Reversing the functionality of a Design Table

[Slagathor]

Has anyone developed an Add-In for essentially reversing the functionality of a design table? What I am looking for is to have an Excel spreadsheet driven by dimensions, parameters etc. from the model (as opposed to the model being driven by the spreadsheet). I know that you can do this to some extent by adding redundant/driven dimensions, but there are other parameters this will not work for (a configuration specific mass parameter for instance).

This functionality would be super helpful for automating analytical calcs as well costing.

 

[handleman]

Design tables are already two-way, as long as you don't check the box that says "Block model edits that are controlled by design table" (or something like that).

Custom properties can be included in the design table, and mass can be linked to a custom property.

Is there something more specific that you need to do that design tables can't do?

-handleman, CSWP (The new, easy test)

 

[rstupplebeen]

In design tables anything after a blank row or column is ignored by SolidWorks. Typically, I have equations after the blank column. I hope this helps.

Rob Stupplebeen

http://www.optimaldevice.com

https://sites.google.com/site/robertkstupplebeen/

 

[Nella95]

You said, 'In design tables anything after a blank row or column is ignored by SolidWorks' - How do you know this? B/C in my experience that's not exactly true. Furthermore, if DT didn't work in the other direction, I'd probably spend 3 times as long designing a part with multiple configurations. -but I believe I'm not understanding what you're saying.

SW Professional 2014 SP 4.0 SW Electrical 2D/3D SP 3.0
64 bit
Intel Xeon X(R) CPU 1603 0 @ 2.80 GHz
8.0 GB of RAM
NVIDIA Quadro 2000

 

[Updraft]

Nell95,

Look at a DT as a block of information starting in the upper left of the spreadsheet. Consider this block bounded by an empty column on the right and an empty row at the bottom. Anything outside this boundary is ignored by SWX. You can therefore link a lot of information/calculations to/from the cells in the DT area to cells outside the boundary, including on other sheets and even other spreadsheets.

I think the bi-directionality you seek is there to some degree as previously stated by you (redundant/driven dimensions) and by allowing changes from the model to affect the DT (stated by handleman). You may have to carefully work through a specific example to truly figure out how to get the functionality you want. Perhaps it will help you to also better define for this forum exactly what you are trying to achieve.

- - -Updraft

 

[NTME76249]

Click at the top of your design table and select insert cells. You can move the thing down as far as you like, Add tabs and even hide the design table cells. I have never lost functionality by doing this.
I never manually enter information into a design table it self. especially on template parts. I set up input fields that feed down into the design table. This is especially helpful since you can protect your self from negative vales by entering =abs(a3). Your table could be wrong but you will never flip a dimension.


Michael McMillan

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/michael-mcmillan/53/375/52b