SolidWorks 2010 Bible

Chapter 8: Patterning and Mirroring

For an entire sketch to be used as a curve, the sketch must not have any sharp corners — all the

entities must be tangent. This could mean using sketch fillets or a fit spline. The example shown in

Figure 8.14 was created using sketch fillets. This pattern uses the Equal Spacing option, which

spaces the number of instances evenly around the curve. It also uses the Offset Curve option,

which maintains the patterned feature’s relationship to the curve throughout the pattern, as if an

offset of the curve goes through the centroids of each patterned instance. The Align to Seed option

is also used, which keeps all the pattern instances aligned in the same direction.

Figure 8.15 shows the same part using the Transform Curve positioning option and Tangent to

Curve alignment option.

FIGURE 8.14

The Curve Driven Pattern using sketch fillets