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SOLIDWORKS

SOLIDWORKS

Overview

What is SOLIDWORKS?

Dassault Systemes offers SOLIDWORKS, a computer-aided design (CAD) system for education and manufacturing supporting 2D or 3D design, electrical design, simulations, and product development with collaboration tools.

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Recent Reviews

SOLIDWORKS Review

7 out of 10
April 08, 2021
Incentivized
SOLIDWORKS is being used to design skid mounted, pre-piped, water systems - for labs, manufacturing companies, and industrial buildings. …
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Awards

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Video Reviews

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User Review: Efficiency Excels When Robotics Developer Can Depend on Solidworks For Accuracy
05:00
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Pricing

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Solidworks Annual Subscription

1,295

On Premise
per year

Solidworks Standard

3,996

On Premise
per standalone license

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services
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Product Details

SOLIDWORKS Technical Details

Deployment TypesOn-premise
Operating SystemsWindows, Mac
Mobile ApplicationNo

Frequently Asked Questions

Dassault Systemes offers SOLIDWORKS, a computer-aided design (CAD) system for education and manufacturing supporting 2D or 3D design, electrical design, simulations, and product development with collaboration tools.

Reviewers rate Support Rating highest, with a score of 5.2.

The most common users of SOLIDWORKS are from Mid-sized Companies (51-1,000 employees).
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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(406)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

Users of Solidworks have made several recommendations based on their experiences with the software. The most common recommendations include evaluating other products to consider their benefits, especially for CAD software. Users also recommend utilizing Solidworks for 3D design work, highlighting its user-friendly interface and easy learning curve for new users. Additionally, users praise Solidworks for its active community and available support resources, which they recommend taking advantage of. Overall, these recommendations emphasize the importance of exploring different options, leveraging community support, and considering Solidworks for 3D design purposes.

