Category
Automation Workshop
Hands-on automation articles: SolidWorks macro and add-in development, AutoLISP commands, debugging, and how to measure what automation actually saves.
The workshop is the category of the work itself, not of the decisions: every article ties to a concrete tool, a step you can run, and a result you can see.
On the SolidWorks side: what a macro is, how you run one, how you debug a macro that throws, how to batch-process hundreds of files, and how to move from a macro to a C# add-in. On the AutoCAD side: what AutoLISP is, how to load a LISP file and start it automatically, and how to add a new command to AutoCAD. Automating the path from a 2D drawing to a 3D model, and measuring what the automation actually saved, belong here as well.
This is the largest category on the site and the articles stand on their own. If you want an order to read them in, the SolidWorks Automation and AutoCAD Automation guides sequence the same articles into a learning path; for the underlying concepts, start with CAD Automation.
AutoCAD Automation: LISP, .NET, or AI? A Decision Table
AutoCAD automation has three routes: AutoLISP, .NET/ObjectARX and AI-assisted code. Which one fits your team size and maintenance load, in one decision table.
SolidWorks 2026 AI Features: What They Don't Automate
SolidWorks 2026 automates drawing generation and standard hardware recognition. Which minutes of the working day they give back — and which they never will.
What Is AutoLISP and What Is It Used For in AutoCAD?
AutoLISP is a language that runs inside AutoCAD and lets you write your own commands. What .lsp files do, its real limits, and when to move up to .NET.
What Is a SolidWorks Macro? Record One, Then Harden It
What a SolidWorks macro is and how to write one: why recorded code breaks in production, how to harden it, what .swp really means, and 5 rules that hold up.
SolidWorks Add-in Development: Writing a Plugin in C#/.NET
SolidWorks add-in development in C#: the ISwAddin lifecycle, COM registration, CommandManager and TaskPane, event traps, and 8 mistakes that surface later.
2D to 3D Conversion Automation: What Actually Works
2D to 3D conversion automation: cleanup and classification reach ~90% and ~80%, parametric wiring only ~20%. Why design intent is not in the drawing.
Measuring Automation Gains: What 90% Faster Leaves Out
Vendors measure the generation step alone. Add preparation, verification and rework and the honest gain lands at 30-50% — with a payback you can calculate.
Writing SolidWorks Add-ins with AI: What It Gets Wrong
AI speeds up add-in scaffolding and API discovery, then gets COM lifetimes, version signatures and silent failures confidently wrong. Where I draw the line.