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part dimensions

simon_m74

New member
hi, first post here, I not searched the forum for this, as I was hoping that I could get a reply.


ok heres how it is, my friend who is now on a 3 month vacation has done lots of parts in solidworks 2003.


when u double click a part, it brings up some of its dimensions ( I guess ones he`s put on ).


How do I make this happen? all I can figure out what to do is turn the dims on & off by going to annotations at the top of the component tree.





how can I get the dims to show by double click?





thanks





Simon
 
The dimensions you are seeing are specific to the feature that was double clicked on in the assembly. These are the dimensions constraining the sketch and extrude of that feature.


Assuming you are in a part or assembly file (not a drawing file), all you have to do is double click on that part's feature that you are interested in. This will bring up the dimensions associated with that feature.


If you are trying to find dimensions associated with assembly (part A is 15mm from part B), you have to find that feature in the FeatureManager assembly tree, and double click it. The easiest way to find this is to leftclick on the part in the assembly- this will highlight it in the assembly tree. Look for a folder labeled "Mates in <partname>", open it, and click on each feature there. It will highlight in your assembly. When you find the one you want, double-click it.
 
thanks for that !





thing is, when I double click, I get no dimensions on parts that I have created?


why is that ? do I need to put dimensions on the skecch for this to happen ? but wont that only give me dims of X & Y, but how about Z ?





thanks again tho
 
Yes, you need to put dimensions in your sketch for this to happen. Ideally, you want your sketch fully constrained to prevent any unintended changes.


The Z-dimension is defined by the depth dimension when defining the feature as a "blind" feature. If it is "up to surface" then there will be no dimension.


If you haven't already, you should run through the "online tutorial" that SolidWorks has- it will give you a basic understanding of things like these. Click Help > SolidWorks Tutorials > then click the topic that interest you most. Start with Lesson 1. If you have previous CAD experience, you should be able to zip through the tutorials in less than a week, maybe two days.
 

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