
To quickly define a sketch plane normal to an edge, select the edge and start the sketch feature (#1). Where did I get these from? Social media, reading the help (yes really), using other training material, youtube, and watching others. I’m going to share some tips & tricks I’ve picked up in regards to sketching in Solidworks. The absolute worse thing to do is assume that even after years of using Solidworks there is nothing left for you to learn.

The trick is to keep an open mind and never stop learning. Leave fillets & chamfers to where they belong… as features NOT in the sketch!Īs you are learning software, you are bound to pick up tips, tricks, suggestions, and other goodies from a wide variety of sources. Stability comes before size… add relationships before dimensions.
#RAPID SKETCH IN SOLIDWORKS SOFTWARE#
I can’t stress enough that regardless of the modeling software you are using, you should always follow the golden KISS rule… Keep It Simple Stupid Silly! The moment your sketch becomes work, you’ve made it waaaaayyyy too complicated. Don’t try to do it all within one sketch… keep it to one sketch per feature. Having a bad sketch is like building a house on a poor foundation… your house will start off ok, but something bad is bound to happen. How efficient you are at Solidworks Sketching can impact your overall modeling performance. So that’s the rundown on Instant3D and Instant2D.Love or hate it sketching is the foundation for most of your models within Solidworks (and really any parametric 3D modeler). Disabling Instant3D or Instant2D is a quick fix, but you can also easily avoid this problem by learning to click the dimension leaders instead of the dimension values. With the Instant tools enabled, this opens the instant edit box and can be a real pain in the workflow. If you’re a seasoned SOLIDWORKS user, your muscle memory probably has you clicking on dimension values to select, move, delete, or access the PropertyManager of a dimension. If you’re feeling more like a sloth than a hummingbird, disabling the Instant tools should help. You have to double-click VERY quickly to access the Modify box and not the instant edit box. Instant3D and Instant2D make this a bit tricky since they allow for single-click editing. While Instant3D and Instant2D are great when you want to make changes quickly, there are some times where turning these functions off can actually make things easier.ĭouble-clicking on a dimension brings up the Modify box, which is useful for renaming dimensions, adding global variables and equations, and working with configurations. What about Instant2D? Instant2D was added for SOLIDWORKS 2016 and simply brings the same drag handles and single-click editing techniques to the sketch environment. Drag away from the solid to create an extruded boss or drag into the solid to create an extruded cut. In addition to editing existing dimensions, Instant3D can be used to create new extrude features by dragging the arrow that appears when a sketch is selected.

Notice that there’s no need to rebuild the model after making any of these changes. If you prefer to type instead of drag, single-click on the dimension value, type in a new value and hit Enter. Moving the cursor over the ruler allows you to snap to the ruler increments. To modify specific dimensions, click on a feature (either on the model or in the FeatureManager) to bring up the associated dimensions, and then click and drag the drag handles (blue dots).ĭuring these drag operations, a ruler appears on the screen. The appropriate dimensions will be modified and the model will update. When enabled, there are several different ways Instant3D can be used.Ĭlick and drag the arrows that appear when a face or edge is selected.

It is located on the right side of the Features tab on the CommandManager and it is enabled by default. It allows for models to be dynamically modified in 3D and updated – you guessed it – instantly.

Instant3D has been around since 2008, so if you have been a SOLIDWORKS user for a while, chances are you have used it at some point. Many experienced SOLIDWORKS users aren’t exactly clear on what these tools do AND when it can be helpful to turn them off, so here’s an overview. Do you use Instant3D and Instant2D when modeling in SOLIDWORKS? If you’re not sure, you’re not alone.
