Every year, Dassault Systemes adds features and enhancements to SOLIDWORKS to improve performance and user productivity and many of the product enhancements come directly from customer requests and feedback. We asked our customers what they thought the top ten best design process enhancements in SOLIDWORKS were.
Here are the top ten enhancements that our customers have found most impactful to their design processes:
- Mirror 3D Sketches
- Specify Configuration when Using Insert Part Command
- Flexible Components (Driven by Surrounding Geometry)
- Stud Wizard
- Repair Missing Mate References
- Thumbnails in BOMs Exported to Excel
- Hole Callouts for Section View
- SOLIDWORKS CAM
- 3DEXPERIENCE Cloud Services
- Previous Release Compatibility
SOLIDWORKS Features that Accelerate Design Tasks and Improve Team Efficiency
SOLIDWORKS Enhancement #1: Mirror 3D Sketches
Users can mirror 3D sketch entities in reference to a specific plane, either chosen from the visible graphics or via the FeatureManager design tree. This enhancement simplifies and accelerates design tasks, allowing users to build complex sketches very quickly, while ensuring symmetric sketch relations in both 3D and 2D sketches.
SOLIDWORKS Enhancement #2: Specify Configuration when Using Insert Part Command
The ‘Insert Part’ tool now allows users to choose a specific configuration of a part, mirroring the ease of inserting components in assemblies. By simply navigating to ‘Insert > Part’, users can select both the desired file and its configuration directly from the Open dialog box. Furthermore, the PropertyManager can be pinned, streamlining the process of inserting multiple parts, and when editing, the file path and configurations are readily displayed.
SOLIDWORKS Enhancement #3: Flexible Components (Driven by Surrounding Geometry)
The “Make Part Flexible” tool allows parts to dynamically adjust based on assembly geometry without needing extra configurations, dramatically speeding up design time. This tool can remap out-of-context references in components, like a spring adjusting its length based on different assembly contexts. The FeatureManager design tree indicates flexible components, and users can revert a component from flexible to rigid, returning it to its nominal state.
SOLIDWORKS Enhancement #4: Stud Wizard
The Stud Wizard streamlines the creation of threaded studs on both cylindrical and flat surfaces. Operating similarly to the familiar Hole Wizard, this new tool facilitates the design of studs with cosmetic threads, adjustable by parameters like type and undercut. For a realistic representation, activate Shaded Cosmetic Threads under Document Properties, enhancing visibility and understanding.
SOLIDWORKS Enhancement #5: Repair Missing Mate References
The “Auto Repair” option allows users to address missing mate references, streamlining the process of fixing errors. This feature tries to mend the absent reference by choosing a similar component face, edge, or geometry that matches the location and orientation of the missing reference. This enhancement reduces manual intervention, improving assembly efficiency and productivity.
SOLIDWORKS Features That Improve Design Intent Communication
SOLIDWORKS Enhancement #6: Thumbnails in BOMs Exported to Excel
SOLIDWORKS enhanced the Bill of Materials (BOM) by introducing component thumbnails, streamlining both creation and referencing. Within drawings, users can hover to view component previews, while exporting to Excel now offers the option to include these images. This results in clearer cross-departmental collaboration and reduces chances of component misidentification.
SOLIDWORKS Enhancement #7: Hole Callouts for Section Views
Users can add hole callouts to cross-sectioned holes and slots, including those in section views, broken-out sections, and detail views. This is applicable to Hole Wizard holes, Advanced Holes, and holes made with Cut-Revolve or Cut-Extrude. Simply use the Hole Callout tool and select the appropriate edge of the cross-sectioned hole to place the callout, improving communication of your design.
SOLIDWORKS Features that Streamline Collaboration with Other Departments & Stakeholders for Faster Time-to-Market
SOLIDWORKS Enhancement #8: SOLIDWORKS CAM
SOLIDWORKS CAM, integrated into the SOLIDWORKS design-to-manufacturing solution and powered by CAMWorks®, offers a feature-based CAM system that automates prismatic feature recognition and streamlines machine programming. Emphasizing rules-based machining, it facilitates automatic strategy creation, tool selection, and setting adjustments by interpreting Model-Based Definition (MBD) data from SOLIDWORKS files. Further, it incorporates VoluMill™ technology for high-speed machining, optimizing tool paths for faster production, reduced wear, and longer tool life. SOLIDWORKS users find that this tool helpful to eliminate manual programming of CNC machines and streamline collaboration between design and manufacturing teams.
Integrating CAD & CAM accelerates time-to-market up to 90 percent, helps catch problems sooner, reduces scrap by up to 75 percent, and lowers manufacturing costs by up to 40 percent, by enabling concurrent design and manufacturing.
SOLIDWORKS Enhancement #9: 3DEXPERIENCE Cloud Services
SOLIDWORKS deployed its integration of Cloud Services, revolutionizing the CAD experience by seamlessly merging it with the cloud-based 3DEXPERIENCE platform. This integration offers CAD-aware cloud storage, streamlines the management of complex models and assemblies, enhances collaboration with apps for markup and task tracking, and facilitates easy design sharing directly from SOLIDWORKS without requiring external viewers. These advancements promise users greater efficiency, flexibility in design access and management, and enhanced collaboration capabilities without the traditional file management hassles.
SOLIDWORKS Enhancement #10: Previous Release Compatibility
The “Previous Release Compatibility,” allows users to collaborate on designs with individuals using older versions of SOLIDWORKS. This enhancement enables designers to save parts, assemblies, and drawings as SOLIDWORKS versions up to two years prior to the latest release. This major update ensures clearer design communication and simplifies collaboration with other designers or stakeholders using previous SOLIDWORKS versions.
The Top 10 Most Impactful SOLIDWORKS Enhancements: More to Come
We look forward to seeing what the next wave of product enhancements will bring to the SOLIDWORKS portfolio of products to help our customers design more efficiently and get to market faster. Want to learn more? Reach out to Hawk Ridge Systems today for a demo to see these features in action.
