SolidWorks

SolidWorks (stylized as SOLIDWORKS) is a brand within Dassault Systèmes that develops and markets solid modeling computer-aided design, computer-aided engineering, 3D CAD design and collaboration, analysis, and product data management software. It developed the world's first 3D CAD application that ran on a desktop PC.

SolidWorks released its first product, SolidWorks 95, on November 1, 1995. Since then, the 3D CAD product, now known as SolidWorks, has become a central product for the SolidWorks brand.

As of 2024, SolidWorks had an estimated 3 million users. SolidWorks provides analyses and simulations, including Finite Element Analysis. This approach can result in faster modeling, new design tools, and enhanced collaboration.

History
SolidWorks, initially named "Winchester Design Systems", was founded in December 30, 1993 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate Jon Hirschtick and cofounders Constantine Dokos, Scott Harris, Bob Zuffante, Mike Payne, and Tommy Li. Hirschtick used $1 million he made while being a member of the MIT Blackjack Team to set up the company.

Initially based in Concord, Massachusetts, United States, Hirschtick gathered a team of engineers with the goal of building 3D CAD software that was easy to use, affordable, and available on the Windows desktop. Operating later from Waltham, Massachusetts, SolidWorks released its first product SolidWorks 95, in November 1995.

On July 25, 1997, Dassault Systèmes acquired SolidWorks for $310 million in stock. SolidWorks became a brand within Dassault Systèmes. The founder Jon Hirschtick stayed as a board member for the next 14 years, guiding its growth under a series of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), he went on to found Onshape, another successful 3D CAD company.

Following Jon Hirschtick, SolidWorks was headed by John McEleney from 2001 to July 2007, Jeff Ray from 2007 to January 2011, Bertrand Sicot from 2011 to Jan 2015, and Gian Paolo Bassi from 2015 to Jan 2022. In February 2022, Manish Kumar was named the new CEO of SolidWorks, while Gian Paolo Bassi was promoted to the Executive VP of 3DExperience Works at Dassault Systèmes.

Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks acquired and successfully integrated a number of technologies over the years:


 * On April 4, 2001, Dassault Systèmes acquired SRAC to bring simulation into mainstream design.
 * On June 1, 2002, Dassault Systèmes acquired Design Source Technology for its PDM product PDMWorks.
 * On May 7, 2006, Dassault Systèmes acquired GCS Scandinavia to leverage Conisio, their product data management software.
 * On October 2, 2007, Dassault Systèmes acquired Seemage, a leader in the creation of 3D interactive product documentation.
 * On March 26, 2008, Dassault Systemes acquired Circuit works provider Priwar e to bridge the gap between electronic CAD and mechanical CAD software.
 * On May 7, 2013, Dassault Systemes acquired software maker Simpoe SAS to provide more options for planning injection molds.
 * On April 1, 2019, Dassault Systèmes acquired the elecworks electrical and automation design software product line from Trace Software International, a developer of software solutions and services dedicated to industrial engineering.

Market
The SolidWorks' user base ranges from individuals to large corporations and covers a wide cross-section of manufacturing market segments. Its core industries include industrial equipment, high-tech, life sciences, home and lifestyle, architecture, engineering, and construction. Commercial sales go through an indirect channel of worldwide reseller partners. SolidWorks also partners with third-party developers to add functionality in niche market applications such as circuit layout and tolerance checking.

Directly competitive products to SolidWorks 3D CAD include PTC Creo Elements/Pro, Solid Edge, and Autodesk Inventor.

Key events
SolidWorks held its inaugural user conference, SolidWorks World, in Palm Springs in February 1999, which later evovled into 3DExperience World in February 2019. The event annually convenes SolidWorks customers, value-added resellers, technology partners, students, educators, the press, and SolidWorks employees, maintaining its schedule even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The user conference provides an opportunity for the close-knit community of engineers and designers that use SolidWorks products to connect and share ideas with each other. The community shares a passion for solving problems, helping people and organizations, and making the world a better place.

Modeling technology
SolidWorks is a solid modeler, and utilizes a parametric feature-based approach which was initially developed by PTC (Creo/Pro-Engineer) to create 3D CAD models and assemblies. The software uses the Parasolid modeling kernel.

