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Whoever you are, I hope that you find insight deeper than simply “what does this button do?” in this book. I hope that you will find an intuition for thinking like the software. Jeff Ray, CEO of the SolidWorks Corporation, has said that the goal is to make the software as “intuitive as a light switch.” While most people will agree that they have some work left to achieve that particular goal, I believe that approaching the interface intuitively, rather than attempting to remember it all by rote, is the best method. Good luck to you all.

Contacting the Author

You might want to contact me for some reason. Maybe you found an error in the book, or you have a suggestion about something that you think would improve it. It is always good to hear what real users think about the material, whether you like it or think it could be improved.

The best way to contact me is either through e-mail or through my blog. My e-mail address is matt@dezignstuff.com. You will find my blog at http://dezignstuff.com/blog. On the blog you can leave comments and read other things I have written about the SolidWorks software, CAD, and engineering or computer topics in general. If you want to contact me for commercial help with a modeling project, the previous e-mail address is the best place to start that type of conversation.

Thank you very much for buying and reading this book. I hope the ideas and information within its pages help you accomplish your professional goals.

Please note that some special symbols used in this eBook may not display properly on all eReader devices. If you have trouble determining any symbol, please call Wiley Product Technical Support at 800-762-2974. Outside of the United States, please call 317-572-3993. You can also contact Wiley Product Technical Support at www.wiley.com/techsupport.

Part I: Introducing SolidWorks Basics

In This Part

Chapter 1

Introducing SolidWorks

Chapter 2

Navigating the SolidWorks Interface

Chapter 3

Working with Sketches

Chapter 4

Creating Simple Parts and Drawings

Chapter 5

Using Visualization Techniques

Chapter 1: Introducing SolidWorks

In This Chapter

Installing SolidWorks

Getting started with SolidWorks

Identifying different types of SolidWorks documents

Getting familiar with feature-based modeling

Looking at history-based modeling

Creating changeable sketches

Controlling changes with Design Intent

Modifying Design Intent

Working with links between documents

Creating a template part tutorial

Using parametrics in sketches tutorial

In SolidWorks, you build 3D parts from a series of simple 2D sketches and features such as extrude, revolve, fillets, cuts, and holes, among others. You can then create 2D drawings from the 3D parts and assemblies.

This chapter will familiarize you with some of the tools available to make the transition to SolidWorks, and with some of the basic facts and concepts that you need to know to get the most out of the software.

If you want to start using the software without learning about how or why it works, you can skip directly to Chapter 3 for sketches or Chapter 4 to start making simple parts, assemblies, and drawings. Of course, I recommend you get a bit of background and some foundation first.

Installing SolidWorks for the First Time

Some of you will have SolidWorks installed for you by people in your company or by SolidWorks reseller experts, and some of you will do the installation on your own. Regardless, it is best to make sure that your hardware and software are compatible with the SolidWorks system requirements, available on the SolidWorks Web site at www.solidworks.com/sw/support/SystemRequirements.html.

SolidWorks installs natively on both 32- and 64-bit operating systems. It is only supported for Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7. In all cases, the professional-level OS is recommended. Although, it is possible to install and run SolidWorks under Parallels and Boot Camp on Apple hardware, that configuration is