To get the most out of this book

You should already have a basic level of SolidWorks knowledge and be able to use a Windows PC. It will be assumed that you already know the building blocks of 3D modeling, such as sketching, as well as creating and editing features.

For those of you who are completely new to SolidWorks, it is advisable to gain a firm foundation in solid modeling first before trying to use the Sheet Metal module covered in this book.

You should also have a SolidWorks license if you wish to practice the exercises and skills covered in the book.

The examples given in this book were created using SolidWorks 2021. Different versions of SolidWorks can be used with the vast majority of the tools covered, but there may be minor differences in the interface and sub-options.

During the course of the book, if a certain tutorial or tool is causing problems, try double-checking all of the previous steps, or even try closing the part and starting again from the beginning.

Error messages in SolidWorks can be quite descriptive and often tell the user exactly what the issue is. So, if you're presented with an error, try to avoid the temptation to click OK without reading it properly, and instead, attempt to carry out the action suggested in the message.

If the problems persist, please feel free to contact me online via Twitter at www.twitter.com/johnoellison.

Throughout this book, millimeters are used as the unit of measurement, but this can be adjusted according to your preference by setting the model's units to inches (for example) and then typing the millimeter numerical value followed by mm in the Smart Dimension tool when adding dimensions. This will automatically convert the millimeter values into inches (or your selected unit type).