The first time you load Solid Edge at your company, you should consider setting standards to apply to the drawings you create in the Draft environment.
Although you can change the settings in the Draft environment to meet company requirements each time you create a Draft document, you will be more productive if you set up one or more Draft documents with the standard settings you need. You can then use these documents as templates for all of your drawings, making it easier for all users to conform to company standards.
When setting your drawing standards, consider the following:
Background sheet graphics for your drawing borders
The projection angle you want
The thread depiction standard you want
The edge display symbology you want for the drawing views
The standard you want for the dimension style
The fonts you want for text on your drawings
When you use the Document option, the working units for the new document are based on the option you selected when you loaded the software. For example, if you selected the Metric option, the working units will be metric; if you selected the English option the working units will be English.
The advantage to this approach is that graphics for the background sheets already exist in the new document. You can customize these graphics by adding your company logo and any other graphics you want.
Most companies use custom graphics for their drawing borders. These graphics can include title block information, zone markings, company logos, and so forth. You can create the graphics you need from scratch or you can translate graphics from AutoCAD or MicroStation using the Open command on the File menu.
If you are creating the graphics from scratch, you should consider modifying the generic background sheet graphics in the templates you use to create new documents.
These graphics have been sized correctly for the standard English and metric sheet sizes. You can easily delete and add graphics to meet your requirements. You can use the Grid command to precisely position the new graphics you place.
If you translate graphics from another CAD system, they will be placed on the working sheet. You can then cut and paste them to the background sheet.
After you have created your custom graphics for the sheet sizes you use, you can delete the background sheet graphics for any sizes you do not use. Doing this will reduce the size of your standard Draft document.
When you create drawing views that are folded from an existing drawing view, they are created using either first angle or third angle projection. You can set the projection angle you want on the Options dialog box.
When you create drawing views that contain threaded features, they are displayed using the ANSI or ISO standard for thread depiction. You can set the thread depiction standard you want on the Options dialog box.
Note:
When constructing parts with industry standard threads, you should typically use the Hole or Thread commands, not the Helical Protrusion or Helical Cutout commands.
Helical features require significantly more memory to construct and display in part documents, and take significantly longer to process in a drawing view. You should only use helical features where the actual shape of the helical feature is important to the design or manufacturing process, such as with springs and custom or unique threads.
You can set the edge display symbology for visible, hidden, and tangent edges for drawing views so they are displayed according to the standards for your company or industry. For example, your company may not show hidden edges on the drawings you create. Also you may use a different line thickness for visible and hidden edges. You can set the Edge Display options you want on the Options dialog box.
Solid Edge is delivered with dimension styles for commonly used drawing standards including ANSI, ISO, DIN, and so forth. The Style Type option on the Style dialog box is used to choose the dimension style you want.
After you select the dimension style you want, you can modify the settings within the style to conform to the standards for your company. For example, you can choose the font, font size, working units, and so forth for the dimensions you place. You can also create new styles that are based on one of the existing styles.
For text you place on drawings, you will want to modify the text style settings to meet your standards. You can also create new text styles for the different types of text you place. For example you may use a different font for text in the title block than the text for notes.
By creating additional styles, you can quickly change all the text settings to match your needs. Defining the text styles in your standard Draft document will also ensure that all users place text that meet the standards for your company.
After you have finished creating your standard Draft documents you should test them to ensure that they meet your standards and make any modifications that are needed. You should archive a copy in case the originals are accidentally deleted or modified. If you have multiple users at your company, you should place your standard Draft documents in the folder where the other Solid Edge templates are stored.
When you load a new version of Solid Edge in the future, you should create new standard Draft documents again. This will ensure that any enhancements made to the document structure in the software are incorporated properly.