SolidWorks 2011 Parts Bible - Matt Lombard [204]
FIGURE 14.13
Using the Title Block function
You can access the Title Block to edit or define it by right-clicking in the Sheet Format (while editing the Sheet Format, not the sheet) and selecting either Define Title Block or Edit Title Block, as the situation requires.
The Title Block can be any size you like, but it must remain rectangular, and you can only create one Title Block area per sheet format. The area bounded by the Title Block box is used to zoom the display to make it easier to fill in the text boxes. If you want to include areas in different corners of the drawing in the Title Block area, you will need to make the Title Block box as big as the entire sheet, and the user will have to manually zoom to each corner.
Select each Note item to add it to the list in the PropertyManager selection box. Use the arrows to the left of the box to assign the order in which the user cycles through the boxes. The idea is that the user clicks in a box within the Title Block area, fills it in, then presses Enter or Tab to get to the next box. The order will loop if the user does not start on the first box listed in the PropertyManager.
On the DVD
You will find a sample template with a format with a Title Block definition added to it on the DVD. The file is called title block.drwdot. Add it to your template library folder and try it out.
Creating a format from a blank screen
SolidWorks is not good at manipulating a lot of 2D sketch-line data, such as what you find when drawing title blocks. I have gone through the process of making my own formats, as well as the process of importing DWG data from which to create them. If you choose to custom build one size and then use it to create the rest of the sizes, you need to be patient. SolidWorks typically turns off the most useful parametric sketch functions when working with a format (what SolidWorks considers a large sketch) because of speed problems. If you would like to turn on these settings, you can find them by choosing Tools⇒Sketch Settings.
If you insist on creating your own borders and title blocks, set aside some time for it and have an idea of what you are trying to achieve, maybe sketched out by hand or in a printout of a title block that you would like to replicate. You can also use the free 2D tools DWG Editor or DraftSight, which are much better suited to this kind of work.
The Modify Sketch tool may be useful for moving entities around the screen, and even scaling them. You can also access a useful hidden command by right-clicking the name of the drawing in the FeatureManager and selecting Move from the menu, as shown in Figure 14.14. A small dialog box appears that enables you to move the entire format by a specified distance.
Tip
If you need to use construction geometry to help you size or locate objects or text while manually creating your Sheet Format, then you do not need to delete the geometry when you are done. You can put all the construction geometry on a specially created drawing layer and turn the layer off.
FIGURE 14.14
The Move Drawing dialog box
Creating a format from an imported DWG/DXF file
If you want to create your format from an imported DWG or DXF file, choose File⇒Open to locate the file that you would like to import and then click to open it. The DXF/DWG Import screen appears, as shown in Figure 14.15.
FIGURE 14.15
The DXF/DWG Import screen
You can find the sample files used for this example on the DVD for Chapter 14 if you are interested in following along. You will find five *.dwg format files. You can use any of them to create a format, but I suggest either the A or B size. To make a drawing format, you can select the Create New SolidWorks drawing and Convert to SolidWorks entities options. Although one of the other options contains the word format, it is not being used in the same