SOLIDWORKS: Fix your sketch with Repair Sketch

By

One of the most fundamental parts of SOLIDWORKS is the sketch. Every design starts with it and in most cases the sketch is used to configure the design. And when your sketch fails, your 3D model will probably fail also. In some cases, there is a problem with your sketch, but you cannot determine where the issue exists. In this tech blog I want to explain a useful feature of SOLIDWORKS: Repair Sketch. Let’s take a look what this tool can do for you.

Repair Sketch: Where to find it?

First of all, Repair Sketch is located at the Sketch tab of the CommandManager:

Otherwise, you can find it under Tools > Sketch Tools > Repair Sketch. Bonus trick: Use the Search Command box in the upper right corner of the SOLIDWORKS window:

Repair Sketch: How does it work?

Let’s take a look at the following sketch:

On first sight, everything seems correct. But when we create a new Extruded Boss feature with this sketch, we notice that no preview is shown:

Also, in the Boss-Extrude FeatureManager, the Selected Contours box is automatically selected. This is a good indication that there is a problem with the sketch. A perfect job for the Repair Sketch tool! So, let’s go back to our sketch and start the Repair Sketch tool. The following happens in the sketch:

A Repair Sketch Dialog Box appears and we can see that the tool found two problems in the sketch. A magnifying glass is pointing out the first of two problems. Also, the dialog box is telling us that the first problem is a Two Points Gap, as can be seen in the magnifying glass. The gap is noticed by the tool, because the gap is smaller than the number entered under Showing gaps smaller than. This issue can easily be solved by dragging one endpoint to the other one, so the points merge. This can be done inside the magnifying glass. After this repair, we press Refresh  in the Repair Sketch Dialog Box. This re-runs Repair Sketch and the screen will look like this:

 

In the dialog box a description of the problem is given: Three or more contour segments meet at this point. Normally, in a closed contour maximally two contour segments can meet at one point. In the magnifying glass, we can see that 3 lines meet in one point. This time it can be easily fixed by deleting the unwanted line. Finally, we press Refresh  again and the Repair Sketch Dialog Box returns with the message that no problems were found:

Now we can close the Repair Sketch Dialog Box and create the Extruded Boss feature successfully!

repair sketch

Repair Sketch: Good to know!

As we have seen in the above example, the Repair Sketch tool highlights errors and provides error descriptions. But Repair Sketch can also repair errors automatically:
  • Small sketch entities
    This is about entities whose chain length is less than twice the maximum gap value (entered in the Repair Sketch Dialog Box). Repair Sketch will automatically delete these from the sketch and will not return a message about this action.
  • Overlapping sketch lines and arcs
    Repair Sketch will automatically merge these into a single entity and will not return a message about this action.

Because Repair Sketch does not return a message about the two points mentioned, it could be that you start the Repair Sketch tool and immediately see the No problems found message. But in the meantime the errors are solved automatically.

Conclusion

We have seen how the Repair Sketch tool can make your daily work much easier. With this tool you can stop the endless search for that small error in your sketch. Not only will Repair Sketch point out the error with a magnifying glass, it also shows a description of the problem and some errors are even repaired automatically!

I hope you enjoyed reading this tech blog and I wish all of you a happy and errorless 2017!

 

Written by Martijn Visser

CAD2M

CAD2M

CAD2M believes in Industrial Equipment companies that want to make an impact. What drives us is to bring the most out of your employees. To help you in the best way possible, our employees have to be on top of their game as well. We live for challenges in process & product development. It is our passion. With our knowledge of processes we help your company work faster and smarter. We provide you with the best PLM, 3D design & engineering plus manufacturing tools. Want to grow together? CAD2M.
CAD2M

@CAD2M_BV

CAD2M