Sketching a simple part, trying to break out of AutoCAD mindset

Hi Jared,

Like you, I earned my CAD wings using AutoCAD and was faced with the challenge of converting to SW. Yes, there are easier ways to build the shelves you have here. Like using patterns instead of the Body-Move/Copy feature. This feature can be a little unstable at times and patterns are much easier to modify in the future. But as I'm sure you will find out, there are more than one ways to skin a cat. Also, the mirror feature can be quite valuable. Keeping your origin at the center of your part facilitates using this feature.

Jim

If you are talking about fasteners, you should look at the "hole wizzard". To answer your question, no you shouldnt sketch the holes in your base sketches. If I were modeling up that shelf I would do it as an assembly and each member would be a separate part not as you have done with multibodies.

That is not to say you are approaching it wrong just differently than the way I think.

Sorry Larry I reread your post and I was assuming you were looking for fasteners, but I think you just ment through holes. Still look at the hole wizzard option. If you are looking at adding fasteners I still say it would be best to model this as an assembly, that way you can add threaded holes and c'bores/c'sinks to each part and relate them to each other.

easest way to explain designing in SW over ACad. SW works like the real world, so that being said, you go cut your shelf on the tablesaw, it's a rectangle with thickness, then you grab a drill and go to the drill press and put the holes in, then you have to put in pockets and some other features.

make your sketchs simple, retangle then extrude, next feature holes, next feature pocket and so on and so on, think of it as operations NOT DRAWINGS, you are making parts....SW part it's just vertual machining!