Dragging a View

Dragging a view can sometimes be frustrating. You must hover over a view to get the bounding box to show up, then select the border, or select an edge of the model. A more convenient way of doing this is to hold down the ‘Alt’ key. With the ‘Alt’ key selected, selecting anywhere in the view moves it (except for on an annotation or view callouts, like a Detail Circle).

Where is a View?

Getting all the information you need on a drawing may require creating multiple view types. This could include Parent/Child views, i.e., detail, section, and auxiliary views. This could also lead to multiple drawing sheets. Determining where an associated view is located can be tricky, especially on multi-sheet drawings. Enter, Location Labels. Location Labels indicate where a child’s parent view (or parent’s child view) is located on the drawing.

Located under Insert 🡪 Annotations (or use the handy ‘Search Commands’ tool), simply select the view itself to add a Location Label to a child view.

To add one to a parent view, choose the detail circle, cutting line, or view arrow.

By default, the annotation will appear as a split balloon with the sheet number on top and the zone on the bottom. You can modify this in the Property Manager (see the previous 2 images). You can also change it in the Document Properties. Please note that this applies to any newly added Location Labels in the file.  And of course, you can save those changes into your templates for future use, if you want.

Wrapping Up

Knowing how to efficiently drag a view and create labels to effectively find a view will hopefully help make the creation and navigation of your drawings a little more manageable. These are just a few tips, but I also have a SOLIDWORKS drawings tips webinar you should check out. We also have thousands of videos on our YouTube channel and many more blogs to check out on our blog.

Ryan Field
Sr. Application Engineer
Computer Aided Technology

Detailing Multiple Bodies

With the cut-list I can still balloon to the bodies to point at their location just like a bill of material.

The next step is breaking out each body into its own view. To do this, copy the view and reselect it to get the option to “Select Bodies”.

Select one body, and say ok.

From here we can re-orientate our view to face forward and project the other sides as necessary. Of course, we should add some dimensions and put on a balloon. The balloon for the view is still linked to the original cut list, so the item number will work correctly. If you would like to reorder the cut list, the balloon will update.

Repeat the procedure for the bodies that need extra detailing work. This should simplify the workflow as I don’t have to break out each body to their own part file and reassemble it into an assembly for a bill of material. I have now accomplished that from my cut list using “Select Bodies”. There are of course reasons to do that, but in this case, once each section is secured together, it becomes “One Part”. I can pick it up any body and move it around as one solid unit and each stack will be a different part with varying heights. It is up to the design team how they would like to define “A Part”, and I leave that choice up to you.

Craig Maurer
Elite Applications Engineer
Computer Aided Technology

Within SOLIDWORKS document properties, there is not an option to show a prime or double prime on non-fractional numbers. So, I’m going to use dimension styles to add double prime to my drawing dimensions. To get started I’m going to open up a drawing that I’ve already created.

STEP 1. Select the dimensions to add the double prime symbol to.

STEP 2. From the Dimension Property Manager window type in double prime(”) to the Dimension Text box.

STEP 3.  Select Add or Update a Style, as shown in the example below.

Give the Dimension Style a descriptive name and select OK.

Once the Dimension Style has been added we can now go back and save the Dimension Style. Saving the Dimension Style will create an external file that can be placed in a file location of your choosing. Creating a custom Styles folder is recommended to keep files organized and easy to locate for future use.

Notice that the Dimension Style file type is different from a template file that would usually hold changed Document Properties. Dimensions Styles are a unique file type and they do not have a pre-designated file location in SOLIDWORKS.

Select any of the remaining dimensions that should adopt the new Dimension Style and choose the newly saved style from the Styles drop-down box. You can select dimensions individually or ctrl + select specific dimensions you would like to change. Once you choose the saved Dimensions Style you’ll see the changes propagate to the selected dimensions.

Dimension Styles can capture any customizable information that you want from the Dimension Property Manager. Don’t forget that there are 3 tabs to the Dimensions Property Manager: Value, Leaders, and Other.

To revert back to the default settings for the dimensions select: Apply the default attributes to selected dimensions

To add an existing Dimension Style to other drawing files select the dimensions to change and from the Dimension Property Manager select: Load Style and then navigate to the folder location where you saved your custom style files(*.sldstl).

