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I have a pretty complicated part in solidworks that I need to 3D print. The part is designed to be a support, holding up a gauge on the side of a small pump.

On the other side of the pump, I would like to have the same part but in the opposite orientation to hold up another gauge. Rather than going through the tedious process of building the mirrored part from scratch, it would be easier to mirror the entire part about the relevant face. Is this possible in solidworks?

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  • $\begingroup$ duplicate then delete & rotate... $\endgroup$
    – Solar Mike
    Commented Dec 30, 2020 at 6:33

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Probably Jonathan R Swift will give the best reply, however I'll give it a try.

It can be done in many ways.

Assembly level

In the assembly you have an option under Linear component Pattern.

enter image description here

Part level - 1

If the distance is fixed and the orientation You can create another body within the same part. (This is something people sometimes forget)

Then you can insert that body as you would normally do

Part Level - 2

You can Save as a new part, then in the new part mirror (and delete the old).

Now you will have two mirrored parts that you can insert.

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    $\begingroup$ This is a pretty comprehensive answer :) OP does ask about "to create a new part" but it's unclear if a new body in the same part would be sufficient - I usually export an .amf file directly into my 3D slicer and print both parts together for mirrored pairs like this. "Save as" method isn't my favourite, as these are now not linked in any way - you can insert a solid body from one part into another (mirror and delete old as you say), such that edits to the first part will propagate to the mirror $\endgroup$
    – Jonathan R Swift
    Commented Dec 30, 2020 at 22:10
  • $\begingroup$ @JonathanRSwift yes, as I am realizing now "a new body in the same part" is not sufficient since if I delete the old parts then the new body get's deleted as well. I didn't think to mention this in the OP (I can edit if necessary), but after the part is mirrored I need make additional changes that I don't want to be reflected onto the original. $\endgroup$
    – WnGatRC456
    Commented Dec 31, 2020 at 1:35
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    $\begingroup$ You should delete the old parts using the "delete/keep body" feature, not by deleting the features in the history tree $\endgroup$
    – Jonathan R Swift
    Commented Dec 31, 2020 at 7:41
  • $\begingroup$ Ohhhh... I didn't know that was a thing. I never took a class in solidworks, I taught myself. $\endgroup$
    – WnGatRC456
    Commented Dec 31, 2020 at 12:52

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