In the case of the 3 inch dimension, Solid Edge interpreted the selection as the virtual sharp edges, and in the 1 inch dimension, it interpreted the selection as just the endpoints of the virtual sharp edges closest to the selection point on the original surface. These two dimensions were both created from selecting the two purple faces.

Selecting round faces enables you to measure from the virtual sharp (where the faces would have intersected at a sharp edge if the round/fillet were not there). You can however, measure from cylindrical faces created by round (fillet) features, but you can’t measure the distance between parallel cylindrical sections of the pressure washer frame shown above. If you are used to something else, this is just a new method to get used to. Also, there is no measurement that you can make from a face that you cannot make using the edges of the face. Every edge is connected to two faces, so measuring from edges gives you more options. That clears the selection and allows you to continue with another measurement.Īnother thing you might notice is that you cannot measure from flat faces. The best way is just to click the right mouse button. Measurement is not to hit ESC, that will cancel you out of the command altogether. By the way, the proper way to make a second Unless you have the “Create In Model” option turned on in the CommandBar. When you click as if you were placing a PMI dimension, the measurement just goes away. But if you’ve been using Edge for a while, you recognize that it’s actually a very powerful method for getting what you’re looking for. If you are new to Solid Edge, you may look at this as an annoying difference between what you used to use and Solid Edge. So if you rotate the model while moving the cursor, the measurement shown will change.įor example, in the first screenshot below, I’m getting the overall width of the motor, while in the second screenshot, made with the same selection, you see an entirely different measurement. One of the things that may require some getting used to for new users or people from other CAD systems is that the dimension that you get is obviously dependent on the selection of items you want to measure between, but it is also very dependent on the angle from which you view the selected entities. If you want a dimension that stays with the model, then I’d recommend using the Smart Dimension tool. Smart Measure just gives you temporary measurements that only stay on the screen until you do something else. The most obvious is the Smart Measure tool. I’ll come back and do a follow up article on the parts tools. There is a fair amount of overlap with the parts tools, but there are fewer assemblies tools. For this particular article, I’m going to start with the tools for assemblies. It turns out that there are a lot of Inspect tools, and some of them depend on which type of document you are working on – parts, assemblies, or drawings. It has taken a while, but I’m finally getting around to fulfilling that request. When I asked for suggestions for blog topics, one that came back was for an article on the Inspect Tools.

Measure distance in vectorworks viewer