Autodimension in drawings (from model dims) ANYONE DOING THIS?
Autodimension in drawings (from model dims) ANYONE DOING THIS?
(OP)
Is anyone setting up all the dimension schemes in the sketches, part & assy features, and model annotations; turning on/off the 'visible on drawing' checkbox for each one; and then Autodimensioning each view in a drawing??? If so, how complicated are the parts/assys and do you feel this is saving time versus placing dimensions onto the views manually?






RE: Autodimension in drawings (from model dims) ANYONE DOING THIS?
I very rarely use model annotations though.
RE: Autodimension in drawings (from model dims) ANYONE DOING THIS?
RE: Autodimension in drawings (from model dims) ANYONE DOING THIS?
RE: Autodimension in drawings (from model dims) ANYONE DOING THIS?
Some people swear by the Model Items function ... others swear at it.
RE: Autodimension in drawings (from model dims) ANYONE DOING THIS?
RE: Autodimension in drawings (from model dims) ANYONE DOING THIS?
Most users do not do this. Some companies do not create drawings and use the models directly into their CNC.
If you can use the model dims, and both model and drawing match, you're ahead of most others.
Chris
SolidWorks 10 SP4.0
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion
RE: Autodimension in drawings (from model dims) ANYONE DOING THIS?
RE: Autodimension in drawings (from model dims) ANYONE DOING THIS?
RE: Autodimension in drawings (from model dims) ANYONE DOING THIS?
Autodimensioning makes me nervous. When I prepare drawings from my model, I get to think about how this all is going to look to my fabricator and inspector. My 3D_model reflects how I do my design. Applying dimensions and tolerances to my drawings is my best opportunity to recognize that I have designed something difficult and expensive to fabricate. Often, as I prepare fabrication drawings, I go back and change the model.
Documentation is not just for your boss, your fabricator and assembler. It is good for you too. You need to view and to think about all this.
Actually, I do not spend a whole lot of time preparing fabrication drawings. If I had an automatic tool for applying dimensions, I would save very little time, and there would be a significant impact on my quality.
I use model dimensions whenever I can, but this is rare. I make very aggressive use of in-context design. I prepare my fabrication drawings while the parts are in-context. When I finalize my drawings, I go back to my assembly and I convert my in-context constraints into local dimensions. I look at my fabrication drawings while I do this.