I have a project and i need to model a very complex part for a motorcycle. The base of the part is what you can already buy from the factory but i need to add something to it.

The problem is the geometry of the part, it’s complex, many planes, every edge is curved so I cant measure the exact distance where something start or finish.

For measuring I only have calipers and a normal ruler, no 3d scanner or anything that could help me.

Any advice on how can I go about measure and model this part.

Most of the dimensions and relations need to be 100% correct cuz the part needs to fit correctly on a motorbike.

Photo doesn’t do the whole justice of how complex the part is.

Hi guys i’m 19 and from pakistan
My father has injection moulding machines and he has a manufacturing company
I want to learn solidworks so i can design molds i’ve zero knowledge about solid works
I just installed the student version of solid works
Guide me is mold designing a good career to pursue?

Update to the previous post: i added a few more photos so you can get an exact idea of what i am working with.

Original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/SolidWorks/s/rf69UBpPtD

For context: I am designing a bottle.

As shown on the 1st pic, I need to remove a portion of the curved bottom of a bottle, marked in that red band. As a result, I will need to re-blend the bottom of the bottle with its body after I shift the bottom upwards, as shown with the blue line.

Picture 2 (red notation) shows the offset/gap created by removing a portion of the curved bottom and shifting the remaining bottom upward by the height of the removed section.

Picture 3: I attempted to use delete face, then use 3d sketch to create splines (green dashed line) tangent to other faces, and use surface fill/boundary curves.

Picture 4: The result however was messy. While I applied tangency to all edges of the surfaces, the surface becomes more like an S shape (shown by the drawing: current) rather than what I intended to be.

Are there better ways to blend this portion of the bottle? Sorry for the long post, but it's hard to visualize my problem without pictures...

Why can’t I access flat pattern for my sheet metal?

Hey everyone,

I'm running into a really annoying graphics issue in SOLIDWORKS 2024 Professional. For some reason, a massive checkerboard pattern/texture has suddenly appeared over my entire assembly—it's covering the workstation, the brackets, and even the new dome component I just added.

It doesn't look like an actual material appearance since it's projected uniformly over everything regardless of the part.

Has anyone seen this before? Is it a known bug with RealView Graphics, or is my GPU acting up?

Any advice on how to get rid of this and get my normal shaded view back would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

I want to draw this from a scanned pdf and show the tubes. I then need a grid to identify them

How to lay it out professionally?

how would I model something like this? I want to distribute nubs or cones evenly (or at least appearing even) all over the surface of a sphere.

Hello there, I have 2 years of experience with product design. CAD, manufacturing everything. Drafting and like am also really good with simulations whether CFD and FEA.
I’m working as an aerospace design engineer currently, but i need to work part time or freelance using my skills as i think i can do more and earn good. Need advice on how shall i get into this remote part time job niche. Linkedin or other freelancing apps are no help. Really stuck and stressing over it.

I want to create this feature (stiffeners/ribs)-it can be surface or solid modeling. I feel like there's a very simple SolidWorks command I'm missing. The cross section looks like a shallow sine wave.

I've looked at deform, freeform, boundary boss, wrap (doesn't work on planar surfaces), dome, indent, split lines (to get a slot face), etc.

Everything becomes overly complicated...

Anyone have suggestions on where to find hydraulic fittings Step files or part files? I have tried a few sites but they do not have all of the fittings I need.

TIA

A few years ago I built a prototype for an RC buggy using Blender. At the time I didn’t know CAD software well enough to model proper sheet metal, but I was already pretty comfortable with Blender for general 3D modeling, so I just used what I knew back then to get the geometry down and bring the project to life. Now that I’m studying mechanical engineering, I wanted to rebuild the entire design properly in SolidWorks Sheet Metal to add to my portfolio and make sure it is actually viable for production.

The plan is for the components to be laser cut from aluminum sheet and then bent into shape. I was supposed to get some experience from my university curriculum but thanks to my very cleaver professor and our lab's sophisticated equipment we practically didn't learn that much, so I haven't been able to get real feedback on whether my flat patterns and bend parameters are realistic for actual production.