Dimension Styles are super handy when you have to go back and update annotations in old files, add custom call-outs to multiple files, or maintain different annotation preferences for different projects. Using Styles will save you time from changing each dimension individually, especially, if you are working across multiple files or projects. Dimension Styles are not the only style type you can use to increase efficiency. There are Styles for Notes, Geometric Tolerances Symbols, Surface Finish Symbols, and Weld Symbols.

For more information on Styles check out: SOLIDWORKS Styles.

For more information on how to increase efficiency in drawings check out: Automate Drawings with Predefined Views.

Sara Hollett
Application Engineer
Computer Aided Technology

“There is no information that you can put in a Drawing that you can’t put in a 3D model”

I know that will get a reaction and some of you may cry foul. It has long been commented by those opposing MBD that a Drawing is needed to completely document a part for manufacturing. The Drawing contains the standard notes, title block information including Part Number, Revision, signed approvals (authorization), dates , material specs, even a proprietary legal statement. But we can document them without a Drawing.

So can we have a single file that would integrate all the data you would but into a Drawing and the contain the 3D model? Yes, you can. You can embed all the information from a Drawing into the 3D model and have a single source of the truth for manufacturing and quality – the SLDPRT. And all the information is consumable in a in the free viewer eDrawings. The ability to document a physical part, create the toolpaths needed to manufacture, and create inspection documentation can all be had in the one SLDPRT file type. Not that I like to draw comparisons to ancient Drafting software, but this is kind of like the old days where one file had paper space and model space to define a part.

We all know that SOLIDWORKS has DimXpert to dimension a model in 3D space. I always tell people that we model for Design Intent, and we break a model into features to make it easy to edit. That means that our sketch dimensions aren’t necessarily what the manufacturing people need to see. We can document those dimensions in the 3D model with DimXpert. But that is a pretty well known capability.

So let’s focus on some of the lesser known capabilities SOLIDWORKS has to offer here like all the important information that goes into the title block. The ability to embed a Title Block came out with the introduction of MBD way back in 2015, but you don’t need a MBD license to use this function. That Title Block is going to look and behave just like you would expect. It will contain approvals, dates, and model metadata. For those of you using PDM, all the approvals and metadata will interact with 3D Title Block the same way it would on a drawing. When you couple that with the ability to add your standard note block, there is no information missing that would necessitate a Drawing. Here is what it would look like when opened in SOLIDWORKS. The Title Block and standard notes are associated with the “Notes Area” annotation view which can be set to “Show on Open”, ensuring the information is not hidden.

From a licensing standpoint, it is functionality that is embedded in all levels of SOLIDWORKS so you can experiment with this using the license you already own. The MBD license gives you the ability to organize all this data into easy to consume 3D Views. Much like the old paper Drawings had a Front, Top and Right view we can create 3D Views that have the same information in them. You can see in the screenshot above that I have multiple view icons across the bottom to represent and give quick access to those views.

All this information is consumable in the free Version of eDrawings as well. Including access to the predefined 3D Views.

I think it goes without saying that I am an advocate for Model Based Design. In fact, check out a CATI podcast where Nick, Bryan and I discuss the value of drawings and whether or not we need them in the modern world.

Just to fess up though, there are a couple of shortcomings with MBD that involve tables that can’t go into a 3D Model. The Weldment CutList, Punch List and the Hole Tables are not available for insertion into 3D. The Weldment Cutlist can be had by using a BOM though. Indented BOMs with a “Detailed Cut List” option will have the proper info as long as there is a Length column.

Hopefully, I have piqued your interest enough to investigate MBD as an option. I think you’ll see it is a comprehensive option for documenting your models without the need for a secondary file. Even SOLIDWORKS Inspection can create reports directly off the 3D!

Jay Pinheiro
Manager, Strategic Solutions
Computer Aided Technology

For our top-level assembly BOMs, we can select additional configurations to show the Quantity for each component per configuration.

For example, our Test Assembly has 3 configurations, named Configuration1, Configuration2 and Configuration3.

Configuration 1 has components A, B, C and D

Configuration 2 has components A, B and (2) C components

Configuration 3 has (2) A components, (2) B Components and (2) D Components.

