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In SOLIDWORKS it is possible to pattern a Feature in such a way that you can create variances in the size of the patterned Instances. This approach is referred to as Vary Sketch (See Figure 1). This method can be obtained using Linear Pattern.

There is a little known & used option to show Mates and Dependencies instead of Features for components in an assembly tree. Typically, people wonder why to view an assembly in this manner. However, if you work with mates at all, this view could be your new best friend.

You can perform a lot of functions and get a good amount of information about SOLIDWORKS files directly from Windows Explorer without ever opening SOLIDWORKS. We are going to look at Functions, and Information you can access inside Windows Explorer.

Learn how to disable the ability to revise a model from the drawing level and to keep the drawing dimensions at the drawing level only. You will need Administrator access with read/write permissions to the Windows registry and with Windows registry knowledge of what is being changed.

In the release of SOLIDWORKS 2016, there was an addition to Drawings that allows the designer to modify the border of a default template called the Automatic Border Tool. Learn the different ways it allows you to customize every aspect of the Sheet Format of a drawing.

Learn how to access the SOLIDWORKS feature that allows you the ability to quickly replace all file locations at once. This is helpful in case your file locations are incorrect and you'd like to point all of them to the correct location.

With the release of SW 2018, a section in the Symbol Library has been created for “Draft”. Learn how to access these symbols in this article and get the correct callouts for your molded part drawings.

Applying colors in SOLIDWORKS is an easy thing to do, but not having a full understanding of the different levels in which colors can be applied can lead to much confusion. Colors can be applied to a face, feature, body, and at the overall part level. To apply color in SOLIDWORKS, right-click on any face of a part and chose the Appearances icon.

 

Multibody part design is a powerful capability in SOLIDWORKS. It allows us to create complex part geometry as an intermediate step, or we can use it similarly to an assembly by allowing us to design different components as different bodies in a part file. This is true for all solid body geometry, as well as sheet metal designs.