Solidworks Drawing Layers - Line entities - export for CNC

[geddhed]

Hello,

First post on this forum, hoping I do this all correctly!

I would like to know if there is a way of colouring line entities on a 2D drawing and adding these coloured lines to layers.

I am making a built in wardrobe and the CNC vendor requires each cut depth to be a different colour and on a different layer.

I never rarely use layers in my day job (design engineer for HiFi and headphones)

I know how to add entire components, dimensions and notes onto different layers, but I don't know how to highlight specific lines and add these to layers with different colours.

Currently having to export to Illustrator and add the coloured lines / layers in here, but it is a pain having to go back and forth as there is no linking when I update the model. I would much rather do all within Solidworks if at all possible.

Current examples attached.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

Ged

[SPerman]

You can add your own sketch on top of the drawing view. Using "Convert Entities" should make it rather painless. You can set this to any layer.

[geddhed]

Sorry only just seen this. I thought I would get an email notification when I got a reply!

Thanks for the reply.

That seems to work fairly well. Definitely easier than taking into another programme afterwards.

Although annoyingly I can't seem to find where the sketch lives when I do it directly over the 2D drawing?

It would be handy if 2D drawings also had a kind of feature tree where you could see each sketch. Easier to highlight then and add to layer rather than select chain etc...

I've found adding the sketch directly within the assembly and then converting those sketch entities into the 2D drawing works fairly well. I can select the faces in the assembly then convert entities and have better control over sketches and selecting is a bit easier then.

Thanks, not had much to do with layers but can see them being useful for some applications now.

[jcapriotti]

We do a lot of sheet metal with dxf exports but never had this kind of requirement. The closest we have is special punch tooling sometimes needing to be on a layer. In that case we do what Scott suggested and "convert entities" the tool's sketch into the drawing to place on the required layer.

Suggest you vote on for this enhancement:
SPR: 716881
Ability to Map DXF Export of internal and external geometry to different layers.

[geddhed]

Thanks Jason.

Out of interest, how do the DXF files you receive show depth?

I never use DXF or DWG in the day job. The only things I send are Step files and fully dimensioned engineering drawings in PDF format.

DXF and DWG I have only really used to take information from Solidworks into Illustrator.

I will vote on that enhancement though, seems useful.

[SPerman]

In my experience, manufacturers who need 3d information ask for it in a 3d format, which DXF isn't. The CNC vendor can't work from a Step file?

Jason says they do a lot with sheet metal, which means the DXF is the profile of the part. The DOC = thru all.

[jcapriotti]

Yeah, sheet metal is thin so all cuts are thru all fine by punches. The exceptions are special forming tools which usual do have to go on another layer, although some cnc software will recognize the tool shape and assign it.

Your requirement falls into the realm of what something like CAMWorks is for where it's milling at different depths and would read that from the 3d model.

[Glenn Schroeder]

You don't need to sketch lines over model edges, and you certainly don't need to export to another program. Select a model edge, or Ctrl+select multiple edges, then right-click and choose the "Line Color" icon. That will bring up a box that will allow you to change the color of the selected model edge (or edges).

image.png (13.04 KiB) Viewed 2555 times

image.png (6.43 KiB) Viewed 2555 times

An alternative is to turn on the Line Format toolbar, make your selections from the drawing view, and then select the color.

[SPerman]

I am making a built in wardrobe and the CNC vendor requires each cut depth to be a different colour and on a different layer.

[Glenn Schroeder]

Apparently I missed that part. Thanks.

[JuTu]

This could be of help:

GoEngineer blog post about Solidworks Drawing layers
https://www.goengineer.com/blog/use-lay ... s-drawings

Published a month ago. Found it from LinkedIn.