ParaCrux

Available Everyday · 6 min

Use your design library

Keep house rules, tolerances and material notes in a library the Agent searches before it works.

Video in production

Until it is ready, this is the running order. Each step is also written out below, and you can try it in the simulator.

  1. Design context

    This design is empty; Library shows Starter entries.

  2. Add Starter entries

    Add to design on ISO 273 and ISO 2768.

  3. Write an entry

    Write a house rule, shared across designs.

  4. Ask

    'What clearance hole for M8?'; the search call; the cited answer.

  5. Where used

    References, right-click, View where used.

You need

  • The app activated
  • Agent connection set to CueCrux Credits or OpenAI Subs (shown beside Send)
  • A design open in the Solidworks Agent workspace

You'll come away with

  • Add Starter entries and your own notes to a design
  • Know exactly what the Agent's search will and won't find
  • Trace which designs used an entry's source file

Step by step

  1. Open Design context

    On your design, open the Design context tab. This design shows what the Agent can search; Library shows the Starter entries and anything shared across designs.

  2. Add Starter entries

    The Library comes with Starter entries such as ISO 2768 medium tolerances, ISO 273 clearance holes and tap drill sizes. Choose Add to design on the ones you use. The Agent searches this design's entries and anything shared across designs, but not Starter entries until you add them

  3. Write your own

    Choose + (Write a new entry). Pick This design only, or The library, shared across designs. Give it a title and the engineering context, and optionally a source reference.

  4. Ask the Agent to use it

    Ask a question that the library answers. The Agent searches titles and text for your words and cites the entry it used.

    “What clearance hole should I use for an M8 bolt?”

  5. See where a source was used

    If an entry has a source file, the Agent can attach it to the design. To trace it later, right-click the file in References and choose View where used.

Try it here.

The Starter entries are the app's own, and the search follows the app's rule exactly: this design's entries and anything shared, never Starter entries until added. Add or write entries, then search. The requests in quotes show how the Agent might phrase a search.

Design context simulated · real Starter entries · real search rule

Library · Starter

  • House defaults: units, tolerances and edges

    Model and dimension in millimetres. Unless a drawing states otherwise, general tolerances are ISO 2768-mK (medium linear/angular, class K geometrical). Break sharp edges 0.5 × 45° unless stated. State any assumption about units, tolerances or material before modelling. House default: edit to match your own drawing standard.

  • ISO 2768-1 medium (m): general linear tolerances

    Permissible deviations for linear dimensions without an individual tolerance, class m (medium): 0.5 to 3 mm: ±0.1 over 3 to 6: ±0.1 over 6 to 30: ±0.2 over 30 to 120: ±0.3 over 120 to 400: ±0.5 over 400 to 1000: ±0.8 over 1000 to 2000: ±1.2 over 2000 to 4000: ±2 Use an individual tolerance wherever function depends on it (fits, locating features, sealing faces). General guidance: confirm against the standard edition you work to.

  • Clearance holes for metric bolts (ISO 273)

    Hole diameter in mm, fine / medium / coarse series: M3: 3.2 / 3.4 / 3.6 M4: 4.3 / 4.5 / 4.8 M5: 5.3 / 5.5 / 5.8 M6: 6.4 / 6.6 / 7.0 M8: 8.4 / 9.0 / 10.0 M10: 10.5 / 11.0 / 12.0 M12: 13.0 / 13.5 / 14.5 M16: 17.0 / 17.5 / 18.5 M20: 21.0 / 22.0 / 24.0 Default to medium. Use fine where holes locate parts; coarse for site assembly or where hole positions stack up. General guidance: confirm against your own standards.

  • Tapping drill sizes, metric coarse threads

    Thread × pitch: tap drill (mm) M3 × 0.5: 2.5 M4 × 0.7: 3.3 M5 × 0.8: 4.2 M6 × 1.0: 5.0 M8 × 1.25: 6.8 M10 × 1.5: 8.5 M12 × 1.75: 10.2 M16 × 2.0: 14.0 M20 × 2.5: 17.5 Rule: tap drill ≈ nominal diameter − pitch. In a blind hole, drill at least 3 pitches deeper than the full thread you need. General guidance: confirm against your tooling supplier.

  • Thread engagement rules of thumb

    Minimum engaged thread length for a bolt into a tapped hole: Steel into steel: 1 × D Into cast iron or brass: 1.5 × D Into aluminium: 2 × D (1.5 × D minimum) For repeated assembly in aluminium or plastics, use threaded inserts (helical coil or press-in). Avoid tapped holes deeper than about 3 × D: the extra length adds little strength. Rules of thumb: check critical joints by calculation.

