SolidWorks 2010 Bible

Chapter 29: Using SolidWorks Sheet Metal Tools

FIGURE 29.4

A sample Gauge Table and Sheet Metal PropertyManager

Thickness

The part thickness is grayed out in the Sheet Metal PropertyManager. You can change the value by

double-clicking any face of the model. The thickness displays as a blue dimension rather than a

black dimension. It is easier to identify if you have dimension names selected, because it is

assigned the link value name Thickness.

All features in sheet metal parts that use the thickness value use a link value to link all the feature

thicknesses. This makes it easy to globally change the thickness of every feature in the entire sheet

metal part.

To save these settings to a template file, you can create a Sheet Metal feature, specify the settings,

delete the Sheet Metal features, and then save the file to a template with a special name that repre-

sents the settings that you used.

Tip
When a link value is named Thickness, the Extrude dialog box always shows a Link To Thickness option to link
the depth of an extrusion to the Thickness link value. If you save a template where Thickness has been created
as a link value, then the option is always available to you, regardless of whether or not you are making sheet
metal parts. n