Revision Clouds in SolidWorks 2013

This article originally appeared on SolidWorks Legion.

Revision clouds is a new annotation type in SolidWorks. The main purpose for revision clouds is to allow you to call attention areas where a revision was made on a drawing. Though revision clouds are not the same as comment clouds in eDrawings, you may also want to use it to highlight comments for redlines, if you wish. Revision clouds are likely the most entertaining annotation, as you can also get artsy and make actual cloud shapes just for the fun of it.

Making a revision cloud is easy. Open up a drawing in SolidWorks 2013, goto the annotations tab on the CommandManager. Nearby Revision Symbol, you’ll find Revision Cloud. The PropertyManager allows you choose cloud type, Rectangle, Ellipse, Irregular Polygon and Freehand. You can also control the maximum size of the cloud puff radius, line type, line thickness and layer. Color can also be controlled via the layer or by using the Line Color tool in the Line Format toolbar. Here’s some examples.

Elliptical cloud around a dimension