  • Aluminium 6082-T6

    General-purpose structural aluminium alloy for extrusions, bar and plate. Density: 2.70 g/cm³ Young's modulus: about 70 GPa 0.2% proof strength: typically at least 250 MPa; tensile strength at least 290 MPa (EN 755-2 extrusions; minimums depend on size range) Machines well; good corrosion resistance; anodises well. Welding: strength in the heat-affected zone drops substantially; allow for it or avoid welding highly stressed areas. Not suited to tight bends in T6: use 5754/5083 or a softer temper for formed parts. General guidance: confirm against supplier certificates.

  • Structural steel S275JR (EN 10025-2)

    Common hot-rolled structural steel. Density: 7.85 g/cm³ Young's modulus: about 210 GPa Minimum yield strength: 275 MPa for thickness up to 16 mm, decreasing for thicker sections Tensile strength: 410 to 560 MPa (typical thickness range) Readily welded and formed. Needs corrosion protection: hot-dip galvanising or a paint system. General guidance: confirm against the standard and mill certificates.

  • Stainless steel 304 (1.4301)

    General-purpose austenitic stainless steel. Density: about 7.9 g/cm³ Young's modulus: about 200 GPa 0.2% proof strength: at least about 210 to 230 MPa depending on product form (EN 10088-2) Tensile strength: about 520 to 720 MPa Good corrosion resistance indoors and in mild outdoor use. For marine or chloride exposure, use 316 (1.4401). Work-hardens when machined: use sharp tools and steady feeds. General guidance: confirm against supplier certificates.

  • Sheet metal design rules of thumb

    Inside bend radius: start at 1 × material thickness (t) for mild steel, stainless and 5000-series aluminium. Use a larger radius or a softer temper for 6000-series aluminium. Minimum flange length: about 4 × t, and not shorter than the fabricator's tooling allows. Hole or slot edge to a bend: at least 2 × t plus the bend radius, so the hole does not distort. Hole diameter: at least t. Hole edge to part edge: at least 1.5 × t. Add bend reliefs where a bend meets an edge. Rules of thumb: confirm radii and flange limits with your fabricator.

  • Machined part rules of thumb

    Internal vertical corners: radius at least one third of the pocket depth, so a standard end mill can finish them. Pocket depth: up to about 4 × the tool diameter. Minimum wall thickness: about 0.8 mm in metals and 1.5 mm in plastics. Keep thin features stiff: aim for height no more than about 4 × thickness on unsupported walls. Use standard drill and tap sizes. Tolerance only what matters: tight tolerances everywhere cost time. Rules of thumb: confirm with your machine shop.

  • Fastener defaults

    Socket head cap screws: ISO 4762. Steel frames indoors: property class 8.8, zinc plated. Outdoors: stainless A2-70. Marine or chloride exposure: A4-80. Flat washers ISO 7089 under nuts and heads on slotted or oversize holes. Where vibration is expected: prevailing-torque (nyloc) nuts ISO 10511 or a thread-locking compound. Avoid mixing stainless fasteners with aluminium in wet environments without isolation. House default: edit to match your preferred ranges and suppliers.

  • Drawing checklist

    Title block: part number, title, revision, material, finish, mass, scale, drawn/checked initials and date. State units, general tolerance (for example ISO 2768-mK) and projection method (first angle in the UK and Europe). Note for deburring and breaking sharp edges. Dimension from functional datums; avoid chains of tolerances that stack up. Call out threads fully (for example M8 × 1.25 - 6H, depth) and surface finish where it matters. Check the revision table matches the model revision.

Write a new entry
Add to

This design · 0 entries

Nothing here yet, so the Agent's search finds nothing. Add a Starter entry or write one.

CALLdesign_library_search

0 entries returned to the Agent

Starter entries and matching rule: the product's own · Requests in quotes are examples of how the Agent might phrase a search

What it won't do

  • Search matches your words literally, ignoring case. It does not understand synonyms: 'clearance' finds clearance holes, 'bolt hole' may not.
  • The Agent sees at most the 20 newest matches.
  • Starter entries must be added to a design before the Agent's search can find them.
  • Entries are reference data, not instructions. Text in an entry cannot make the Agent do anything.
  • Shared means shared across designs in this workspace on this computer, not online.
  • Starter values are general guidance. Confirm them against your own standards and the governing edition.

Covers: Design library search. See the full index