Press Tool Design In Solidworks

Drive a part or assembly design using a layout. In an assembly, create an assembly layout sketch to make sure your components are positioned properly. Add parts to an assembly. Create a new assembly from an existing part or assembly using Make Assembly from Part/Assembly

. Then use several methods to add components to the assembly.

You can also create a part in the context of an assembly so you can use the geometry of other assembly components while designing the part. The new part is saved within the assembly file as a virtual component. You can also save the new part in a separate part file so you can modify it independently from the assembly.

To learn more about assemblies, click and complete the Lesson 2 - Assemblies tutorial.

Replace one component with another. Use Replace Components

to replace components in order to update the assembly. Manipulate component location, orientation, and display states. Use the Move Component

and Rotate Component

tools to move assembly components.

Use Display States to set a separate display mode (Wireframe, Hidden Lines Removed, etc.) for each component in an assembly.

Control assembly movement and define the design intent.

For example, you can constrain a shaft to remain concentric to the cylinder in which it moves.

Use mate tools to add mate relations that control movement of parts:

Standard mates set standard mate relations between components, such as concentric, parallel, perpendicular, and so on.

Gear mates control the rotation of one component with respect to another component.

Lock mates maintain the position and orientation between two components.

Rack and pinion mates allow linear translation of one component (the rack) to cause circular rotation in another component (the pinion), and vice versa.

Limit mates limit component movement to a specified range.

Width mates center a tab within the width of a groove.

SmartMates automatically add mates when you drag components into place.

Path mates constrain a selected point on a component to a path.

Universal joint mates drive the rotation of the output shaft of a universal joint by the rotation of the input shaft about its axis.

Hinge mates limit the movement between components to one rotational degree of freedom.

To learn more about mates, click and complete the Assembly Mates tutorial.

Create holes and add fasteners. Create holes for fasteners with the Hole Wizard

tool, then use Smart Fasteners to automatically add standard fasteners into the holes.

You can access a customizable library of standard parts using the SOLIDWORKS Toolbox Library add-in. Select a standard and the type of part you want to insert, then drag the component into the assembly. For details, see Toolbox Help.

Click , and select SOLIDWORKS Toolbox Library to activate this add-in.

To learn more about SOLIDWORKS Toolbox, click and complete the Toolbox tutorial.

Create Smart Components that require the addition of associated components and features such as bolts and mounting holes. When you insert the Smart Component into an assembly, you can choose whether or not to insert the associated components and features.

To learn more about Smart Components, click and complete the Smart Components tutorial.

Add supplier-certified models. Use the 3D ContentCentral℠ web site to save design time by accessing supplier-certified CAD models that you can download and add to an assembly. Build efficient, modular assemblies using subassemblies. See Working with Subassemblies for tips and links to related topics. Troubleshoot problems you have when moving assembly components, such as components that collide. Use the Interference detection

tool to check a file for components that interfere with each other. A list gives you the names of the components that interfere and the interference volume. The area of interference highlights in the graphics area.

Use the Collision Detection option when you move or rotate components to detect if multiple components collide.

Use Clearance Verification to check the minimum distance between selected components.

If a problem with mates is causing problems with the assembly motion, use MateXpert to identify mate problems.

Maximize performance of large assemblies. Use lightweight components, which loads only a subset of a model's data in memory. The remaining model data is loaded on an as-needed basis. You can also open subassemblies as lightweight components.

Use large assembly mode to maximize system option settings for large assemblies.

Use SpeedPak to create a simplified representation of an assembly without losing references. SpeedPak can significantly improve performance when you work in large and complex assemblies and related drawings.

Simplify assemblies and vary the assembly design with component configurations.