MoveFace -- To Move or Not to Move

CAD Agnostic
21

Seeing direct edits splattered in the feature tree that edit something that could have been done in the sketch really curdles my blood, people that do that need to just use SE SyncTech and never keep a sketch.

There are occasions where the rotate or offset face (not so much move) are a valid method of generating the solid that would otherwise be more complicated without them. Sometimes the process is more obvious to the next person to use the model using a simple extrude of a triangle or parallelogram then rotate a couple of the faces to generate the compound angles. Yeah, it could be done with multiple sketches on ref planes connected with a loft and maybe another projected cut from another angled ref plane. In the end the simple extrude and rotate face seems to be more robust for future edits and my favorite is it will leave me with planar faces to work.

I will sometimes use offset faces when doing Boolean operations.

In this usage I want to see the feature in the tree as it’s not some hidden fix of a lazy person, it’s a real step in the process of generating the solid.

Disclaimer, I haven’t used this much in Solidworks yet, much more in Solid Edge.

Lastly, if move/rotate/offset face(s) still fries your nerves don’t forget about replace face.

22

I am most likely to use it on imported geometry. The other place I may use it is on a complex plastic part that has already been tooled. If the features are too interconnected, changing the sketch that drives where you want a change may make a lot of changes in places you don’t expect. It’s not great, but using move face makes sure that you are moving only what you want. In the case listed above, I am also likely to compare geometry between the previous rev of the part and the current to make sure that I have only made the changes expected.

Renaming and commenting features is a big help also. If you see a couple of move face features near the bottom of the tree named something like “adjust depth the match last minute change” the next person may curse less.

23

To me, there are 3 valid use cases.

  1. Imported geometry edits.
  2. One off designs where there isn’t much chance of follow up once completed.
  3. As an offset feature that makes since in the design, apply a coating thickness or a tolerance range. Maybe to represent some “flex” in a part.

If this is a core part used in many designs, model and edit it right. I know its difficult, but that’s what we pay experts in SolidWorks for.