SolidWorks 2010 Bible

Part V: Creating Drawings

FIGURE 23.4

The Dimension PropertyManager for choosing DimXpert or Reference dimensions

Reference dimensions on the drawing

I’ve already made the case for why I think it is better to use reference dimensions on the drawing

than model dimensions. This is opinion, of course, and I realize that for many simple parts, you

actually can model them the way you would detail them, so the model items make more sense.

Many respectable power users use model items on drawings. I mostly model \ complex plastic

parts. Reference dimensions on the drawing are simply driven dimensions, and they update when

the model updates.

Using the DimXpert

The DimXpert is a tool to apply reference (driven) dimensions with tolerances to models and

drawings. DimXpert employs feature and topology recognition so it can work on either native data

or imported data. Use the DimXpert tab at the top of the part Feature manager, and click the

Autodimension Scheme button (the first button on the left) to apply dimensions to the entire

model based on selected datums. The goal of DimXpert is to comply with ANSI Y14.41, which

deals with 3D annotated models. The general consensus on this is that neither the standard nor the

DimXpert tools are up to the rigors of daily production use at this time. The concept seems com-

pelling, but the implementation is not yet practical.

When you use the dimensions and tolerances created with the DimXpert in conjunction with the

TolAnalyst, you are able to do simple stack-up analysis. TolAnalyst is outside the scope of this

book, because it is part of the Premium package and I confined this book to SolidWorks Standard.

A limitation of this system is that you can only apply location or size dimensions; you cannot apply

non-dimensional geometric form tolerancing such as parallelism, cylindricity, or flatness. All con-

trols must drive size or location, and have associated dimensions.

When you use the DimXpert on a drawing, it first places a datum at a vertex or centerpoint. After

that, it automatically dimensions the entire feature in the view that is the parent of the edge you

select. Figure 23.5 shows the Dimension PropertyManager when DimXpert is activated. The image