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Arcs

Sketch the following arcs:

Arc types

Tool

Arc properties

Centerpoint Arc

Sketches arcs from a centerpoint, a start point, and an end point.

Tangent Arc

Sketches arcs that are tangent to sketch entities.

3 Point Arc

Sketches arcs by specifying three points (start, end, and midpoint)

 The SolidWorks application defaults to the last used arc type.

Arc Sketch Commands

Access the arc tools by:

  • Sketch tab. Clicking the Arc Command Manager to select arc tools from the Arc flyout tool.

  • Menu. Clicking Tools, Sketch Entities to select arc tools.

  • Arc PropertyManager. Changing to different arc tools from the Arc PropertyManager.

To sketch centerpoint arcs:

  1. Click Centerpoint Arc art\ARCTOOL.gif.

  2. Click to place the center of the arc.

  3. Release and drag to set the radius and the angle.

  4. Click to place a start point.

  5. Release, drag, and click  to set an end point.

  6. Click OK .

To sketch tangent arcs:

  1. Click Tangent Arc art\ARCTANG.gif.

  2. Click on the end point of a line, arc, ellipse, or spline.

  3. Drag the arc to the desired shape and release.

SolidWorks infers from the pointer motion whether you want a tangent or normal arc. There are four intent zones, with eight possible results as shown. Moving the pointer in a tangent direction creates a tangent arc. Moving the pointer in a normal direction creates a normal arc. You can toggle between tangent and normal arcs by returning to the end point and moving away in a new direction.

  1. Click .

You can transition from sketching a line to sketching a tangent arc without selecting the Tangent Arc tool by autotransitioning .

To sketch 3 point arcs:

  1. Click 3 Point Arc art\ARC-3PT.gif.

  2. Click to set a start point.

  3. Drag the pointer , then click to set an end point.

  4. Drag to set the radius.

  5. Click to set the arc.

  6. Click OK .

To change the properties of arcs:

In an open sketch, select the arc and edit the properties in the Arc PropertyManager.



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