Software – TriMech

Datakit Cross CAD

Rod Mackay — Tue, 06 Feb 2024 12:14:36 +0000

Datakit Cross CAD

CAD File Converters, Importers, Exporters and SDK

What is Datakit Cross CAD?

Datakit Cross CAD is a suite of data exchange software that converts files from most CAD formats. Cross CAD is available as standalone software, integrated plug-in or Software development kits (SDK).

Datakit can import or export a variety of CAD file formats along with related data, including geometric data, topological data, attributes, meta data, and construction history that works inside your CAD package.

Who is Datakit?

Datakit was founded in 1994 to develop and promote CAD data exchange solutions and has grown into a world-leading supplier of CAD data exchange technologies used by industrial companies as well as major software vendors worldwide.

Datakit helps companies to:

Import files from a variety of CAD systems
Export and exchange files to share data with other CAD system users
Heal, modify, simplify or compare the models
Data migrate and batch process files

Datakit Cross CAD Capabilities

Easily import and export your CAD data with users of other CAD systems

Data Exchange Types

Exchange and convert 2D, 3D, geometric, topological, attributes, construction history, FD&T and Features with a wide choice of control parameters addressing specific user needs (choice of coordinate system, entity filtering, etc.)

Batch Conversion & Migration

To optimize automatic file transfer, a batch mode is available. Time is saved by directly selecting a whole directory to be processed along with its sub-directories.

Flexible Licensing & DLL

Datakit Cross CAD is available as single or floating licenses, and as file-to-file Dynamic Link Library (DLL) to allow you to pay for the file converters you need.

File Repair and Modification

Datakit Cross CAD allows you to repair, modify and compare files to ensure that CAD data is exchanged accurately.

CAD Software Plugins

Datakit CAD Cross is available as a native plugin for SOLIDWORKS Desktop CAD, Rhino, Autodesk 3DS Max, Alibre, Opencascade and ThinkDesign software.

Software Updates & Maintenance

Ensure your converters are up-to-date with maintenance and downloadable updates. DataKit Cross CAD is compatibile with new versions of major software including SOLIDWORKS 2024, NX series 2306 up to 2306.7000, CATIA V6 / 3DEXPERIENCE R2024x, Rhino 8, Autodesk Fusion 360 2.0.17721.

Compatible file formats

3DVIA / CATIA / SOLIDWORKS Composer, 3Shape DCM, ACIS, CADDS, CATIA V4 2D, CATIA V4 3D, CATIA V5 2D, CATIA V5 3D, CATIA V6 / 3DEXPERIENCE 2D, CATIA 3DEXPERIENCE, CEREC – Sirona Dental, CGR Creo View, DWG / DXF 2D, DWG / DXF 3D, FBX, Fusion 360, glTF, IFC, IGES, Inventor, JT, Navisworks, OBJ, Parasolid, PLMXML, Procera ProE / Creo Parametric 2D, ProE / Creo Parametric 3D, Revit, Rhino, Robcad, Solid Edge 2D, Solid Edge 3D, SOLIDWORKS 2D, SOLIDWORKS 3D, STEP, STL, UG NX 2D, UG NX 3D, and VDA

Datakit Cross CAD Packages

Three CAD data exchange solutions to choose from

Package

Datakit Cross Manager

CrossManager is a standalone software allowing you to convert files from most CAD formats.

With Cross Manager, you select one or several CAD files to translate them automatically in the format you want. Cross Manager is available as a single or floating license.

Package

Datakit Cross CAD / Plg

Datakit provides integrated data exchange plug-ins for the major CAD software products including SOLIDWORKS Desktop CAD, Rhino, Autodesk 3DS Max, Alibre, Opencascade and ThinkDesign software.

Cross CAD / Plg can import or export a wide variety of file formats directly inside your CAD package.

Package

Cross CAD / Ware

Cross CAD / Ware is a software development kit (SDK) that allows software vendors to integrate Datakit technology into their own application.

Datakit libraries provide you a full-documented Application Programming Interface (API) to enable interoperability among CAD systems.

Datakit Cross CAD Matrix

Compare the different versions of Datakit Cross CAD software

All 3D combinations of CrossCad/Ware FileToFile
Inputs	3DXML	3MF	ACIS	CADDS	CATIA V4 3D	CATIA V5 3D	CGR	COLLADA	FBX	glTF	IFC	IGES	JT	OBJ	Open CASCADE	Parasolid	PDF 3D	PRC	Robcad	SOLIDWORKS 3D	STEP	STL	UG NX 3D	Unisurf	VDA	VRML
	Outputs
3DVIA / CATIA / SOLIDWORKS Composer	●	●					●	●		●	●		●	●			●	●			●	●				●
3Shape DCM	●	●						●	●	●	●		●	●			●	●				●				●
ACIS	●	●		●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
CADDS	●	●	●		●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
CATIA V4 3D	●	●	●	●		●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
CATIA V5 3D	●	●	●	●	●		●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
CATIA V6 / 3DEXPERIENCE 3D	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
CEREC - Sirona Dental	●	●						●	●	●	●		●	●			●	●				●				●
CGR	●	●						●	●	●	●		●	●			●	●				●				●
Creo View	●	●					●	●	●	●	●		●	●			●	●				●				●
DWG / DXF 3D	●	●				●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●			●	●	●			●
FBX	●	●					●	●		●	●		●	●			●	●			●	●				●
Fusion 360	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●		●	●
glTF	●	●					●	●	●		●		●	●			●	●			●	●				●
IFC	●	●	●				●	●	●	●		●	●	●		●	●	●		●	●	●				●
IGES	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●		●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
Inventor	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
JT	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●		●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
Navisworks	●	●						●	●	●	●		●	●			●	●				●				●
OBJ	●	●					●	●	●	●	●		●				●	●			●	●				●
Parasolid	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●		●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
PLMXML	●	●					●	●	●	●	●		●	●			●	●				●				●
Procera	●	●						●	●	●	●		●	●			●	●				●				●
ProE / Creo Parametric 3D	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
Revit	●	●	●				●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●		●	●	●		●	●	●				●
Rhino	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
Robcad			●	●	●	●						●	●			●	●		●	●	●			●	●
Solid Edge 3D	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
SOLIDWORKS 3D	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●		●	●	●	●	●	●
STEP	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
STL	●	●					●	●	●	●	●		●	●			●	●			●					●
UG NX 3D	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●		●	●	●
VDA	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●		●

Datakit Cross CAD Benefits

Easy to use software which will adapt to your business process

Reduce Work

The ability to import data into your CAD system rather than modeling from scratch can save production time especially with complicated models.

Share data with other CAD users

Datakit allows sub-contractors to communicate directly with their clients and deeply enrich their product’s interoperability. They are affordable and very popular within design and engineering departments.

Enhance your CAD software

Many CAD software packages have limited file exchange options. With Datakit you can expand your software's capabilities with more file formats to import and export.

Flexible Licensing

With floating licenses, installed on a license server allows Cross Manager to be used by several users on different workstations. This allows large companies to share resources.

Looking for a Cloud Alternative?

3DEXPERIENCE Works provides a Safe, Social, Connected, Informed and Structured alternative to Datakit Cross CAD for team leaders, project managers and other professionals who want to manage data on the cloud and collaborate without constraints.

Safe: Customer controlled access. Transparent cloud backup. Encrypted communication protocols. Data always safe-no overwrite, no loss of data.

Social: Integrated structured and unstructured collaboration tools enabling social innovation. Collaborate on product design or engage with your stakeholders early in product development.

Connected: Every user always connected to a single, common database. Access data anywhere, anytime, on any device. Review and markup models.

Informed: Choose from the widget library, Create and share Dashboards. Get the latest information about your product development. Always have access to your latest data.

Structured: Zero overhead data management - store and manage data across collaborative spaces, share information in communities. Find indexed data faster by using tags, custom search, etc.

Learn more

Excellerant CNC Machine Monitoring & IIoT Platform

Kelly Clancy — Fri, 24 Nov 2023 16:28:15 +0000

Software

Excellerant CNC Machine Monitoring & IIoT Platform

Optimize your shop floor with Excellerant. A real-time machine data and communications platform designed to connect and integrate your entire manufacturing process.

Open Tomorrow’s Frontiers by understanding Today’s Data with Excellerant MDC

Excellerant is a shop-floor monitoring, DNC, and communications platform that integrates your CNC machine tool data directly into your existing network of CAD/CAM, ERP, and MES software solutions.

Connect Shop Floor to ERP

Excellerant MDC™ connects manufacturing data streams in real time — from shop floor controls to ERP and back again. It operates with both modern and legacy machines across a wide array of retrieval standards and protocols.

Measure Machine Performance

Excellerant MDC’s deep functionality allows machine performance to be reviewed, predicted, and even simulated, while enabling timely communication about production and capacity across the organization.

DEMO

Excellerant MDC Overview

“Excellerant MDC is transforming our machine environment. It is providing us with more accurate and timely production data by streaming directly into our ERP system without the need of unnecessary paper documents that were laden with error.”

Shawn Bergeron

Continuous Improvement Leader, C&M Machine Products

Excellerant Capabilities

CNC Machine Tool Monitoring DNC Built For CAM Programmers Wired & Wireless DNC Systems Standards Compliance Industry 4.0 and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Downtime Tracking Built-In Chat System

CNC Machine Tool Monitoring

Optimize your shop with Excellerant’s Industry 4.0 Smart Manufacturing Solutions

Real-time CNC machine tool monitoring

Your shop-floor data made actionable. Excellerant is an Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) platform designed to optimize the efficiency of your manufacturing equipment. By networking your CNC machine tools (both new and old) together with your ERP and MES software, you can easily generate insights that let you make better decisions, faster.

