SolidWorks® 2009 Bible

Chapter 4. Creating Simple Parts, Assemblies, and Drawings

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Discovering Design Intent

• Creating a simple part

• Tutorial: Creating a simple assembly

• Tutorial: Making a simple drawing

When you begin to build a model in SolidWorks, there are a few things to consider before you start. If you spend some time considering what you are doing first, then it will benefit you later in the process. Good modeling practice is based on robust design intent, which just means that you build a part that can adapt easily to changes. This section begins with questions that you need to ask.

Beginning to create simple parts will help you understand techniques used in more complex modeling projects. Learning on simple tools and then expanding your skills helps you to understand best practice issues, which makes you a better contributor to a team environment.

Discovering Design Intent

By asking questions about the part's function before you start modeling or designing, you can create a model that will be easier to edit, easier to properly place into an assembly, easier to detail in drawings, and easier for other SolidWorks users to understand when someone else has to work on your models. Sometimes you will be able to find answers for the questions, and other times not. Whether you are doing the modeling for someone else, or doing the design and modeling for yourself may make a difference in how you approach the modeling task.

The purpose of these questions is to help you establish design intent. The ...