SolidWorks Tutorial – The Pipe Assembly

In this tutorial we will learn to use SolidWorks to design a simple PVC pipe assembly. The assembly consists of a section of straight pipe, an elbow, and a tee. We will begin by drawing the straight pipe, then work our way through progressively more complicated parts. Once the parts are drawn, we will put them together in an assembly. Our ultimate goal is to create the assembly shown below.

The Straight Pipe

The pipe has an outer diameter of 1”, an inner diameter of 0.75” and a length of 6”. To create the pipe, we will first sketch its profile, and then extrude it to its final length. Begin by clicking File and then New…. Select Part from the three options shown and click OK.


Next, select the Front plane from the tree on the left side of the screen. This tells SolidWorks that you wish to draw a sketch on the Front sketching plane. At the top of the screen, make sure that the Sketch tab is selected and click the Sketch button. You should now see a red origin symbol at the center of the screen. Click the Circle tool (in the toolbar at the top of the screen) and then move the mouse over the origin. When the cursor turns into an orange dot, click the origin. Drag the circle outward until it is a convenient size (you’ll dimension it later). When you release the mouse button, a circle should remain. Click and drag another circle centered at the origin. You should now have two blue circles on the screen. Press Escape to turn off circle creation mode.

The Elbow

Create the sketch below on the Front plane.

Now exit the sketch, and create the next sketch on the Top plane. Use the Fillet tool to create the 1” radius in the sketch.

Exit the sketch and, from the Features tab, select the Swept Boss/Base tool. In the Profile box (light blue) select the first sketch (the circles). In the Path box (pink) select the second sketch. Select the green check mark to complete the elbow.

The next step is to create the socket where the straight pipe can fit into the elbow. Select one face of the elbow and create the sketch shown below. Use the Extruded Cut tool at a depth of 0.5”. Repeat the procedure on the other face.

You should now have the elbow shown in the picture below. If you wish, you can add the 0.020” fillets on the outer edges.

The Tee

The tee will be created in a similar fashion as the elbow. First, create the sketch shown below on the Front plane. For this sketch, only one circle is needed. Extrude this to a depth of 1.25”.

Next, create the sketch below on the Right plane. Add a relation so that the top of the circle is tangent to the top of the previous feature. Extrude this Mid-Plane to a depth of 2.5”.

Next, on the surface you just created, draw the sketch shown below. Use Cut Extrude to cut the circle out Through All.

Next, on the same face, create the sketch below. This Cut Extrude will create the socket for inserting the straight pipe. Use the Mirror feature to duplicate the socket on the other face.

Next, we will build the third socket on the other face of the tee. Create the sketch shown below and use Extruded Cut to cut out the material Up to Surface. Select the inside surface of the tee to give SolidWorks a surface to cut to. Create the socket in the same manner as before.

To complete the tee, create 0.050” fillets between the legs and 0.020” fillets on the outer edges.

The Tee Subassembly

In the File menu, select New, and create a new Assembly. In the View menu, select Origins so that the origin can be seen. Create the assembly below.

The Elbow Subassembly

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