Monitor your jobs in real-time from anywhere with an internet connection.
Receive instant email alerts if your machines experience unplanned downtime.
View historical data to find and eliminate bottlenecks in your production.

DNC Built For CAM Programmers

DNC built for CAM programmers

Powerful, yet intuitive NC file management

Excellerant DNC was built with CAM programmers in mind. By using a centralized database, programmers have complete control over their NC files and revisions. Tablets at each machine give operators immediate access to the latest NC file for their specific job. If they make adjustments to feed-rate or other code during manufacturing, these changes are automatically flagged and sent back to the programmer for review. Excellerant’s “One-Click G-Code Compare” ensures your files are always up-to-date and that code improvements are saved from run-to-run.

Wired & Wireless DNC Systems

Excellerant DNC hardware is plug-and-play ready for both modern machine connections and older serial protocols

30 years DNC networking experience

The Excellerant team has spent the last 30 years DNC networking thousands of machine tools across hundreds of manufacturing plants. We have the expert knowledge needed to network any mix of CNC machines, modern or legacy.

Excellerant DNC hardware is plug-and-play ready for both modern machine connections and older serial protocols, such as MTConnect, OPC UA, Fanuc Focas, HAAS MNET, and Mazak Mazatrol. Our Open API support ensures any peripheral system can connect, as well.
Whether you want to expand an existing wired DNC network, or are looking to add a wireless DNC adaptor to an older RS232 serial connection, we have the tools and experience you need.

Standards Compliance

Standards Compliant NC File Revisions and Process Management Tools

Preferred choice for aerospace, defense, and medical manufacturers

Excellerant DNC is the preferred choice for many aerospace, defense, and medical manufacturers whose customers require adherence to strict quality and compliance standards. Since confidentiality is essential when handling sensitive customer information and drawings, user permissions were built to be highly customizable.

100% secure and compliant with quality and defense standards such as ISO 9000 and CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification)
Excellerant DNC ensures files remain secure and access is only passed to authorized machine operators and programmers.
Our Active Directory integration makes managing group permissions both simple and consistent across your entire organization.
Our optional Rev-Lock-Load feature limits each CNC machine to a single program request and requires the program to be sent back to the server before accessing a new program.
Ensure compliance with any one-program-per-machine requirements your quality process may require.

Industry 4.0 and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)

Excellerant is designed to streamline your operations

An efficient ecosystem of humans, machines, software, and process

Industry 4.0 and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) offers the opportunity to streamline operations quickly and efficiently through connection of the CNC machines and systems above the shop floor, allowing you to leverage the insights given to optimize and fix what needs attention.

Improve your factory by familiarizing yourself with new data resources. Consider increasing the synergy between machines and workers to avoid stagnation and drive innovation.
Streamline your process by learning from past data, current issues, and downtime across the factory floor to more effectively test new procedures. You’ll be less afraid to try something new in a smart factory!
Scales your business by discovering where an area of your manufacturing business may have plateaued. But by watching what is happening in other areas, you can see the growth that you could never have predicted before.

Downtime Tracking

Track and reduce equipment downtime

How does your company handle machine downtime?

Excellerant’s software gives you the power to track and reduce equipment downtime, increase your facility’s productivity and meet production goals by using machine downtime reports from connected machines to make historical and real-time decisions.

Avoid unplanned downtime by monitoring machine control and sensor data.
View real-time machine data to measure changes in frequency, amplitude, intensity of forces, and bearing wear.
Track down problems by analyzing time-series charts that show how the machinery is performing over time.
Monitor and track the status and health of your machine assets; export real-time data to help diagnose problems.
Instantly share machine data with your service provider so they can provide quick, remote support and help to bring the machines back online.
Stay connected to your team. Track incidents through a workflow, and stay informed while alerting the right person at the right time.

Built-In Chat System

A Shop-Wide, Job-Aware Chat System

Bridging the gap between the shop-floor and the top-floor

Excellerant’s built-in chat module allows operators to chat directly with floor-managers and engineers via tablets on each machine tool.

Job notes and live machine data (such as tooling information) is available directly in the chat tool, so there is always context for each conversation.
One-click dialog options are available via the tablet interface, so operators can quickly respond without needing to type.

Get a Live Demo

How Excellerant Works

1. CONNECT

It has never been easier to integrate shop floor data into a company’s manufacturing process.

Many modern CNCs come equipped with options that make connecting to Excellerant as simple as plugging in an ethernet cable or connecting to WiFi.

Specialty or legacy devices can be linked through serial communications or an added PLC – regardless of control type or device age.

2. INTEGRATE

Powerful as they are, ERP systems are not the full solution — they cannot process what they cannot see.

Manufacturing data is so complex and non-uniform that ERP and MES systems often struggle to reach even basic manufacturing environment data. As a result, the front office remains critically separated from the shop floor.

The Excellerant platform conforms a vast array of data streams and makes them accessible in an elegant, logical, and adaptable computing environment.

3. DEPLOY

Because Excellerant is a server-based platform, client deployment is as simple as opening a web browser from any device.

Easily deploy tablets with operator-specific inputs for each machine tool. Mount industrial displays for real-time production schedules across your plant. View machine state and data reports from any PC, Mac, or mobile device.

Client access is unlimited, so you can add additional users and displays at any time, with no additional licensing fees.

ESP FOR YOUR ERP™

Powerful as they are, ERP systems are not the full solution — they cannot process what they cannot see.

Excellerant MDC conforms a vast array of data streams and makes them accessible in an elegant, logical, and adaptable computing environment.

Let your managers, report writers, and developers focus on their core missions rather than spending time becoming domain experts on CNC connectivity.

See it live

Request an Online Demo

Learn how Excellerant can unlock your shop’s full potential. Contact us for a one-on-one session with one of our solution experts.

3DEXPERIENCE Roles

Patrick Musgrave — Fri, 24 Nov 2023 15:57:44 +0000

Software

3DEXPERIENCE Roles

Discover the 3DEXPERIENCE Roles available from TriMech

Explore 3DEXPERIENCE Roles

Explore 3DEXPERIENCE roles and discover the powerful capabilities you can unlock for design, simulation, marketing, product lifecycle management, and manufacturing. Unfamiliar with the concept of roles? Learn more and view a video introduction on our 3DEXPERIENCE platform webpage.

All

All
Design
Simulation
PDM / PLM
Marketing
Manufacturing

3D Creator

3D Mold Creator

3D Product Architect

3D Render

3D Sculptor

3D Sheet Metal Creator

3D Structure Creator

3DSwymer

Collaborative Designer for SOLIDWORKS

Additional roles

Visit Enterprise Solutions Site

Can't find what you're looking for? Try searching below or visit our Enterprise Solutions website to view more 3DEXPERIENCE roles.

While the roles on this site largely fall under the 3DEXPERIENCE Works portfolio and complement SOLIDWORKS, our Enterprise Solutions range includes roles from other Dassault Systèmes products including Catia, Enovia and Delmia.

Mastercam Software

Patrick Musgrave — Fri, 24 Nov 2023 15:40:29 +0000

Mastercam software provides world-leading CAD/CAM functionality that have been engineered to meet a wide range of CNC programming requirements, from simple to more advanced. Visit MacDac for more information.

SOLIDWORKS Term Licensing

Paige Woolley — Thu, 23 Nov 2023 19:21:33 +0000

Software

SOLIDWORKS Term Licensing

Gain access to SOLIDWORKS software with a lower upfront cost

SOLIDWORKS Term Licensing is a new licensing option that lowers the upfront cost of SOLIDWORKS software and allows for more flexible deployment options for start-ups, makers, consultants, contractors and businesses of any size.

Term Licensing is essentially renting a SOLIDWORKS License for a three month or 1 year term rather than purchasing a perpetual license which you own.

What is SOLIDWORKS Term Licensing?

Term Licensing is for individuals and companies that want access to SOLIDWORKS best-in-class design solutions with lower upfront costs compared to traditional perpetual licensing.

With a term license you can use SOLIDWORKS products with a quarterly subscription. A term license gives SOLIDWORKS users access to a variety of SOLIDWORKS applications with the same full version as a perpetual license — but with a flexible and affordable approach that’s easy on a software budget and easy to manage.

Why Rent SOLIDWORKS?

SOLIDWORKS Term Licenses are ideal for companies that need to maximize their cash flow, this could include the following:

Licenses are required for short term projects or for the specific phase of a project where specific software such as simulation is needed to validate a design.
Licenses are to meet staffing requirements such as contract staff or intern that require SOLIDWORKS for a short time period.
A new division or project has been initiated and cash-flow is a concern.
A start-up/new business requires SOLIDWORKS software at the minimum cost to get started.

Term vs Perpetual SOLIDWORKS License

SOLIDWORKS Term Licensing Options

Choose between a 3 Month or 1 Year term for renting a SOLIDWORKS Software License.

