A Drawing sheet (also known as a 2D sheet) is a representation of a 3D model in a 2D sheet. For this particular representation, we use scaling on a Drawing sheet. SolidWorks gives us the option to scale a model on a 2D sheet according to our flexibility.

In this article, we shall dig deep into the method to scale a drawing in SolidWorks.

Two Scenarios where you can use scaling are:

1. Select a view or views from an existing design, then change the Scale in the Property Manager.
2. Set the Scale in the Property Manager for new drawing views where the Property Manager appears during view insertion (such as Model, Projected, Predefined, and so on).

We will be learning the steps to change the scale of a drawing using the drawing of a launcher assembly.

 

In this example, the scale of the drawing view defaults to that of the sheet. This can be seen in the Right bottom corner anchor table.

 

To change the scale of the view we need to follow these steps:

1. First, select the view to change the scale. (Parent View*).
2. In the property manager we get to see the scale section with two options i.e., “use sheet scale” and “use custom scale”.
3. Then select the “use custom scale” option.
4. A drop-down will occur when clicked on the dialogue box.   
5. From the drop-down you can choose any of the predefined scales. (Usually Factors of 5)
6. In case you want to give a scale of for example 1:8 or 1:13, then you need to double click the drop-down and enter the desired scale.
7. click the ok button.

**The above is the method to change the scale of an existing view in a drawing sheet.

Changing Scale for the sheet.

We can also change the scale setting of the sheet by following steps.

1. At the bottom right corner you can see a default scale mentioned x:y, click on the arrow.
2. When clicked on the arrow we see the option of “Sheet properties”.
3. Now select the option. ( Refer to the picture).
4. when clicking the “sheet properties” option, a window will pop up.
5. In the window we can change the sheet type scale etc. sheet properties.
6. Now enter the desired sheet scale.

Note: While inserting a particular view you can change the scale in the property manager itself, by following the same steps as mentioned above.