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-25 of 35)
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Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
SOLIDWORKS is used at my institution in order to help 3d model complex objects or new designs that are being conceptualized. For example, my formula hybrid team has used SOLIDWORKS for the past 7 years in order to design entire race cars from scratch and model every single part that is used on the car.
  • User Interface
  • Accessibility
  • Creating Drawings
  • Ease of Use
  • Battery Consumption
  • Time taken to Start
  • File Sharing
SOLIDWORKS is really well suited for engineering design work and making sure that different parts work well together and don't interfere with one another. SOLIDWORKS does not like working with very small and repeated parts that require very minute changes, such as a meshes or microchips. It is very much suited to working on larger designs composed of smaller parts.
AAKIF SHAIKH | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I have started using SOLIDWORKS during my college days, and from the experience I can say that it is the first software that a Mechanical Engineer requires to study for different mechanical components due to it's simple user-interface and placing of all the features in a concise manner that even a fresher can start without any prior experiecne. Using SOLIDWORKS we can make 3D design of parts from 2D, can make orthographic views from 3D model, we can make assembly by combining different parts. SOLIDWORKS also support various types of analysis like Static, Thermal, Flow, Fatigue, Linear, Non-linear, Drop test, Buckling, as well as Mold Simulation. With SOLIDWORKS Design Library, we can also import different standard mechanical components as per our design requirements based on different codes like ANSI, DIN, ISO, BIS, etc. Plus, we can also use the animation wizard of SOLIDWORKS to view the live results of deformation or stress distribution in the parts, hence allows us to study as per real time scenario.
  • Simple Modelling and Assembling of parts
  • Contains large database of materials
  • Design Library to import every important standard parts, hence reducing time in designing the same
  • Allows every simulation, with results as per the real time scenario
  • Animation wizard, to view the deformation and stress occuring in a precise way
  • No need of manual calculation in calculating the weight and inertia of the component, SOLIDWORKS can do the work for you
  • With increase in complexity of the mechanical components, the solving time also increases exponentially.
  • With SOLIDWORKS, I can't do manual meshing by selecting the face of the components, unlike Ansys
  • SOLIDWORKS is a high end software, hence requires system which can support the software.
SOLIDWORKS is the best software for the Mechanical Engineers, who want to design and build real time 3D models and study them in a simple way. With SOLIDWORKS I can make every mechanical components and with the help of material database I can assign different materials to each parts of my model. With the presence of Design Library, SOLIDWORKS becomes the best software in terms of importing of standard components like gears, keys, nuts, bolts, pins, washers, and structural members directly in my design interface. However, there are some drawbacks like high loading time, and increase in solving time with the increase in complexity of the model. Hence, for complex design simulations I prefer Ansys Workbench over SOLIDWORKS.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
[SOLIDWORKS] is being used to create 3D models and 2D drawings. We use 3D models to create plastic parts for molding and sheet metal parts for stamping. The 3D model allows us to see how parts in assemblies interact with each other, allowing us to control the fit and feel of the assembly. 2D drawing allow us to communicate with suppliers for tool creation and QA.
Mainly used in the mechanical department
  • Great interface
  • Intuitive menus, tool bars and features
  • Import many file types
  • Large assemblies and complex part are slow to load
  • Limited collaboration ability
  • Needs a powerful PC to run it
[SOLIDWORKS] is well suited to larger teams that work with complicated geometries and assemblies. EPDM integration also allows good file management and structure.
[SOLIDWORKS] is less appropriate for single users that could get similar results from a lower priced product. Also less appropriate for teams that only need the modeling basic features.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use SolidWorks as our primary CAD application throughout the organization including both our engineering and production (CNC programing) departments.
  • Top of the line parametric solid modeling
  • Intuitive interface
  • Expansive feature set
  • Excellent handling of both large and small design projects.
  • Fantastic support network
  • Stable and reliable
  • Solidworks is continually improving its product, however, more focus could be put into traditional drawings as opposed to MBD.
  • Crashes can at times happen without warning or symptoms.
  • The newer focus on cloud-based applications is a bit late to the game and needs some work to bring it up to enterprise-class.
I believe SolidWorks to be the best all-around 3D parametric modeling software available on the market for most organizations. The only exception I can think of is you have a deeply entrenched AutoCAD culture, then perhaps Inventor would make an easier transition path into 3D. For brand new small companies that do not have the resources to put behind a full CAD suite, a cloud-based option like 3DExperience or OnShape may offer a solution. Otherwise, I believe that SolidWorks is, and should be, the go-to solution for most 3D CAD needs for most companies regardless of industry.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Solidworks is used to review 3D model files by estimating and engineering. Also used in production to create flat patterns from customer-supplied sheet metal model files and create in-house shop drawings to define limited dimension drawings from customers.
  • Review and measure model files.
  • Convert sheetmetal model file to flat patterns.
  • Create in-hose drawings.
  • Export model characteristics more easily.
  • Easily convert surfaces to extrusions.
Solidworks is suited for what we do as a company by being versatile and having functions across multiple departments, also is very user-friendly and there are many users worldwide making it easy to find tips on troubleshooting issues. Pricing is our biggest concern.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Our company uses SOLIDWORKS to design parts and assemblies for our packaging equipment. I am the only user of the program in the company with most work being done on DraftSight. SOLIDWORKS is helpful for visualizing large assemblies but is not as helpful for quick iterations like DraftSight is.
  • Functionality
  • Visualizing large assemblies
  • Sheet metal bend parts
  • Eliminating odd assembly bugs
  • Minimizing the size of the program for faster processing
  • Modularity between 2D and 3D imports and exports
SOLIDWORKS does a great job at generating parts and putting together small to medium assemblies. I also find the BOM features in SOLIDWORKS drawings to be very helpful. It is not, however, great at quick iterations of models where DraftSight is helpful. For example, having to quickly test new arrangements of parts in an assembly or simple machine modifications.
April 08, 2021

SOLIDWORKS Review

Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
SOLIDWORKS is being used to design skid mounted, pre-piped, water systems - for labs, manufacturing companies, and industrial buildings. Not only is it used to just design the skid frame, which we send to an outside welding company, but actually all of the components that make it up. It helps drastically which manufacturing and knowing how parts fit in addition to being able to show customers what they'll be receiving. As a small company only I use it.
  • Generate bill of materials that can be sent to Microsoft Excel
  • It has a very user friendly interface
  • It gives the ability to visually depict a design
  • Large assembly load time could be improved
  • Importing .dwg files is fairly clunky
  • File management without having to buy an add-on program
SOLIDWORKS is well suited for any company that designs and manufactures basically anything. It is not the cheapest option and it is not the most expensive one either but it definitely has its uses with an experienced user. From basic sheet metal parts that need to be cut and welded or bent to complex thousand-part assemblies it allows visualization of an idea or product.

