Over the last few months, there has been a lot of hype over the top new features SOLIDWORKS 2017. And while we admit that our engineers think chamfer enhancements, advanced hole, hide all types and a number of the other popular features are pretty impressive, we also think there are several undocumented features in SOLIDWORKS that aren’t getting the attention they deserve.

Hence, our new blog series called Undocumented Features in SOLIDWORKS. To kick off the conversation, we’d like to recognize circular patterns.

This undocumented feature has to do with circular patterns command and what can be selected for the pattern axis. In 2016, when establishing the pattern axis for a circular pattern you could select an outside diameter, an inside diameter, a circular edge and an axis, but not a flat face. Flat faces were detected as features. However, now in SOLIDWORKS 2017, users can finally select flat circular faces in addition to all of the other selections. While this may not seem like a big advancement, it makes the feature much more intuitive and user-friendly.

For more insight on SOLIDWORKS features, check our 3D CAD training schedule.