Friday July 7, 2023 at 8:00am
SOLID VS SURFACE GEOMETRY
A sphere can be created in SOLIDWORKS as a solid or as a surface.
Both methods require a sketch and a revolved feature.
But the key understanding is that solid geometry is a filled void with a density, whereas surface geometry is infinitely thin and has no mass.
To learn the difference between solid and surface geometry and enhance your SOLIDWORKS skills, we recommend attending our Essentials SOLIDWORKS training course.
CREATING A SPHERE IN SOLIDWORKS
To start creating a sphere, we need to sketch a semi-circle. We’ll then add a construction centreline, delete the unwanted edge, and then revolve the sketch.
Let’s break that down.
- Start a new sketch on the Front, Right or Top plane.
- Draw a circle with the centre at the origin.
- Bisect the circle with a sketched line through the centre point.
TOP TIP – Use mouse gestures to speed up your sketching process! - Use the Trim Entities tool on the Features tab to remove one side of the circle.
TOP TIP – Modify the keyboard shortcuts so C activates your Construction Geometry conversion tool. - Convert the straight line to construction geometry.
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While in the sketch, activate the Revolve Boss/Base tool. You might be asked about creating a non-thin revolution. Here, SOLIDWORKS is simply asking if you want to create a hollow or solid sphere.
Click Yes to create a solid sphere. Notice the construction geometry is automatically selected as the axis to revolve around, but this could be selected manually.
- Direction1 should be set to 360° for a complete revolution.
- Click accept to complete the sphere.
Practise this workflow and soon you’ll be creating spheres in 10 seconds flat.
Creating a sphere forms the basis for creating most sports balls. Check back on throughout the week as we guide you through creating and simulating the movement of a tennis ball.
Fancy a more advanced SOLIDWORKS modelling challenge?
Get modelling a tennis ball with this step-by-step guide to modelling a tennis ball in SOLIDWORKS.
Or learn how to model a globe in SOLIDWORKS using advanced sketching techniques!
Take the Next Steps...
Why not expand your toolkit further with our SOLIDWORKS Essentials training course?
You’ll get hands on with the basics and some handy shortcuts, not to mention full access across four days to our expert SOLIDWORKS Engineers to ask any questions you want!
It doesn’t matter whether you’re a complete beginner or are intimately familiar with CAD, our friendly and expert trainers are ready to help you get the most out of SOLIDWORKS, either online or in a classroom local to you.
We also have a load of free SOLIDWORKS tutorials across our site, or you can check out our YouTube channel for more tips and tricks.