I know for building construction there are better suited, more specific computer applications that work far better.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use SOLIDWORKS to model our product from individual components up to full assemblies and how they will fit in with our customer's product, especially when we have to design bracketry for installation. As our customers provide us with the models of their vehicles, we can see that our signs will fit and line up with mounting positions and viewing apertures.
  • Visualisation
  • Clash detection
  • Easy modification
  • Resource hungry
  • Time consuming to load models
  • Fault correction is difficult
The ease of creating drawings from the 3D models makes this a powerful tool. As assemblies get more complex, it is simple to create sub assemblies, partial exploded views, and cutaways on the drawing to aid production and ensure that information and concepts are clearly communicated. This makes the design and realization process so much more effective and efficient.
Tracy Burton | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
SOLIDWORKS is used as our primary 3D rendering software for design and development. It is used by our engineering department only and suits our needs perfectly fine.
  • SOLIDWORKS offers solid support through 3rd party vendors. I've yet to find a time where I wasn't able to find a satisfactory answer for an issue I was having.
  • Stable releases with continuing improvements in the software.
  • Communication with us on a yearly basis to see how the software is working for us and what improvements we would like to see.
  • SOLIDWORKS is extremely particular is what video cards and versions of Windows they will support. It seems as though they are looking for reasons to not have to support their software.
  • Missing functionality would be the stress analysis portion that requires additional licenses. Aside from that, everything is pretty good with it.
Per the words of one of our designers,"Its one of the most complete pieces software I've used in my 30 years."
Konstantinos Aggelis | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 1 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
We use it to design our new products. We mainly use Sheet metal / Large assemblies and plastic part modeling
  • Large community
  • Program Stability (Very Unstable)
  • User Interface is dated and impractical
  • Every new version introduces many new bugs and makes the program even slower
  • Insufficient official support despite the large cost of the program
  • Very Slow
  • Text Editor is dated and impractical
  • Solidworks Corp does not support customers
It is one of the most unstable programs I have ever used. Despite having been using it on high-end PCs, the program gets slower with every new version and becomes even more unstable with every service pack. The user interface is dated and impractical. For example, there are separate buttons to perform a Boss-extrusion and a Cut-extrusion, where one could do the job (like in Autodesk Inventor).
Text editor does not allow you to perform tricky tasks. Overall the program is very slow and crashes very often.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I use SOLIDWORKS to make prototypes and create actual drawings related to machine developments.
  • Easy to model ideas due to user-friendly interface and multitasking tools.
  • Can save work with many available formats which can be referred to many other compatible software and devices.
  • Lots of learning and helping materials are readily available when issues are raised.
  • Needs to be lightweight in order to run on low performance machines with out sticking.
  • Needs to improve 2D drawing tools to be more user friendly.
  • Needs to improve inbuilt rendering software to be more realistic.
Designing 3D models of working prototypes of a machine, this is excellent. By starting from parts modeling, it provides the ability to assemble and analyze the model. It provides options to convert drawings directly from 3D models. If we need only to make 2D drawings, this is not the best but for 3D, excellent.
Jacob Smith | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Our R&D department uses SOLIDWORKS daily for design, validation and training. New products come to life in SOLIDWORKS, before being manufactured. Drawings are utilized in SOLIDWORKS to send parts out to suppliers or create instructions for the technicians. Tools and fixtures are designed and validated in SOLIDWORKS as well.
  • Part design.
  • Instructional drawings.
  • Ease of use.
  • Slow.
  • Expensive.
  • Buggy.
SOLIDWORKS is very well suited for part creation, design work and large assembly. SOLIDOWORKS effortlessly manages complex designs, multi-part assemblies and large simulations all at the same time. Its built-in simulation tools offer the best all in one solution. Design itereations, drawings, and testing can be completed all within the same program.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
The Engineering department is using SOLIDWORKS. It is effortless to use, user-friendly and fast you can do a lot of things in it. Complex assemblies are easy to make, user-defined drawing paper, good quality rendering, realistic simulation, suitable for designing small parts, for 3D print, realistic-looking rendering, materials, scene, animation (motion) is good, and decent report of simulation.
  • Focus on ease of use allows the user to produce a 3D design in a fastest and easiest way.
  • Provides a seamless and integrated workflow
  • Create, validate, manage, and transform ideas to produce an excellent product design.
  • It can be slow, sometimes gets stuck while processing multiple parts.
  • Its time consuming to form an object from different parts.
  • File import from other software can be tricky and does not work very well.
With SOLIDWORKS files can be shared with different clients.
Sean Nutley | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use SOLIDWORKS for designing mechanical components, building assemblies of those components, stress testing new and existing designs as well as rendering images for Sales and Marketing. The 3D models we create are used to create 2D drawings for manufacturing or machining shops. We also send our models to consultants looking for a layout or part files can be sent out to program CNC machinery.
  • Creating models in steps that are easily modified later
  • Assembling part files and keeping them organized
  • Drawings need some flexibility on creating annotations in a certain way
  • Sometimes there are unexplained crashes
SOLIDWORKS is a very easy to learn software and is very versatile in use with other programs. There are many features within that are suited to any industry and are all easily learn-able. The amount of export options is very handy for whatever the manufacturer needs. There really isn't a situation/industry where SOLIDWORKS would not be useful.
December 17, 2019

