Check
A design check before you make it: overlapping parts, loose parts, problems, sketches that can still change, materials, stability and board sizes.
- CheckPart Studio toolbar, at the right
| SchoolCAD | Onshape | Fusion | SOLIDWORKS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Check | – | Interference | Interference Detection |
Check looks over your whole design before you make it, the way your teacher would in the workshop. It finds parts that overlap (two parts in the same space cannot be made and put together), parts that do not touch anything, features with problems, sketches that could still change shape, parts with no material, designs that would tip over, and timber that is not a standard board size.
How to use it#
- Click Check in the toolbar. The Design check panel opens in the corner of the view.
- Read the top line. It says Ready to make, or how many things there are to look at before you make it.
- Use the buttons beside each item to fix it. The list updates as you change your design.
- Click Check again, or ✕ on the panel, to close it.
| Mark | It means |
|---|---|
| ✓ | All good. |
| ✕ | A problem to fix before you make it. |
| ! | A warning: have a look. |
| i | Something to know. |
What it checks#
| Check | What to do |
|---|---|
| Features | If a feature has a problem or a warning, click Edit to fix it. |
| Overlapping parts | While Check is open, the parts turn see-through and any overlap shows in red. Click Show to zoom to it, or Make a joint to turn it into a woodwork joint. Or move or resize one of the parts. |
| Loose parts | A part that does not touch anything is floating. Click Select to find it. Is it meant to be fixed to another part? |
| Sketches | Blue lines in a sketch can still move. Add dimensions and constraints so the shape cannot change by accident. |
| Stability | For a design that stands on a base: whether it would fall over, or tips over easily (at less than 10°). Widen the base, or move weight lower or back over the base. |
| Materials | Mass, cost and the cut list need a material. Click Select, then right-click the part to choose one. |
| Board sizes | For Radiata Pine parts: whether each one can be cut from a standard DAR (dressed all round) board: 19 mm thick, 42, 64, 89, 140, 184, 235 or 285 mm wide, and 1.2, 1.8 or 2.4 m long. Click Cutting plan to see which boards to buy. |
A part that needs ripping to width fits a standard board, but has to be sawn along its length to make it narrower.
Tips#
- Run Check before you export a drawing, a laser cut file or a cutting plan.
- Check only looks at the parts you can see. Show any hidden parts first.
- Check and Measure share the corner of the view, so opening one closes the other.
- To look inside an overlap or a joint, use Section view.
If it does not work#
- Checked 12 of 45 pairs of parts (the rest took too long). A big design has many pairs of parts to compare. Hide the parts you have already checked, and the check runs again on the rest.
- Two parts overlap, but they should fit together. Parts that share space cannot be made like that. Cut a joint where they meet with Make a joint, or use Boolean to cut one part with the other.
- Every sketch should be fully defined, but one is not. Double-click the sketch in the feature tree. Lines that are still blue need a dimension or a constraint.