prompt-driven-design

Prompt-Driven Design with SolidWorks MCP

You know SolidWorks. This guide shows you how to describe what you want to build in plain language, let an LLM translate that into the right tool calls, and have SolidWorks build it — without clicking through menus.

The examples below use real SolidWorks sample parts as targets. Because the finished .SLDPRT files already exist, you can open them and check the feature tree to confirm whether your prompts produced the right result. That makes them ideal for learning the workflow before applying it to your own designs.

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What You Need

• SolidWorks installed and open
• MCP server running (.\dev-commands.ps1 dev-install then .\dev-commands.ps1 dev-run if needed)
• Claude Code (this tool) or VS Code with Copilot Chat
• Python environment activated: .\.venv\Scripts\python.exe

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The Core Workflow

Every design session follows the same loop:

flowchart LR
    D(["1 - Describe<br/>What to build<br/>+ dimensions"])
    P(["2 - Plan<br/>LLM proposes<br/>MCP call sequence"])
    R(["3 - Review<br/>You approve<br/>the plan"])
    E(["4 - Execute<br/>Claude Code runs<br/>MCP tools"])
    C(["5 - Check<br/>Visual or<br/>feature-tree"])
    I(["6 - Iterate<br/>Refine dimensions,<br/>add features"])

    D --> P --> R --> E --> C --> I
    I -->|new idea or fix| D

    style R fill:#f0f4ff,stroke:#4a6cf7
    style C fill:#f0f4ff,stroke:#4a6cf7

Steps 3 (Review) and 5 (Check) are yours. The LLM handles 2 and 4.

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Step 1 — Describe What You're Building

Be specific about shape and size. Adjectives like "wide" or "thin" are ambiguous. Geometry and dimensions are not.

Good description

I want to create a paper airplane shape.
It should be a flat delta-wing profile — like looking down at a paper airplane from above.
The nose points right at (80, 0), the two wing tips are at (0, 60) and (0, -60),
and everything connects back to the origin.
Extrude it 0.5 mm — just enough thickness to represent folded paper.