How to Set Up Reference Planes in SolidWorks

A new SOLIDWORKS reference plane is defined from one, two, or up to three pieces of existing geometry, then made fully defined before you accept it. You can use a plane to place sketches, control offsets, create angled features, define sweep profiles, or establish an aircraft layout without tying every feature to changing model faces. This guide covers the Plane PropertyManager, common reference combinations, and a practical way to organize planes for aircraft design.

What SOLIDWORKS Reference Planes Do

A reference plane is construction geometry: it does not add material, cut material, or appear as a manufactured part. Instead, it gives sketches and features a stable place to start.

Every new part begins with the standard Front, Top, and Right planes, plus the model origin. Those default planes are usually the best foundation for early sketches because they are stable and not dependent on later features.

Create additional planes when a feature needs to be:

• Offset from an existing surface or datum
• Centered between two parallel faces
• Angled around an edge, axis, or sketch line
• Tangent to a cylindrical or curved surface
• Located at the end of a sweep path
• Positioned through points, vertices, or sketch points

A reference plane remains parametric. If the geometry or dimension that defines it changes, the plane and features attached to it update as well.

How to Create a New Reference Plane in SOLIDWORKS

Choose the type of geometric relationship you need before opening the Plane command.

You Need to Create	Select as References	Typical Plane Relationship
A plane at a set distance from a face	A planar face or existing plane	Parallel offset
A centered plane	Two parallel faces or planes	Midplane halfway between them
An angled sketch plane	A plane or planar face, plus an edge or axis	Angle about a hinge line
A sweep-profile plane	A path endpoint and a line, edge, or axis	Plane normal to the path direction
A plane through points	Three vertices or sketch points	Plane through three points
A tangent plane on a round part	A cylindrical face and a plane or face	Tangent, with orientation control

Step 1: Identify Stable Plane References

1. Decide what should control the plane’s position in the future.
2. Use existing reference planes, axes, master sketches, and layout geometry when possible.
3. Model faces can serve as design datums for plane references.
4. Create a sketch point, centerline, or reference axis first if the plane needs a precise location or rotation direction.

For example, an angled plane generally needs two ideas: a base plane to establish its starting orientation and a straight edge, axis, or sketch line to act as the hinge for rotation.

Avoid defining an important plane from a cosmetic fillet, shell face, or downstream cut. Those references often fail when the model changes.

Step 2: Start the Plane Command

Open the Plane PropertyManager using either of these paths:

• Features > Reference Geometry > Plane
• Insert > Reference Geometry > Plane

The Plane command remains active while you choose references and define the relationship between the new plane and the selected geometry.

Step 3: Select the Geometry That Defines the Plane

1. Click the First Reference selection box in the Plane PropertyManager.
2. Select a plane, face, edge, axis, point, vertex, or sketch entity in the graphics area.
3. Add geometry to the Second and Third reference fields when the plane needs more constraints.
4. Choose the available relation that gives the plane the intended behavior.

The Plane command labels the selection fields First, Second, and Third. One or two references are enough for many planes; three references are commonly needed when defining a plane through points or vertices.

The relation options depend on what you select. In the SOLIDWORKS Plane PropertyManager help, Coincident creates a plane that passes through the selected reference, while Parallel creates a plane parallel to a selected plane.

For an angled plane:

1. Select an existing plane or planar face as the first reference.
2. Select a straight edge, axis, or sketch line as the second reference.
3. Choose the angle option.
4. Enter the required angle and use the direction control if the preview rotates the wrong way.

The selected line or axis becomes the rotation hinge. This is the key to making predictable incidence, dihedral, fixture, bracket, and swept-feature planes.

Step 4: Set the Offset, Angle, or Direction

Use the preview in the graphics area to confirm that the plane is on the intended side of the model.

For an offset plane:

1. Select the planar face or plane that the new plane should remain parallel to.
2. Enter the offset distance.
3. Use Flip Offset when the plane needs to move to the other side of the reference.

When a plane uses multiple references, select all required references before changing the offset value. Select all required references before changing the offset value.

For a fast rough placement, select a vertex of an existing plane, hold CTRL, and drag the plane corner. This can speed up approximate positioning, but you still need to set the final references and dimensions in the Plane PropertyManager.

Step 5: Confirm the Plane and Use It for a Sketch

1. Check the Plane PropertyManager status before accepting the feature.
2. Wait until it shows Fully Defined in green at the top.
3. Click the green check mark to create the plane.
4. Rename the plane with a name that describes its purpose.
5. Select the new plane and start a sketch, or choose it when SOLIDWORKS asks for a sketch plane.

A useful name describes function rather than creation order.

Common Reference Plane Setups

Offset, midplane, angled, tangent, three-point, and sweep-end planes support parallel sketches, centered features, cylindrical cuts, and correctly oriented sweep profiles.

Offset Planes and Midplanes

An offset plane is the simplest setup: select a planar face or existing plane, choose a parallel relationship, and enter the distance.

Use offset planes for repeated ribs, mounting holes, bulkheads, internal shelves, pattern start locations, and parallel sketches.

A midplane is useful when a feature must stay centered as two surrounding faces move. Select two parallel faces or planes to create a plane halfway between them. This is often more robust than calculating a separate offset dimension.

