Extruded boss/base in Solidworks - Real Business Scenario

Scenario Mode

👤 Your Role: You are a product design analyst at a manufacturing company.

📋 Request: Your manager wants you to analyze the usage and efficiency of the 'Extruded Boss/Base' feature in recent SolidWorks part designs to improve design productivity.

📊 Data: You have a dataset containing part IDs, the number of 'Extruded Boss/Base' features used per part, the total design time in hours, and the part category.

🎯 Deliverable: Create a report showing average design time by number of 'Extruded Boss/Base' features and part category, with a visualization to identify trends.

Sample Data

Part ID	Extruded Boss/Base Count	Design Time (hours)	Part Category
P001	3	5.5	Housing
P002	5	7.2	Bracket
P003	2	4.0	Housing
P004	4	6.1	Bracket
P005	1	3.2	Cover
P006	3	5.8	Cover
P007	2	4.5	Bracket
P008	5	7.5	Housing
P009	1	3.0	Cover
P010	4	6.3	Housing

1

Step 1: Load the dataset into your BI tool and create a table view.

Import the sample data table with columns: Part ID, Extruded Boss/Base Count, Design Time (hours), Part Category.

Expected Result

Table with 10 rows showing part details.

2

Step 2: Create a calculated measure to find the average design time grouped by Extruded Boss/Base Count and Part Category.

In DAX: Average Design Time = AVERAGE('Table'[Design Time (hours)])

Expected Result

Measure that calculates average design time for any grouping.

3

Step 3: Build a matrix visualization with rows as 'Extruded Boss/Base Count', columns as 'Part Category', and values as 'Average Design Time'.

Configure matrix: Rows = Extruded Boss/Base Count, Columns = Part Category, Values = Average Design Time measure.

Expected Result

Matrix showing average design time for each combination of feature count and category.

4

Step 4: Create a line chart to visualize the trend of average design time by Extruded Boss/Base Count for each Part Category.

X-axis: Extruded Boss/Base Count, Y-axis: Average Design Time, Legend: Part Category.

Expected Result

Line chart showing how design time changes with feature count per category.

5

Step 5: Interpret the results to identify if more 'Extruded Boss/Base' features increase design time and which categories are most affected.

Review matrix and chart data for trends.

Expected Result

Insight that design time generally increases with more features, with Bracket category showing the highest increase.

Final Result

Extruded Boss/Base Analysis Report

+----------------------+---------------------+---------------------+----------------+
| Extruded Boss/Base   | Housing             | Bracket             | Cover          |
| Count               | Avg Design Time (h) | Avg Design Time (h)  | Avg Design Time |
+----------------------+---------------------+---------------------+----------------+
| 1                    | -                   | -                   | 3.1            |
| 2                    | 4.0                 | 4.5                 | -              |
| 3                    | 5.5                 | -                   | 5.8            |
| 4                    | 6.3                 | 6.1                 | -              |
| 5                    | 7.5                 | 7.2                 | -              |
+----------------------+---------------------+---------------------+----------------+

(Line chart shows upward trend in design time as feature count increases, especially for Bracket parts.)

✓Design time increases as the number of 'Extruded Boss/Base' features increases.

✓Bracket parts have the highest average design time for higher feature counts.

✓Cover parts generally have lower design times with fewer features.

✓Housing parts show a steady increase in design time with more features.

Bonus Challenge

Create a calculated measure to find the efficiency ratio: Design Time divided by Extruded Boss/Base Count, and visualize which parts are most efficient.

Show Hint

Use DAX formula: Efficiency Ratio = DIVIDE(AVERAGE('Table'[Design Time (hours)]), AVERAGE('Table'[Extruded Boss/Base Count])) and create a bar chart grouped by Part Category.