How to Find the Volume of a Part in SOLIDWORKS

Contents

The fastest way to find the volume of a SOLIDWORKS part is to use Mass Properties. The same dialog can also show mass, surface area, center of mass, density, and moments of inertia, but volume is available even when you only need a quick design check.

Use this method for solid parts, multibody parts, and imported geometry after the model is fully rebuilt. If the part is missing faces, has surface bodies instead of solid bodies, or uses the wrong unit system, the volume result can be misleading.

SOLIDWORKS part ready for volume measurement — Open the part and rebuild it before checking volume.

Find volume with Mass Properties

Open the part file in SOLIDWORKS.
Go to the Evaluate tab.
Click Mass Properties.
Read the Volume value in the Mass Properties window.
If needed, click the units or options controls to change the displayed unit format.

Mass Properties command in SOLIDWORKS — Mass Properties is the normal tool for checking part volume.

Check the units

Volume can be displayed in cubic millimeters, cubic centimeters, cubic inches, or another document unit depending on your settings. If the number looks too large or too small, check the unit label before assuming the model is wrong.

For example, a value in cubic millimeters will look much larger than the same part reported in cubic centimeters. When sending the value to a supplier, include the unit with the number.

Volume value in SOLIDWORKS Mass Properties — Always read the unit label next to the volume value.

Measure a selected body instead of the whole part

In a multibody part, Mass Properties can report the whole part or only selected bodies. Select the body you want to measure before opening Mass Properties, or use the selection controls inside the dialog if your SOLIDWORKS version shows them.

This is useful when one file contains several solids, such as a molded part with inserts, a weldment, or a layout model. If you need mass as well as volume, make sure the material or density is set correctly for the selected body.

Selecting a body for SOLIDWORKS Mass Properties — Select the right body when a part file contains more than one solid.

Why volume may be missing or wrong

The model is a surface body: Mass Properties needs solid volume, so knit or repair the surface body into a closed solid first.
The imported part has gaps: run import diagnostics or repair the geometry before trusting the value.
The wrong configuration is active: switch to the configuration you actually need to measure.
Units are confusing: check whether the result is cubic inches, cubic millimeters, or another unit.
The part has suppressed features: rebuild and confirm the feature tree before reporting the result.

SOLIDWORKS model volume check — Repair or rebuild the model if the volume result does not make sense.

Volume versus mass

Volume is based on the geometry. Mass depends on geometry plus density or assigned material. If you only need to know how much space the part occupies, volume is enough. If you need weight, shipping estimates, or load calculations, assign the correct material and use the mass value as well.

For inspection work, the SOLIDWORKS Measure tool is useful for distances and clearances, but Mass Properties is the better tool for volume, mass, and center-of-mass information.

SOLIDWORKS Mass Properties result — Use Mass Properties when the answer needs volume or mass, not just a distance.

Reference: SOLIDWORKS Help describes Mass Properties as the tool used to calculate model properties such as mass, density, volume, and center of mass from the model geometry and material data.