SOLIDWORKS Add-ins - ain't no big thang

Normally when you think of SOLIDWORKS add-ins you think of COSMOS, DriveWorks, CAM programs, …big programs. Don’t be intimated by these traditional add-ins. You can write small, very handy add-ins yourself -they can have a very fast return on investment!

I am seeing more and more companies with their own little add-ins. Most commonly these add-ins are just small little routines that check company standards on files before they get saved. [FileSaveNotify] An add-in like this is a lot more useful than a macro because your users can’t “accidentally” forget to run them -it will be run every time the file is saved!

• Check to ensure all parts have the proper file properties defined
• Check all purchased parts to ensure they have valid part numbers (via connecting to their ERP)
• Check all drawing entities to ensure they are on the proper layer
• Check to ensure the BOM is present and in the proper format

What little things do you find yourself having to go back fix after you’ve release your assemblies for production? Perhaps an add-in is the answer?