SolidWorks® 2009 Bible

Chapter 21. Working with Drawing Views

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Creating common view types

• Creating other view types

• Using display options in views

• Distinguishing views from sheets

• Tutorial: Working with view types, settings, and options

Twelve years ago, when I first moved from AutoCAD to SolidWorks, one of the most difficult concepts to understand was that in SolidWorks you do not create lines in the drawing view, and in fact, you cannot move any of the lines in the view at all. The drawing view was in effect a snapshot of the 3D model from a particular point of view. The snapshot could be updated, but it could not be manipulated manually.

At first, this seemed a little bit confining. However, once I understood it, the concept became liberating rather than confining. It meant that I did not have to worry about the drawing views being inconsistent or incorrect. All I had to worry about was the 3D model being correct.

If you are a new user, then you should feel confident that SolidWorks properly maintains the views better than you could do it manually. Any type of view from any point of view of even the most complex model or assembly geometry can be updated perfectly.

To be fair, there are some things that SolidWorks has difficulties with, but knowing this now means that you will be ready for these issues and know how to deal with them when or if they occur. One issue arises from assemblies that contain parts that interfere. HLR (hidden lines removed) display of interfering parts can show extra lines ...