How Do I Change the Size of Assembly in SolidWorks?

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Changing the Size of Assembly in SolidWorks

When working with assemblies in SolidWorks, it is often necessary to adjust the size of the entire assembly or individual components. Resizing an assembly can help in visualizing the design more accurately or accommodating specific requirements. In this tutorial, we will explore different methods to change the size of an assembly in SolidWorks.

Method 1: Using Scale Feature

If you want to uniformly scale the entire assembly, you can use the Scale feature. Here’s how:

  1. Select the assembly you want to resize.
  2. Go to Insert > Features > Scale.
  3. In the Scale dialog box, enter a scale factor or percentage by which you want to resize the assembly.
  4. Select any additional options if required.
  5. Click on OK.

Note: The Scale feature will proportionally resize all components within the assembly.

Method 2: Modifying Component Sizes

If you need to change the size of individual components within an assembly, follow these steps:

  1. Select the component(s) you want to modify.
  2. Right-click on one of the selected components and choose Edit Part.
  3. In Part mode, use any available sketching or modeling tools to adjust dimensions and sizes as desired.
    • You can modify dimensions by double-clicking on sketch entities or using features like Extrude, Revolve, etc.
    • To resize a component uniformly, use features like Scale or Global Variable.
  4. Once you have made the necessary changes, exit the Edit Part mode.
  5. The modified component(s) will update automatically in the assembly.

Method 3: Using Configurations

SolidWorks allows you to create multiple configurations for an assembly. Using configurations can help you manage different sizes or variations of the same assembly. Here’s how to use configurations:

  1. Select the assembly you want to resize.
  2. Go to Configuration Manager (usually located on the left side of the screen).
  3. Right-click on the default configuration and choose New Configuration.
  4. In the Configuration Properties dialog box, specify a name for the new configuration (e.g., “Small Size”, “Large Size”, etc.).
  5. In this new configuration, modify component sizes or any other desired parameters.
    • You can follow Method 2 mentioned earlier to modify individual component sizes.
    • You can also suppress or unsuppress components as needed.
  6. To switch between different configurations, simply right-click on a configuration and choose Activate.

    In Conclusion

    In SolidWorks, changing the size of an assembly can be achieved through various methods such as using the Scale feature, modifying component sizes individually, or utilizing configurations. By understanding these techniques, you will have greater control over your designs and be able to adapt them to specific requirements with ease. Experiment with these methods and explore further possibilities within SolidWorks!