Lets jump to our drawing and create a Bill of Material using Configuration1.

To show additional configurations in the BOM, the BOM must be a Top Level BOM type.

To add a QTY column for the other configurations, expand the Configuration field and select which Configurations to include in the BOM. The Bill of Materials fills in with the quantity of each component per configuration.

We need to add the Configuration name to each of the QTY columns. Right click on any of the QTY cells and select ‘Show all configurations’.

The column headers now show the Configuration name and QTY.

This BOM clearly communicates the differences between configurations in your design.

Laura Nickerson, CSWE
Application Engineer
Computer Aided Technology

This worked out really well for making parts and getting a general idea of how things would fit together, but the main issue is that my drawing is lacking in important details that I could get if I used weldments. This is my bill of materials for the part if I used a multibody design:

Here is my bill of material for the assembly and as you can see, I do not get any detail about the cut lengths:

Even if I would have done each part as a strict bottom-up assembly, I would not get any cut details. The bill of materials (BOM), however, would be much better and look something like this and give me a quantity is a plus:

Also, a cut-list is not available as a table option, and I would have to manually add those values into the part property field to pull those numbers into the BOM. Talk about time consuming and imagine all the work you do just in time for a change.

I got useful things out of my first iteration like footprint, what combination of boards to use, but I really wanted a cut-list with that information and just a multi-body part was not going to get me there. To show you the differences I then made the whole thing again but using just weldments as much as possible. First step was to created weldment profiles of the cross-sections of the boards that I will be using as I did not have those in my library yet.

Next, I drew out the base block and tied those dimensions to my Length and Width planes that were set up from my past article. The height is going to be taken care of with the weldment profile, so at this point we will not have to tie anything to that plane.

I made each section its own part to help with the BOM at the assembly level. The resulting part looks identical to my first iteration, which is my goal to compare these methods.

There is no physical difference of my part, but I can get more data out of my tables using the weldment design methods. In short, a weldment table acts as a PART bill of materials for weldments and sheet metal. I also get cut-lengths of each piece from my part, and SOLIDWORKS also knows which parts are unique from each other and groups them accordingly. Items 2, 3, and 4 all have the same length, but different holes for the handles and location boards.

Now I can save, copy the file, and change the weldment features to get different heights of the jerk block sections to make the other height segments. Then to the Assembly where everything fits together.

The drawing BOM for the assembly does not look much different. With each section being its own part file instead of configuration, I can be more specific with my naming convention.

Weldments set-up time was a little bit longer because I had to make the weldment profiles, but I can always use those for my next project. On the other hand, the amount of useful detail that I can get from this method far exceeds the small amount of time I had to spend making the profiles. My drawing is much simpler, and I could detail each body if I needed to, so that is not a limitation. Easily seeing my cut-list and lengths without needing a detailed drawing of each body or part can help speed up your drawing time, but this will depend on the facility. A cut-list gives me a nice readable table that makes setting up my stops a lot easier and I can sort my cut-list for length of cut or by description or using them both in combination. It really depends on how your shop is set up and what might be the best method for your fabricators. Having all that information on one page is far superior to looking at multiple pages of part drawings.

I wanted to use the same model to help you understand the differences in just modeling methods. Bottom up gave me a good BOM, but I must hunt for each piece for the drawings, and it still lacked in a cut-list. Muti-body gave me more flexibility with configurations, and I did not have to keep individual part files in order. Again, I did not get an easy-to-read cut-list. Using weldments gave me the nice multi-body design approach, I was able to use different part files for my assembly BOM, and I get a much-welcomed cut-list.

Craig Maurer
Elite Applications Engineer
Computer Aided Technology

Getting Started

Start by selecting File > New and choosing the drawing template you want to use. You may choose from any standard or custom template you’ve created or that may have been provided to you by your company. You may also create a new drawing template, but to keep things simple I’m going to demonstrate using A Size ANSI Landscape in millimeters. In our new drawing file, navigate to the Drawing tab on the  Command Manager and look for Predefined View.