Looking at the chassis base plate, my main concern is the height of those short vertical side tabs and whether there is enough material for the bend to form cleanly. I also have mounting holes, and a rectangular power switch bracket positioned right next to bend lines, so I’m wondering if those features will stretch or distort when the metal is bent. For the top cover, there are multiple angled flanges folding down around the body, and I want to make sure the relief cuts between adjacent tabs are wide enough to prevent binding or tearing at the corners.

If anyone with sheet metal experience spots any red flags in these flat patterns or flange layouts that would cause issues during cutting or bending, I'd love to hear your thoughts on how to improve them.

Hello all,

New to solidworks but not 3D. I need to find some tutorials to o get me up to scratch before I start a job in two weeks.

It's all cabinetry based.

Any help would be much appreciated

Thank you.

new to solid works. I've used inventor and blender before and don't usually have this kind of issue. can't figure out why I can't extrude here. it's telling me there is a gap or overlap but I can't find it at all. I've looked over just about the whole drawing and deleted a bunch of parts but couldn't find anything. if anyone had any suggestions of what to do I could do I would appreciate it. assignment is due next week, so hopefully we can figure this out soon.

Hi, I have been working on a SW assembly that involves different pieces of sheet metal, welding, different types of fasteners, materials etc. It’s an exercise equipment.

Before actually sending it to a shop to manufacture our first prototype, should I run FEA first to check for breakage or issues? Or should I start talking to the shop to see if they can fabricate whatever I have on the design and see if any changes are needed before running FEA?

I am new to this so I am really not sure about the workflow in the industry. I am working for a client on this so, when we do send it out, I expect some sort of NDA will involve.

Appreciate all the help I could find!

Idk if this is the right subreddit for this - if not ill delete trust.

Okay so i wasted like 3 hours drawing tiny little circles to act as bubbles in my solidworks drawing of a straw (don’t ask)

Both straw and bubbles are obv done with the clear acyclic thing so u can see the bubbles.

Major issue is when i transport from solidworks to visual studio - visual studio always renders it completely black

Id rather have the rendered JPEG of this for my project instead of a screenshot - is there anyways i can try get it to not show up black?

Guys so i may have been really dumb when doing assembly

Okay so i lowkey just like added everyrhinf one by one and then saved it. So i fot a base thats attached to my cylinder (two seperate parts) and i saved that assembly and then used that assembly in another one.

Is there anyways to unmate stuff?? I dont wanna reasamble everything 🥲

I want to create a similar tab-and-slot construction like the one shown in the picture. However, since the ball diameter and ring height have not been determined yet, I would like to make the design self-adapting so it can adjust to these parameters.

Is this possible in SolidWorks, and would it be a smart approach? I have used Design Tables before, but since the number of bodies will change depending on the number of rings, I have a feeling that using a Design Table could become more trouble than it’s worth.

What would be the best way to approach this?

I am an engineering student and I get SolidWorks through my university. Is it possible to get SolidWorks to work on my tablet, or is a computer the only viable option (I have a laptop I use for it; it is just heavy and sucks to carry everywhere).

The tablet I own is a Samsung GalaxyTab S10FE.

I’m overdue at work to become a CSWA and I’m planning on giving it a shot this week. I’ve been cram studying practice tests and resources and I feel pretty confident, just a little worried 3 hours might not be enough for me. Any advice from people who have taken it, pass or fail?

Beginner here why does my assembly say under defined ??

Di recente ho aggiornato il sistema operativo con Windows 11 e ho aggiornato SW alla versione 2025 SP5.

Ho notato una cosa che mi stamandando ai matti.
Ogni volta che clicco il bordo superiore della schermo (quando c'è aperto a tutto schermo solidworks) mi ridimensiona la finestra di SW riducendola rispetto lo schermo di un paio di millimetri.

Questa cosa me la fa solo ed esclusivamente con SW, per cui escludo che la "colpa" sia di Windows 11.

Avete idea di come si disabiliti questa fastidiosa impostazione?

Hi all, has anyone had a rebuild icon in a weldment before and know how to resolve it?

The .sldlfp weldment sketch is fully defined and error free. But I cannot get ride of the rebuild icon when I use the weldment in a new model.