In some YouTube videos this command is used to fully define a sketch. I wish to know under what circumstances you have to use this command.
In some YouTube videos this command is used to fully define a sketch. I wish to know under what circumstances you have to use this command.
Usually on imported sketches that are complex and not defined.
What is meat by imported sketches? It is highly desirable if you could support with example.
I have used SW for many years and still don't understand why anyone would want to use that function, in my mind "All" sketches should be fully defined with dimensions and those should all be based off of the point of origin. What I mean by basing it off of the point of origin is that all my designs are based off of a Sketch Part and I use the three main planes and the point of origin for the base and every thing comes off of those coordinates..
Surely there could be applications for it, but I would think it would be bad practice to just fix a sketch in mid air just so it's fixed...
I agreed with Tony Cantrell - only for complicated imported 2D sketches...
I had a problem in fully defining a sketch. I intend to use in such a situation.
Please see this link.
See that post
Most of the time it is legacy dwgs from acad, and due to schedules its just faster to use.
I do see a need for it, maybe, but here in obviously the customer or design team comes back and says could you change this and move that by so many inches etc...
Setting up all sketches and models for parametric changes are more important, in my mind..
Source material comes in many forms. Sometimes I use Print2CAD 2011 (old ver. still works for me) to convert a PDF cutsheet or dimensional drawing into .dwg format, then import into Solidworks. Most often, all curves are comprised of many tiny lines in this conversion method. It can get ugly. Edit: These are for components manufactured by others, which do not or should not change. For clarification I design assemblies, not components, in my industry.
I usually just select all entities, sometimes thousands, and apply Lock constraint. The endpoints of all lines and arcs stay undefined, but can be locked or set coincident to a terminating intersection as needed. When I'm through with the burdensome sketch references, I edit the source sketch, select all, and delete, repeatedly clicking No to all entities which have references to them. I end up with a fraction of the "image" of the sketch, but retain the relevant parts only.
Does Fully Define Sketch work any better than this? Can it similarly be stripped of unrelated entities afterwards?
Fully Defining a sketch will fix the entities in that sketch in 2D space so they can not be moved....they will turn from blue to black when fully defined. Using that button will fully define the entities of a sketch using dimensions & sketch relations so they can't be moved.
I have been using FIX for some time. I now know why I use it...
Another SolidWorks Feature that Fails...
Usually on imported sketches that are complex and not defined.