SolidWorks 2010 Bible

Part I: SolidWorks Basics

FIGURE 3.10

The structure of a spline and spline handles

Control polygon Inflection point Combination (direction and magnitude)

Spline points

Magnitude handle Direction handle

Maximum radius

Splines are used mainly for freeform complex shapes in 2D and 3D sketches, although you can also

use them for anything in which you would use other sketch elements. If you need more informa-

tion on splines and complex shape modeling, refer to the SolidWorks Surfacing and Complex Shape

Modeling Bible (Wiley, 2008).

Point creates a sketch point. Aside from limited cases of lofting to a point or using a point as a con-
straint sketch in a Fill feature, sketch points are usually used for reference or for the location of the
centerpoint of Hole Wizard features.

You can also use the sketch point as a virtual sharp. If two sketch entities do not actually intersect

because of a fillet or chamfer, selecting the two entities and clicking the Point tool creates a point at

the location where they would intersect if they were extended. This is useful for dimensioning to

the sharp. Virtual sharp display is controlled by a Document Property setting.

3D Sketch Plane creates a plane in a 3D Sketch. I discuss 3D Sketches in more detail in Chapter

31. By sketching on planes within a 3D sketch, you get most of the benefits and usage of 2D
    sketches, and you do not have to deal with history between sketches. Before committing too much