SolidWorks 2010 Bible

Chapter 23: Dimensioning and Tolerancing

FIGURE 23.3

Placing dimensions with the Rapid Dimension manipulator wheel

The tool does have some limitations, however. It does not seem to be capable of handling com-

bined aligned dimensions and horizontal and vertical dimensions. For example, if you dimension

an angled line, Rapid Dimension would only allow a dimension that is aligned to the angled line. If

you dimension between the diagonal corners of a rectangle, it would not allow you to place the

diagonal dimension, only the horizontal and vertical dims.

At this time, there does not seem to be any way to deselect the Rapid Dimension tool. For some

situations, it appears that simply placing dimensions with the mouse is both more accurate and

faster, in addition to being more flexible. There is probably an element of personal taste with this

feature, but as of SolidWorks 2010 sp1.0, there is no way to get rid of it if you don’t like it.

Reference dimensions and the DimXpert

You can apply reference dimensions to the 3D model or to the drawing. In this chapter, I talk

mainly about adding them to the 2D drawing, but I do want to take a moment to talk about how

reference dimensions in the model relate to the DimXpert functionality, which you will find later

in this chapter.

Reference dimensions on the solid model

By default, when you go to add new reference dimensions to a solid model, you may see some

error messages you aren’t accustomed to seeing and some odd toolbars. If you are not expecting it,

the DimXpert can interfere with reference dimension functionality.

When you activate the Smart Dimension tool, a PropertyManager appears, giving you the option

to use dimensions to drive the DimXpert (the default) or use it to place reference dimensions.

Figure 23.4 shows this Smart Dimension PropertyManager for parts on the left and for drawings

on the right.