SOLIDWORKS Design & Help

great idea and clean presentation... maybe, because you asked for feedback... creation date (and owner/designer) ... possibly chronicle rev history... fields from within the configuration properties... hell, while we are here... why not a dialog box to add other property fields... weight, flat layout, bounding box dims...

The "Assembly Dashboard" is a proposed SolidWorks extension feature that provides a quick, centralized view of assembly information (like component counts, file size, and a preview image) and offers a tree view for targeted actions like generating a Bill of Materials (BOM) for specific subassemblies or gathering component data. It's designed to make managing and understanding SolidWorks assemblies faster and easier. This is a SolidWorks Assembly Dashboard Extension that provides a quick overview of an assembly's data (file info, component counts, mass properties) and its structural hierarchy in a tree view, designed for quick analysis and potential future interactions like BOM generation.

Why is this useful for a SolidWorks user?

• Time-Saving: Instead of going to "File > Properties," "Evaluate > Mass Properties," or expanding the FeatureManager Design Tree to count components, this dashboard aims to put all that critical data in one place, instantly.
• Design Validation: Quickly check mass and center of mass to ensure your design meets weight requirements and is balanced.
• Project Management: Understand the complexity (component count) and size (file size) of your assembly for project planning and resource allocation.
• Documentation: Generating a thumbnail instantly could aid in creating quick reports or visual references.
• Future Functionality (Potential): If the tree view evolves as you suggest, it could become a powerful hub for generating specific BOMs, isolating components for analysis, or even triggering other custom macros or tools on selected items.

For simplicity and time saving its a very good one.

Thank you for your thoughts. Yeah you're 100% right. Dates should definetly on the dashboard. That's a good on.

About the rev history, I'm not sure how to realize that exactly but I will think about it =)

Define standrad properties, create / remove non standard automatically and edit them is already implemented:

Define the standard properties as you need them

Edit properties of the currently open document

Or, in case it's an assembly document, get the properties of each component and edit them in a grid

Create checkup settings to locate faulty values (as far as it's possible)

You are streamlining yourself... fantastic work... I have never responded nor acknowledged any work, like, what... you are making, or at least designing a close to home requirement, that is just well set... I drops and defines the part... a red line to mark-up flag would also be terrific... I only say or add it, because... I am a manufacturer, programmer and deal with SOOO many "engineers"... (they are HCL, and not worth the paper they are printed on...)

I’ve been working with SolidWorks for about 8 years, and this whole program is simply the result of me being sick and tired of doing the same tasks over and over again. Even basic things, like downloading a model from a supplier's website and editing the properties because most of the required details are either missing or don’t match the design guidelines.

Most of the time, even SMBs end up buying PDM or ERP systems just for that reason. Sure, these programs provide legitimate services, but do you really need TeamCenter if you only have two design engineers and like 10 employees in total? And let’s be honest, these systems cost an absurd amount of money. For what? To flag that you typed "machined" instead of "Machined" in a data field?

So… this is actually an attempt to provide a solution for SMBs and freelancers that’s completely free. If you’re interested in downloading it, the link is in my profile.

Anyway, here’s the updated dashboard! I’ve added the features you suggested. Additionally, I’ve included all top-level mates, some relevant data, and the configuration names in the tree view. Oh, and the thumbnail still works, by the way. =D

It would be more usable if the data shown in the tables of UI are sharable in form of Excel and also can be saved in form of Excel , Since it provides ease of sharing which improves communication about the project

Thank you so much for your comment.

The BOM is definitely something that’s coming soon. For now, it’s included as a kind of purchasing list. You can gather all standard custom properties of each component (including all subassemblies and subcomponents) and edit them in a datagrid view by clicking the "Build Datagrid" button.

Since it absolutely makes sense to have an export function, it is currently implemented as a "flat" export. This function simply saves the datagrid as a CSV file.

So, this is what you get. As mentioned, it’s a purchasing list since it’s not structured into subassemblies. I decided not to export directly to Excel because if it’s not installed on your machine, Windows will throw runtime errors at you. CSV, on the other hand, is neutral and easy to import into any spreadsheet software. But yeah... there’s definitely more planned.

Have a great weekend

Yes , i agree with you

csv is much better option

keep going !!!

Hey guys,

I just released the latest SolidWorks Extension including the Assembly Dashboard. Feel free to download it over on my BuyMeACoffee Account in the shop section for free =)

Have a great week

can i ask a question ?

which coding language and libraries have you used ?

Sure. I’m coding in the latest VB.NET framework, which is currently version 8. The SolidWorks libraries are either installed during the SolidWorks installation process or can alternatively be downloaded as part of the "Software Development Kit" (SDK) from the SolidWorks website if you have an active user account. Is there something in particular you’re interested in?

Hey SolidWorks users,

After finishing my thesis last week, I finally found some time to continue developing the SolidWorks Extension.

Here’s what’s new in the Assembly Dashboard:

• Component View
• Components can now be selected or deselected directly in the app’s TreeView, synced with the SolidWorks assembly.
• When loading models, the app instantly checks if drawings exist and displays them in the TreeView.
• TreeView icons updated: hidden assembly/part, plus new states for envelope and lightweight components.
• Mates View
• Similar to the Component View: parts can be clicked in the TreeView and will be highlighted in the model.
• Configuration Overview
• Configuration data is now extracted and displayed in a DataGrid for easier access.

Here’s a screenshot of the current state:

I’d love to hear your thoughts:

• Which workflows in SolidWorks would you like to see simplified?
• Any features you feel are missing in the dashboard so far?