Drawing Generator | Solidworks Add-On Application

Aim

To create a program that would automate the creation of drawings of plates and beams in a very complex assembly.
The output of the application should be 2D drawings of the specified components with dimensions automatically created by the application.
An Excel sheet generated after the output process consists of further details of the generated drawings.

Technologies
VB.NET Python Solidworks API
The Challenge

The most challenging feature of the application is orientating the elements for drawing creation. All assemblies and part models are completely different from each other. The application has to appropriately find the perfect orientation that will provide the most information for manufacturing. It should also follow the third angle of projection.
The solution we implemented was to identify all the parameters of the specified items whether it’s an I Beam, L Beam, a Plate etc., and process that information in our algorithm which we developed for this very purpose.
The algorithm proved to be very effective and provided the perfect orientation for any model we threw at it.

User Interface
Working Process
Output Data
  • 2D Drawings of Beams and Plates of specified thickness
  • 1:1 Scale Drawings of Plates so they can be directly sent to manufacturing after QC.
  • Excel Sheet containing all details of the drawings such as Pattern Name, Number of Items. Length, Width Thickness and Drawing Scale.
  • All data will be stored in a single folder which will be created for that specific project, with the standardized naming sequence of the company.