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Building SOLIDWORKS Assemblies from ECAD Files

You can build a SOLIDWORKS assembly that represents the board, components, and other features in your ECAD data.

To build an assembly:

  1. If an assembly is open in SOLIDWORKS, close it.

    If an assembly is open in SOLIDWORKS, CircuitWorks tries to update it instead of building a new assembly.

  2. Ensure that the ECAD data open in CircuitWorks represents the model you want to build.

    For example, apply filters as needed to omit features from the model.

  3. Set the SOLIDWORKS Import options from the CircuitWorks Options dialog box.
  4. Click Build Model (SOLIDWORKS pane of the Tools tab).

    Maximize the CircuitWorks application user interface to display the SOLIDWORKS pane tools if required.

    CircuitWorks scans the ECAD data for possible build issues and displays the results in a dialog box.

    If CircuitWorks reports build warnings, you can click Cancel to cancel the build, correct the warnings, and restart the build process. However, most warnings do not prevent CircuitWorks from building the assembly.

  5. From the CircuitWorks scan-results dialog box, click Build.

    If a model already exists and you have enabled the option to be warned before overwriting, a confirmation box appears. Click Yes to overwrite the existing model or No to use the existing model.

  6. From SOLIDWORKS, save the completed assembly.
CircuitWorks creates the board with fixed position. If you move the board and update the assembly, CircuitWorks flags all components as having moved.

Contents

  • Building Only Top and Bottom Conductive Layers

    You can set up CircuitWorks to model only the top and bottom conductive layers in SOLIDWORKS to save build time.

  • Build Issues

    When you build an assembly, CircuitWorks reports any warnings or errors before actually building the model. Most warnings do not prevent CircuitWorks from building the assembly, but they give you a chance to make changes.

  • Build Progress

    CircuitWorks shows build progress in a pane at the bottom of the CircuitWorks application.

  • Importing Properties from ECAD Files

    You can import ECAD file thermal and other properties as SOLIDWORKS Model custom properties.



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