SolidWorks® Surfacing and Complex Shape Modeling Bible

Chapter 9. Using Secondary Shape Creation Features

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Using the Dome and Shape features

• Using the Indent feature

• Using the Radiate surface

• Using the Ruled surface

• Tutorial

SolidWorks Corporation does not distinguish between primary and secondary features in any of its documentation or training materials. I have done so in this book mainly to assist you in assigning workflow issues. One of the most commonly asked questions I get from users is, "Where do I start?" Classifying some features as primary and others as secondary helps in that determination. For example, you would never start a model with a Dome feature, mainly because it requires existing geometry to be applied to it. On the other hand, you might routinely start a model with a Loft or a Boundary surface because those features create 3D shapes from sketches or edges.

Some of the tools that you might expect to find in this chapter on secondary shape creation you will instead find in Chapters 10 or 12, with the discussions of hybrid tools and direct editing, respectively. I define these terms in more detail in those chapters. There is certainly overlap between the topics of all of the chapters in Part 3, but I have limited this chapter to those topics that do not fit into any of the more specialized topics.

The tools I discuss in this chapter I call secondary for a reason. They usually play a supporting role in the structure of a complex part, and while you can certainly use them for important features of your model, ...