Extruded boss/base in Solidworks - Dashboard Guide

Dashboard Mode - Extruded boss/base

Business Question

How can we analyze the usage and parameters of the Extruded Boss/Base feature in our SolidWorks parts to improve design efficiency?

Sample Data

Part ID	Feature Name	Depth (mm)	Direction	Draft Angle (°)	Material	Volume (cm³)
1001	Extruded Boss/Base 1	20	One Direction	0	Aluminum	15.0
1002	Extruded Boss/Base 2	35	Two Directions	2	Steel	40.5
1003	Extruded Boss/Base 3	15	One Direction	1	Plastic	8.2
1004	Extruded Boss/Base 4	50	One Direction	0	Steel	60.0
1005	Extruded Boss/Base 5	25	Two Directions	3	Aluminum	22.5

Dashboard Components

• KPI Card: Average Depth
  Formula: Average of Depth (mm) = (20+35+15+50+25)/5 = 29 mm
• KPI Card: Total Volume
  Formula: Sum of Volume (cm³) = 15.0 + 40.5 + 8.2 + 60.0 + 22.5 = 146.2 cm³
• Bar Chart: Volume by Material
  Calculation: Sum Volume grouped by Material
  • Aluminum: 15.0 + 22.5 = 37.5 cm³
  • Steel: 40.5 + 60.0 = 100.5 cm³
  • Plastic: 8.2 cm³
• Pie Chart: Direction Distribution
  Count of features by Direction
  • One Direction: 3 features
  • Two Directions: 2 features
• Table: Feature Details
  Shows all columns from sample data for detailed review

Dashboard Layout

+----------------------+----------------------+
| Average Depth (KPI)  | Total Volume (KPI)   |
+----------------------+----------------------+
|                      Bar Chart: Volume by Material           |
|                                                               |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| Pie Chart: Direction Distribution   | Feature Details Table  |
|                                    |                        |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
    

Interactivity

Material Filter: Selecting a material updates the Volume KPI, Bar Chart, Pie Chart, and Feature Details Table to show only features with that material.
Direction Filter: Selecting a direction updates the Average Depth KPI, Pie Chart, and Feature Details Table accordingly.
Combined Filters: Applying both filters narrows all components to matching features, helping focus on specific design parameters.

Self Check

If you add a filter for Material = Steel, which components update and what changes occur?

• Average Depth KPI updates to average depth of Steel features: (35 + 50) / 2 = 42.5 mm
• Total Volume KPI updates to sum volume of Steel: 40.5 + 60.0 = 100.5 cm³
• Bar Chart shows only Steel volume: 100.5 cm³
• Pie Chart updates to show direction distribution for Steel features: One Direction = 2, Two Directions = 0
• Feature Details Table shows only rows with Material Steel (Part IDs 1002 and 1004)

Key Result

Dashboard shows usage and parameters of Extruded Boss/Base features by material, depth, direction, and volume.