Hello All,
Whenever I try to edit a sketch which was extruded, SW 2017 won't let me do it without creating errors for all of the preceding items in the model tree.
This is frustrating, because I am so new to the software. PTC Creo allows you to edit your sketches after extrusion... Is there anything that I can do to change the sketch, rather than redesigning the whole part?
Respectfully,
Jim Lawson
Hello Rob,
Thank you for your response. However, I am not familiar with some terminology. Like: "parent/child", I don't exactly understand what this means.
Jim
Hi Jim
It takes a bit of practise and discipline to make models that can change without error and you definitely need to have a good understanding of parent child relationships
2016 SOLIDWORKS Help - Parent and Child Relations
In a nutshell, try to make your features refer to other features that are high up the tree. Especially default planes, the origin, etc.
If you are making a relationship to any model geometry, you need to ask. Do I need to do this? Can I make a relationship to something more stable. For example I always try and makes my sketches relate to other sketch geometry and this does take discipline and can be more work. I might have to unhide the sketch, and make sure I am selecting a sketch point not a model vertex , by hiding the solid or using a selection filter.
As I build my model I will test how each new feature responds to changes higher up the model as I go.
With experience, it get easier... Good luck
Jim Lawson wrote:
Hello All,
Whenever I try to edit a sketch which was extruded, SW 2017 won't let me do it without creating errors for all of the preceding items in the model tree.
This is frustrating, because I am so new to the software. PTC Creo allows you to edit your sketches after extrusion... Is there anything that I can do to change the sketch, rather than redesigning the whole part?
Respectfully,
Jim Lawson
Are you sure you meant "preceding"? Editing a feature can cause errors further down in the tree, but off the top of my head I can't see how it can cause errors above the sketch or feature edited.
Glenn I have seen when mates are to faces of Objects on the tree. It will cause errors with them when the face is moved. Not saying the part changed just the mate was bad. Hope I said that right. Also if it is just a part forget everything I just said.
David,
You're right, of course, about Mate errors, but the OP said "Whenever I try to edit a sketch which was extruded", so I assumed it was a Part file and not an Assembly.
That's why I added the part about Assembly vs Part. And I think he is working on a part.
Glenn
I took it that the sketch started at the top of the tree, but then it was used to create a feature and became absorbed down the tree.
Rob Edwards wrote:
Glenn
I took it that the sketch started at the top of the tree, but then it was used to create a feature and became absorbed down the tree.
This is exactly how I'm understanding it as well - when the sketch is absorbed in the extrude feature it looks like it comes after other features in the tree, when in reality the sketch may have been created before those other features and is referenced by them.
They way you have your model constructed, a "domino effect" is happening.
It rebuilds from the top down the feature tree. If you change something that breaks the features below it, you'll get these errors.
That's what is meant by parent/child. The child feature is related to the parent.
As others have said, try to relate sketches, features etc to items farther up the tree so changing stuff doesn't break anything downstream.
There's kind of an "art" to it you learn after breaking stuff over and over learning the hard way.
Are you using a master sketch and extruding different elements based on that or are you making a separate sketch for each element and consuming the sketch for that element?
We could get a lot better understanding if you show us your Feature tree, attaching your part, or showing your parts.
It's difficult to guess at how you are building your part.
Attach your *.sldprt file here and end all doubt.
You use the same parent/child relationship in SolidWorks that you use in Creo.
Hi Jim
Have a look at your tree in flat view. (CTRL-T does it for me)
When a sketch is absorbed by a feature, it still retains it's position in the tree if that makes sense. Looking at the flat view, it should be clear what is going on.
The other thing to do is look for the parent child references
Dynamic references can help with this
Just hover over the feature and arrows should appear
or Right Click and select Parent/Child
You can reorder features in your tree if required