With every release of SOLIDWORKS, we see a myriad of new features and tools, and SOLIDWORKS 2015 is no exception.

This latest release of SOLIDWORKS saw many enhancements both big and small. Some can extend your design and simulation capabilities like rotating mesh, while other smaller enhancements can simply enable you to design more efficiently.

One of my personal favorite enhancements of SOLIDWORKS 2015 is the new way you can create angle dimensions in sketches and drawings. Meet the “Biad.” This handy little tool enables you to create an angle dimension between a line and an imaginary horizontal or vertical line without the need for any extra construction geometry. It’s sort of like the triad in SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD but in 2D space.

Here’s how it works:

When using the smart dimension tool, you simply select a line and a collinear vertex. Then you will see the Biad or (as SOLIDWORKS officially calls it) a crosshair. You then choose one of the segments of the Biad. You will see that you are creating an angle dimension between your model’s line and an imaginary horizontal or vertical line represented by the biad (crosshair’s segements).

The days of unnecessarily creating extra construction geometry to dimension your drawings are finally over. Thanks to the Biad, those lines are now seemingly extinct.

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