SolidWorks accuracy settings

[Mike Whitten CAD/CAM Contractors]

Hello,

 

We are having what seems to be model accuracy problems with our In-house SolidWorks models. I have had what seemed to be the exact problem with Pro-E files and posted here quite a while ago and some of you helped me with the info to give the engineer. All the engineer had to do was set the model accuracy in the Pro-E settings.

 

So..Does anyone know how to set the model accuracy in SolidWorks?

 

I am offsite and would like to rely the info back to work.

 

Thanks for the help,

Mike

[Jack Mitchell]

From SW 2004 with an open drawing:

Tools, options, document properties, units, custom, inches.

From here click the flyout and change from the default 2 places to 8 places; then save the drawing.

 

HTH..,Regards, Jack

[Tom Szelag]

I dont think that will do it. That will change how many decimal places the dimensions are displayed at. The *actual model* dimensions are different.

 

How off are your parts, Mike?

[Jack Mitchell]

To change the dimensional tolerance:

Tools, options, document properties, dimensions, precision, primary dimensions. Click the flyout and change to anything you like.

 

My previous response is correct – it addresses units and not dimensions as shown here.

 

 

Regards, Jack

[Mike Whitten CAD/CAM Contractors]

Hello Jack and Tom,

 

I just got home from running some errands.

 

Jack, thanks for the tips.

 

Tom, It is hard to say as I did not model it. It is just like a lot of things are skewed. IE: There is a certain feature that is supposed to be 4x equally spaced on a diameter and the angle are like 90.03, 89.97. Other things are off .0005-.0015. There are many things that are supposed to be symetrical on the model but they are not.

 

From what I have seen with other modelers, it is best to have the model accuracy much closer than Mastercam's system tolerance.

 

Thanks guys,

Mike

[Tom Szelag]

That's still not going to do it, Jack. Those settings just change how dimensions are displayed to the user, not stored within the software and exported. For example, I did this real quick...

 

Drew a circle with a random diameter. Had all my precision settings to 2 decimal places. As you can see, if I dimension it after the fact , it will show the diameter as 3.01 even, but in reality that's not what it is.

 

And if I save it as a dxf and bring it into MasterCAM and analyze it, it verifies that fact.

 

 

Jack may have a point though. What could be the problem is that your design engineer is throwing down sketches that *look* right where they should be, dimensioning them at low-displayed precision, and think they're exact. In which case upping the number of displayed decimals will show him that they're off. But changing those "precision" values doesn't make the Solidworks model itself any more accurate.

 

What I find interesting is that for an equally spaced feature pattern things are coming out poorly. Probably should have modelled it with a circular pattern, with "equally spaced" checked. In which case those angles should be right on the money.

 

Mike do you happen to have the files so I could take a look at them? The MasterCAM file, print, and ideally SolidWorks model as well? Whatever this guy is doing is a newbie mistake I think.

 

I teach a 4-hour-a-week Solidworks lab in the ME department

[Mike Whitten CAD/CAM Contractors]

Hello Tom,

 

I sent you an e-mail.

 

Thanks,

Mike