×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

"Engineering Automation" with Visual Basic

"Engineering Automation" with Visual Basic

"Engineering Automation" with Visual Basic

(OP)
   I'd like to learn more regarding Visual Basic's potential application with Solid Modeling (i.e. SolidWorks).  
   For example, our company builds industrial machinery.  These machines are nearly identical, but vary slightly in size, capacity, etc...   We currently go in and modify those components (in SolidWorks)which are slightly different, then build an assembly from scratch.   Needless to say, this seems to be a waste of time when all of our machines are very much alike, with only minor differences.
   What we are in pursuit of is building (1) master asembly, then with Visual Basic programming, type in what size, capacity, etc.. the machine is to be, and have the VB program "automatically re-configure" the assembly to those specs, update and construct 2-D prints, etc...
   Does anyone have any experience or knowledge of this, or where can I obtain some for information regarding such topic.


Thanks in Advance !!!

RE: "Engineering Automation" with Visual Basic

Since your already using Solidworks, have you heard of Design Tables.  You can create a table in Excel and input values for dimensions.  The table can then be imported into Solidworks and automatically creates the configurations.

RE: "Engineering Automation" with Visual Basic

Hello

email me at work on nigel_hoyle@eu.fmo.com and I can tell you all about the stuff we have done.
We have bearing design programs doing advanced hydrodynamic calculalations, writing an output file using data fed into a spreadsheet. This is read innto Pro/E with a mapkey (macro) and the master model regens itself to the new information. All associated information is of course updated, drawings CNC etc. and then it is a simple file save as exercise. It has taken a long time, and a huge amount of advanced Pro/E part progarmming to get this to work, but it does, and PTC have stated it is the most advanced use of Pro/E usage in the UK they know of, so we must be doing soemthing right

Anyway email me and I could talk for Britain on this one

Nigel

RE: "Engineering Automation" with Visual Basic

Thick,

I am still learning VB programming and SolidWorks API.  In doing so, I came across a great website for all SWX users.  www.nhcad.com

This site writes freeware apps for SWX as well as great tutorials.  Check them out for a little example by clicking the Excel Solver example.
If you get anywhere on this, I'd like to see it because I'm working on the same thing for my company.

You may also want to post this on the SolidWorks products discussion forum.  You'll probably get better answers there.

To remain on topic for this forum, I think with all the "tools" that are becoming available, engineers have a possibility of designing themselves out of a job.  Thankfully, we are innovative and will inevitably design new "tools" that only we understand.

--Scott

RE: "Engineering Automation" with Visual Basic

A SCADA will be bether see www.scadaNEWS.com

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources