Sketch trim and extend in Solidworks - Real Business Scenario

Scenario Mode

👤 Your Role: You are a product designer working with 2D sketches in SolidWorks.

📋 Request: Your manager wants you to clean up a complex sketch by trimming unnecessary parts and extending lines to meet other sketch entities precisely.

📊 Data: You have a sketch with overlapping lines, extra segments, and lines that do not quite meet. The sketch includes several intersecting lines and arcs.

🎯 Deliverable: A clean, trimmed, and extended sketch ready for feature creation, with all lines properly connected and no extra segments.

Sample Data

Entity ID	Type	Description	Coordinates
1	Line	Horizontal line from (0,0) to (100,0)	(0,0) to (100,0)
2	Line	Vertical line from (50,-50) to (50,50)	(50,-50) to (50,50)
3	Line	Diagonal line from (0,0) to (100,100)	(0,0) to (100,100)
4	Arc	Arc centered at (50,50) radius 30 from (80,50) to (50,80)	Arc (80,50) to (50,80)
5	Line	Short line from (90,0) to (110,0) overlapping line 1	(90,0) to (110,0)
6	Line	Line from (50,50) to (50,70) not touching arc 4	(50,50) to (50,70)

1

Step 1: Use the Trim tool to remove the overlapping segment of line 5 that extends beyond line 1.

Select Trim tool > Click on the segment of line 5 from (100,0) to (110,0) to trim it off.

Expected Result

Line 5 is trimmed to end exactly at (100,0), matching line 1 endpoint.

2

Step 2: Extend line 6 so it touches arc 4 by dragging its endpoint.

Select line 6 > Drag endpoint at (50,70) to meet arc 4 at (50,80).

Expected Result

Line 6 endpoint is extended to (50,80), touching arc 4 precisely.

3

Step 3: Trim any extra segments of line 3 that extend beyond intersections with lines 1 and 2.

Select Trim tool > Click on parts of line 3 beyond intersection point at (50,50) to remove them.

Expected Result

Line 3 is trimmed to start at (0,0) and end at (50,50), no extra beyond intersection.

4

Step 4: Verify all lines and arcs connect exactly at intersection points with no gaps or overlaps.

Use Zoom and Select tool to check endpoints of all entities; adjust with Trim or Extend as needed.

Expected Result

Sketch is clean with all entities connected properly, ready for feature creation.

Final Result

Sketch Overview:

  (0,100)       *
               |
               |
               |
(0,50) *-------*-------* (100,50)
       \       |       /
        \      |      /
         *-----*-----* (100,0)

Legend:
* = Intersection points
Lines and arcs trimmed and extended to meet exactly at these points.

✓Overlapping line segments were removed to avoid confusion in the sketch.

✓Lines were extended to meet arcs precisely, ensuring clean geometry.

✓The sketch is now fully connected with no gaps or overlaps.

✓This clean sketch will prevent errors in later 3D feature creation.

Bonus Challenge

Create a parametric relation to automatically trim and extend lines when endpoints move.

Show Hint

Use SolidWorks relations and constraints like Coincident and Equal Length to maintain connections dynamically.