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SolidWorks Tips & Tricks sponsored by Customizing SolidWorks For Greater Productivity

SolidWorks Built-In Calculator
A lot of people have a calculator close to their workstation. I tend to use to the Windows calculator on my computer. Did you know that SolidWorks has a built in calculator. This may not be the most advanced feature of SolidWorks, but many users to do not take advantage of this great tool.

The Modify dialog box appears when you double click a dimension. This is the dialog box that you use to type in the dimension values. If you are working with a print, rather than calculate dimensions manually, you can just enter the mathematical equation right in the dialog box and SolidWorks will calculate it for you. For example, if you were trying to calculate 5.125-3.375, you can just type this equation in to the Modify dialog box, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1

If you don't want to figure out the decimal value of a fraction, just type in the fraction directly, as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2

You can use the Modify dialog box as a calculator by entering values and arithmetic symbols directly. You can use this built-in calculator to perform any of the standard operations used on a handheld calculator. The calculator performs basic arithmetic, such as addition and subtraction, as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3.

Any amount of calculations can be done following the standard mathematical order of operations, as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4.

Units can also easily be converted by typing the the dimension in the original units. The dimension will automatically be converted to the default SolidWorks units, as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5.

The built-in calculator is very powerful and follows the same guidelines as Equations. When you use trigonometric functions, specify the angular units in Radians. Quick Tip: To convert your angle to radians, multiply the angle value by 0.01745329. Refer to the table below that shows the list of functions available. For example, you can calculate the integer value of the square root of 74, as shown in Figure 6. Just make sure that your parenthesis are accurate.

Figure 6.

Operator	Name	Notes
+	plus sign	addition
-	minus sign	subtraction
*	asterisk	multiplication
/	forward slash	division
^	caret	exponentiation

Function
sin (a)	sine	a is the angle; returns the sine ratio
cos (a)	cosine	a is the angle; returns the cosine ratio
tan (a)	tangent	a is the angle; returns the tangent ratio
sec (a)	secant	a is the angle; returns the secant ratio
cosec (a)	cosecant	a is the angle; returns the cosecant ratio
cotan (a)	cotangent	a is the angle; returns the cotangent ratio
arcsin (a)	inverse sine	a is the sine ratio; returns the angle
arccos (a)	inverse cosine	a is the cosine ratio; returns the angle
atn (a)	inverse tangent	a is the tangent ratio; returns the angle
arcsec (a)	inverse secant	a is the secant ratio; returns the angle
arccosec (a)	inverse cosecant	a is the cosecant ratio; returns the angle
arccotan (a)	inverse cotangent	a is the cotangent ratio; returns the angle
abs (a)	absolute value	returns the absolute value of a
exp (n)	exponential	returns e raised to the power of n
log (a)	logarithmic	returns the natural log of a to the base e
sqr (a)	square root	returns the square root of a
int (a)	integer	returns a as an integer
sgn (a)	sign	returns the sign of a as -1 or 1 For example: sgn(-21) returns -1

Constant
pi	pi	ratio of the circumference to the diameter of a circle (3.14...)

Sheet metal users: check out the Bend Calculator to compute the Bend Allowance or Compensation for your different material types and thickness.

Customizing SolidWorks For Greater Productivity
Expires August 31, 2007.

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