Mastering SolidWorks: The Design Approach, 3rd Edition

Chapter 8

Curves

8.1 Introduction

Curves form the backbone of geometric modeling to create solid models. A sketch consists of multiple curves that are connected to form closed contours (loops). Loops may be nested. A sketch that consists of only one contour generates a solid without holes, whereas a sketch with multiple contours generates a solid with holes in it. Figure 8.1 shows examples. Figure 8.1A shows a one-contour sketch. You can create a sketch with only one-level nesting (i.e., an outside contour with one or more disconnected contours inside it), as shown in Figure 8.1B. However, if you attempt to use more than one-level nesting, as shown in Figure 8.1C, the solid creation operation fails.

The first figure shows a rectangle that ...