Part II: Building Intelligence into Your Parts
Selecting a Specialty Feature
SolidWorks contains several specialty features that perform tasks that you will use less often.
Although you will not use these features as frequently as others, you should still be aware of them
and what they do, because you never know when you will need them.Using the Dome feature
The Dome feature in SolidWorks is generally applied to give some shape to flat faces. A great
example of where a Dome fits well is the cupped bottom of a plastic bottle, or a slight arch on top
of buttons for electronic devices.
Until SolidWorks 2010, another very similar feature existed, which was called Shape. You can no
longer make Shape features, but you may find one from time to time in old parts. If you find a
Shape feature on an old part, it will continue to function unless any of its parent geometry
changes. Shape features will not update in SolidWorks 2010 or later. SolidWorks recommends
you re-create the geometry as another feature, possibly a Dome or Freeform feature.Best Practice
Dome features are best used when you are looking for a generic bulge or indentation, and are not too con-
cerned about controlling the specific shape. Occasionally, a dome may be exactly what you need, but when
you need more precise, predictable control, then you should use the Fill, Boundary, or Loft feature.n
The Dome feature has several attributes that will either help it qualify for a given task, or disqualify
it. These attributes can help you decide if it will be useful in situations you encounter:l (^) The Dome feature can create multiple domes on multiple selected faces in a single feature,
although it creates only a single dome for each face.
l (^) Using the Elliptical Dome setting, Dome can create a feature that is tangent to the vertical.
l Dome can use a constraint sketch to limit its shape.
l (^) Dome works on non-planar faces.
l Dome cannot establish a tangent relationship to faces bordering the selected face.
l (^) Dome cannot span multiple faces.
l Dome displays a temporary untrimmed four-sided patch that extends beyond the selected
face when you use it on a non-four-sided face.
l Dome functions only on solids, not on surfaces.
The error caused by a Shape feature being forced to update in SolidWorks 2010 is shown in
Figure 7.55.