3D CAD design software

Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We have a FabLab in the school, and we use SOLIDWORKS to design our products, and then we prototype the 3D model in the 3D printer.
  • 3D modeling for mechanical designs.
  • SOLIDWORKS has an excellent photorealistic rendering that helps you so much to see how your final product will be.
  • Interface: I think they should make a friendlier interface to look more sophisticated. This is not a con; actually, it’s just an improvement.
SOLIDWORKS is very appropriate for mechanical designs, but not for architectural designs. For the architectural design, you should use AutoCAD.
Cory Puuri | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
EAA offers it for free to EAA members but we also use SOLIDWORKS in our Aircraft Maintenance area to draw parts for FAA approval of replacement owner-manufactured parts. The product is a powerful tool from sketch to manufacturing. Even with all this power, it is pretty straightforward to learn how to use it.
  • Makes changes fast. It adapts the assembly to part modifications and then saves the changes back to the part models.
  • Interface checking and analysis are simple yet effective.
  • Parts and template lists are quick and easy to generate.
  • CAM is only 2.5 axis.
  • The import of scanned objects should require less work.
  • Adding features could be more intuitive. Tube trims and weldments take too much tinkering.
SOLIDWORKS does well with complex parts and assemblies. It also works well with iterative development processes and analysis. If you plan to share the assembly with multiple people for manufacturing purposes, I wouldn’t use any other product. Their manufacturing network is extensive.

It is too complicated to learn for simple sketches where precision is not important. For example, I was drawing a stepstool that would fold and it was faster to sketch it out on paper.
September 03, 2019

Designing with SOLIDWORKS

Michael Greene | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
As a long-time user of SOLIDWORKS, I have seen the progression from the beginning. In its infancy it was a good option at a good price for a stand-alone 3D program. It was occasionally unstable in the early years but has progressed to a very stable user-friendly platform for mechanical design applications. I have designed many complex progressive stamping dies using SOLIDWORKS Professional and continue to do so. The time saved by using toolbox and library features is one of the best benefits.
  • 3D modeling.
  • Automatic drawing creation.
  • Integration with Mastercam.
  • Needs more progressive die components in toolbox.
  • Drawing layers and colors are difficult to work with.
  • Complex sketches are still somewhat slow to rebuild.
SOLIDWORKS is very well suited for modeling complex 3D parts and assemblies. Simple 2D drawings for laser, water jet, or wire EDM are better suited for DraftSight.
July 17, 2019

