Exploded views are a great way to show all the components in your assembly, and explode lines help to explain how they fit together. In SOLIDWORKS 2017 it was easy to create explode lines, but if you had many different components and many instances of those components, the process could become a bit tedious. You had to create explode lines for every single component, and for every instance as well. 

Watch the Smart Explode Lines section from our SOLIDWORKS 2018 Launch Video:

>> Stream the full SOLIDWORKS 2018 Launch Video

What are Smart Explode Lines?

There is one exercise in our Essentials training course that allows users to practice with the exploded line tool. In fact, it may allow them to practice too much. In every class at least one student asks if there is a better way to create explode lines, rather than doing it manually for every instance on each component.

Now in SOLIDWORKS 2018, I finally have a good answer to that question! Smart Explode Lines automatically create an explod line sketch for every component and every instance of those components within your assembly. It does so by creating a line from the original position of that component to either the bounding box center, the origin or a selected point. Even better, they also give you the option to reuse the same explode line for every instance of a component. 

How do Smart Explode Lines improve your workflow?

If you need to update your exploded view by changing position, adding or removing components, the Smart Explode Lines will now update to reflect those changes.

The new Smart Explode Lines in SOLIDWORKS 2018 will take the tedium out of the process of communicating how your design will fit together, and allows users to get back to the real work of creating exciting new designs.

Want to see more of our engineers’ top 11 SOLIDWORKS 2018 features? Stay tuned to our blog, or download the infographic below!