Year of the Angle Dimension – Part 5 – Take a 180

This entry is part 5 of 5 in the series SOLIDWORKS 2015 - Year of the Angle Dimension

What do you do when you need to create an angle dimension at 180 degrees? Maybe you need a 180 degree angle driving dimension between two sketch lines for sketch mechanisms. Maybe you just want to show the relationship between two parts of an assembly at a particularly point in their motion relative to each other, expressed as configurations. Or, maybe you just want to create a 180 degree angle, just because. Previously, you were blocked from creating such a dimension directly. In order to create a 180 degree dimension, you had to move some geometry (sketch line, components, features) slightly off 180 degrees, create your dimension, then edit whatever was necessary in order to restore the 180 degree angle.

SOLIDWORKS 2015 Smart Dimension tool now supports the creation 180 degree dimensions directly. No longer is it necessary to use the workaround. For sketches, the two lines that form the rays of the 180 degree angle must either share a vertex, or be separated where a vertex is inferred from their intersection.  Just start the Smart Dimesnion tool and select two colinear non-overlapping entities, and a 180 degree angle will be generated for you.

180 DEGREES

 

Adding your ideas to SOLIDWORKS World 2015 Top Ten list is easy

SOLIDWORKS World 2015 in Phoenix, AZ is just over 100 days away.  A tradition of SOLIDWORKS World is the Top Ten list, inwhich customers submit their ideas on how SOLIDWORKS can be improved for them, and then vote for their favorites.  The top ten vote getters are announced on the mainstage at SOLIDWORKS World.  It’s easy to submit ideas.  You don’t have to be attending SOLIDWORKS World to submit or vote.  Input from all customes is welcome.  Here’s a short video.


If you have an idea, here’s somethings you can do to improve the attention your ideas gets:

  • Your idea’s title should be a complete thought.  For example, “Ability to change colors for sketch lines on-the-fly” is much better than “Change colors”.
  • Your idea’s description can be as long or as short as you need.
  • You can add images to illustrate your ideas.
  • Break out separate ideas into separate submissions, even if they are related.  For example, you may have several ideas on how to improve Weld Symbols, such as improving the interface, adding new symbols, and adding new controls.  Although those these are all regarding the same tool, they are really three different ideas, each of which deserves to be voted upon separately by everyone.
  • Quickly respond to comments posted by others on your ideas.

I also recommend commenting on other ideas you like, dislike or feel needs more clarificaiton.

Have fun with your submissions at SWW15 Top Ten List (don’t forget you’ll have to sign in to the SOLIDWORKS Forums before you can submit).  And when the polls open, vote early and vote often (on as many ideas as you wish).

Year of the Angle Dimension (Part 4): Symmetricality

This entry is part 4 of 5 in the series SOLIDWORKS 2015 - Year of the Angle Dimension

Previous releases of SOLIDWORKS introduced linear dimensions in sketches that can be applied symmetrically when created across a centerline.   Further enhancements saw smarter behavior, where the selected centerline is remembered for multiple dimensions created in sequence.  For SOLIDWORKS 2015, you can create multiple half and full symmetric angular dimensions without selecting the centerline each time.


Angle with centerlineTo create a symmetrical angle dimension:

  1. In a sketch with a centerline and lines or points, click Smart Dimension at Tools>Dimensions>Smart.
  2. Select the centerline and another line which is at an angle to that centerline.
  3. To create a half angle dimension, move the mouse cursor to the desired location and click to place, as previously.  However, to create a full angle dimension (across the centerline), hold down the SHIFT key.
  4. Drag the mouse cursor (along with the previewed dimension) to the opposite side of the centerline.  As you do so, a preview of the angle dimension will appear symmetrically about the centerline.
  5. Click to place dimension as desired.
  6. Keep holding down the SHIFT key and select other lines at angles to the centerline.  Angle dimensions to the centerline will automatically generate and will allow you make more symmetric angle dimensions successively.

Year of the Angle Dimension – Part 3 – Goodbye Zero

This entry is part [part not set] of 5 in the series SOLIDWORKS 2015 - Year of the Angle Dimension

When you use angles that are set to deg/min and deg/min/sec, there are often times when you’ll have zero (0) for one of the levels of units.  For example, an angle may be 43 degrees, 0 minutes and 20 seconds.  This is displayed as 43° 0′ 20″.  For many people, the 0 minutes is redundent and unnecessary.  SOLIDWORKS 2015 now has an option that allows you to show only the unit levels that have a non-zero value.  For this example, the display is 43° 20″.  This new setting can found at Tools>Options>Document Properties>Dimensions/Angle, and named “Remove units with 0 value for deg/min and deg/min/sec”.

Year of the Angle Dimension – Part 2 – Flipping out (and over)

This entry is part 2 of 5 in the series SOLIDWORKS 2015 - Year of the Angle Dimension

In SOLIDWORKS 2015, there are two methods to change (flip) an angle dimension.

Vertically Opposite Angle

You can now flip any placed angle dimension to its vertically opposite angle.   This is useful when you wish to place the entire angle dimension outside of the model edges.

  1. Right-click on the angle to bring up the right-click menu.
  2. Select Display Options, then Vertically Opposite Angle.

Original angle dimension   Vertically Opposite Angle

Explementary Angle

You can now flip any placed angle dimension to its explementary angle.  Here is a way overly complex video about explementary angles.  Here’s a simpler explanation straight from the dictionary.

  1. Right-click on the angle to bring up the right-click menu.
  2. Select Display Options, then Explementary Angle.

Original angle dimension   Explementary Angle

Choose Explementary or Vertically Opposite in dimension preview

When creating an angle dimension with Smart Dimension tool, you can now choose between the explementary angle or the vertically opposite angle during the preview by holding down the ALT key when the mouse is in the vertically opposite region.  In SOLIDWORKS 2014 and prior, you were only offered the explementary angle.

Year of the Angle Dimension – Part 1 – Imaginary Rays

This entry is part 1 of 5 in the series SOLIDWORKS 2015 - Year of the Angle Dimension

There was a heavy focus on expanding functionality of angle dimensions using the Smart Dimension tool in SOLIDWORKS 2015.  These enhancements streamline drawing detailing and sketch creation tasks.  Here’s the first of such enhancements.

There is a long standing request for the ability to apply angle dimensions where one ray is aligned to geometry (model edge or sketch line) and the other ray is along an imaginary vertical or horizontal direction.  In SOLIDWORKS 2015, there is a new capability with Smart Dimension tool that enables you to create this type of angle dimension.

  1. Start the Smart Dimension tool.
  2. In a drawing view, select a model edge.
    Select edge
  3. Select a collinear and adjacent point (vertex or sketch point).Select vertex
  4. A crosshair appears over the selected point.  Select one of the crosshair’s segments.
    Select crosshair segment
  5. A preview of the angle dimension appears.
    Preview of angle dim
  6. Click to place the dimension.
    New Angle Dimension type