SOLIDWORKS Review

Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
SOLIDWORKS is used across out whole organization. It is used for design, FEA, rendering, and visualization purposes. In the design group, we use it to create, edit, and share parts and assemblies across a wide range of applications, including consumer goods, machinery, devices, etc.
  • The collaborative work environment is a cool and useful feature where groups of people can work on the same model at the same time, and SOLIDWORKS ensures that you don't overwrite each other's work.
  • The ease and amount of customization options are very useful for creating a personalized and intuitive user interface, whether SOLIDWORKS is your native CAD package or not.
  • It is very easy to quickly edit a model you have already created. The software allows sketch and feature editing without having to take the time to actually enter the sketch/feature environment.
  • The use of configurations and configurations-specific dimensions in the same sketch is very useful for creating different forms of the same part
  • SOLIDWORKS gets very slow when using large assemblies, parts with many features, and sketches with many fully-defined entities.
  • Saving can become extremely slow when there are STL files inserted into your part file. Has taken up to 10 minutes to save one part file. However, using the Save As option and giving the same part a new name will reduce save time by 10x. Seems to be some room for improvement here.
  • When using the loft command without guide curves, there are two orbs that can be moved to determine how the profile twists from one face of the loft to the other(s). However, you cannot constrain these points and they can change position in different configurations. These points should be able to be constrained.
SOLIDWORKS is well suited for creating fully-define, parametric parts. SOLIDWORKS makes it easy to quickly edit your parts, which can be done on the fly during meetings. It is well suited for a collaborative environment, as well as for creating complex, working assemblies. SOLIDWORKS is less appropriate for complex surface modeling and non-parametric applications.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
SolidWorks was used in my company since inception and I was using the software since 2002. As a mainstream 3D parametric software design tool it really made a huge difference in productivity and versatility in design process and drafting. Year after year customer-driven changes and improvements aligned with my advancements in career and my company's penetration to the markets. It is a must-have type of software in today's industry.
  • 3D modeling.
  • Assemblies.
  • Drawing updates.
  • Integration for parts, assemblies and drawings.
  • Some software stability.
  • Version conversion to earlier releases for file exchange.
  • Subscription value for the money.
Pros:
  • As a mainstream design tool for the mechanical industry, it is a top tier option
  • Collaboration with other users
  • File format flexibility for data exchange
  • Various industry-driven tools for design
  • Design for manufacturing driven
Cons:
  • Civil engineering applications very limited
  • Not suitable for design by code application, especially if FEA modules are used.
  • Strangely, does not collaborate well or at all with Catia even as a part of the same company
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We design and engineer using the software for consumer products and packaging (vac forms etc).
  • File Organization
  • Hot Key Programming
  • Rendering through Visualizer
  • The user interface can look very busy sometimes compared to Inventor
  • There are annual updates and sometimes the redesign of the interface is difficult to get used to
  • Very expensive and you have to be on a subscription
I can't begin to explain the amount of clarity this software brings to my company. Everything is modeling to scale with detailed production drawings and I use the same file to produce stunning renderings and animations.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Currently, SOLIDWORKS is being used by the engineering department to create high precision parts, such as gears, handles, zippers, metal structures. With these designs our company prints them with 3D printers, to be able to sell them and obtain a constant cash flow. Also with this tool we are able to show simulations for projects presented to other companies, thanks to its excellent graphic engine, the functions we want to use in projects can be shown in detail.
  • I think it is the best CAD tool in terms of design of extreme technical details.
  • Its system of assembly of pieces is very useful when it comes to show off or create high-quality simulations.
  • Particularly I think sketch tools are excellent for create 2D drawings of pieces, thanks to this the process of creation of 3D objects is streamlined.
  • Its rendering system is very professional and provides very great visual details.
  • Very unfavorable not being able to open versions of modern SOLIDWORKS in older versions.
  • Sometimes it is difficult to understand the process of rendering 3D parts.
  • It is not capable of processing solid pieces of STL format with many surfaces.
Well suited:
For companies that need to make designs of small mechanical parts it is very useful. We can create these pieces in less than hourly, and therefore give quick responses to our customers. Also to show mechanical simulations to companies.
Less appropriate:
Creating 3D objects as sculptures is not very appropriate since it does not have mesh design. Do not try to modify STL format files, since it causes many design errors.
Christopher Schaefer | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
SOLIDWORKS is our mainstay computer-aided design software package and is utilized by all of our office locations across the globe for Gardner Denver Medical. It replaced other leading 2D and 3D CAD platforms many years ago; complimentary add-in packages from DS-SOLIDWORKS have been added over the years and are part of our day-to-day engineering work. Being the number one PC-based 3D solid modeling CAD package on the market, we use SOLIDWORKS, Simulation, Enterprise PDM (product data management), Inspection, and Composer to create, edit, manage, and document our engineering designs. We rely upon SOLIDWORKS' ability to open other CAD formats in our relationships with vendors and customers alike. And we lean upon our reseller's expertise to aid us throughout each year. Personnel outside of engineering takes advantage of eDrawings as a means of communicating 3D collateral. SOLIDWORKS has been, for the most part, easy to deploy and maintain and predictable with regards to cost of ownership.