*Includes SOLIDWORKS Subscription Service

SOLIDWORKS Applications available for a Term:

SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD software
SOLIDWORKS Communication Tools
SOLIDWORKS CAM software
SOLIDWORKS Electrical software
- SOLIDWORKS Electrical Schematic Professional

3 Month

Quarterly Term License*

1 Year

Annual Term License*

Mix & Match SOLIDWORKS Term Licenses with Perpetual Licenses

A Term License offers more flexibility allowing you to mix and match SOLIDWORKS Add-in products with your existing SOLIDWORKS perpetual (full) license. For instance you could add SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation for a 3 month term to your existing SOLIDWORKS Premium perpetual license.

Benefits of a SOLIDWORKS Term License

Renting SOLIDWORKS software can provide your company with many benefits:

Lower Upfront Cost

Start-ups, makers, individuals and small business often have cash flow constraints.

SOLIDWORKS Term Licensing allows companies to design new products with the world’s most widely used CAD software without the traditionally higher upfront costs of perpetual licenses.

Budgeting

From year-to-year, your software budgets can change drastically.

SOLIDWORKS Term Licensing can increase budget flexibility as you can spread the cost of your CAD software over multiple years and calculate exactly how much you will pay.

Flexibility & Scalability

Companies have fluctuating workforces with turnover and temporary employees or interns. Having the right tools for everybody can be challenging.

With SOLIDWORKS Term Licensing, companies can purchase explicit numbers of seats based on their needs. They can also choose term lengths that match their product or project schedules.

SOLIDWORKS Term Licensing FAQs

Get answers to frequently asked questions about SOLIDWORKS Term Licensing

What are the minimum and maximum length Term licenses available?

Is a 1-month SOLIDWORKS Term License available?

Do SOLIDWORKS Term Licenses include a Grace Period?

If I own a Perpetual License can I also add a Term License?

How many machines can be activated with a Term License?

Can a Term License asset be transferred from one machine to another?

How are SOLIDWORKS Term License products installed?

Do Term License products require internet access during the entire term commitment period or just during activation?

What services and level of support do SOLIDWORKS Term License customers get access to?

SOLIDWORKS Term License customers have access to the same benefits and services as SOLIDWORKS Subscription Service customers: Technical support, knowledge base, software upgrades and enhancements, customer portal and My.SolidWorks.

But please note: these benefits are applicable only for the length of the term license and if customers want uninterrupted support, they only need to renew (or repurchase) their term license.

Does a SOLIDWORKS term license include access to My.SolidWorks.com and if so, what version of My.SolidWorks is included?

Can customers using SOLIDWORKS Term License products collaborate with colleagues or customers using traditional Perpetual Licenses?

Is the Expiration or End Date calculated from the day the software is purchased, installed or activated?

Are Customers entitled to SOLIDWORKS Visualize Standard, SOLIDWORKS PDM Standard and SOLIDWORKS CAM Standard with a Term License of SOLIDWORKS Professional or Premium?

Yes. SOLIDWORKS Term License customers enjoy the same benefits as SOLIDWORKS perpetual license customers, meaning SOLIDWORKS Visualize Standard, SOLIDWORKS PDM Standard and SOLIDWORKS CAM Standard will be included with SOLIDWORKS Professional or SOLIDWORKS Premium Term Licenses. And in those instances, all products – SOLIDWORKS, Visualize Standard, PDM Standard and CAM Standard will all have the same expiration date.

Can I run a SOLIDWORKS Perpetual License Add-in product with a Term License of SOLIDWORKS?

Yes. You can run a perpetual license of an add-in with a Term License of SOLIDWORKS CAD as long as the term license of SOLIDWORKS is not expired and the add-in is licensed independently of SOLIDWORKS CAD or SOLIDWORKS Simulation.

For example, you can run a perpetual license of SOLIDWORKS Plastics with a Term License of SOLIDWORKS CAD. Similarly, you can run a Term License of SOLIDWORKS Simulation with a perpetual license of SOLIDWORKS CAD. However, you cannot run a perpetual license of SOLIDWORKS Routing (Premium Add-in) with a Term License of SOLIDWORKS Standard.

Can a customer use SOLIDWORKS Standard on Term License if their company has an existing SOLIDWORKS PDM setup?

Are SOLIDWORKS Term Licenses available for Education, Research, or Global Licenses?

Is Term Licensing available to both new and existing SOLIDWORKS customers?

Are SOLIDWORKS Term License products available for a Network License?

Is Subscription Service optional with Term Licensing?

Is Term Licensing Service Pack specific?

Can a customer without active Subscription Service for a Perpetual license, order a Term License?

Can Term License customers update to the next major version when available?

Can I renew my Term License by myself or do I need to contact TriMech?

When can I renew a Term License product?

How many times can a Term License be renewed?

"The time we save using SOLIDWORKS and doing our own 3D printing helps us validate designs quickly to meet demanding project deadlines"

Ron Ryan, Fabrication Group Manager

Oceanic

"SOLIDWORKS has definitely brought something different to the Solar Industry. Our U.S. counterparts use 2D, but they will be switching to 3D soon"

Chris White, Design & Technical Manager

Sunrise Power

"I’ve been a believer in SOLIDWORKS PDM since day one because it’s been effective since day one"

Ray Minato, President

Inertia Engineering + Design

The 3DEXPERIENCE Platform

Michael Ash — Wed, 22 Nov 2023 09:45:18 +0000

Software

The 3DEXPERIENCE Platform

Your online collaborative hub for complete product development

What is the 3DEXPERIENCE platform?

The 3DEXPERIENCE platform is a business-wide tool that provides access to Dassault Systèmes' huge range of engineering software solutions to enable complete product development through browser-based applications.

As a modular solution, the 3DEXPERIENCE platform is scalable, and can be adapted to grow with your business and empower collaboration between departments.

How does the 3DEXPERIENCE platform work?

The 3DEXPERIENCE platform is comprised of purchased roles which contain individual applications.

MODULAR

What are Roles?

Functionality on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform is broken down into different job roles which can all be licensed separately.

Each role unlocks access to tools from one of Dassault Systèmes' major software brands including CATIA, ENOVIA, SIMULIA, DELMIA, and many more.

SOFTWARE

What are Applications?

Every role contains a unique set of tools that are the software applications.

For example, the Project Planner role contains applications for project management, while the Structural Engineer role contains applications for linear FEA analysis.

TRACEABILITY

What is the Digital Thread?

The 3DEXPERIENCE platform is built around the concept of the digital thread to aid collaboration across departments.

This ensures all users work on the same files by eliminating data silos and file duplication with complete product lifecycle management.

Where do I start with the 3DEXPERIENCE platform?

Explore the three core methods for implementing and using the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.

Entry Level

SOLIDWORKS Cloud Services

These applications provide a brilliant introduction to the 3DEXPERIENCE platform through seamless integration within the SOLIDWORKS interface.

Access formal CAD data management and open the door to powerful tools for advanced simulation, freeform modeling, marketing, and much more on the wider 3DEXPERIENCE platform.

Discover Cloud Services

Expansion

3DEXPERIENCE Works

Extend your product development capabilities and solve new problems faster with the 3DEXPERIENCE Works portfolio.

This suite of Cloud-connected design, simulation, and lifecycle management applications are perfect for businesses who use SOLIDWORKS and are looking to expand and enhance their workflows.

Discover 3DEXPERIENCE Works

advanced

Enterprise Solutions

Empower your teams to better design, collaborate, validate, document, and manufacture through our comprehensive Enterprise Solutions.

We partner with businesses to help them realize their visions by implementing advanced design, validation, and PLM solutions optimized for your processes and centered around the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.

Discover Enterprise Solutions

WHO USES THE 3DEXPERIENCE PLATFORM?

Trusted by Global Leaders

Client Testimonial

Dexai Robotics - Transforming Commercial Kitchens

"There’s a big human component that I really appreciate about TriMech. It’s very easy to get on the phone with them or email them and get an answer.

Even as we were researching 3DEXPERIENCE and comparing it with other products on the market, they seemed to have unlimited time to go through the decision-making process, which was amazing. And later, TriMech allowed me as an individual with no IT experience to roll out a PLM product to a big team."

Justin Rooney

Hardware Team Lead at Dexai Robotics

Read the full case study

Learn 3DEXPERIENCE

To help you learn how to use the 3DEXPERIENCE platform and get started with the SOLIDWORKS Cloud Services, we've prepared a series of short and easy-to-follow guides.

We also offer a paid Quick Start service to get you set up quickly and equip you with efficient workflows to maximize your productivity.

During this service, one of our engineers will run through the initial setup with you and make sure that everything is configured optimally for your company's requirements.

FREE Starter Guides

Want to know More?

3DEXPERIENCE Platform FAQs

What are the benefits of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform?

What areas of 3DEXPERIENCE are most useful for SOLIDWORKS users?

The 3DEXPERIENCE platform provides a vast range of capabilities with solutions for virtually every aspect of product development.

Alongside the cloud data storage, design management and collaboration tools we have mentioned, the areas we believe will be most beneficial to existing SOLIDWORKS users include: advanced cloud data management, sub-divisional modelling and digital manufacturing.

This subsection of the platforms tools is also known as 3DEXPERIENCE Works. Learn more about these advanced capabilities of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform on our 3DEXPERIENCE Works page.

How can you purchase 3DEXPERIENCE?

How are the SOLIDWORKS Cloud Services related to the 3DEXPERIENCE platform?

The SOLIDWORKS Cloud Services provide a connection from SOLIDWORKS to the 3DEXPERIENCE platform and access to a small subsection of tools on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.

The platform's capabilities are vast, but they are also completely modular, we recommend that you start by taking advantage of the cloud data storage and collaboration tools and expanding into other areas as and when you need.

