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FIGURE 11.7

The Modify dialog box

Modify has three options for configuring dimensions: This Configuration, All Configurations, and Specify Configurations. The All Configuration is the default option. Choosing the Specify Configurations option opens a dialog box, which is shown in Figure 11.8.

FIGURE 11.8

Using the Specify Configurations dialog box to change a dimension in multiple configurations

Using Negative dimensions

A negative dimension serves only to change the direction of the dimension, and then the negative dimension is discarded; it does not stay with the dimension. An equation that results in a negative dimension will flip the sense of the dimension every time it is rebuilt. This may be a useful trick, but will probably serve as an annoyance for most modeling situations. When you put a negative dimension in a Modify dialog box, the dimension changes sense (direction) and the negative sign disappears after one rebuild. If you put a negative dimension into a Modify Configurations dialog box, it will also disappear, and change the direction of the dimension for all configurations. When you enter a negative dimension into a design table, the negative is retained (until the next time you open the design table), and the sense of the dimension is retained only for the configs to which you assigned negative dimension values.

Note

This design table functionality is something that arouses my suspicion. I would not build a design intent scenario based on negative dimensions in design tables. The functionality seems unintentional, unstable, or otherwise subject to change.

Negative dimensions can only be assigned to sketch dimensions, not to feature dimensions. You cannot change the extrusion direction by making the blind depth negative. If you use Instant 3D to change the direction of an extrude, be careful, because this may change a boss to a cut in addition to making it go in the other direction.

Using the Modify Configurations dialog box

The Modify Configurations dialog box, shown in Figure 11.9, enables you to create and modify configured features and dimensions in a more organized way than by using the simple manual methods described earlier, but without getting involved in an Excel-based design table, described later in this chapter. Do not confuse the Modify Configurations dialog box with the Modify dialog box, which is used to change dimensions.

FIGURE 11.9

Using the Modify Configurations dialog box to configure a feature

You can access the Modify Configurations dialog box by right-clicking a dimension or feature you want to drive via configurations and selecting Configure Dimension or Configure Feature.

With the Modify Configurations dialog box active, double-click a dimension to add it to the configured features list. You can add configurations on the fly by typing in the appropriate box, and change values or states of features by double-clicking and entering numbers or selecting the check box in the appropriate column.

The Modify Configurations interface is still a relatively new part of the software. I still tend to use either the manual or Excel-based techniques. I have not yet found a use for the middle ground offered by the Modify Configurations dialog box, but I can see where it might be valuable for people who might want to configure a couple of features without getting involved in a big spreadsheet. It might also be valuable to people who do not have Excel available on their computer but want to create a more structured way to manage configuration data.

In addition, I should mention that much folklore exists surrounding what is perceived as a problematic relationship between Excel and SolidWorks. Some users claim that Excel often causes SolidWorks to crash. Beyond that, many workplaces may not have Excel available to them, either because of the cost or because they use a non-Microsoft solution for spreadsheet applications. These users still want the functionality of design tables even if Excel is not installed on