Need for Auxiliary View in Technical Drawings

In Design Engineering creating a technical drawing of the parts is most important. Most Importantly because these drawings are been read by the manufacturer before manufacturing the part. This technical drawing contains all the important views which show the important design features and geometry with dimensions. The views that show in the technical drawings are called Principal views. In the Principal view, the view of the part can be seen from the front, Left, Right, top, bottom, and rear sides.

However, in the Standard view, the dimensions of the few geometries are not always correct. For example, see the image attached below.

In this drawing, the top face and the feature in the top face us not visible with actual dimensions. The Incline part can be seen from the side view. But when we see this part from the top the inclined surface is not shown with actual length or shape. Also, the hole and slot in the middle on the incline surface will not be of actual length. We cannot give the reference length from any edge accurately. To get the accurate length and dimensions we need to see the part normal to the incline surface.

To see the part normal to the slant surface we take the help of Auxiliary View in technical drawing. The auxiliary view is used by the draftsman to show this type of geometry to get the actual dimensions. Now, we will see how to generate an Auxiliary view in Solidworks.

Auxiliary View in SolidWorks

First, open the drawing the select the size of the sheet.

Import the part for which we have to generate the views. Select the Model View from the command manager. Browse the file and click OK. Select the view and click on the drawings sheet. The selected sheet will be generated on the sheet. You can also import the part By Dragging the view from the View pallet from the right-hand side Task pane tab.

Select the Auxiliary view from the command manager under Drawing Tabs.

 

Select the edge of the inclined surface for which we have to create an auxiliary view. As soon as you select it you will see the auxiliary view appears. You can drag and reposition the view.

Moreover, you will see the viewing plan which is shown by the dashed line with two arrows at each end. This plane is parallel to the inclined surface and normal to the auxiliary view.

In addition to this if you find the plan consuming area in the drawing you can edit it. By dragging it using the left mouse button to the specific distance parallel to the surface. By holding the left mouse button on the tap of each arrow we can increase or decrease the length of the plane. However, some companies do not require these viewing plans. So, to remove that left click on the view plan and form the property manager uncheck the Arrow option.

You can create multiple Auxiliary views in the same drawing. Try to create a less standard view and an Auxiliary view or else it will cover the drawing sheets. Also, try to give all the important dimensions with fewer views. Creating neat and cleaner drawings is what a manufacturer wants.