Why use the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform as a SOLIDWORKS user?

https://video.trimech.com/why-use-the-3dx-platform

There are many potential reasons but one that we can recommend to most users is that with the platform you get secure cloud-based data management.

This data management is CAD intelligent and it has many advantages, you don't need to purchase and maintain servers, you avoid any cyber security issues and you can access your data anywhere and on any device.

How can I get started?

To help you make the most out of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, and the new SOLIDWORKS Cloud Services included in your subscription, we are preparing a self start guide for you to follow.

The guide will be comprised of short tutorial videos that have been grouped into digestible sections, it has been designed to allow you to learn about the different aspects of the platform at your own pace.

This guide will become available later in May on this site, so make sure to bookmark this page.

If you can't wait to get started and want the most efficient set up possible then we also offer a paid Quick Start service. During this service one of our engineers will run through the initial setup with you and make sure that everything is configured optimally for your company's requirements.

Who can use the 3DEXPERIENCE platform?

How can I get more information or see a demo?

Please explore this site for more information about 3DEXPERIENCE or contact us with your questions.

We regularly run online demos though the schedules for these vary between the U.S.A., Canada, the U.K. and Ireland. To find out more or organise a demonstration at a time that is convenient for you then we recommend that you contact us.

During the demo we will cover common use-case scenarios and be available for you to ask questions that apply to your specific project or company needs.

How much does the 3DEXPERIENCE platform cost?

To access different tools on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform you need to purchase roles. There are many different roles available so the cost of purchasing 3DEXPERIENCE will vary depending on your requirements.

We're here to advise you and can help to tailor a package that perfectly suits your company's needs.

For many users the new SOLIDWORKS Cloud Services will be included in the price of their subscriptions, this grants access to three 3DEXPERIENCE roles and provides a perfect entry point for SOLIDWORKS users.

Can I use the 3DEXPERIENCE platform to avoid hardware costs?

What is the difference between SOLIDWORKS Cloud, SOLIDWORKS Desktop with Cloud Services, 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS and 3DEXPERIENCE Works?

There are a number of similarly named offers available surrounding SOLIDWORKS and 3DEXPERIENCE, and while there is overlap between them they are not the same thing.

To clear things up here is a brief explanation of the main offerings including SOLIDWORKS Cloud, SOLIDWORKS Desktop with SOLIDWORKS Cloud Services, 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS and 3DEXPERIENCE Works.

SOLIDWORKS Cloud
SOLIDWORKS Cloud is a bundle of cloud-based modeling apps that allows users to access and use best in class CAD functionality and files from any device with an internet connection.

These apps provide many of the same design capabilities as SOLIDWORKS Desktop but without the need to install the software on their local devices. These apps will feel very familiar to SOLIDWORKS users but they have been developed from the ground up and are not the exact same as SOLIDWORKS Desktop.

The apps in the SOLIDWORKS Cloud offer make an ideal solution for users who need to access CAD tools on multiple devices or locations and those who do not want to maintain the software locally. These apps all run on the cloud based 3DEXPERIENCE platform.

Learn more about SOLIDWORKS Cloud.

SOLIDWORKS Desktop (with SOLIDWORKS Cloud Services)
SOLIDWORKS Desktop is a standard installation of SOLIDWORKS software on a local device. It provides users with the full range of capabilities and features of SOLIDWORKS but requires the software to be installed and maintained locally.

SOLIDWORKS Cloud Services is a collection of tools that will be included with new SOLIDWORKS Subscriptions and term licenses.

They connect desktop SOLIDWORKS to the cloud based 3DEXPERIENCE platform and enable SOLIDWORKS users to easily share and markup designs, access CAD intelligent online storage and manage their design data effectively. In a nutshell, they provide a secure online hub for storage and collaboration.

SOLIDWORKS Cloud Services is best suited for traditional SOLIDWORKS users that want to take advantage of better design sharing and cloud data storage.

3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS
3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS is a cloud-focused version of SOLIDWORKS that has a virtually identical set of capabilities as SOLIDWORKS Desktop but has a built in connection to the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.

3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS launches from and saves files to the 3DEXPERIENCE but it still runs locally, this means that you still need a machine with the power to run SOLIDWORKS.

3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS software provides access to the same tools contained within SOLIDWORKS Cloud Services and can be bundled other cloud applications for flexible sub-divisional modelling and simulation.

Overall using 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS will be very similar to using desktop SOLIDWORKS with Cloud Services, it's a great choice for companies looking to simplify license management and consolidate their tools in one place, providing a more consistent user experience.

Learn more about 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS

3DEXPERIENCE Works

3DEXPERIENCE Works refers to a wider portfolio of applications on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform that are the most beneficial for typical teams that use SOLIDWORKS.

3DEXPERIENCE Works includes 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS alongside a number of cloud-based tools for simulation, manufacturing, data management and marketing.

All of these applications are seamlessly connected and make use of the same SOLIDWORKS CAD data, which enables the key stakeholders of every project to work smoothly together.

Ready to get started with 3DEXPERIENCE?

Click the link to view our guides on how to activate and start using these great new tools.

Get Started

Manufacturing Software

Michael Ash — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 12:03:57 +0000

Software

Manufacturing Software

Integrated CAM Solutions for SOLIDWORKS

What is Manufacturing Software?

Manufacturing software bridges the gap between your CAD designs and the manufacture of a physical product.

Encourage drawingless manufacture through SOLIDWORKS MBD, and enhance quality assurance with SOLIDWORKS Inspection.

Regardless of the material you work with, there's a manufacturing software solution out there. Program, nest, and control CNC machines using SOLIDWORKS CAM or become a digital carpenter with SWOOD by EFICAD.

With complete SOLIDWORKS compatibility, these software solutions pair with the DELMIA digital manufacturing suite to help you create components to tight tolerances in rapid time.

Benefits of CAD/CAM Software

High precision machining to manufacture accurate physical products from 2D and 3D CAD drawings.
Create and simulate complex toolpaths automatically from your part geometry.
Maximise stock and minimise scrap with automatic and optimized nesting tools.
Streamline workflows and improve efficiency of manufacturing processes to get to market faster.
Utilize 3D scanning, stereolithography, 5-axis machining, mold tools, and a variety of CNC machines to supplement your design process.

TriMech Desktop Manufacturing Software

SOLIDWORKS CAM

SOLIDWORKS MBD

SOLIDWORKS Inspection

SWOOD SOLIDWORKS Woodworking

Mastercam Software

Discover TriMech Manufacturing Services

3D Scanning & Reverse Engineering

Get the most accurate 3D models of your small or large objects with our cutting-edge Artec 3D scanning and processing services.

We can provide you with various scanning applications including reverse engineering, and models for manufacturing, healthcare applications, and industrial design.

Lightweight and battery compatible, we can take Artec scanners anywhere and scan anything from small components with our Artec Micro desktop scanner, to large objects such as a car or plane using our Artec Ray 3D scanner.

CNC Machining

CNC Machining Services, including milling, and turning for the production of high-quality parts using modern machining methods.

With highly skilled machinists and industry-leading equipment TriMech can accommodate a vast array of manufacturing applications.

CNC machining is usually a slower prototyping process than 3D printing parts.

However, it is an extremely accurate process and is, therefore, ideal for low- and high-volume production of end-use production-grade metal and plastic components.

Design & Manufacturing Consulting

Professional Design and Manufacturing Services for clients that don’t have 3D CAD capabilities.

Does your company need help designing and manufacturing a new product, or optimizing a design for the manufacturing process?

Are there times when you’re short-handed and could use some help meeting a critical project deadline?

The TriMech team consists of CAD designers, product engineers, and production manufacturing engineers who bring decades of experience to the table.

They are available to help you design a new product, improve a design for best performance, and optimize for full-scale production at the lowest cost.

Laser Processing

TriMech can take your 3D printed or machined parts to the next level with serialization and custom marking. Or manufacture custom parts from your 2D designs from a variety of materials.

TriMech provides laser processing services for research and development, engineering, sales, marketing, part serialization and facilities management.

We provide precise laser cutting and engraving of thin materials (less than 0.060” or 1.5 mm). Using a non-contact method for cutting, engraving, and marking.

Our laser system eliminates the need for physical tooling with dies, blades or permanent holding fixtures, and are driven by software files allowing for faster processing of your part.

Stereolithography (SLA)

TriMech offers SLA ultra-high resolution and ultra-large SLA-printed parts with a choice of materials to meet your project needs.

TriMech’s SLA technology produces incredibly small and extremely large prototypes with incredible accuracy, utilizing a variable-diameter laser beam that refocuses every millisecond to define high-precision features.

TriMech offers many Stereolithography materials to choose from, including glass clear, high-impact strength, high heat-resistant and Class VI medical grade.

EXPLORE ALL MANUFACTURING SERVICES

Interested in Manufacturing Software?

Simulation Software

Michael Ash — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 15:32:30 +0000

Software

Simulation Software

Analyse and Validate Design Performance

What is Virtual Testing/Simulation?

Virtual testing is conducted through simulation analysis software to validate the performance of prototypes in a representative environment.

Real world physics are applied to CAD models and their environments to replicate a physical scenario. This allows designers to evaluate performance, improve quality, and increase product innovation.

Testing in virtual environments can dramatically reduce costs and decrease lead times by removing the need for physical prototypes prior to manufacture.

