Part VI: Using Advanced Techniques
l (^) When features require tool bodies, such as the Indent feature.
l When the Mold Tools result in a single multi-body part representing the plastic part and
the major mold components.
If you are administering a SolidWorks installation of multiple users, then you may be looking for a
“bright line” test to clearly define for users which types of multi-body modeling are allowable and
which are not. So many possibilities exist that it is difficult to say definitively what really should not
be done, but here is a short list that you can modify for your needs:
l Do not use multi-body modeling simply to avoid making an assembly — you must be
able to cite a specific reason for using the technique.
l Do not leave a part in a multi-body state that should be joined together into a single body.
l (^) Hiding a body is sometimes appropriate, and deleting a body is sometimes appropriate —
understand the difference.
Okay, the lecture is over. The message that you should take from all this is not to use multi-body
techniques just because you can; use them only when you have a solid reason to do so. I do not
say this because I am the design police; I say this because it is the criterion that I use for my own
modeling, what I would like to see in models that I inherit from other SolidWorks users, and a
philosophy that will serve you well if you are conscientious about it.
Multi-body modeling is powerful, and for complex parts can even increase rebuild speed compared
with single body modeling or assembly modeling. You can develop and use many powerful
techniques based on multi-bodies, but as I mentioned earlier, as can be true for in-context and
virtual components, sometimes you pay a price for the short cut.
Understanding Multi-body Techniques
To complicate the issue somewhat, nearly all surface modeling is also multi-body modeling. In
this chapter, I am referring to solids unless I specifically state otherwise. Still, most solid body
techniques have some sort of equivalent in surface body techniques. Surface bodies are discussed
in Chapter 27.
Multi-body techniques cover a wide range of functionality, and as soon as someone creates a list of
what you can do with them, someone else will come up with a new technique. Still, here is a short
list of techniques where multi-body functionality makes things either easier or simply possible:
l (^) Complex shapes across multiple parts
l Tool bodies/Boolean operations
l (^) Local operations
l Patterning