ENGINEERING STUDY / DRAWINGJS—02
SolidWorks PDF Export Add-In Prototype
A minimal C# SolidWorks add-in that exposes a command to save the active drawing as PDF.
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AutomationmacroWorkflow development
Automated Cope Detail Drawing Generator
A SolidWorks VBA workflow that generates cope-detail views for weldment cut-list items and adds BOM balloons.
Read code & workflow ↗
Explore the code, workflow and required setup.
MY FOCUSDeveloped geometry classification, view competition, orientation logic, placement, sorting, and BOM-balloon workflows.
ENGINEERING VALUE
Demonstrates advanced CAD API automation and robust fallback design across heterogeneous fabrication geometry.
ENGINEERING STUDY / DRAWINGJS—02
Engineering concept illustration.
01 / THE PROBLEM
The engineering challenge.
Producing consistent cope-detail views for varied weldment bodies requires repetitive view selection, orientation, placement, and annotation work.
02 / CONSTRAINTS
What the solution must consider.
- The source must handle linear, curved, plate, round, and irregular bodies while avoiding invalid or poorly oriented views.
03 / ENGINEERING APPROACH
Reasoning before geometry.
01
Engineering method
Isolate each body, fingerprint geometry, evaluate candidate views with category-specific scores, apply staged orientation fallbacks, then place and annotate the accepted view.
02
Workflow features
One detail view per cut-list item; Category-based body analysis; Six standard plus optional custom-view scoring; Projected-span and edge-based rotation fallbacks; Row placement and real BOM balloons.
04 / DESIGN & IMPLEMENTATION
Connecting intent to execution.
V8.12 combines body classification, view selection and fallback drawing logic. V9.1 introduces sorting and compile fixes; deployment requires a consistent version of the module and templates.
- One detail view per cut-list item
- Category-based body analysis
- Six standard plus optional custom-view scoring
- Projected-span and edge-based rotation fallbacks
- Row placement and real BOM balloons
05 / VALIDATION
The checks behind the design.
Workflow development
The implementation covers several fabrication-body types and fallback paths. Drawing orientation and output quality require representative SolidWorks part and template checks.
06 / OUTCOME
The value of the work.
Demonstrates advanced CAD API automation and robust fallback design across heterogeneous fabrication geometry.
THE ENGINEERING PRINCIPLE
Automate the workflow, including its failure cases.
Reliable engineering automation needs input checks, predictable output, clear diagnostics and a way to verify that quantities and references were preserved. Saving clicks alone is not sufficient evidence of correctness.
A question for a technical conversation
What would you test when the input is incomplete, duplicated or outside the tool’s supported scope?
LET’S BUILD SOMETHING THAT WORKS
Good design belongs
on the shop floor.
Considering a role in mechanical design, manufacturing methods,
fixture design, or estimation? Let’s connect.