We offer software solutions that consider a wide range of properties such as durability, static and dynamic response, motion of assembly, heat transfer, fluid dynamics, and plastic injection.

What are the Benefits of Simulation?

Reduce costs and save time with fast and accurate solvers.
Evaluate performance of designs without manufacturing physical prototypes and reduce wastage.
Optimize designs through automated iterative processes.
FEA and CFD analysis solutions integrated directly into SOLIDWORKS for seamless validation.
Our solutions are scalable, so you can access the tools you require and expand as your growth demands.

TriMech Desktop Simulation Software (FEA & CFD)

SOLIDWORKS Simulation

SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation

SOLIDWORKS Plastics

OVERVIEW DEMO

Virtual Testing with SOLIDWORKS Simulation Software

Interested in Simulation Software?

CAD Data Management Software

Patrick Musgrave — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 11:16:41 +0000

Software

CAD Data Management Software

Collaborate, Store, and Manage SOLIDWORKS Data

What is CAD Data Management?

CAD Data Management enables users to store, organize, and revise complex CAD relations, files, and related design data.

Keeping SOLIDWORKS data organized is integral to maintaining efficient and productive design and manufacturing teams. A reliable data management system ensures security for and brings traceability to your CAD data.

The security provided by CAD data management software comes from controlling file access and visibility with strict user permissions and workflows to map paths for files throughout the design and manufacture phases.

Traditionally, CAD data management adds a layer of protection by storing files on a server. All of our CAD data management solutions integrate seamlessly with SOLIDWORKS, and we offer both on-premise and cloud-based solutions.

Benefits of CAD Data Management

Security for your CAD files and associated data.

Rapid database searching mean you can access data easily and work within customized folder stuctures.

All interactions with files are logged to give complete traceability to file history through controlled user permissions.

Automated revision management ensures modifications are logged and approval routes are utilized.

Our solutions are scalable, so you can benefit no matter the size of your business or CAD data.

TriMech PDM/PLM Software

SOLIDWORKS Cloud Services

SOLIDWORKS PDM

SOLIDWORKS Manage

OVERVIEW DEMO

Why you need Data Management for SOLIDWORKS

Discover TriMech Data Management Services

Installation, configuration, data migration & admin support services provided by our certified technicians.

Service

Data Migration Services

TriMech’s Data Migration Service is for all customers – whether a new or existing SOLIDWORKS PDM system – adding data to their vaults.

Learn More...

Service

SOLIDWORKS PDM Upgrade Service

TriMech’s team of Certified Experts can provide you with a comprehensive SOLIDWORKS PDM Upgrade Service for SOLIDWORKS PDM Standard or Professional.

Learn More...

Service

SOLIDWORKS Manage Deployment System

Get the best start using SOLIDWORKS Manage, our team will help get you set up with best practices so you can begin taking advantage of better SOLIDWORKS Document Control, BOM Management, ECX Process Control, and Project Management.

Learn More...

Explore All Data Management Services

Interested in CAD Data Management Software?

SWOOD SOLIDWORKS Woodworking

Rod Mackay — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 09:09:35 +0000

Software

SWOOD SOLIDWORKS Woodworking

Woodworking software add-in for SOLIDWORKS

What is SWOOD SOLIDWORKS Woodworking?

SWOOD is a suite of woodworking design and manufacturing tools for SOLIDWORKS. Easily complete your woodworking projects with features dedicated to wood and panel processing, SWOOD makes it easier and faster to make production ready designs.

Woodworking software inside SOLIDWORKS

SWOOD meets all of your woodworking project needs with tools for 3D design, production documentation, CNC machining, Nesting, Automation, and Timber Construction.

SWOOD works right inside of SOLIDWORKS making it easy to use and very intuitive. SOLIDWORKS and SWOOD provides woodworkers with a dynamic and interactive environment with collaborative working and 3D parametric modeling for all the wood cabinetry, product, and construction needs.

Overview Demo

Get to know SWOOD SOLIDWORKS Woodworking

SWOOD SOLIDWORKS Woodworking Capabilities

The SWOOD add-in for SOLIDWORKS provides woodworking CAD, CAM, and Automation tools to complete your projects faster.

Woodworking Design

SWOOD Design allows you to quickly and easily create cabinetry and wooden products within the SOLIDWORKS 3D environment utilizing the core parametric capabilities. A complete drag and drop hardware library is included plus connectors, materials, cut lists, BOMs, and customized reporting.
Woodworking CNC

SWOOD CAM provides the machining and manufacturing tools for all your wood projects. SWOOD CAM manages CNC machines and their specific technology. You can create your programs and production documents directly from within SOLIDWORKS.
Woodworking Nesting

SWOOD Nesting is an add-on module for SWOOD CAM. It allows you to accurately nest your project parts onto wood panels for manufacture. Thanks to the nesting technology your wood panels will be optimized and material waste is reduced.
Woodworking Automation

SWOOD Center Service is a configurator that enables production automation on a large scale and can be linked to one of your company databases (ERP or MES).
Timber Construction

SWOOD BW (Beam & Wall) is software dedicated to timber and frame construction. Thanks to the 3D parametric design capabilities, SWOOD BW allows you to design your frame and produce the required build documentation.

SWOOD SOLIDWORKS Woodworking Features

Make all of your wooden products faster and easier with tailored software

SWOOD Design Furniture

Woodworking Process Specific Tools

With process specific tools it's never been easier to complete your woodworking projects with parametric models and production drawings. SWOOD includes:

Panel management: laminate, grain direction, material production info.
Edge-banding: Design feature of well-formed edge-bands on panels edges.
Connectors: Insertion of parametric fittings between panels.
Library: Drag and drop insertion of objects and associated machining in cubic context, includes drawers, doors, shelves and partitions.
Production data extraction: Cut list, hardware list, panel list, costing etc.

Woodworking Manufacturing

SWOOD provides CAM and Nesting capabilities for all your wood production needs:

CNC Machine Control for 3 to 5 axis continuous.
CNC Program Generation: Interfaces (woodWOP, BSolid, Maestro, Xilog, ImaWOP, BiesseWorks, TPA, NC-Hops...).
Post-Processor Control (Homag, Biesse, SCM, IMA, Holzer, Felder, Masterwood, Maka...)
Dedicated Woodworking Tools Library: Drilling block, aggregates, horizontal spindle, edgebanding aggregates.
Trajectories Simulation with Material Removal.
Automatic and Detailed Production Data: Cut lists, Program lists, Tools lists, and Labels.
Automatic Nesting, material optimization and reporting.

SWOOD Manufacturing

SWOOD Beams

Design Timber Structures faster

Help reduce design errors and ensure that your structures are cut and assembled correctly.

Geometric Analysis and shape recognition.
Several export configurations (Beams & Walls).
Quick and easy modifications.
Complete associativity thanks to the SOLIDWORKS integration.

SWOOD SOLIDWORKS Woodworking Benefits

Easy to use software which will adapt to your business process

Control & Collaboration

The current SWOOD version is always backward-compatible with the previous two versions of SOLIDWORKS allowing you to work with others easily.

Plus SWOOD incudes SOLIDWORKS PDM integration allowing you to integrate SWOOD into your current process and ensure revision and change management for your project.

Assembly & User Manual

Create user manuals and assembly instructions for your wood products with SWOOD documentation tools.

Ensure that your products are not only manufactured correctly but also assembled and used correctly by end-users and customers with the reports and documentation generated by SWOOD.

Marketing Content Creation

As SWOOD works natively inside SOLIDWORKS you can take advantage of the existing add-in tools included with SOLIDWORKS Professional and Premium — including SOLIDWORKS Visualize to generate realistic imagery and animations for sales and marketing.

Improved Productivity

Smart control of the whole production chain with task automation providing improvement of the products’ design process

Looking for a Cloud Alternative?

3DEXPERIENCE Works provides a Safe, Social, Connected, Informed and Structured alternative to SWOOD SOLIDWORKS Woodworking for team leaders, project managers and other professionals who want to manage data on the cloud and collaborate without constraints.

Safe: Customer controlled access. Transparent cloud backup. Encrypted communication protocols. Data always safe-no overwrite, no loss of data.

Social: Integrated structured and unstructured collaboration tools enabling social innovation. Collaborate on product design or engage with your stakeholders early in product development.

Connected: Every user always connected to a single, common database. Access data anywhere, anytime, on any device. Review and markup models.

Informed: Choose from the widget library, Create and share Dashboards. Get the latest information about your product development. Always have access to your latest data.

Structured: Zero overhead data management - store and manage data across collaborative spaces, share information in communities. Find indexed data faster by using tags, custom search, etc.

Learn more

DriveWorks

Rod Mackay — Thu, 24 Aug 2023 16:09:23 +0000

Software

DriveWorks

SOLIDWORKS Automation & Configuration Add-in

What is DriveWorks?

DriveWorks software is used for Design Automation and Sales Configuration by companies large and small.

Whether you are an engineer that needs Design Automation to automate your SOLIDWORKS models, or a company wanting to provide a Product Configurator for your sales teams, distributors and even customers; DriveWorks software is the ultimate choice for businesses that use SOLIDWORKS.

DriveWorks Products

There are 3 DriveWorks products – DriveWorksXpress, DriveWorks Solo and DriveWorks Pro.

Each product is a SOLIDWORKS Gold Partner Product and DriveWorksXpress is already included in every license of SOLIDWORKS.

