Design Automation

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Design Automation and SolidWorks API and Macros

Design Automation

Paul Gimbel provided in SlideShare website some few things about automation that each designer should know:¹

100% automation is generally unachievable.
Typically, the last 10% of automation will not be worth it.
Something you didn’t plan for will always come up.
Your drawings are probably going to require clean-up.
Testing will take you far longer than you expect.
Your system will require ongoing maintenance and updates.

Design automation is a time-saver that is used to reduce the design cycle time by providing consistency and repeatability, which are two things that are essential in capturing and sharing efficient design methods. Design automation results to a quicker development and a shorter time to market which in turn results to a reduced total design cycle time and an increase in profitability.⁴

Design Automation with SolidWorks Macros and API

The SolidWorks API (Application Programmer’s Interface) is a “group of functions that provides direct access to SolidWorks functionality.” Examples of such functionalities are creation of a line, extruding a boss, or outputting a file format. The SolidWorks API is the gateway to the automation of repetitive tasks such as batch plotting, custom property access, or assembly “configurators.” [5]

A page in DesignPoint Solutions provides some examples of what SolidWorks API can do:⁵

Creating an application that can take any sheet metal part, generate its flat pattern and output it as a DXF file for use in a manufacturing environment
Creating an application that can take all the drawings associated with a project and can print them at one time with no user interaction
Creating an application that controls the custom properties of a part within the company standards that you define
Creating an application that would take the input of a sales person, build a custom design and automatically generate an eDrawing of the new product for delivery to the customer
Creating an application that could access any project, query the design, generate a Bill of Materials and output it in a format suitable for MRP integration
Creating an application that could generate a custom hole chart based on a coordinate system and any part

Macro information is the “recording of the modeling commands sequence or the modeling history.”² SolidWorks macros are un-compiled “programs written in Visual Basic for Applications, VBA for short,” although it can also be programmed using any software that supports COM (Component Object Model). VBA is the “most common COM-supporting development environment.” To save time, macros are used to simplify or automate tasks that are constantly being repeated.³

The words “macro” and “API” are sometimes used interchangeably. The difference lies in their nature. APIs are compiled programs, such as add-ins or some external executables, while macros are un-compiled programs.³

¹Gimbel, Paul. “Design Automation: Simple Solid Works Solutions to Practical Programmatic Packages.” Razorleaf. 15 Sep 2009. 3 Jan 2011 <http://www.slideshare.net/Razorleaf/design-automation-simple-solid-works-solutions-to-practical-programmatic-packages>.
²Kim, Byungchul, and Soonhung Han. “Integration of History-Based Parametric Translators Using the Automation APIs.” International Journal of Product Lifecycle Management 2.1 (2007): 18-29. 4 Jan 2011 <http://macro-parametrics.org/wiki/Datas/publications_link/1.pdf>.
³CharlesCulp. “Macros and API.” SolidMentor. 29 Nov 2007. 3 Jan 2011 <http://solidmentor.com/modules/wiwimod/index.php?page=Macros>.
⁴Nikolic, Dragomir M. An Improved Method and Apparatus for Automated Design and Verification of Integrated Circuits. Kentucky: University of Kentucky, 2005. 3 Jan 2011 <http://archive.uky.edu/bitstream/10225/279/thesis_final.pdf>.
⁵“Training – SolidWorks API Fundamentals and Intro to VB Programming.” DesignPoint Solutions. 13 Aug 2010. 3 Jan 2011 <http://www.design-point.com/t/designpoint_training_api.html>.

