

2.

Figure C New SolidWorks Document dialog box

3.

A new SolidWorks part document will be opened. Choose the Maximize button to maximize the new SolidWorks part document.

4.

Choose the Sketch button from the Sketch toolbar to invoke the sketching environment.

5.

The default screen appearance of the sketching environment of SolidWorks is shown in Figure D.
The origin that was displayed with gray color earlier is changed to red color, indicating the sketching environment.

6.

Figure D Screen display in sketcher environment

7.

Set Millimeters as Linear units and Degrees as Angular units from the Document Properties - Detailing dialog box. Set the value of the Major grid spacing spinner to 100 and the value of the Minor-lines per major spinner to 10. Draw the outer loop of the sketch as shown in Figure E.

8.

9.

10. Change the Major grid spacing spinner value to 50 using Grid button. 11. Choose the Circle button to draw the two inner circles using the inferencing lines.

Figure E Outer loop of the sketch

12. The sketch after drawing the two inner circles is shown in Figure F.

13. Draw the sketch of the inner cavity. The final completed sketch for Tutorial 1 is shown in Figure G.

Figure F Sketch after drawing the two inner circles

Figure G Final sketch for Tutorial 1

14. Choose the Save button from the Standard toolbar to display the Save As dialog box. Create a directory with the name SolidWorks inside the /My Documents directory and then create c01 directory inside the SolidWorks directory. In this directory save the document with the name c01-tut01.sldprt. The path for restoring this document at a later stage is /My Documents/SolidWorks/c01/c01-tut01.sldprt. Close the file by choosing File > Close from the menu bar.

 Tutorial 2
Draw the sketch for the revolved solid model shown in Figure A. The sketch is shown in Figure B. Do not dimension the sketch. The solid model and the dimensions are given only for your reference. (Expected time: 30 min)

Figure A Tutorial 2

Solid model for

Figure B Sketch of the model

1. 2.

Start SolidWorks and open a new part document. Invoke the sketcher environment Choose the Grid button. Set the value of the Major grid spacing spinner to 50 and the value of the Minor-lines per major spinner to 10. Draw the sketch using Line tool. Figure C shows the final sketch for Tutorial 2. Choose the Save button from the Standard toolbar to display the Save As dialog box. Save the document as /My Documents/SolidWorks/c01/c01-tut02.sldprt. Close the file by choosing File > Close from the menu bar.
Figure C Final sketch for Tutorial 2

3.

4.

 Tutorial 3
Draw the sketch of model shown in Figure A. The sketch is shown in Figure B. Do not dimension the sketch. The solid model and the dimensions are given only for your reference. (Expected time: 30 min)

Figure A Tutorial 3

Solid model for

Figure model

Sketch of the

1. 2.

Start SolidWorks and open a new part document. Invoke the sketcher environment Draw the outer loop of the sketch as shown in Figure C. 3. Draw the circle using Circle button Figure D shows the final sketch for Tutorial 3.

Figure C Outer loop of the sketch

Figure D Final sketch for Tutorial 3

4.

Choose the Save button from the Standard toolbar to display the Save As dialog box. Save the document as /My Documents/SolidWorks/c01/c01-tut03.sldprt. Close the file by choosing File > Close from the menu bar.

 Tutorial 4
Draw the sketch of model shown in Figure A. The sketch is shown in Figure B. Do not dimension the sketch. The solid model and the dimensions are given only for your reference. (Expected time: 30 min)

Figure A Tutorial 4

Solid model for

Figure B Sketch of the model

1. 2.

Start SolidWorks and open a new part document. Invoke the sketcher environment Select Grid button. Set the value of the Major grid spacing spinner to 50 and the value of the Minor-lines per major spinner to 10. Draw the sketch using Line tool. Figure C shows the final sketch for Tutorial 4. Choose the Save button from the Standard toolbar to display the Save As dialog box. Save the document as /My Documents/SolidWorks/c01/ c01-tut04.sldprt. Close the file by choosing File > Close from the menu bar.
Figure C Final sketch for Tutorial 4

3.

4.

 Exercise 1
Draw the sketch of the model shown in Figure A. The sketch to be drawn is shown in Figure B. Do not dimension the sketch as the solid model and the dimensions are given only for your reference. (Expected time: 30 min)

Figure A Exercise 1

Solid Model for

Figure B Sketch of the model

 Exercise 2
Draw the sketch of the model shown in Figure A. The sketch to be drawn is shown in Figure B. Do not dimension the sketch as the solid model and the dimensions are given only for your reference. (Expected time: 30 min)

Figure A Exercise 2

Solid Model for

Figure B Sketch of the model