Part I: SolidWorks Basics
- Press the Spacebar on the keyboard to open the View Orientation dialog box, and
double-click the Front view.
- Right-click the Front plane in the FeatureManager, or whatever the first plane listed
is, and select Sketch.
- Click the View menu, and make sure the Sketch Relations item is depressed.
This shows small icons on the screen to indicate when parametric relations are created
between sketch entities.
- Click the Circle from the Sketch toolbar (choose Tools ➪ Sketch Entities ➪ Circle).
- Sketch a circle centered on the Origin. With the Circle tool activated, click the cursor
at the Origin in the graphics area. The Origin is the asterisk at the intersection of the long
vertical red arrow and the short horizontal red arrow. After clicking the first point, which
represents the center of the circle, move the cursor away from the Origin, and click again,
which will establish the radius of the circle. (You can also click and drag between the cir-
cle center and the radius if you prefer). Figure 1.29 shows the result.
- Deactivate the circle by clicking its toolbar icon or pressing the Esc key on the key-
board. Now click and hold the cursor on the circle, then drag it to change the size of the
circle. The center of the circle is locked to the Origin as the Coincident icon near the
Origin appears. The radius is undefined, so it can be dragged by the cursor. If the center-
point were not defined, the location of the center of the circle could also be dragged.
FIGURE 1.29
Sketching a circle
