SolidWorks 2011 Parts Bible - Matt Lombard [195]
Tip
Figure 13.18 shows various settings for displaying the icons in the Design Library. Which one you select will depend on your screen resolution, the number of icons that you want to display, and the quality of the preview images.
FIGURE 13.18
Display modes for the Design Library
The real test for a library feature comes when you actually use it. This feature is re-created perfectly on the new part, but I have noticed one problem. When the feature was placed, it was 90 degrees away from the orientation that I wanted it to be in. It seems that the only way to make the feature rotatable is to create it with parallel and perpendicular relations rather than horizontal and vertical ones, so that one of the references can act as a rotation reference. Figure 13.19 shows the completed library feature placed on a part.
FIGURE 13.19
The completed library feature placed on a part
Once you place a library feature on a part, it can be edited unless you select the Link to library part option in the Configuration pane, in which case the feature is driven externally from the *.sldlfp file. The Link to library part option is only available when the feature is first placed; it is not available when you edit an existing library feature in a part.
One of the available RMB menu options is to dissolve the library feature so that all the constituent features become regular features in the main part. Doing this on a configured library feature will destroy the configurations.
Creating a library feature from an existing part
When creating a library feature from an existing part, you use essentially the same process, but it is somewhat more difficult to achieve the correct results. It is best to remove all the features that do not either form the base feature or go into the library feature itself. This can cause many broken references. Most parts are not modeled with creating a library feature in mind, and creating library features with effective references, as I mentioned earlier, is like a chess match and requires some forethought. It may be better to use a different technique, such as creating a new part with only the base feature. You can then Ctrl+drag the desired features from the existing part to the new part, set up the rest of the library feature, and save it with a *.sldlfp extension.
You can also create a library feature by dragging and dropping, although there are some limitations with this technique that seem to override the convenience. However, there is a workaround for the biggest limitation. If you select faces from features and drag them into the lower Design Library window, an Add to Library PropertyManager interface appears to enable you to start creating a library feature. The Add to Library PropertyManager interface is shown in Figure 13.20. You must select the features from the flyout FeatureManager. This is the source of one of the limitations. In the example, the plane cannot be selected by this method. The workaround for this is to complete the feature without the plane, right-click the icon in the Design Library window, and then select Open. With the library feature open in its own window, right-click the plane feature and select Add to Library; that individual feature is then added.
FIGURE 13.20
The Add to Library PropertyManager interface
Adding folders to the library
You can add folders to the library in two ways, either by right-clicking in the Design Library window and selecting New Folder or by using the Windows Explorer interface. Another RMB menu option is Add Existing Folder, which enables you to add a folder from another location to the library. The folder is not moved or copied, but a shortcut is added to the Design Library and the contents appear