Chapter 16: Creating Assembly Drawings

In This Chapter

Merging parts and assemblies in one drawing Using page two formats Working with drawing views with special assembly functions Applying color to individual parts in the assembly window Working with drawings of large assemblies Creating a simple assembly drawing tutorial

Drawings containing assemblies often have very different uses than drawings containing parts. Assembly drawings tend to have fewer dimensions, and may be primarily for reference in assembling a product. Some assembly drawings are mainly pictorial in their purpose, particularly with exploded, section, and cutaway views.

Most of the actual tools that you might use for part drawings are the same for assembly drawings, with a few exceptions. This chapter covers these exceptions along with some special techniques that might make assembly drawings easier or clearer.

Combining Parts and Assemblies on the Same Drawing

Every company seems to do things differently when it comes to assembly drawings. Some use the drawings for BOM (Bill of Materials) illustration, some to manufacture assembly instructions, and some to dimension assembly-based features that are only applied after the individual components are assembled.

There is nothing to prevent you from putting parts and assemblies on the same drawing or even in the same sheet. Some users place an exploded view of the assembly on the first sheet, and then start detailing each part on the same sheet, using multiple sheets, ...

Get SolidWorks® 2011 Assemblies Bible now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.