Part I: SolidWorks Basics
FIGURE 4.12
Creating a slot- Open a sketch on the bottom of the previous slot, and draw a straight slot. Make the
new slot 0.05 inch smaller than the first slot. You can create a cut using the Through All
end condition.
Tip
Picking up relations automatically may seem difficult at first, but with some practice, it becomes second
nature. When trying to find the center of an arc, the centerpoint is usually displayed and is easy to select.
However, when making a relation to an edge, the centerpoint does not display by default. To display it, hold
the cursor over the arc edge for a few seconds; a marker that resembles a plus sign inside a circle will show
you where the center is, thus enabling you to select it with a sketch tool and pick up the automatic relations. n
In Figure 4.13, the first centerpoint has already been referenced, and the cursor is trying to find
the centerpoint of the other end of the slot.Fillets and chamfers
As mentioned earlier, it is considered a best practice to avoid using sketch fillets when possible,
using feature fillets instead. Another best practice guideline is to put fillets at the bottom of the
design tree, or at least after all the functional features. You should not dimension sketches to model
edges created by fillets unless there are no better methods available. Several chapters could be writ-
ten just about fillet types, techniques, and strategies in SolidWorks. Chapter 7 deals with more
complex fillet types.