SOLIDWORKS Assembly Validation Tools – Part 3 - Clearance Verification

Welcome to part 3 of Assembly validation tools. In this section we will be discussing the Clearance Verification tool.

With Clearance Verification, you can check the clearance between selected components in assemblies. The software checks the minimum distance between the components and reports clearances that fail to meet the minimum acceptable clearance you specify.

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The process itself is extremely simple

To check clearances in an assembly:

  1. Click Clearance Verification (Assembly toolbar) or Tools > Clearance Verification.
  2. Set options and settings in the PropertyManager.
  3. Under Selected Components, click Calculate.

    The failed clearances are listed under Results. The value of each clearance appears in its listing. Under Results, you can:

  • Select a clearance to highlight it in the graphics area.
  • Expand clearances to display the names of the components.
  • Right-click a clearance and select Zoom to selection, to zoom to the clearance in the graphics area.
  • Right-click a clearance and select Ignore.
  • Right-click an ignored clearance and select Un-Ignore.

Click .

Ignored clearances are saved and the PropertyManager closes.

Select it in Results in the PropertyManager.

Selected Components

Components to Check

Lists entities selected for the clearance check. Click Select Components or Select Faces to filter the type of entity you want to select.

Check clearance between

Specifies whether to check only between the entities you select, or between the entities you select and the rest of the assembly. Choose one:

Selected items

Selected items and the rest of the assembly

Minimum Acceptable Clearance

Clearances less than or equal to this value are reported in Results.

Under Options, you can select to ignore clearances equal to this value and report only those less than this value.

Calculate

Click to run the clearance check.

Results

Lists clearances that fail to meet the minimum acceptable clearance. The value of each failed clearance appears in its listing. When you select a clearance under Results, it highlights in the graphics area.

Ignore/Un-Ignore

Click to switch between ignored and unignored mode for the selected clearance. If a clearance is set to Ignore, it remains ignored during subsequent clearance calculations. See Show ignored clearances under Options.

Component view

Lists clearances by component name instead of clearance number.

Options

Show ignored clearances

Select to show ignored clearances in the Results list, with a gray icon. When this option is cleared, ignored clearances are not listed.

Treat subassemblies as components

Treats subassemblies as single components, so clearances between a subassembly's components are not checked.

Ignore clearance equal to specified value

Reports only clearances less than the specified value.

Make parts under study transparent

Displays in transparent mode the components whose clearances are being verified.

Create fasteners folder

Segregates clearances between fasteners (such as a nut and bolt) into a separate folder under Results.

Uninvolved Components

Uses the selected mode to display all components not involved in the clearance check.

Wireframe

Hidden

Transparent

Use current

Uses the current display settings of the assembly.

Using Clearance Verification is a quick and simple way to check minimum clearances in an assy between components with the click of a few buttons.

We hope this has given you a better understanding of the capability available in the Clearance Verification tool.  Please check back for the rest of the series as we continue to take a deep dive into the SOLIDWORKS assembly validation tools that are available and how they work.  Please check back to the CATI Blog as the Dedicated Support Team will continue posting new series of articles every month that go further into the details of many of the SOLIDWORKS tools. All of these articles will be stored in the category of Daily Dose…..of SOLIDWORKS Support and links to each article with their release date are listed below:

Computer Aided Technology, Inc.

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