In SolidWorks, bend lines are used to indicate the location of bends in sheet metal parts. While they are essential for manufacturing purposes, there may be instances where you want to hide these bend lines in your design. In this tutorial, we will explore various methods to hide bend lines in SolidWorks.
Method 1: Using Display Style
If you only want to hide the bend lines temporarily during your modeling process, you can make use of the display style options. Here’s how:
- Step 1: Open your sheet metal part in SolidWorks.
- Step 2: Go to the “View” menu and select “Display” > “Sheet Metal” > “Bend Lines”.
- Step 3: Uncheck the “Bend Lines” option to hide all the bend lines in your design.
If you need to show the bend lines again, simply check the “Bend Lines” option using the same steps mentioned above.
Method 2: Modifying Bend Line Display Properties
If you want more control over specific bend lines and their visibility, you can modify their display properties individually. Follow these steps:
- Step 1: Select the specific bend line(s) that you want to hide or show.
- Step 2: Right-click on the selected bend line(s) and choose “Properties” from the context menu.
- Step 3: In the Properties dialog box, navigate to the “Line Format” tab.
- Step 4: Under the “Line Style” section, change the line style to “Invisible”.
- Step 5: Click “OK” to apply the changes.
By modifying the display properties of individual bend lines, you can hide or show them as per your requirements.
Method 3: Suppressing Bend Lines
If you want to permanently hide the bend lines in your design without affecting other aspects, you can suppress them. Here’s how:
- Step 1: Select the specific bend line(s) that you want to suppress.
- Step 2: Right-click on the selected bend line(s) and choose “Suppress” from the context menu.
The suppressed bend lines will no longer be visible in your design, and they will not affect any other features or operations.
Conclusion
In this tutorial, we explored three different methods to hide bend lines in SolidWorks. Depending on your requirements, you can choose between temporarily hiding them using display style options, modifying their display properties individually, or suppressing them permanently. By utilizing these techniques effectively, you have greater control over the visibility of bend lines in your sheet metal parts.
If you found this article helpful, feel free to explore our other SolidWorks tutorials for more tips and tricks!