I need help with drawings created from a part.

[CNCWNTTOBE]

I have created a great looking part in Solidworks, but now my problem is putting it into drawing form that a machinist could use. Is there a service out there that you can send parts files to and have some else create the drawing or is there a good book that steps you through creating one? Another question would be, why can't machine shops work from the parts file?

[laszlozoltan]

solidworks has a great drawing utility that automatically puts your part into 3 or more views and will even autodimension some of it too. Best thing, just invest a few bucks into a solidworks textbook, the payoff will acrew many times the initial cost.

The drawing you provide may be considered a legal document defining the part you are wanting to have made; you might have some very tight tolerances to maintain or fairly open features, but you need to define those requirements instead of leaving it up to a cad operator to guess what is and isn't important. Further, different cad systems may inerpret cad data differently (splines for example); again, it is a matter of ensuring you get what you need and the machinist doesn't waste his time over-engineering your part.

[CNCWNTTOBE]

Do you mean something like "Solidworks for Dummies"? Any suggestions on the textbook?

[laszlozoltan]

Originally Posted by CNCWNTTOBE Do you mean something like "Solidworks for Dummies"? Any suggestions on the textbook?

I am not a fan of any self-depreciating entitled book, I will heartly recommend the solidworks bible by matt lombard, however the book that got me started off was inside solidworks 2003 by david murray. most people, myself included, like to figure things out for themselves, but with life being such a limited resource why waste it figuring out how to do something that's already been done ? get the book, learn how to do what you want to do and go on getting it done.

[DareBee]

Have you done SWs built in tutorials yet?