If you look at the every day use of SolidWorks, I would think that the Measure Tool would rank among the most used features inside the software.  SolidWorks 2013 brings some very nice enhancements to the Measure Tool.

The image below shows you two new options, Point to Point and History, that have been added to the Measure dialog box.  The Arc/Circle Measurement options have been enhanced and now have more options when compared to previous versions.

 

The Arc/Circle Measurement setting now includes a “Custom Distance” option which allows you to combine Center, Maximum, or Minimum settings amongst the items selected.

The History tool allows  you to recall recent measurements that you have made in your session of SolidWorks.  When you select this option a separate window pops up displaying the previous measurements.  If the list gets too long, you have the option to clear the history via a button at the top of the History window.

The Point to Point tool allows you to select vertices or arbitrary locations of the model to get a linear measurement between two points.  The image below shows to model vertices that were measured using this option.

As I mentioned before, arbitrary points such as approximate locations on faces can be selected and used with the Point to Point tool for approximate measurements.  The image below is an example of this type of measurement.  (Note that the Normal Distance between the planes containing the arbitrary points is still shown.)

I believe that ALL of these enhancements will be quite useful for everyday functions inside of SolidWorks.

That’s all for now…stay tuned…more to come!