Drawings are used to document 3D models in the traditional 2D format. These drawings display dimensions, Bill of Materials, and other instructions needed for manufacturing. In this course, you’ll learn that the parametric relationship between the 3D model and 2D drawing file lets you make edits quickly and efficiently, making SOLIDWORKS drawings a valuable tool in design and development.
For example, if you’re designing a race car, you can use SOLIDWORKS to convey the necessary design information to the manufacturer. For race cars, it’s crucial to manufacture the chassis correctly because a small design error can compromise its integrity. Using drawing tools in SOLIDWORKS can detail every necessary drawing view to show the manufacturer all angles of the chassis. Adding hole callouts to your drawings is also important as it delineates the hardware needed for the holes and properly communicates design intent to the manufacturer. The hatching tool allows you to see which areas of the race car’s chassis are hollow, revealing how structurally stable the chassis is at specific locations.
Sticking with the race car example, once it’s time for assembly, you can use the assembly drawings tool to tell the manufacturer the number of components your design includes. Use assembly exploded views to define the assembly order and methods. An accurate Bill of Materials itemizes the components of an assembly to guarantee the discovery of missing parts and prevent costly delays.
Related Article: Top 5 FAQs About SOLIDWORKS 2D Drawings
Since race cars have hundreds of components, you can create drawing templates to standardize the drawings you send out for manufacturing. Developing drawing templates with predefined views helps you to standardize drawings across departments and decrease design time. Make sure these templates contain the views you most often use and/or industry standard views (front, top, and right). You can even modify the template to include a custom font, color, and logo to suit your team’s needs.
Using the drawings tool in SOLIDWORKS, you can clearly communicate detailed information between designer and manufacturer in 2D format. This SOLIDWORKS Drawings course will ensure you, know how to place standard and derived drawing views, dimension and annotate drawings, create drawing templates and sheet formats, and create tables.