All DriveWorks products are modular and scalable, you can implement DriveWorks and grow your projects at your own pace, adding additional capabilities as and when you need them.

Overview Demo

Get to know DriveWorks

DriveWorks Capabilities

DriveWorks Design Automation software will free up design engineers from repetitive design tasks, and enhance product quality and reduce errors.

Product Configurator

Impress your customers from the start with an easy to use configurator and quick, accurate quotes and responses. Respond quicker and better than your competitors and win more orders.

Reduce SOLIDWORKS Design Errors

Providing Design Automation with a Product Configurator based on rules, calculations and logic, improves the quality of outputs, reducing costly errors and strengthening your reputation.

Easy to Use Automation

You can build a DriveWorks configurator with no programming skills, and we can provide you with configuration design service. Empower your sales teams, distributors and customers to configure custom designs quickly and easily.

Online Product Configurator. Any Device. Anywhere.

Break free from the constraints of conventional configurators. DriveWorks configurators look and work great on any device, allowing you and your customers to configure custom designs anywhere. Changes can be distributed instantly, so everybody sees accurate, up-to-date information at all times.

Immersive 3D

Let your customers see their custom products in impressive 3D and view the effects of their design changes immediately.

Compelling Custom Documents

Automatically send eye catching branded documents that are personalized to each customer and order.

Simple Templates

Get started really quickly by customizing the Sales Configurator and Catalogue templates with the intuitive Form Designer.

Seamless links to Business Systems

An easy to use workflow provides seamless links between teams as well as company systems such as CRM, ERP and CAD.

Time Saving Automation

Reduce repetitive tasks by automating customer responses and repetitive engineering tasks.

"Evolve Design Solutions appreciates the excellent customer service, product knowledge and technical support provided by TriMech, our SOLIDWORKS Value Added Reseller (VAR).”

Aldo Balatti

Principal, Evolve Design Solutions

“Our engineering processes are well defined and well documented. I can tell new customers with confidence that we’re delivering on milestones because we’re tracking our performance on speed and quality every day.”

Ray Minator

Owner, Inertia Engineering + Design

DriveWorks Features

Automation for everyone

DriveWorks Input Form

Using rules to automate Part, Assembly and Drawing creation

DriveWorks is an easy-to-use design automation solution that allows design engineers and product designers to quickly and easily create and configure custom products inside SOLIDWORKS.

Capture and re-use your design knowledge
Incorporate design rules to reduce errors and rework, and improve product quality
Automate repetitive tasks to reduce design time
Free up design engineers to focus on improving product quality and designing new products
Create sales proposals quickly, win more business, and increase profit margins

Design Automation inside SOLIDWORKS

DriveWorks is a SOLIDWORKS Add-in that allows you to quickly and accurately capture design data and create multiple variations of your SOLIDWORKS parts, assemblies and drawings.

Capture the dimensions, features and components you want to drive in SOLIDWORKS
Create dynamic, data-driven forms to input the values that drive your design
Build design rules to drive your models using the values entered on the form
Run the project again and again to create custom manufacturing files and quotes

DriveWorks inside SOLIDWORKS

Online product configurator

Design Online Product Configurators

DriveWorks Professional includes an Online Configurator designer that can provide your customers with a web-based interface.

The configurator can also be launched from within a Customer Resource Management (CRM) system like Salesforce or Microsoft Dynamics.

Meet the increasing demand for custom products to gain a competitive edge.
Generate quotes in record time.
Reduce the cost of custom designs.
As an online tool you will allow anyone to access the product configurator
Present your configurable products in a web browser as 3D interactive models rather than static 2D images.

DriveWorks Packages

Three packages to choose from

Package

DriveWorksXpress

Entry level design automation included in every license of SOLIDWORKS®

DriveWorksXpress is easy to use design automation tool that allows you to quickly and accurately create multiple variations of your SOLIDWORKS parts, assemblies and drawings.

Package

DriveWorks Solo

The quick and easy way to create custom products inside SOLIDWORKS.

DriveWorks Solo is the easy-to-use design automation solution that allows design engineers and product designers to quickly and easily create and configure custom products inside SOLIDWORKS.

Package

DriveWorks Pro

The easy to use online product configurator for desktop, mobile and tablet.

Transform the way you do business by closing the gap between initial sales inquiry and manufactured product with DriveWorks Pro for SOLIDWORKS.

DriveWorks Matrix

Compare the different versions of DriveWorks software

CAD - Controlling SOLIDWORKS 3D Models and 2D Drawings	DriveWorksXpress	DriveWorks Solo	DriveWorks Pro
Drive Dimensions, Features and Custom Properties	●	●	●
Drive Color, Material and Textures		●	●
Drive Advanced Feature Properties (Hole Wizards, Sheet Metal, Weldments)		●	●
Drive Instances		●	●
Replace Components (with existing files or dynamically driven files)		●	●
Create additional model file formats (STEP, STL, PDF, DXF, JPEG, etc.)		●	●
Full control over new model file names and locations		●	●
Control multiple model sets from a single project		●	●
Run SOLIDWORKS Model Macros			●
Generative design - create new features on the fly (configurations, insert components, mates, etc.)			●
Create a drawing for each part and assembly	●	●	●
Create multiple drawings for each part and assembly		●	●
Full control over new drawing file names and locations		●	●
Create additional drawing file formats (PDF, DXF, DWG, JPEG, etc.)		●	●
Control Drawing Sheets (Re-scale, Rename, Delete)		●	●
Control Drawing Views (Re-scale, Re-position, Delete)		●	●
Control Annotations (Dimension Text, Notes, Symbols, etc.)		●	●
Control Dimension positions		●	●
Control Custom Properties, Break Lines and Layers		●	●
Run SOLIDWORKS Drawing Macros			●
Run additional tasks on the fly (Auto Balloon, Arrange Dimensions, Rescale and Position Views, etc.)			●

Document Creation	DriveWorks Solo	DriveWorks Pro
Create documents (such as Sales Quotes, Purchase Orders, Bills of Materials, etc.)		●
Built in document templates	●	●
Fully customizable document creation (from Word, Excel, XML, etc.)		●
Send HTML emails with attachments		●
Create Additional File Formats (PDF, HTML, TXT, XML, etc.)		●

Output Generation	DriveWorksXpress	DriveWorks Solo	DriveWorks Pro
Immediate generation of SOLIDWORKS models and drawings	●	●	●
Real Time Preview (On Demand) - updates model while specifying		●	●
Manual release of generation queue - allows multiple specifications to have their models generated from a queue			●
Automatic generation - unattended generation of outputs			●
Load balancing - distributes output generation over multiple machines			●
Priority processing - Change the order that outputs are created based on rules			●
Output Tagging - Generate outputs on targeted machines or in specific locations			●

Working with Data and Rules	DriveWorks Solo	DriveWorks Pro
Use tabular data to calculate rules	●	●
Copy and paste Excel data	●	●
Create internal data tables	●	●
Use dynamic data from ODBC Data sources in rules (SAP, Oracle, MySQL, SQLServer, etc.)		●
Export data to ODBC data sources (for example SAP, Oracle, MySQL, SQLServer)		●
Pull and Push data dynamically to and from SQL Server Databases using SQL or Windows authentication		●
Create Group Level Tabular data for use across an entire implementation		●
Create Calculation tables where each cell can be calculated from other cells		●
Create Rollup data tables - where information such a price or BOM Quantities is rolled up through the project hierarchy		●
Web Service integration - communicate with any web service OR use DriveWorks as a web service		●
Over 250 engineering, mathematic and scientific functions	●	●
Over 50 vector (3D), database and PDM functions		●
Rules builder with function wizard and rule insight (rule breakdown and drill down, function assistance, syntax highlighting and function helper text)	●	●
Reusable rules (Variables)	●	●
Pervasive search/filtering capabilities	●	●

Maintainability, Reporting and Diagnostics	DriveWorksXpress	DriveWorks Solo	DriveWorks Pro
Rules commentary		●	●
Rules revisioning		●	●
Reporting on model generation success or failure	●	●	●
Reporting on specification process success or failure			●
Real time testing during form design		●	●
Rules analysis and breakdown		●	●
What-if scenarios (Specification Test Mode)			●
Interactive step through of model generation			●
Rule Profiling (rule specific error debugging, performance solving and insight features)			●

Additional features	DriveWorksXpress	DriveWorks Solo	DriveWorks Pro
Integration with SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional (Automatic check-in of models, drawings and documents)			●
Fully documented API with Software Development Kit			●
Online Configurator and DriveWorks 3D			●
3rd party system Integration through SQL\ ODBC connections			●
Direct link to Salesforce			●

DriveWorks Benefits

Easy to use software which will adapt to your business process

Design automation

Automating your design process lets you create custom designs quickly and efficiently. Automation is ideal for Same but Different design, where new orders or new products are based on a variation of your existing designs.

Automatically generate sales documents

Free up engineers from repetitive design tasks by automatically generating 2D and 3D drawings of your SOLIDWORKS CAD models, sales quotes, letters and manufacturing data.

Online product configurator

Implement an Online Product Configurator for your sales team, distributors and even customers to use. Use it to guide non-technical people through the custom product options available, provide a fast response to sales inquiries and configure accurate quotes quickly.

Anyone can configure your products

Whether your engineers and sales teams are in house, out in the field, or you work through dealers and distributors, a product configurator will let you create custom designs and a custom response quickly and professionally.

Looking for a Cloud Alternative?

