In this text, we will show you how to make patterns that have paths non-linear sketches, or features in Solidworks. Solidworks provides a tool named Curve Driven Pattern to obtain patterns guided with non-linear paths. You will learn how to use the curve-driven pattern to obtain these kinds of pattern structures in Solidworks.
You can create various kinds of patterns in Solidworks with the Curve Driven command. So, you will not deal with creating separate instances and aligning these instances along a line. You can use this command to make this job much easier.
Check the examples and instructions about the Curve Driven Command in Solidworks below.
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How to Use Curve Driven Pattern Command in Solidworks?
To obtain the patterns mentioned above, click on the pop-up menu as shown by the green arrow above then click on the Curve Driven Pattern command in the green box.
Also, you can see other options of pattern commands in Solidworks. You can find the explanations of these commands in Mechanicalland.
After entering the Curve Driven Pattern command in Solidworks, select the driving curve as shown by the green arrow above, then select the geometry that will be patterned such as bodies or features and faces as shown by the red arrow.
As you see above, you can also select multiple instances to use in this command. Also, you can select the features that you want to create patterns. Such as, you can select a hole feature on an eccentric model. By selecting one of the edges of this eccentric model, you can create patterns.
After selecting the path and the body in Solidworks for Curve Driven Pattern command, enter the number of instances as shown by the red box above then enter the value of the distance between instances as shown by the green box. This value is the distance between geometrical centers of instances.
Also, you can select the Equal Spacing option below the red box. In this case, you can equally place the instances along the selected way.
Align to Seed or Tangent to Curve Options
If you select the Align to seed in Curve Driven Pattern command as shown by the green box above, the alignment will be like above in Solidworks.
So, the orientation of the instances will not change with the changing curve. This is a very important option for this command because orientations of the instances will be very important.
Also, you can select the Tangent to curve in the Curve Driven Pattern command as shown in the green box above. You sen notice the difference between the two alignment options from the aligned instances in Solidworks.
So, as you see above, the orientation of the objects changes with the changing orientation of the curve. With this feature, you can obtain very good and different pattern designs effectively in Solidworks.
Instances to Skip in Curve Driven Command in Solidworks
You can select individual instances to skip from the green box region in the Curve Driven Pattern command. Instances are selected as shown by the green arrows above to skip them in Solidworks.
This is another useful feature of this command in Solidworks. You can create different pattern sequences with the selected instances and the selected curve.
Moreover, you can select Direction 2, if you want to obtain symmetrical curve-driven patterns. You can make the same adjustments for Direction 2 also. So, you do not need to create two separate patterns.
If you complete your adjustments in Curve Driven Pattern, click on the little yes symbol to exit from the command.
You can adjust the preview options that appear as yellow instances. If you tick the ‘Full Preview’, you can see the whole preview on the screen. So, you can make adjustments by examining the yellow instances.
Also, if your model is very big, the creation of a full preview may take time. So, you can tick the partial preview option to see the partial preview of the big model. You can estimate the whole model with a partial preview of it.
Use of Curve Driven Pattern in Solidworks is easy like that.
You can see the obtained geometry above in Solidworks by using Curve Driven Pattern.
Conclusion
Above all, you can see that we can obtain different kinds of designs and pattern features with the Curve Driven Pattern tool in Solidworks. Also, the use of this command is very simple. You just need to open the command and select the line and the instance to be patterned. And then enter the number of instances. Then define the other options to fully create your Curve Driven Pattern.
After learning the Curve Driven Pattern command, please leave your design examples in the comments below!
Finally, do not forget to leave your comments and questions below about the Curve Driven Pattern command in Solidworks.
NOTE: We use all the screenshots and images for educational and informative purposes. Images used courtesy of Solidworks®.
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To obtain very impressive 3D models in Solidworks, you can use the other useful commands and features like the above. You can check the other useful commands and features in Solidworks below!
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