Architectural Layouts in SOLIDWORKS

How and Why to Create a Layout

• →Use layout sketches to mark critical structures,  trees, existing walls, and machinery that can't move
• →Import a sketch picture directly from Google Maps or a floor plan to trace the correct proportions
• →Use global variables to control wall thickness, door height, and more across the entire model at once
• →Measure square footage instantly with the Evaluate tab, useful before buying tile, flooring, or materials
• →Color-code piping and wiring inside walls so you remember where everything runs years later

Assembly and Documentation Topics

• →Use assemblies to add furniture, test layouts, and evaluate ergonomics before moving anything heavy
• →Pattern studs across a wall with a linear pattern and pull them into your bill of materials
• →Multiple Mate Mode mates several components to a surface in one operation instead of one at a time
• →Add BOM equations to calculate total material quantities, like how much chicken wire you actually need
• →Create a walkthrough to virtually walk through your space at eye level, then record it to share
• →Take your layout into SOLIDWORKS Visualize for photorealistic rendering with real lighting

Amy is a Technical Trainer at CADimensions with over 13 years of design and engineering experience. She's known for finding unconventional uses for software, a habit that's earned her 5 U.S. Utility patents. The projects she demos in this session are personal ones: a chicken coop run, a full house layout built from tape measure dimensions, and a bathroom remodel she's currently working on. She built all of them in SOLIDWORKS.