Build ECAD Files

You can schedule a task in SOLIDWORKS Task Scheduler to build multiple ECAD files as SOLIDWORKS solid models.

The ability to build solid models from ECAD files in batch mode saves you time by letting you schedule the task to run when the system is not in use.

This option is available only on client machines with CircuitWorks licenses.

Creating an ECAD Build Task

You create an ECAD Build Task to build SOLIDWORKS models from ECAD files in batch mode:

To create an ECAD build task:

  1. Click Build ECAD Files on the sidebar, or click Tasks > Build ECAD Files.
  2. In the dialog box, type a new title for the task or leave the default in Task title.
  3. Select the files or folders you want to build:
    • To select files:
      1. Under Task files or folders, click Add File.
      2. Select the types of files to build in Files of type.
      3. Browse to the file to build, then click Open.
      4. Repeat steps a, b, and c to select additional files.
    • To select folders:
      1. Under Task files or folders, click Add Folder.
      2. Browse to the folder that contains the files to build, then click OK.
      3. Under File Name or Type, click in the row that contains the folder you just added, then select the types of files to build.
      4. Repeat steps a, b, and c to select additional folders.
      5. If you do not want to include subfolders, clear Include subfolders.
    To delete a file or folder from the list, click its number in the leftmost column, then click Delete.
  4. Optionally, click Advanced to change task options.
  5. Click Finish.

Scheduling ECAD Build Tasks

The ECAD Build task is stored in a macro and runs at the scheduled time. The task stores the completed SOLIDWORKS models in \ProgramData\SOLIDWORKS\CircuitWorks\AssemblyModels. You can modify this location from the Models page of the CircuitWorks Options dialog box.

When the task is complete, a .txt file reports the results of the build task for your review. When you close the report, this file is saved in \ProgramData\SOLIDWORKS\CircuitWorks.

To schedule the task:

  1. Under Task schedule, set:
    Option Description
    Running mode Specifies how often the task runs. Select Once, Daily, Weekly, or Monthly.
    Start time  
    Start date  
  2. Click Advanced if you want to change task options such as backup file location and time-out duration.
  3. Click Finish.
    The task and its title, scheduled time, scheduled date, and status appear in the Tasks panel. The status of the task is Scheduled.
    To run a scheduled task, your computer and printer must be on at the scheduled start time. The SOLIDWORKS Task Scheduler window does not need to be open. If your computer is off at the scheduled start time, the task runs when you turn your computer on.

    At the scheduled start time, the task is initiated. If the task acts on more than one file, a subtask is generated for each file. If you selected Backup task files in Task Options, a backup copy of each file is saved to a .zip file. Then each file is built. When the task completes, the status changes to Completed.

    If your backup files include Unicode file paths, use a zip file extraction application that supports UTF-8 encoding.