  • Having built themselves as the premier desktop CAD package, SOLIDWORKS has tools for almost every design-related.
  • Learning SOLIDWORKS is very straightforward and there exists a large body of free tutorials and on-line help forums.
  • SOLIDWORKS' partner program means having access to world-class software applications that run native within SOLIDWORKS.
  • The FEA and CFD tools (Simulation) are best-in-class in-CAD analysis softwares and have helped shape that particular landscape since their adoption inside SOLIDWORKS.
  • The reseller channel may, perhaps, be the greatest strength of SOLIDWORKS. It means guaranteed help/support, access to updates, a a vibrant user community.
  • To date, the baked in surfacing tools lack power compared to dedicated surfacing software.
  • In a similar vein, the core modeling kernel is not owned by SOLIDWORKS themselves and so there exists limitations with regards to implementing certain modeling/math.
  • SOLIDWORKS is playing catchup to other online vendors of CAD (notable Onshape); instead of being the once leader, they are being forced to compare themselves. This, however, may work to their advantage and in turn allow them to produce a better on-line CAD tool.
Generally speaking, SOLIDWORKS is still the number one desktop CAD tool. If, however, one wishes for limited 3D modeling capabilities and does not want to pay for commercial 3D solid modeling, then other tools are available that may or may not be as "good" as SOLIDWORKS from an ease-of-use and modeling power standpoint. SOLIDWORKS' in-CAD simulation tools defined what in-CAD simulation should be, period. Other solvers and software companies have only followed suit. So if you're looking for affordable FEA or CFD AND CAD, then SOLIDWORKS is best-fitted.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Up until 2007, I used SOLIDWORKS to design industrial equipment in the glass industry. We used it throughout the engineering group (about 10 designers). I used it for R&D including simulation work (FEA and Motion). I currently own a suite of SOLIDWORKS for my personal business (APECS LLC). I use it for small design projects. I currently use Autodesk Inventor in my full-time position with a company in the water treatment industry.
  • For starters, it is easy to learn compared to other solid modeling software platforms. SolidWorks has great learning tools and an easy to follow interface.
  • The Weldment design environment is very robust and flexible.
  • Working with model configurations is much easier to manage than other software platforms.
  • FeatureWorks makes easy work of importing CAD geometry from other modeling packages. It recognizes the features and provides a feature-based model, unlike other programs that simply allow you to import block geometry without access to the model base features.
  • More flexible options for renting or leasing the software.
  • Provide small firms with older versions of the software with credits toward software upgrades. The current system penalizes those who have chosen not to upgrade over time. Many small firms can't afford to do so as often.
SOLIDWORKS is well suited for general design environments. It may be limited in situations where more advanced modeling is required, such as complex surfacing modeling. I do not engage in that type of design work so I can't speak for its limitations.
Alan Tillman | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
SOLIDWORKS was being used to create our engineering production drawings to fabricate large equipment in the wastewater treatment industry. It was used only in the engineering design group. It addressed not having to make hand drawings to pass onto production as well as creating the 3D models of parts that were able to be put together into assemblies. By assembling the rendered parts we could see what spacing to expect and if we had incorrectly modeled any parts prior to actually making them and trying to put them together.
  • Creates detailed renderings of parts.
  • Production drawings can be made from renderings.
  • Assemblies allow you to see if all the pieces fit together prior to production.
  • We were not using a CNC for any parts now, but I do remember back in school we had to use AutoCAD for the CNC we had at school. I don't know if that was a SOLIDWORKS or a CNC issue, and I would assume this has been done in the last 5 years, but if not, that integration would really be my only complaint.
In engineering design and manufacturing it was a great tool to create drawings and test assemblies prior to fabrication. It was very useful in that application. In the past, it was not useful for parts that needed to be put through the CNC, but that was years ago so it may have changed since I had that issue.
Saransh Dikshit | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I am using Solidworks for my Ph.D. research. I have used it to make 3D models for various things which I 3D print later on and test in the laboratories at Iowa State University. I have used Solidworks for making 3D models of poles and transmission towers.
  • It has very good graphical user interface and thus is very user friendly.
  • It offers a lot of options to create your models and for each option, there are examples and suggestions as to how these options work.
  • It can be easily integrated with any finite element software and allows the user to print the model which can be used for testing in labs.
  • It enables the user to make very complex 3D parts with minimum effort. There are a lot of tutorials also available for the software.
  • I would want Solidworks to add a library within itself where users can see examples and solve their problem.
  • While working with very heavy models, the software becomes slow and leads to unnecessary lag while moving around the model.
  • It should allow a person to easily integrate their models with models from other users.
It is very good for making complex 3D models. I have used it for making numerous models of welds and connections. I would want a better explanation for the various options that are listed in the software.
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