3DEXPERIENCE Works provides a Safe, Social, Connected, Informed and Structured alternative to DriveWorks for team leaders, project managers and other professionals who want to manage data on the cloud and collaborate without constraints.

Safe: Customer controlled access. Transparent cloud backup. Encrypted communication protocols. Data always safe-no overwrite, no loss of data.

Social: Integrated structured and unstructured collaboration tools enabling social innovation. Collaborate on product design or engage with your stakeholders early in product development.

Connected: Every user always connected to a single, common database. Access data anywhere, anytime, on any device. Review and markup models.

Informed: Choose from the widget library, Create and share Dashboards. Get the latest information about your product development. Always have access to your latest data.

Structured: Zero overhead data management - store and manage data across collaborative spaces, share information in communities. Find indexed data faster by using tags, custom search, etc.

Learn more

eDrawings

Rod Mackay — Thu, 24 Aug 2023 11:22:16 +0000

Software

eDrawings

Communicate and collaborate using 3D design data

What is eDrawings?

eDrawings is a viewing and publishing application for sharing and archiving 2D and 3D product design data

Collaborate more effectively with everyone involved in your product development by using eDrawings software, the first email-enabled communication tool that dramatically eases sharing of product design information.

Fast, reliable, and convenient, eDrawings files supply accurate representations of 3D models and 2D drawings created with the most widely used CAD systems on the market. Offering unique capabilities like point-and-click animations that make it easy for anyone to interpret and understand 2D and 3D design data.

Eliminate Communication Barriers

eDrawings eliminates the communication barriers that designers and engineers deal with daily. eDrawings gives you and your extended design team the tools necessary to visualize, interpret and collaborate with 2D and 3D product design data.

Share product design with review-enabled eDrawings that enable an unlimited number of recipients to provide feedback and collaborate on your product design data
Create highly compressed 2D and 3D eDrawings files that are viewable with the free eDrawings Viewer
Eliminate errors due to misinterpretation of data
Examine internal details of your parts and assemblies with dynamic cross sectioning
Manage, track and merge comments from different team members
Provide anyone access to design data with self-extracting eDrawings
Protect sensitive data by selective disabling measurement or password protect the SOLIDWORKS eDrawing

Overview Demo

Get to know eDrawings

eDrawings Capabilities

Embrace AR & VR design reviews and customer interactions with eDrawings Professional. Accelerate the entire design process throughout your entire supply chain.

Save In Many File Formats

Enables easy communication for rapid prototyping and presentation purposes by saving model files in STL, TIFF, JPEG, or BMP formats.

Markup

Create, edit, and save reviews by redlining 2D or 3D data and adding written comments.

Measure

Measure geometry in part, assembly, and drawing files when dimensions are omitted from an eDrawings file. To protect sensitive design data, simply disable the measurement feature.

Password Protection

Password-protect your eDrawings files, encouraging users to more fully share design data.

View & Save Configurations

View SOLIDWORKS configurations, multiple design variations of a part or assembly model displayed within a single document. Choose which configurations will be stored in the SOLIDWORKS eDrawing.

Share and View SOLIDWORKS Motion Manager Output

View animations created with SOLIDWORKS Motion Manager and observe in real time how moving parts interact as true solids.

View Mass Properties

View physical attributes of mechanical parts, such as weight and volume.

Drawing Layout

Create layouts by selecting drawing views and dragging and dropping them into the layout.

Ultra Compact Files

Reduce bandwidth requirements more than 95% by publishing and emailing eDrawings files instead of CAD files.

Augmented Reality

By placing a marker, an eDrawings mobile user can open their model in AR mode to ‘see’ the design in the real world.

Dynamic Cross Sectioning

Visualize designs more effectively by moving a dynamic cross-sectioning plane through parts and assemblies to see design details typically hidden from view.

Move Components and Explode Views

Understand assembly structure more quickly – simply drag and drop components with your cursor to view an exploded assembly. Return components to their normal position by double-clicking on the component.

Point-and-Click Animation

Quickly interpret and understand any SOLIDWORKS drawing by dynamically viewing the 3D model as it automatically rotates through each drawing view

View Design Analysis Results

In SOLIDWORKS Simulation, all plots are output to a single eDrawings file for viewing simulation results.

Hyperlinking

Hyperlinking views is supported in drawing files. Section line and detail circle annotations in drawing files hyperlink to the associated section or detail view. When the pointer is moved over a section line or detail circle, the annotation for the related view is highlighted.

"Evolve Design Solutions appreciates the excellent customer service, product knowledge and technical support provided by TriMech, our SOLIDWORKS Value Added Reseller (VAR).”

Aldo Balatti

Principal, Evolve Design Solutions

Ray Minator

Owner, Inertia Engineering + Design

eDrawings Features

eDrawings enables anyone to view native 2D drawings for design reviews and collaboration

View CAD Files in AR/VR

The Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) capabilities of eDrawings extends its use into virtual product evaluations by design teams and customers.

VR capabilities are available in windows desktop professional and AR/VR capabilities are available in mobile versions of eDrawings.

Viewing your designs in AR or VR takes your design reviews to the next level, allowing you to view your designs and concepts in the context of the real world.

Share with your Supply chain

eDrawings enables companies to share product information with suppliers and external contractors while protecting your IP.

Providing unambiguous information ensures that suppliers can give the best quote without the need for changes later in the process, which results in additional costs and possible delays in manufacturing.

The rapid pace of product development means that companies can no longer afford to wait until all project stakeholders are in one location to gain project approval. eDrawings enables teams to share, collaborate and mark up designs where ever they are.

Publish HTML5 3D models

eDrawings enables users to publish models in an HTML 5 file, which can then be opened in any compatible browser. Models can be shared and viewed without the need for software installation.

eDrawings is a lightweight file format that can contain 3D models and or 2D drawings. This file can be created directly from SOLIDWORKS or by the use of eDrawing Publisher from Autodesk Inventor®, Pro/ENGINEER® CATIA® V5, SIEMENS NX®, Solid Edge®, PTC CREO software and SketchUp®.

eDrawings Packages

Three packages to choose from

Package

eDrawings Professional

Accelerate the design to manufacturing process with eDrawings Professional. From using Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) capabilities to sending a 3D model to a supplier for quoting or enabling the shop floor eDrawings Professional empowers companies and leverages the power for 3D design.

Package

eDrawings Viewer

For anyone involved in the product development process eDrawings Viewer enables you to communicate, share and collaborate in a easily shareable lightweight file without having to worry about design software compatibility.

Package

eDrawings Publisher

eDrawing Publisher supports the creation of eDrawings from SOLIDWORKS®, Autodesk Inventor®, Pro/ENGINEER® CATIA® V5, SIEMENS NX®, Solid Edge®, PTC CREO software and SketchUp®. In addition to CAD solutions, eDrawings RapidFire Lite supports the creation of eDrawings from IGES and STEP neutral file formats.

eDrawings Matrix

Compare the different versions of eDrawings software

Product	eDrawings Professional		eDrawings Viewer		eDrawings Publisher
	Desktop	Mobile	Desktop	Mobile	Desktop only
Ultra Compact Files	●	●	●	●	●
Drawing Layout	●	●	●	●	●
Hyperlinking	●	●	●	●	●
3D Pointer	●		●		●
Point-and-Click Animation	●	●	●	●	●
View Design Analysis Results	●	●	●	●	●
Save In Many File Formats	●		●		●
Markup Tool	●	●	●
Measure Tool	●	●	●
Dynamic Cross Sectioning	●	●	●
Move Components and Explode Views	●		●
View Configurations	●	●	●	●
Play SOLIDWORKS Animations	●	●	●	●
Augmented Reality	●	●		●
Rich eDrawings API	●
View Mass Properties	●

eDrawings Benefits

Easy to use software which will adapt to your business process

View designs on mobile

Available on iOS and Android, eDrawings mobile enables anyone to view native 2D drawings for design reviews and collaboration wherever or whenever they are. With its lightweight file format eDrawings is ideal for sharing and using mobile solutions outside the office.

Open/View DWG and DXF files

With its lightweight file format and rich tool set, eDrawings Viewer is the ideal tool for your supply chain to use during the quoting process. Using eDrawings to view and interrogate the design data minimizes any possible confusion and the need for multiple emails to clarify design requirements which slow down the quoting process.

Publish IP Secure Design Information

Your designs are valuable. With eDrawings you can create a lightweight secure file that enables collaboration without divulging critical company IP.

Supplier, Customer and Design Team Collaboration

Collaborate and communicate product design information and intent with clarity and precision. Reduce errors and miscommunication with eDrawings.

Looking for a Cloud Alternative?

3DEXPERIENCE Works provides a Safe, Social, Connected, Informed and Structured alternative to eDrawings for team leaders, project managers and other professionals who want to manage data on the cloud and collaborate without constraints.

Safe: Customer controlled access. Transparent cloud backup. Encrypted communication protocols. Data always safe-no overwrite, no loss of data.

Social: Integrated structured and unstructured collaboration tools enabling social innovation. Collaborate on product design or engage with your stakeholders early in product development.

Connected: Every user always connected to a single, common database. Access data anywhere, anytime, on any device. Review and markup models.

Informed: Choose from the widget library, Create and share Dashboards. Get the latest information about your product development. Always have access to your latest data.

Structured: Zero overhead data management - store and manage data across collaborative spaces, share information in communities. Find indexed data faster by using tags, custom search, etc.