Adding and Customizing Predefined Views

As we place the Predefined Views, they will appear as blank drawing views until we select an assembly or part. So, keep in mind the drawing views will not have any graphical preview or feedback just yet. Select Predefined View and place your empty view box on your drawing sheet. From the property window, I’ll select my first view to have the Front Orientation and I’m going to Import my Design annotations. Selecting Design annotations will allow SOLIDWORKS to import your parametric data into your drawing view.

Scroll down the property window to set the Display Style to Hidden Lines Visible and keep the Scale the same as the sheet scale. Then click OK or the green checkmark.

With the Front view in place, you can now place more Predefined Views or create Projected Views of Font Predefined View. Projected Views stay aligned with their parent views helping to keep the drawing sheet organized. These views will also appear blank until a model is added. From the Drawings tab, I’ll select Projected View and add 1 blank view to the right side of the Front view. Notice in the picture below how the blank views are aligned and parent view properties are maintained.

I have one last Predefined View to place and this view is going to represent the final product. Again go to the Drawing tab > Predefined View and place the view box on the drawing sheet. This time selecting the Isometric view and leaving the Import Annotations checkbox cleared. I also want to change the display style to Shaded and then click OK to accept my changes.

Using Your New Drawing

The best way to get the most out of this setup is to save this new drawing as a template. By saving this drawing as a template you can reuse this setup over and over again to create multiple drawing files. Go to File > Save As > File name: Give a descript name to your new template > Save as type: click the drop-down arrow and look for Drawing Templates file type(*.drwdot). Before you hit Save make sure you are saving to a designated SOLIDWORKS Template location.

I have a part that is ready to be placed into a drawing. Go to Make Drawing from Part/Assembly located on the New document drop-down menu.

Chose the Predefined Drawing Template.

Once the drawing is open just verify that your drawing views are set up correctly and you’re done. There are multiple ways to insert models into the predefined views. Each view property window has an Insert Model Browse option when the Predefined Views are still blank. You may also drag and drop files on the drawing sheet from the task pane or file explorer. In the picture below you can see my predefined views with different display styles, view orientations, and annotations.

Creating templates using Predefined Views is a great way to automate standard or projected views and get the most out of your Solidworks tools. Try introducing Predefined views in your workflow so you can work smarter not harder.

Sara Hollett
Application Engineer
Computer Aided Technology

What is SOLIDWORKS API and what can it do?

The SOLIDWORKS API, or Application Programming Interface, allows the automation of repetitive and tedious tasks within SOLIDWORKS. Custom applications using the SOLIDWORKS API can be as simple or as complex as desired, for instance, the API can be used to create simple macros. Macro’s, at their core, are just a preprogrammed sequence of events. Sequences of mouse clicks can be recorded and automatically inserted into a new macro by using the SOLIDWORKS macro recorder. Simply start the recorder and then perform the set of actions you’d like repeated. That will produce a very simple VBA macro that can be replayed at any time.

More functionality can then be added to a macro by editing it in the built-in VBA macro editor. All sorts of things can be added, including logic and intelligence, prompts to the user to send warnings and other information or to gather user input and selections. SOLIDWORKS Standard, Professional, and Premium all come with the ability to use, create, and modify macros.

It is also possible to create more complex applications by using C#, VB.net, or C++. These programming languages can be used to create custom add-ins and stand-alone applications that can launch and run SOLIDWORKS without a user’s interaction. See below for an example of a custom SOLIDWORKS add-in.

Ok, but can you be more specific about what the API can do?

The API can be used for anything that can save a designer time. It can also be used to accomplish things that normally could not be done by SOLIDWORKS. Such as inserting a user coordinate system at a specified X, Y, Z location or setting a file to automatically perform additional actions whenever the model is rebuilt, such as updating a general table. Other interesting ideas are adding a watermark or some visible label to a part model that cannot be deleted or removed. BOM tables can be exported to CSV or Excel. Custom properties can be populated from an Excel spreadsheet. And the list goes on.

It is important to note that SOLIDWORKS macros are based on VBA. This is the same language used by Excel. So, if you have ever made an Excel macro, the concept is the same in SOLIDWORKS. The main difference is that SOLIDWORKS has its own set of API calls (contained within a VBA reference library) that are used to interact with SOLIDWORKS, just as Excel has its own set of calls for interacting with spreadsheets.