Books on Design Automation

Diaz, Alejandro. 28th Design Automation Conference: Proceedings of the ASME Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference. New York, NY: American Society of Mechanical Engineers, c2001.
34th Design Automation Conference: Presented at [the] 2008 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference: August 3-6, 2008, New York City, New York, USA. New York, NY: ASME, c2009.
7th Asia and South Pacific Design Automation Conference: 15th International Conference on VLSI Design: 7-11 January 2002, Bangalore, India: Proceedings. Los Alamitos: IEEE Computer Society, c2002.
Balkir, Sina, Gunhan Dundar, and A. Selcuk Ogrenci. Analog VLSI Design Automation. Boca Raton: CRC Press, c2003.
ASP-DAC 2004: proceedings of the ASP-DAC 2004 Asia and South Pacific Design Automation Conference, 2004: January 27-January 30, 2004, Pacifico Yokohama, Yokohama, Japan. Piscataway, NJ: IEEE, c2004.
Chen, Wai-Kai, ed. The Circuits and Filters Handbook: Computer Aided Design and Design Automation. 3rd ed. Boca Raton: CRC Press, c2009.
Nebel, Wolfgang, and Ahamed Jerraya, eds. Design, Automation, and Test in Europe Conference and Exhibition 2001: Proceedings: Munich, Germany, March 13-16, 2001. Los Alamitos, California: IEEE Computer Society, c2001.
Chen, Wai-Kai. Design Automation, Languages, and Simulations. Boca Raton: CRC Press, c2003.
Chakrabarty, Krishnendu, and Jun Zeng, eds. Design Automation Methods and Tools for Microfluidics-based Biochips. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer, c2006.
Chakrabarty, Krishnendu, and Tao Xu. Digital Microfluidic Biochips: Design Automation and Optimization. Boca Raton: Taylor & Francis, 2010.
Jansen, Dirk. The Electronic Design Automation Handbook. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, c2003.
Wang, Laung-Terng, Yao-Wen Chang, Kwang-Ting Cheng, eds. Electronic Design Automation: Synthesis, Verification, and Test. Boston: Morgan Kaufmann/Elsevier, c2009.
Birnbaum, Mark D. Essential Electronic Design Automation (EDA). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall PTR/Pearson Education, c2004.
Chen, Deming, Jason Cong, and Peichen Pan. FPGA Design Automation: A Survey. Boston: Now, c2006.
Alpert, Charles J., Dinesh P. Mehta, and Sachin S. Sapatnekar, eds. Handbook of Algorithms for Physical Design Automation. Boca Raton: CRC Press, c2009.
De Ranter, Carl, and Michiel Steyaert. High Data Rate Transmitter Circuits: RF CMOS Design and Techniques for Design Automation. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003.
International Conference on Parallel Computing in Electrical Engineering, PARELEC 2002: workshop on System Design Automation (SDA): 7-10 September 2004, Dresden, Germany. Los Alamitos: IEEE Computer Society, 2004.
Fan, Zhun. Mechatronic Design Automation: Emerging Research and Recent Advances. Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers, c2009.
Lim, Sung Kyu. Practical Problems in VLSI Physical Design Automation. New York: Springer, 2008.
Proceedings of the ASP-DAC 2001: Asia and South Pacific Design Automation Conference, 2001: January 30-February 2, 2001, Pacifico Yokohama, Yokohama, Japan. Piscataway, NJ: IEEE, c2001.
Proceedings of the ASP-DAC 2005: Asia and South Pacific Design Automation Conference, 2005: January 18-21, 2005, Hotel Equatorial, Shanghai, China. Piscataway, NJ: IEEE, c2005.
Proceedings of the ASP-DAC 2006 Asia and South Pacific Design Automation Conference 2006: January 24-January 27, 2006, Pacifico Yokohama, Yokohama, Japan. Piscataway, NJ: IEEE, c2006.
Proceedings of the ASP-DAC 2007 Asia and South Pacific Design Automation Conference 2007: January 23-January 26, 2007, Pacifico Yokohama, Yokohama, Japan. Piscataway, NJ: IEEE, c2007.
Merker, Renate, and Wolfgang Schwarz, eds. System Design Automation: Fundamentals, Principles, Methods, Examples. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, c2001.