How to Use Crop View in SolidWorks Drawings

What Is a Crop View?

A Crop View in SolidWorks is a drawing-only feature that lets you isolate a portion of a drawing view using a sketched boundary. It’s commonly used in manufacturing drawings to provide a close-up of small features without scaling the entire part.

How to Create a Crop View

1. Open your drawing and select the view you want to crop.
   
   
2. Click on Sketch in the CommandManager.
   
   
3. Use the Spline or Rectangle tool to draw a closed shape around the area you want to keep visible.
   
   
4. Once the sketch is complete, go to the View Layout tab.
   
   
5. Click on Crop View.
   
   

SolidWorks will hide everything outside the sketched boundary, leaving only the area inside visible.

Tips for Effective Crop Views

• Use splines for irregular shapes and rectangles or circles for more defined regions.
  
  
• Make sure the sketch is closed or the Crop View option will be unavailable.
  
  
• You can resize or edit the crop sketch later by right-clicking on the Crop View and selecting Edit Sketch.
  
  

Combine with Cloud PDM for Better Drawing Management

When working with complex assemblies or standardized drawing formats, cloud-based PDM systems help manage multiple drawing views and configurations more efficiently. With cloud PDM, you can:

• Reuse drawing templates with predefined crop views
  
  
• Share detailed views without exposing the full design
  
  
• Ensure version control across drawing iterations
  
  

Using a cloud PDM solution like Sibe.io makes it easier to manage drawing revisions and collaborate with teams who need access to specific parts of the design.

Summary: The Crop View tool in SolidWorks is essential for focusing on detail areas in a clean, professional drawing. By combining this feature with cloud PDM, you can streamline your documentation process and improve design clarity across your team.

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