SolidWorks 2010 Bible

Chapter 32: Using Plastic Features and Mold Tools

The light bulb icons to the left of the color swatches enable you to hide faces by classification. This

is useful when you are trying to isolate certain faces, or visualize a group of faces in a certain way.

This can be an extremely useful feature, especially when you have a very complex part with a large

number of faces, some of which may be small and easily lost in the mix with other larger faces.

The face counts that appear in the color swatches are a very helpful feature that is absent from the

Basic draft analysis.

Best Practice
I prefer Face Classification draft analysis because it is the clearest. If I need additional detail regarding other
types of faces, then I may run a Steep Face draft analysis as a supplement. The best practice here is not that
you follow my favorite type of draft analysis, but that you understand what you need to know and then use the
appropriate tools to find this information. This may include running multiple analyses to collect all the neces-
sary information. n

Find steep faces

A steep face is defined as a face that transitions from less than the minimum angle to more than the

minimum angle. Steep faces are different from straddle faces in that straddle faces are actually posi-

tive and negative, while steep faces are either entirely positive or entirely negative. On this part, the

dome inside the part is classified as a steep face, as shown in Figure 32.16.

FIGURE 32.16

A steep face

Steep face