Blog SOLIDWORKS 2022 What’s New – Draft Across Parting Lines
I’m very excited to tell you about this SOLIDWORKS 2022 enhancement. It has to do with the ability to add draft across parting lines. SOLIDWORKS provides multiple methods for adding draft and there are several uses for adding draft to solids. I’m going to show you some of the advantages of this new enhancement to the Draft feature.
To show off this new feature we need to review some of the methods for adding draft to solids.
Method 1. Adding draft to extrude
This method adds the draft to all the sides of the extrude based on the direction and angle. In the extrude properties the “Draft” button is activated, and the angle is set.
Here is an example from the SOLIDWORKS Essentials case study:
Notice how all the sides of the preview have a draft of 8o and are symmetric because of the Mid Plane extrude direction.
Method 2. Adding draft from Neutral plane.
This method adds draft to individual faces based on the neutral plane selected. (Only one direction)
Shown here is a preview:
Notice that both faces are being shifted to the 20o draft.
Method 3. Adding draft using a parting line. (SOLIDWORKS 2022 New Enhancement)
This method uses a model edge or parting line to determine the beginning of the added draft.
Here I have added a split line to the long sides of the block to show the symmetrical ability.
NOTE: Prior to SOLIDWORKS 2022 this would require two Draft features.
Notice that only the faces adjacent to the parting line selection are being drafted.
Another interesting result of using this method is the ability to adjust the shape of a drafted surface that contains a curve.
Here is the preview of the curved part using the neutral plane.
Here is the preview of the opposite end of the model using the parting line option and “Allow reduced angle” option turned “on”.
The results are quite impressive. Note how the draft follows the curvature of the solid.
I hope this part of the What’s New series gives you a better understanding of the new features and functions of SOLIDWORKS 2022. Please check back to the CATI Blog as the CATI Application Engineers will continue to break down many of the new items in SOLIDWORKS 2022. All these articles will be stored in the category of “SOLIDWORKS What’s New.”
Dennis Barnes, CSWE
Application Engineer II
Computer Aided Technology
DESIGN INNOVATION MONTH 2021 – Live Events, Webinars, Virtual Showroom, Contests
Design Innovation Month is CATI’s massive “What’s New in 2022” event for SOLIDWORKS, 3DEXPERIENCE, and 3D printing & 3D scanning technology. That’s six weeks of live and on-demand webinars, demonstrations, in-depth blog posts, and prizes! Best of all, it’s free of charge! Check the DI Month Hub for all the details and to sign up for your nearest live event.