Creating your program as an add-in instead of a macro can provide several benefits. For instance, they can be more stable, run faster, and be more reliably updated for new releases of SOLIDWORKS. Also, some things just work better as an add-in. The downside for many is that they take more programming experience to create, and the upfront effort is greater.

When should I consider turning to the SOLIDWORKS API for a solution?

The best use cases for creating an application using the SOLIDWORKS API are:

1. Performing repetitive or tedious tasks.
2. To perform an action or series of actions that are not available inside the SOLIDWORKS or PDM user interfaces.
3. To save money by not having to manually do all of the above every day, one click at a time.
4. Eliminating user error by automating tasks.

You said something about automating SOLIDWORKS PDM?

SOLIDWORKS PDM has its own API, and it’s just as powerful as the SOLIDWORKS API. The main difference is that there are no PDM macros. There are only add-ins and stand-alone applications. This means it must be programmed using C#, VB.net, or C++ (no VBA).

Since PDM is focused on file management, references, and tracking data, most custom applications for PDM also focus on those areas. They can manage file references, check things in and out of the vault, send custom notifications, and manipulate data card properties (and much more).

Another great thing, is that custom tasks can be set up for users to run on-demand or can trigger automatically on workflow transition (hopefully you are familiar with PDM workflows?).

Some add-ins are what I call ‘hybrid’ add-ins. These are add-ins in PDM that are designed to utilize both the PDM and SOLIDWORKS APIs. With these, PDM can automatically open files in SOLIDWORKS and perform specific actions. And it can use the information in PDM to determine which files to process. Information PDM can use include bills of materials, where used lists, file references and data card variables.

This section probably deserves its own blog… there is a lot I could write about here.

Ok, I have an idea! …now what?

Planning out your custom application is one of the most important steps – aside from actually getting it working! The first thing you need to do is describe what you want this program to do and write it down. Writing it down will force you to actually define it as opposed to just having an idea in your head that can change over time. It is very important to have a targeted goal in mind, even for the simplest of macros.

The 2^nd thing you should do is build an outline. Ok, this is something you can maybe skip if you are just building something quickly or it’s only for yourself. Overall, it’s a little bit like writing a paper. Pick a topic, write a summary, then outline what the program should do. Use plain English and write down step-by-step what the application will do. This will also help when a year from now you’re trying to remember what this thing does.

Here is an example:

Summary: A SOLIDWORKS Add-in, that on the click of a button, will use the value of an existing custom property as the basis for a SQL query in a custom database. It will then use the returned string to automatically create 2 new custom properties in the currently open SOLIDWORKS part file.

Outline:

1. The installed custom SOLIDWORKS add-in will have 1 icon.
2. The add-in will only run on the currently open and active SOLIDWORKS part file.
3. A configuration file will hold the custom property name, SQL query, and SQL connection string.
4. The user must fill in the source custom property before running the add-in.
5. Clicking the button will read the active document’s custom property value and run the SQL query.
6. The values of 2 custom properties are filled in using the information returned by the SQL query.
7. The custom properties will be created if they do not already exist.

In this case, the application was designed as a SOLIDWORKS add-in and would be written in C# programing language. This would allow for better handling of the SQL query than is available using VBA macros.

As you may have noticed, something like this could also be used for ERP integration. A full solution would need to be able to push information to the SQL database instead of (or in addition to) pulling from it.

But I’m not a programmer, can I just have someone make me whatever I want?

Yes! …provided it is possible. CATI has an amazing development staff that is ready to help. Our developers have been programming custom applications for decades. We would follow the same basic process I’ve already discussed, starting with what do you want to accomplish? Can any of it be done already with out-of-the-box functionality in SOLIDWORKS or PDM? Then we’ll help to refine your need and can get started building it for you.

Any recommendations on SOLIDWORKS API design?

The API is an amazing tool to help your designers and potentially other departments in your organization. The API is not intended to replace your designers, it is intended to increase their productivity. I usually recommend starting with one main goal for automation and then if you need more, to grow it from there. Many people try to put too much into an application at once and the scope can either grow out of control or never get finalized. It is often easier to pick a starting point, use it for a while to figure out if there are any other enhancements you would like made, and then do both the enhancements and additions at a later time.

