A Better Way to Rebuild in SOLIDWORKS: Verification on Rebuild

No matter the SOLIDWORKS rebuild command you use, whether it’s standard rebuild (the “green light” icon) or forced rebuild (CTRL-Q), it’s important to understand what is happening when SOLIDWORKS is building a feature.

When a feature is being built, the modeling engine is carrying out an instruction in the file’s instruction set. The resulting information is geometry in the design space. SOLIDWORKS will check this geometry against existing geometry in the model to make sure it “fits” geometrically.

By default, SOLIDWORKS checks the geometry it is building against the adjacent faces, e.g., the faces that share an edge with the face(s) of the feature it is building. For example, when building a fillet, SOLIDWORKS checks to see if the face of the fillet fits with the faces the fillet shares edges with (“connects to”). When it fits, SOLIDWORKS moves on, but when it doesn’t an error is generated.

While this level of geometry checking is generally efficient, in some cases it is not sufficient. There are cases where the face being built intersects with faces already in the model. However, there is no intentional connection; they aren’t supposed to share edges. While this will be a problem, the default level of checking doesn’t catch this because it only checks against faces in which it is supposed to connect.

The Better Way: Verification on Rebuild

For this reason, SOLIDWORKS has another level of checking. Tools > Options, System Options > Performance has a switch called “Verification on Rebuild (Enable Advanced Geometry Checking).” When this is active, SOLIDWORKS checks the face it is building against all existing faces in the model. This ensures nothing sneaks past. However, it does come at the cost of performance, especially in large and complex models with many faces.

In the end, part of your release procedure should be to activate the “Verification on Rebuild” option and hit CTRL-Q. Do this for every part, every assembly, and every drawing for the highest quality model and drawing geometry possible.

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GSC

GSC fuels customer success with 3D engineering solutions for design, simulation, data management, electrical schematics, PCB, technical documentation, and 3D printing, as well as the most comprehensive consulting, technical support, and training in the industry. As a leading provider of SOLIDWORKS solutions, HP, and Markforged 3D printing technologies, GSC’s world-class team of dedicated professionals have helped numerous companies innovate and increase productivity by leveraging advanced technologies to drive 3D business success. Founded in 1989, GSC is headquartered in Germantown, WI. For more information about GSC, please visit www.gsc-3d.com.