What this book covers

Chapter 1, Introduction to SOLIDWORKS, covers what SOLIDWORKS is and the applications that utilize the software. It also explores the professional certifications that are offered by SOLIDWORKS. 

Chapter 2, Interface and Navigation, teaches you how to navigate around the SOLIDWORKS interface.  

Chapter 3, SOLIDWORKS 2D Sketching Basics, covers what sketching is in SOLIDWORKS. It also covers how you can sketch basic entities such as lines, circles, rectangles, arcs, and ellipses. 

Chapter 4, Special Sketching Commands, covers commands that enable us to sketch more efficiently. These include the mirror, offset, trip, and pattern commands. 

Chapter 5, Basic Primary One-Sketch Features, explores the most basic features used for generating 3D models from sketches. Each of these features requires you to have one sketch to apply it. The features include extruded boss and cut, revolved boss and cut, fillets, and chamfers. 

Chapter 6, Basic Secondary Multi-Sketch Features, explores another set of basic features that require more than one sketch to apply. They include the swept boss and swept cut and lofted boss and lofted cut. It also explores reference geometries and how to generate new planes. 

Chapter 7, Materials and Mass Properties, explores structural materials for our 3D parts. It also teaches you how to calculate mass properties such as mass, volume, and the center of gravity. 

Chapter 8, Standard Assemblies Mates, explores what assemblies are in SOLIDWORKS. You will learn how to generate simple assemblies using the standard mates: coincident, parallel, perpendicular, tangent, concentric, lock and set distance, and angle. 

Chapter 9, Introduction to Engineering Drawing, explores what engineering drawings are and how to interpret them as per the commonly recognized international standards. 

Chapter 10, Basic SOLIDWORKS Drawing Layout and Annotations, teaches you how to generate basic engineering drawings using SOLIDWORKS drawing tools. 

Chapter 11, Bills of Materials, explores what bills of materials are and how to generate and adjust bills of materials with SOLIDWORKS drawing tools. 

Chapter 12, Advanced SOLIDWORKS Mechanical Core Features, covers the advanced features used to generate more complex 3D models. These include the draft feature, shell feature, Hole Wizard, features mirroring, the rib feature, and multi-body parts. 

Chapter 13, Equations, Configurations, and Design Tables, explains how you can apply equations to link different dimensions within the model. You will also learn how to utilize configurations and design tables to generate multiple variations of a single part within one SOLIDWORKS file. 

Chapter 14, SOLIDWORKS Assemblies and Advanced Mates, covers using advanced mates to generate more dynamic assemblies. These include the profile center, symmetric, width, distance and angle range, path, and linear/linear coupler mates. 

Chapter 15, Advanced SOLIDWORKS Assemblies Competencies, explores additional assembly features to better evaluate and generate more sound and flexible assemblies. These include the Interference and Collision Detection tools, assembly features, and configurations and design tables for assemblies.