I hope this has helped clear up what the API is and how it could benefit you. It has so much flexibility, if you are looking for more information, the online help files are available here: Welcome – 2022 – SOLIDWORKS API Help.

Regards,

Joe Phillips
Application Engineer II
Computer Aided Technology

Greg Buter wrote a great blog on Promoting subassemblies in a SOLIDWORKS BOM – check it out here.

But, what happens when, weeks later, we need to ‘undo’ that Promote and restore the subassembly in the BOM?  Our friend “Undo” is not available, and unfortunately, there is no Un-Promote command.

Panicking …… Is this a permanent change? No, it is not.

Let’s go through all the steps, first, Promoting a subassembly in a BOM, then undo-ing the Promote and restoring the subassembly in the BOM.

Here is our initial Feature tree and BOM in a drawing showing the (2) MS-PNC3MN (Free CYLINDER ASSEMBLY) components.  They are shown with a Flexible icon.  The Cylinder Assembly contains 3 components.

To Promote:
In the drawing’s BOM, Right-Click on the subassembly icon in the expanded left column, select Component Options.

Under Child Component, select Promote to move the components of the MS-PNC3MN Cylinder Assembly up a level in the assembly.  In this case, they move to the Top-Level.

The BOM shows the 3 components of the MS-PNC3MN Cylinder Assembly are now at the Top-Level and line items are added to the bottom of the BOM.  The line item for the subassembly MS-PNC3MN has been removed.

Weeks go by and we decide that it is better to show the MS-PNC3MN Cylinder as a subassembly in the BOM.  How do we Un-Promote the subassembly?

Open the Top-Level assembly and notice the Feature Tree – there is no change.
The MS-PNC3MN (Free Cylinder) subassembly is still intact and has the 3 subcomponents.

Open the subassembly that has been previously Promoted, (MS-PNC3MN (Free CYLINDER ASSEMBLY)), and go to its Configuration Manager.
Right-Click on the active configuration and select Properties.  We see this configuration’s Child Component Display are set to Promote.

Change the Child Component Display setting to Show and accept the change.

Go back to the BOM in the drawing and the subassembly has been restored!

It is important to note – the configuration’s Child Component Display setting is retained for all new and existing BOMs where it is referenced. Using this configuration in another BOM will keep the last saved setting: Show, Hide, or Promote, for the child components.

Good to know!

Laura Nickerson, CSWE
Application Engineer
Computer Aided Technology

The AutoDimension tool automatically creates Baseline, Continued, and Ordinate dimensions for the selected entities. To select the entities, we enclose them in a Dimensions Bounding Box.

Drag a box around the entities to be dimensioned. We see a dashed line around the selected entities.

The dropdown next to the Bounding Box gives you options to:

• Create a Bounding Box
• Delete the Bounding Box
• Append Items to the Bounding Box;
• Remove Items from the Bounding Box;
• Update the Bounding Box.

With the Bounding Box created and the entities selected, we activate the AutoDimension Tool.

And the AutoDimension Palette shows in the Right Panel:

At least one Dimension Bounding Box must exist in the drawing. DraftSight selects the first Dimension Bounding Box created. To select another Dimension Bounding Box, simply double click it while the AutoDimension command is active, it appears with a dotted line and highlighted orange.

The AutoDimension command creates linear dimensions, however it does not create angular dimensions. It creates radial dimensions for arcs, diameter dimensions for circles. For ellipses, only the ellipse centerpoint is dimensioned.

Example of Baseline dimensions:

Use the Dimension Palette to easily clean up the dimensions. Box select the dimensions and swipe over the Dimension Palette icon.

A window opens with formatting options for the selected dimensions. Select the Auto Arrange option, and use the Slider to adjust the spacing between dimensions.

Example of Continued Dimensions:

Example of Ordinate Dimensions:

Using the AutoDimension command in DraftSight can have a significant savings on the time spent detailing 2D Drawings. For more information about DraftSight and its differentiators over AutoCAD, please see to the following blog:

DraftSight for the AutoCAD User

Laura Nickerson, CSWE
Application Engineer
Computer Aided Technology

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