SolidWorks Utilities – Feature Paint

SolidWorks Utilities – Feature Paint

In SolidWorks Professional, you are able to use a set of tools called SolidWorks Utilities. Within SolidWorks Utilities, there are numerous tools to make your design and documentation life easier. One of these tools, Feature Paint, allows you to copy feature parameters from one feature to another. Aspects that can be copied vary, from dimensions - such as a depth of a cut - all the way to aesthetic characteristics such as color, texture, and ambience.

A good way to think of this tool is to compare it to Format Paint inside of Microsoft Word; copying a certain font, size, and font style from one selection of text to another.

In this example, we can copy characteristics from one Hole Wizard feature to another in order to standardize hardware across a product line.

How to enable this tool:

• Go to Add-Ins and turn on SolidWorks Utilities. Feature Paint will be available under the Tools drop down menu.
• Select the feature you would like to copy, and then select the feature you would like to paste certain properties to. (In this example, we are doing this between two separate SolidWorks parts, but it can be done inside one part as well.)
• Use the dialog on the right to pick and choose the characteristics you would like to copy and choose Apply.

I encourage you to dig into SolidWorks Utilities further to maximize the use of all the tools that SolidWorks provides.

Greg Dawes
Sales Engineer

For more training and tutorials on the many 3D CAD Modeling solutions in the SolidWorks family of products and add-ons, please feel free to look through our Webcast Archive, register for an upcoming webcast or event, or look into our 3DU SolidWorks Training and Certification courses.