SolidWorks - Radius/Diameter Dimension on Revolve

This time I will share a simple tricks that can be useful when  using Smart Dimension in SolidWorks for Revolve function.

Sometimes, we wanted to specify the diameter of a certain part, while on other occasion, we want to specify the radius. Even radius can be easily obtained from diameter, by dividing by 2, on certain dimension it can't be easily achieved. Using calculator might waste a little bit of your time.

The tricks below will show you how to convert diameter to radius without even doing a calculation.

1. To start off, you need to have a center line as a center of revolution.
2. Draw a profile that you want to revolve.
3. Using Smart Dimension, place a dimension between the center line and the sketch you want to give the dimension. Placing the dimension on the same side of the sketch would give you a radius (on the image below is on the right side of the center line).
4. To convert it to diameter, simply drag your mouse to the other side of the center line before you place the dimension.
5. That simple tricks would save you a little bit of time!

Giving radius or diameter on SolidWorks. Place dimension on the same side of the sketch to give radius, place it on the other side to give diameter.

SolidWorks - Customizing Your Own Keyboard Shortcut

One good thing about SolidWorks is that it is very customizable. Users are able to assign or customize their own keyboard shortcut. With that, users can assign certain hot keys on their keyboard to their mostly used features. By default, SolidWorks have assigned certain hotkeys, for example "E" for extrude, "Enter" for last used commands, "Ctrl + N" for New File, etc.

Customizing your own keyboard shortcut can be done following these steps:
1. Launch SolidWorks and click New > Part. Search for the Options button on top, click the arrow besides the icon, and select Customize.
Note: The Customize would not appear immediately when you launch SolidWorks. You need to create part/assembly/drawing in order to access this function.

Accessing Customize Function

2. On the Customize window, go to Keyboard tab. To change any hot keys, just click on the Shortcut(s) column, and press your own hotkeys. Note that you can input combinations of hotkeys, e.g. Ctrl + s, Alt + N, etc.

Customizing Keyboard Shortcut

3. Click OK to confirm.