Geometric relations (horizontal, vertical, coincident, tangent) in Solidworks - Real Business Scenario

Scenario Mode

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

📋 Request: Your manager wants a report showing how often different geometric relations are used in recent SolidWorks part designs to understand design consistency.

📊 Data: You have access to a dataset listing part IDs and counts of geometric relations applied: horizontal, vertical, coincident, and tangent.

🎯 Deliverable: Create a dashboard showing total counts of each geometric relation type used across parts, with a bar chart and summary statistics.

Sample Data

PartID	Horizontal	Vertical	Coincident	Tangent
P001	5	3	7	2
P002	4	6	5	3
P003	6	2	8	1
P004	3	4	6	4
P005	7	5	7	2

1

Step 1: Load the dataset into your BI tool with columns: PartID, Horizontal, Vertical, Coincident, Tangent.

Import data as a table with these columns.

Expected Result

Dataset loaded with 5 parts and their geometric relation counts.

2

Step 2: Create calculated measures to sum each geometric relation across all parts.

Total Horizontal = SUM(Horizontal) Total Vertical = SUM(Vertical) Total Coincident = SUM(Coincident) Total Tangent = SUM(Tangent)

Expected Result

Totals: Horizontal=25, Vertical=20, Coincident=33, Tangent=12

3

Step 3: Build a bar chart with geometric relation types on the X-axis and their total counts on the Y-axis.

X-axis: Relation Type (Horizontal, Vertical, Coincident, Tangent) Y-axis: Corresponding total counts measure

Expected Result

Bar chart showing Coincident highest, then Horizontal, Vertical, and Tangent lowest.

4

Step 4: Add a summary card or KPI visuals showing total counts for each relation type.

Display Total Horizontal, Total Vertical, Total Coincident, Total Tangent as separate cards.

Expected Result

Four cards showing totals: 25, 20, 33, 12 respectively.

5

Step 5: Format the dashboard for clarity: use distinct colors for each bar, add axis titles, and ensure labels are readable.

Set bar colors, add X-axis title 'Geometric Relation', Y-axis title 'Total Count', enable data labels.

Expected Result

Clear, accessible dashboard with easy-to-read bar chart and summary cards.

Final Result

Geometric Relations Usage Dashboard

| Relation   | Total Count |
|------------|-------------|
| Coincident | ########### | 33
| Horizontal | #########   | 25
| Vertical   | #######     | 20
| Tangent    | ###         | 12

[Bar chart with bars sized accordingly]

Summary Cards:
- Horizontal: 25
- Vertical: 20
- Coincident: 33
- Tangent: 12

✓Coincident relations are the most frequently used in part designs.

✓Tangent relations are used the least among the four types.

✓Horizontal and vertical relations have moderate usage, indicating common alignment constraints.

Bonus Challenge

Create a trend analysis report showing how the usage of each geometric relation changes over time if you have part creation dates.

Show Hint

Add a date column to your dataset and create a line chart with dates on X-axis and sum of each relation type on Y-axis.