Curves and the Flex Feature

SolidWorks terminology gets all messed up when they start talking about “curves”. They have formal curve features, which include Projected Curve, Composite Curve, XYZ Curve, Reference Points Curve, Helix/Spiral.

But then they also have a Split Line curve, which actually creates edges, not curves.

And then they have stuff like Intersection Curves, Equation Driven Curves, Face Curves that are actually sketch functions.

Now honestly, is there a difference between curves, edges and sketches? Yes and no. But still. This software is hard enough to learn without mislabeling things.

And then… Did you ever wonder about the Flex Feature? It seems like an odd combination of things to talk about in a video, but the part I used for the video was made from some curves, so I just went with that as a combination of topics.

You might remember this model from oh, about 11 years ago. We had a modeling challenge using this part. https://dezignstuff.com/modeling-challenge-silver-spoon/

Anyway, check out the video. It walks you through some of the curve functionality, and goes into more detail on Flex.