As I reflect back on the early days oflearning SolidWorksI remember being confused by the Broken Out Section view. Now, that being said I must admit when I was getting started I didn't have the opportunity to take an formalSolidWorks training. 

 

A broken out section view is like using a Cut extrude, only in a Drawing instead.

 

 

 

When you activate the Broken out Section view command you will find yourself creating a spline to define the closed contour.  If you would like to have a contour other then a single closed spline then you need to create your sketch before you activate the command.

As a cautionary note, if you are going to create a broken out section view using a closed contour you do still want to limit your use of "straight edges" as they may appear to be model geometry.

 

If you are going to create your sketch before you activate the broken out section view command then you just want to make sure you have one of the sketch edges highlighted when you activate the command.

Once you have activated the command you are given the option to select the parts that WILL NOT be affected by the cut.

Now that we have selected the parts that are not going to be affected by the broken out section view it is time to select how deep the cut should go.

The trick to this step is the select an edge of the geometry that is a the correct depth. This is particularly easy if you are looking to cut half way through a round part as you just need to select any one of the side edges.

Well, I hope this SolidWorks Tip was a help. If you need any additional help with this or any other SolidWorks related problem E-mail me at

This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Cheers,

Al