Parameters refer to constraints whose values determine the shape or geometry of the model or assembly. Parameters can be either numeric parameters, such as line lengths or circle diameters, or geometric parameters, such as tangent, parallel, concentric, horizontal or vertical, etc. Numeric parameters can be associated with each other through the use of relations, which allows them to capture design intent.

Design intent is how the creator of the part wants it to respond to changes and updates. For example, the user would want the hole at the top of a beverage can to stay at the top surface, regardless of the height or size of the can. SolidWorks allows the user to specify that the hole is a feature on the top surface, and will then honor their design intent no matter what height they later assign to the can.

Features refer to the building blocks of the part. They are the shapes and operations that construct the part. Shape-based features typically begin with a 2D or 3D sketch of shapes such as bosses, holes, slots, etc. This shape is then extruded to add or cut to remove material from the part. Operation-based features are not sketch-based, and include features such as fillets, chamfers, shells, applying draft to the faces of a part, etc.

Building a model in SolidWorks usually starts with a 2D sketch (although 3D sketches are available for power users). The sketch consists of geometry such as points, lines, arcs, conics (except the hyperbola), and splines. Dimensions are added to the sketch to define the size and location of the geometry. Relations are used to define attributes such as tangency, parallelism, perpendicularity, and concentricity. The parametric nature of SolidWorks means that the dimensions and relations drive the geometry, not the other way around. The dimensions in the sketch can be controlled independently, or by relationships to other parameters inside or outside the sketch.

In an assembly, the analog to sketch relations are mates. Just as sketch relations define conditions such as tangency, parallelism, and concentricity with respect to sketch geometry, assembly mates define equivalent relations with respect to the individual parts or components, allowing the easy construction of assemblies. SolidWorks also includes additional advanced mating features such as gear and cam follower mates, which allow modeled gear assemblies to accurately reproduce the rotational movement of an actual gear train.

Finally, drawings can be created either from parts or assemblies. Views are automatically generated from the solid model, and notes, dimensions and tolerances can then be easily added to the drawing as needed. The drawing module includes most paper sizes and standards (ANSI, ISO, DIN, GOST, JIS, BSI and SAC).

Product portfolio
Since 1995, SolidWorks' has filed hundreds of patents worldwide and holds over 70 active US-granted patents. Examples of active patents include patent "Predictive Modeling" (US20210240881A1), patent "Constructing Multi-Element Features Using A 3D CAD System" (US10,430,524), patent "Automatic creation of fasteners for simulating a computer-aided design (CAD) model" (US10,303,809), patent "Computer-aided interactive learning" (US10,635,461), and patent "Generation of section view cutting lines with automatic constraints" (US9,465,894).

Design-to-Manufacturing solutions
In 1999, the SolidWorks brand started introducing solutions complementary to 3D modeling and in 2006 introduced SolidWorks Design-to-Manufacturing solutions, an integrated system enabling design and manufacturing teams to work together concurrently. As a result, companies can go from conceptual design to manufactured parts faster and more easily using 3D CAD.

3DExperience Works portfolio
Since 1995, SolidWorks has expanded beyond the desktop portfolio. Dassault Systèmes introduced 3DExperience (stylized as 3DEXPERIENCE) Works, a business that connects people, data, and applications to take products from idea to delivery. 3DExperience Works leverages the cloud-based 3DExperience platform to provide a single, unified collaborative environment, enabling everyone involved in product development to contribute to the innovation process.

At the center of the 3DExperience Works portfolio are the Design and Engineering solutions built by the SolidWorks brand. The SolidWorks Governance roles connect SolidWorks desktop to the 3DExperience platform. The portfolio also features simulation, manufacturing, governance, and marketing solutions from other Dassault Systèmes brands including 3DExcite, CATIA, DELMIA, ENOVIA, Netvibes, and Simulia.

The SolidWorks roles include both browser-based and cloud-connected roles. Each role is a collection of apps focused on a particular job function (e.g., 3D Creator), enabling a broad set of activities that users in that function typically perform. SolidWorks is a registered trademark of Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation.