SolidWorks has a few different dimension types to choose from. For the most part placement of dimension in SolidWorks if fairly easy, this tutorial will cover the different dimension types and some helpful tips.
Angles
Contents
Dimensioning angles is straightforward. Select smart dimension from the CommandManager and click the two lines to be measured. The lines do not need to be connected to each other.
Arc Length
Dimensioning of an arc length is very intuitive, select smart dimension to begin. To place the dimension, begin with one of the points, then select arc, then select the other point. The dimension will then change to that of an arc length.
End to End of a Slot
To dimension from one end of a slot to another hold Shift when selecting the arcs. From a flat edge, hold shift to create a dimension to the end of the arc.
Horizontal/Vertical
Most dimensions can be placed solely using smart dimension. These two options are useful for maintaining the orientation of dimensions as sketch entities move. Imagine two points of a line are sketched to be horizontally aligned initially, at some point this changes and the points are no longer aligned. A smart dimension, that was placed when these two points were horizontal, will appear at some angle. The horizontal dimension placed will remain horizontal.
Path Length
Expand the drop down menu of smart dimensions and select “Path Length Dimension”. This will dimension the total length of a series of connected sketch segments. Leave the path as the driving dimension if the length needs to be specified. Alternatively, show the path length as reference and dimension the segments.
Ordinate Dimensions
Select one of the ordinate dimension options from the drop down menu of smart dimensions. Click the first point or edge to place the zero mark, after placement continue by selecting the next edge or point. Continue the selections until all dimensions have been placed.
