Solidworks 2010 drawing capability
Solidworks 2010 drawing capability
(OP)
Hi
In the past (up to SW2008)I have really struggled with the Solidworks drawing interface to produce decent drawings quickly. Everything seems to be so non-intuitive and Microsofty. Just selecting and manipulating the view, annotation, part or underlying sketch you want is a mission, let alone difficulties with view cropping and sectioning particularly with large assemblies. Has anyone been using 2010 long enough 'uder fire' to asses whether useability in this area has improved significantly?
Thanks
In the past (up to SW2008)I have really struggled with the Solidworks drawing interface to produce decent drawings quickly. Everything seems to be so non-intuitive and Microsofty. Just selecting and manipulating the view, annotation, part or underlying sketch you want is a mission, let alone difficulties with view cropping and sectioning particularly with large assemblies. Has anyone been using 2010 long enough 'uder fire' to asses whether useability in this area has improved significantly?
Thanks






RE: Solidworks 2010 drawing capability
SW has improved in many areas Drawings included. You should get a copy of the What's New from your VAR if you don't want to install it and read through it to see if there are any new items you want. One i think you might like is the Dimension palette. You don't have to go to Properties tab anymore to make changes to your dimensions. However in a later SP they moved the icon for the palette, and made a little harder to get your hands on, but 2011 is suppose to improve on that.
Not to be mean, but I bet some of the problem is not knowing the shortcuts or how to be efficient making SW drawings... no offence.
Regards,
Scott Baugh, CSWP![[pc2] pc2](https://www.tipmaster.com/images/pc2.gif)
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum PoliciesBerry Plastics
Cad Admin\Design Engineer
www.scottjbaugh.com
RE: Solidworks 2010 drawing capability
Never really had trouble with any of those things.
RE: Solidworks 2010 drawing capability
What type of "manipulation" are you attempting? Can you give specifics of the problems you are having, or where you find it deficient?
In particular, what are you wanting to do with the "underlying sketch"?
RE: Solidworks 2010 drawing capability
I started using SWX in 2000/01. Initially I only used Modeling side for a year or two as I found it very slow to produce drawings compared to ACAD. So I used to create the models & their 2D views in SWX & create DWGs & then used ACAD to finish them.
But then I realized later that I was missing on functionality of SWX as sometimes while detailing I needed to change the assy. which was a pain in that arrangement.
Normally we forget that we have been using ACAD for years & have all the libraries, base drawings, efficient templates & blocks etc. & above all the practice & 1000s of hours of using ACAD on our particular drawings & needs.
So my suggestion is similar to all above here. Get some training, give urself time to practice.
RE: Solidworks 2010 drawing capability
To be proficient with SW dwgs, it takes experience with the SW interface and knowledge of good drafting practices.
Chris
SolidWorks 10 SP4.0
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion
RE: Solidworks 2010 drawing capability
RE: Solidworks 2010 drawing capability
Does the layout sketch have to be showing in the views?
Could you split the sketch into smaller, more specific, areas?
RE: Solidworks 2010 drawing capability
Chris
SolidWorks 10 SP4.0
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion
RE: Solidworks 2010 drawing capability
I prefer the way viewports work in AutoCAD. Allowing you to size them, control what layers show in them individually, etc. SW doesn't seem to want to let you have ultimate control over how things are shown in a drawing.
http://www.linkedin.com/in/gregtirevold
RE: Solidworks 2010 drawing capability
Use "Lock View focus" & "Lock view Position" while working & sketching on overlapping views. Check help for the explanation.
Drag the views by holding onto one of the vertex of a particular view to avoid moving a wrong view.
If needed to crop a view use spline as it is easy to select & draw.
In your situation, I would try to mould my ways of handling the views instead of cropping the views everytime.
RE: Solidworks 2010 drawing capability
Greg's comment that "SW doesn't seem to want to let you have ultimate control over how things are shown in a drawing" is spot on.
RE: Solidworks 2010 drawing capability
RE: Solidworks 2010 drawing capability
Best,
Colin Fitzpatrick (aka Macduff)
Mechanical Designer
Solidworks 2010 SP 3.1
Dell 490 XP Pro SP 2
Xeon CPU 3.00 GHz 3.00 GB of RAM
nVida Quadro FX 3450 512 MB
3D Connexion-SpaceExplorer
RE: Solidworks 2010 drawing capability
Michael
RE: Solidworks 2010 drawing capability
This is an awesome tip, and I give you a star! This will come in handy when views overlap.
Thanks,
Colin Fitzpatrick (aka Macduff)
Mechanical Designer
Solidworks 2010 SP 3.1
Dell 490 XP Pro SP 2
Xeon CPU 3.00 GHz 3.00 GB of RAM
nVida Quadro FX 3450 512 MB
3D Connexion-SpaceExplorer
RE: Solidworks 2010 drawing capability
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RE: Solidworks 2010 drawing capability
It's one of my favorite keys and comes in handy when you're on a busy drawing. I found it tremendously useful for Tables with the resizing issues and bugs for tables in 2008. It's mentioned in the Drawings Training book it's not too visible but definitely one to remember.
For those Spaceball, traveler Pilot users out there you can actually use your motion controller to move selected views like in assembly mode using the following icon.
Michael