At the 3DEXPERIENCE World 2023 conference in Nashville, Tennessee, SOLIDWORKS chief executive Gian Paolo Bassi made a groundbreaking announcement regarding SOLIDWORKS Desktop CAD.
As of July 1, 2023, new licenses include cloud services as part of their annual subscription, with existing users also having the option to add these secure cloud capabilities.
If you’re a SOLIDWORKS user, this licensing change and development bring a host of exciting ways to enhance your design process and unleash creativity.
Let’s dive into some key features before closely examining the new cloud enhancements.
Explore Simplified Sharing
Sharing 3D designs is now easier than ever. With the new cloud capabilities, you can share your designs directly from SOLIDWORKS, eliminating the need for physical file transfers or downloading special viewing tools — simply generate a secure link that can be shared with anyone.
This streamlined approach removes the friction associated with traditional design-sharing tools, allowing you to accelerate product development with immediate feedback from trusted individuals.
Access to a Secure Cloud Data Storage
The new update lets you save your data to the cloud directly from SOLIDWORKS. This secure hub, powered by OUTSCALE server infrastructure, can function as the central repository for your work, ensuring you always know where to find your data and access the most up-to-date version.
Consider it your single source of truth, accessible across devices with a simple login.
A Closer Look at New Cloud Enhancements: Why the Need
Managing the ever-increasing amount of data generated by modern design tools can be overwhelming.
Many SOLIDWORKS users have endured the frustrations of handling their files without a data management solution, such as manually correcting file references, employing creative file naming schemes, or constantly worrying about miscommunication that leads to overwritten or lost work.
The new cloud services enhancements for SOLIDWORKS address these concerns and reduce time spent on low-value tasks.
They offer secure data storage and sharing, versioning and revision management, easy design reviews with CAD users and non-technical team members, and a unified hub to ensure everyone stays on the same page.
Let’s take a closer look at the key features included in this update:
- Design Sharing and Markup: SOLIDWORKS users can now invite anyone to view and mark up 3D designs in the cloud with a single click —directly from the familiar SOLIDWORKS Command Manager. Gone are the days of relying on eDrawings or other methods that require installing a dedicated software program. With a simple link, colleagues and stakeholders can access and collaborate on your designs using any web browser.
- Secure Storage and Revisioning: This feature offers users a seamless experience with purpose-built online storage tailored to CAD relationships and collaboration. The secure space can function as your team’s go-to storage and collaboration platform. Save your data to a 3DEXPERIENCE Collaborative Space directly from SOLIDWORKS. You can check out designs to prevent overwriting, easily manage file references and log design revisions with notes, annotations and other redlining. The secure storage is accessible from any device.
- Design Management and Control: When it’s time to manage design changes formally, you gain access to a suite of tools that can provide true product lifecycle management. Capture necessary changes, obtain approvals and control the workflow through formal change actions. The system maintains a complete history of approvals for comprehensive traceability.
Your New Customizable Dashboard
These new cloud features use the 3DEXPERIENCE platform’s customizable dashboards, giving users unprecedented control over their work.
Through these dashboards, teams can access their most essential apps, collaborate with others, monitor project progress and much more.
The Hawk Ridge Systems engineering team created a new customizable dashboard as a convenient landing page for all Hawk Ridge Systems customers. Customers can quickly access training content, technical support and other resources to get your organization up to speed.
The Bottom Line
Adding Cloud Services to licenses has opened up a world of possibilities for SOLIDWORKS users and their product designs. By connecting SOLIDWORKS to the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, these enhancements bring a new era of collaboration that also paves the way for advanced design, simulation and manufacturing capabilities.
Whether you’re an individual designer or part of a larger team, this subscription update can propel you toward a scalable product development future that caters to your unique needs.
For more information on how SOLIDWORKS and 3DEXPERIENCE tools can fit your application, contact us at Hawk Ridge Systems. Thanks for reading!
