Add-in development for SOLIDWORKS
We specialize in developing software that integrates with SOLIDWORKS. We capture your processes to save you hours of manual work per week or per project.What is an add-in?
Add-ins, add-ons and plugins are just different names for the same thing. SOLIDWORKS calls them add-ins.A SOLIDWORKS add-in is a piece of software that you install on your computer. The add-in integrates with SOLIDWORKS and the two programs start together.
We strongly prefer add-ins over macros. Add-ins are more user-friendly and more maintainable. It's also easy to roll out updates, so all users always have the latest version.
Why do we need one?
To streamline your engineering or production.To prevent repetitive manual work. To minimize errors.
The possibilities of an add-in are nearly limitless. We can create (and have created) software to:
- Create or edit 3D geometry
- Create or edit 2D drawings
- Export files in batches
- Create a bill of materials, completely according to your requirements
Or basically anything you can dream up. So let's talk.
HoSt is one of the largest suppliers of bio-energy installations in Europe. CAD Booster developed a SOLIDWORKS add-in for us that can quickly copy, modify and export large batches of drawings. This add-in saves us two days per project.
Martijn Hiddink - Team Leader Technical Design - HoSt
Drawing automation with Drew
Drew is our own product. We have spent thousands of hours developing this add-in.When we were still designing specialized machines for a living, we noticed that creating 2D drawings took a lot of time. And much of that work was repetitive. So we took out to fix that.
Our goal for Drew is to let you perform any action in one click.
To achieve that, Drew stores your company preferences in blueprints. You can then start a new drawing in one click. Or create a sheet (with views, dimensions and more) for every weldment body in a part, with one click. It's awesome.
Let's talk money
What does it cost to develop an add-in?
Most add-ins fall in the price range of €2.000 to €10.000.
How long does it take to develop an add-in?
Once we have agreed on the functionality, it usually takes a couple of weeks to develop, test and iterate. It'll be done before you know it.
What is my return on investment?
We have done these calculations for a few of our customer's add-ins. The ROI is usually about one year.
Is the add-in compatible with the next SOLIDWORKS version?
Yes, without any changes.
Why you should hire us
We care about your users. We are flexible, efficient and pro-active.We work on SOLIDWORKS add-ins every single day. If it's not for a customer, it's for our own products.
You get to benefit from all that experience.
Technical details
These are our tools of choice- We develop in C# in Visual Studio.
- We build on top of the open-source project SolidDNA, originally built by SOLIDWORKS guru Luke Malpass. We now maintain this project, you are welcome to contribute.
- We follow best practices for software development, like version control with Git and unit testing with NUnit.