Angled and Tangent Planes

An angled plane is defined by a base plane and a linear hinge reference. It is especially useful for:

• Wing incidence and tailplane incidence
• Brackets and gussets
• Angled holes and cuts
• Sloped ribs
• Draft-related construction geometry

For cylindrical geometry, select a planar face or plane and a cylindrical face. SOLIDWORKS can create a plane tangent to the cylinder and perpendicular to the planar reference. You can also choose an angle option to rotate the plane around the cylindrical face, which is useful for locating cuts or keyways around a shaft.

Planes Through Points and at Sweep Ends

Three vertices or sketch points can define a plane through those locations. This is useful for irregular fixtures, loft guide geometry, and construction based on measured points.

For a sweep, create the path sketch first. Then use the path endpoint and a line, edge, or axis that establishes the path direction to create a plane at the path end. Sketch the sweep profile on that plane so the profile starts with the correct orientation.

How to Lay Out Reference Planes for Aircraft Design

For an aircraft concept, start an assembly with high-level reference sketches that establish primary spatial relationships, then create assembly-level planes for the components and geometry that follow.

Aircraft models benefit from a deliberate reference structure because the fuselage, wings, empennage, ribs, spars, landing gear, and control surfaces all depend on shared positions and angles.

Establish the Main Aircraft Datums

Start with the default origin and standard planes, then decide how they represent the aircraft coordinate system. A common approach is to use:

• A centerline plane for left-to-right symmetry
• A horizontal datum for vertical placement
• A longitudinal reference for fuselage stations
• A master plan-view sketch for span, sweep, and chord locations
• A master side-view sketch for fuselage profile, wing position, and tail position

Keep the origin at a meaningful design location, such as a fuselage datum, wing reference point, or centerline station. The important part is consistency: every major component should relate to the same coordinate scheme.

Create Planes by Function, Not by Feature Order

Build named reference planes for the aircraft’s major structural and aerodynamic locations:

• Fuselage station planes for frames, bulkheads, cabin sections, and nose or tail transitions
• Wing root and wing tip planes for airfoil sketches
• Spar planes for front and rear spar locations
• Rib planes for repeated wing sections
• Horizontal and vertical tail planes for stabilizer profiles
• Control-surface planes for flap, aileron, elevator, or rudder geometry

Use a master sketch line or axis as the hinge for angled planes. For example, an incidence plane can rotate around a wing reference line, while a dihedral plane can rotate around a centerline or root reference axis.

The named reference planes let you change wing position, span, tail location, or incidence without rebuilding each part from scratch.

Use Assembly-Level Planes for Shared Spatial Layout

You can create reference planes directly in an assembly through Reference Geometry > Plane. This is useful when the aircraft layout needs to control the relative placement of separate parts, such as a fuselage assembly, wing assembly, and tail assembly.

Use assembly-level planes for shared locations such as the wing mounting station, tailplane reference, landing gear attachment area, or overall centerline. If an assembly-level plane references components and mates, rebuild the assembly after those components or mates change so the plane can update.

Keep the layout references high in the FeatureManager tree. A plane tied to a master layout sketch is easier to edit.

Verify and Maintain Reference Planes

A plane can exist without serving the intended design purpose, so verify it before building many dependent features.

Use this quick check:

• Edit the plane and confirm the selected parent references are the intended ones.
• Check that the Plane PropertyManager is Fully Defined before accepting a new plane.
• Create a temporary or working sketch on the plane to confirm its location and orientation.
• Change one driving dimension in the layout and rebuild to confirm that the plane updates correctly.
• Rename important planes immediately.

If a plane breaks after a model edit, the usual cause is a missing or changed parent reference. Edit the plane, update its parent references, then rebuild any dependent sketches and features.

Next, create one offset plane from a standard plane, sketch on it, and edit its offset once to see how the parametric reference updates the attached sketch.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do I Assign a Plane to a Sketch?

Select the reference plane, then start a new sketch. You can also start the Sketch command first and choose the desired plane when prompted to select a sketch plane. The sketch remains attached to that plane unless you deliberately redefine it.

Which Plane Should I Sketch On for a Round Part: XY, XZ, or YZ?

Choose the plane that makes the part’s primary shape easiest to dimension and edit. For a turned or shaft-like part, sketch the longitudinal profile on a plane that includes the part centerline, then revolve it around that centerline. Use a tangent reference plane when adding a feature to the outside of a cylindrical surface.

How Do I Create Reference Dimensions in a 3D SOLIDWORKS Sketch?

Open or create the sketch on the appropriate plane, then dimension lines, points, and relationships. Add dimensions to lines and points in the sketch to describe distances, angles, or positions. Convert a driving dimension to a reference dimension when the geometry is already controlled by other dimensions and relations.

How Do I Find What References a Plane Uses?

Edit the plane to open the Plane PropertyManager. Its First, Second, and Third reference fields show the geometry that defines the plane, along with the active relationship such as Coincident, Parallel, tangent, offset, or angle. Highlighting those references helps identify whether the plane depends on a stable datum or a fragile model edge.

Can I Make a Plane Tangent to a Cylindrical Part?

Yes. Select the cylindrical face and a planar face or existing plane, then choose the tangent plane option available in the Plane PropertyManager. Add an angle relationship when you need to rotate the tangent plane around the cylinder to place a cut, slot, sketch, or keyway at a specific rotational position.

How Can You Practice Creating Reference Planes in SOLIDWORKS?

Practice by creating an offset plane from an existing plane or a flat face, then changing its offset value. Use the Plane PropertyManager to choose the defining references, and create the plane only when its status shows Fully Defined.