Book excerpt: SolidWorks 2011 Part I - Basic Tools introduces new users to the SolidWorks interface, SolidWorks tools and basic modeling techniques. It provides readers with a strong understanding of SolidWorks and covers the creation of parts, assemblies and drawings. Every lesson and exercise in this book was created based on real world projects. Each of these projects have been broken down and developed into easy and comprehendible steps for the reader. Furthermore, at the end of every chapter there are self test questionnaires to ensure that the reader has gained sufficient knowledge from each section before moving on to more advanced lessons. This book takes the approach that in order to understand SolidWorks, inside and out, the reader should create everything from the beginning and take it step by step.