Weldments

You can use 2D and 3D sketches to define the basic framework of a weldment structure, then create structural members containing groups of sketch segments.

You can also add items such as gussets and end caps using tools on the Weldments toolbar.

For more information about weldments (external link to MySolidWorks.com), see SOLIDWORKS Tutorials: Weldments by clicking > Tutorials.

When you create the first structural member in a part, a weldment feature is created and added to the FeatureManager design tree. The software also creates two default configurations in the ConfigurationManager: a parent configuration Default<As Machined> and a derived configuration Default<As Welded>.

On a per document basis, you can suppress the automatic creation of the <As Welded> configuration. Before adding weldments to a new document, click Options (Standard toolbar). On the Weldments page of Document Properties, clear Create derived configuration.

You can also configure multiple weldment profiles of structural members as library features. You can add different configurations of a structural member and save them as one profile in a library feature. For example, instead of having 50 separate library feature files for square tubing sizes, you can have one library feature file with 50 configurations that you can control by a design table.

When creating or editing structural members, you can select the configured library features in the Structural Member PropertyManager.