When you are sketching in SOLIDWORKS, there are several editing tools you can play around with. In this Video Tech Tip, we explore two commands (the Spline on Surface command and the Offset on Surface command) that come in handy when creating 3D sketches on complex faces or surfaces.

Many SOLIDWORKS users are familiar with how difficult (and time-consuming) it can be to sketch on complex surfaces, especially if they don’t know which tools to use. Lucky for you, in this video we walk through how the Spline on Surface tool can help you map points to any given curvature, and I show you exactly where to access it in the Sketch toolbar by clicking “Spline”.

Once you create your spline, you can see the relationship it has with surface faces and adjust it as needed by trimming the surface and even offsetting edges with the new Offset on Surface feature introduced in SOLIDWORKS 2017. Since this isn’t part of a toolbar by default, you have to access it through Tools > Sketch Tools > Offset on Surface. This command allows you to determine an offset distance and have an offset 3D sketch that you can easily trim away for an interior geometry.