The Make Independent feature in SOLIDWORKS lets you save an individual instance of a component as a separate file. This is great when you're in an assembly and need to modify only one or some of the instances but want to keep the root component in tact. In this article, we discuss what Make Independent does and walk you through an example using the feature on a SOLIDWORKS assembly.
The SOLIDWORKS Design Library is a prebuilt library with folders populated with reusable entities, such as annotations, parts, assemblies, and forming tools. Let's take a look at where the Design Library is located, what it includes, and how to point SOLIDWORKS to the location of the library (if it is not already showing).
In this article, we’ll discuss the difference between fixed and floating components in a SOLIDWORKS assembly. We will also look at a tool that will allow us to temporarily move between these two component states.
When removing sketch entities in SOLIDWORKS, deleting a specific portion can require extensive cleanup and adding additional sketch entities. However, the Trim Entities command will automate a lot of the busy work and allow you to trim or extend entities in your sketch in one single operation. This article explains, in-depth, uses of the SOLIDWORKS Trim Entities command and provides an overview of all the different selection options.
Have you ever wanted to create text around a circle (for example, a clock face or a rotary knob dial), but are unsure how to do it? This SOLIDWORKS tutorial walks through creating the text, which can be reused on other parts by simply copying it.
Ever wonder how you can increase productivity within SOLIDWORKS? What if there was a way to automatically create in-context features such as cut extrudes and automatic placement when inserting a part within an assembly? There is a way to do this and more with SOLIDWORKS Smart Components!
SOLIDWORKS Costing (available in SOLIDWORKS Professional & Premium) is a powerful tool that can estimate production costs for manufactured components using parameters such as raw material costs, setup time, operation times, scrap reclamation, and more.
Unabsorb Sketches is a handy SOLIDWORKS tool that can help ease the difficulty when adding sketches to a feature that has already been created. In this tutorial, learn how to use the Unabsorb Sketches tool to temporarily remove sketches from a feature to aid feature editing processes.
In SOLIDWORKS, blocks are a collection of sketch entities and even notes that can be saved for use in multiple parts, assemblies, and drawings. This can be a valuable time saver, especially for those entities used frequently. Think about sketches or notes that you may be using cut and paste for. Those can be saved as blocks in the design library, or other convenient location, for ready access without the need to open a previous file. In this guide, we'll demonstrate creating a block in SOLIDWORKS and how to reuse it.