Page 212 - Mastering SolidWorks

Chapter 6

Getting More from Your Sketches

Previous chapters described the basic tools for sketching. This chapter takes you to the next level
and teaches you about more advanced sketch tools, as well as how to edit and manipulate
sketches, and how to work with sketch text, sketch pictures, and sketch colors. By the end of this
chapter (with a little practice to reinforce the tools and techniques), you should feel like you have
mastered the topic of SolidWorks sketching and can handle almost any problem that is
thrown at you.

IN THIS CHAPTER, YOU WILL LEARN TO:
◆ Edit sketch relations

◆ Copy and move sketch entities
◆ Use sketch pictures
◆ Use sketch text
◆ Use colors and line styles with sketches
◆ Use other sketch tools
◆ Sketch 3D

Editing Sketch Relations

Delete is not an editing option. In time, you’ll find that this is good advice, even if you don’t
agree with it now. There are times to delete instead of editing, but you should delete only when it
is necessary. Especially while learning, you should strive to at least know how to repair instead
of delete in every situation. In my own work, I sometimes go to extreme lengths to avoid deleting
sketch entities, in part to stay in practice, but also because when you delete sketch entities,
dependent features may lose their references or go dangling. Because of this, even when you can
use the Delete command instead of making edits, it is still good practice to edit instead. Deleting
relations is not as critical as deleting sketch entities, unless the relations are referenced by
equations or design tables.

Mastering SolidWorks, First Edition. Matt Lombard.
© 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2019 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.