Learn more

SOLIDWORKS Research Edition

Rod Mackay — Thu, 24 Aug 2023 09:12:33 +0000

Software

SOLIDWORKS Research Edition

3D software designed for Researchers

What is SOLIDWORKS Research Edition software?

The SOLIDWORKS Research License gives researchers the latest in SOLIDWORKS design and science engineering technology, while connecting them with other users around the world.

The software and output has no restrictions for use in publications, industry-funded projects, intellectual property transfer, and patent applications, and does not contain an educational watermark.

Industry standard tools

The Research License follows the SOLIDWORKS commercial licensing agreement, letting researchers grow their capabilities with the industry’s most flexible platform. SOLIDWORKS Research License software follows the same release schedule as the commercial version of SOLIDWORKS, keeping your tools and designs up-to-date.

If your research involves:

Developing intellectual property
Applying for patents
Or publishing results from internally or externally funded projects

Then the SOLIDWORKS Research License is the right tool for you. This suite of products assists in getting you to your research goals faster.

Overview Demo

Take a first look at SOLIDWORKS Research Edition

SOLIDWORKS Research Edition Capabilities

Use the latest in SOLIDWORKS to solve the world’s most complex design problems

Full design and analysis

This full suite of design and analysis tools available in one user interface provides a comprehensive 3D design solution that enables you to create, validate, communicate, and manage your research quickly, efficiently, and accurately.

Go from concept to validation

With SOLIDWORKS software, you can go from initial concept through advanced analysis and validation of hypothesis, with valuable insights to optimize performance in the most cost-effective manner. SOLIDWORKS helps you cut down on costly prototypes and eliminate rework and delays no matter the material or use environment.

Full technical support resources

Full technical support resources include a comprehensive library of technical articles, help topics, tech tips, tech alerts, macros, and best practices, all written and reviewed by SOLIDWORKS experts. Whenever you need information, you can be confident that the answers are at your fingertips.

Full access to the SOLIDWORKS Community

Access a broad range of tools and resources—tutorials, online help, blogs, forums, the SOLIDWORKS User Group Network, MySolidWorks. Tap into a global community to share best practices, refine tasks, and rapidly work through design challenges.

SOLIDWORKS Research Edition Tools

The research edition provides access to the following tools available with a commercial license

SOLIDWORKS Desktop CAD

SOLIDWORKS CAM

SOLIDWORKS Composer

SOLIDWORKS Electrical

SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation

SOLIDWORKS Simulation

SOLIDWORKS PDM

SOLIDWORKS Visualize

SOLIDWORKS Research FAQs

Get answers to your frequently asked questions

What is a Qualified Research Institution?

Can I just use a SOLIDWORKS Education Edition for my Research?

I am a Qualified Researcher at a Qualified Research Institution and am looking to do a side project on my own for commercial purposes. Do I qualify for a Research License?

I qualify for a Research License. When I leave the research group and move to a different university or location, can I take my Research License with me?

I would like to provide training for the public on campus. Do I qualify for a Research License?

License definition

Research Purpose — Any work where SOLIDWORKS directly contributes to the problem statement, modeling, analysis, outcome or deliverable of a Research Project. Research Purposes do not include Commercial Purposes or Curriculum Development.

Educational Purpose — Classroom or laboratory learning by Qualified Students or instruction or preparation of courses by Qualified Instructors. Educational Purposes may also include Capstone or other student projects if the work is non-proprietary, does not create or transfer Intellectual Property and the results will become part of the public domain. Educational Purposes do not include Research Purposes, Commercial Purposes or Curriculum Development. Requires an education license »

Commercial Purpose — Professional consulting, hardware production for resale, job shop activities, services performed under a Technical Services Agreement, corporate or government internships, private tutoring or training of anyone other than Qualified Students. Requires a commercial license »

SOLIDWORKS Research Edition Benefits

Easy to use software which will adapt to your research projects

Full use with no restrictions

Enjoy full use without restriction for publications, industry-funded projects, intellectual property (IP) transfer, and patent applications.

No educational watermarks

No educational watermarks are inserted that interfere with IP, license agreements, and spin-offs.

Full SOLIDWORKS compatibility

Full compatibility with the commercial version of SOLIDWORKS enables external collaboration covering all aspects of the product development process with a seamless, integrated workflow—including design, verification, sustainable design, communication, and data management.

Reduced pricing

Special pricing means substantial savings over commercial rates, preserving more of your grant award.

Looking for a Cloud Alternative?

3DEXPERIENCE Works provides a Safe, Social, Connected, Informed and Structured alternative to SOLIDWORKS Research Edition for team leaders, project managers and other professionals who want to manage data on the cloud and collaborate without constraints.

Safe: Customer controlled access. Transparent cloud backup. Encrypted communication protocols. Data always safe-no overwrite, no loss of data.

Social: Integrated structured and unstructured collaboration tools enabling social innovation. Collaborate on product design or engage with your stakeholders early in product development.

Connected: Every user always connected to a single, common database. Access data anywhere, anytime, on any device. Review and markup models.

Informed: Choose from the widget library, Create and share Dashboards. Get the latest information about your product development. Always have access to your latest data.

Structured: Zero overhead data management - store and manage data across collaborative spaces, share information in communities. Find indexed data faster by using tags, custom search, etc.

Learn more

SOLIDWORKS Education Edition

Rod Mackay — Thu, 24 Aug 2023 09:11:38 +0000

Software

SOLIDWORKS Education Edition

3D software designed for Researchers

What is SOLIDWORKS Education Edition software?

With the SOLIDWORKS Education Edition, students and instructors can focus on what’s really important—fostering new ideas, solving problems, teamwork, and innovation. This sweeping CAD and engineering development teaching tool features 3D software plus a broad curriculum of exercises and interactive courseware.

Industry standard tools

In today’s competitive job market, CAD professionals don’t just design—they simulate, innovate, visualize, and communicate—to advance new ideas and their careers.

The SOLIDWORKS® Education Edition provides powerful, engaging, hands-on software to understand and develop designs for the real world. The integrated 3D software, curriculum, and lessons make design development easy to learn, easy to teach, and exciting to use.

Overview Demo

Take a first look at SOLIDWORKS Education Edition

SOLIDWORKS Curriculum

A complete CAD teaching tool, with software and lessons

Educators play a vital role in developing the next generation of engineering and design innovators, and SOLIDWORKS wants to provide all the help they can. With the SOLIDWORKS Education Edition you get a complete CAD teaching tool, with software and lessons.

The SOLIDWORKS Education Edition Fundamentals of 3D Design and Simulation guide gives students a basic understanding of the engineering design process. Materials are available in a range of languages (depending on the lesson). Also included are hundreds of brief, online tutorials in SOLIDWORKS, SOLIDWORKS Simulation, SOLIDWORKS Motion, and SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation

Example Curriculum

Fundamentals of 3D Design and Simulation
Fundamentals of SOLIDWORKS Electrical
Learning CAD and Simulation Courseware
Engineering Drawing Tutorials for Visualization
CAD Tutorials for SAE
CAD Tutorials for Vocational Schools

Curriculum Workflows

Middle School
High School
Technical/ Vocational
College/ University

SOLIDWORKS Education Edition Tools

The education edition provides access to the following tools

SOLIDWORKS Desktop CAD

SOLIDWORKS CAM

SOLIDWORKS Composer

SOLIDWORKS Electrical

SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation

SOLIDWORKS Simulation

SOLIDWORKS PDM

SOLIDWORKS Visualize

Student Access beyond the Classroom

Learn anytime, anywhere with SOLIDWORKS Education Edition

Cafe

Library

Dorm

Anywhere

Students want to access 3D design tools outside the classroom, day or night. Students work with other departments or collaborate on projects in other cities or countries. Computer labs are over crowded and access needs to be flexible. Educators also need to offer classes online.

The Student Access Initiative

The SOLIDWORKS Student Access Initiative connects students to SOLIDWORKS software outside the classroom or laboratory anytime from anywhere. With innovative licensing for SOLIDWORKS Education Edition, students can log on from anywhere on campus, from home, even away from home.

Schools that participate in the Student Access Initiative give students the ability to work on assignments remotely or off-hours, which increases student usage, facilitates distance learning, and enables off-site collaboration and independent study.

Student Access licenses are FREE

Any qualifying institution can provide licenses to students for off-campus use, freeing up lab resources and allowing students to work from anywhere.

Student Access Benefits

Student Access licenses can be used to support independent study courses, distance learning programs, and articulation agreements. Some do not even require connecting to the school server:

Instructors: Instructors can assign homework, prepare remotely, use licenses for distance learning or independent study students, prepare for their own certification exams, and practice SOLIDWORKS skills during school breaks.
Students: Students can work from anywhere, complete assignments during off-hours, use licenses for independent study or distance learning courses, articulate with college programs, prepare for certification exams, build personal portfolios, and participate in student competitions.

SOLIDWORKS Education Edition Benefits

Easy to use software which will adapt to your educational needs

Full use with no restrictions

Enjoy full use without restriction in your educational facility

Educational watermarks

Educational watermarks are inserted that ensure the software is used for educational purposes only

Same tools as commercial products

The Education Edition uses the same tools as the commercial version of SOLIDWORKS enabling student to experience the software they will use in the workplace.

Reduced pricing

Special pricing means substantial savings over commercial rates, preserving more of your education budget.

Looking for a Cloud Alternative?

3DEXPERIENCE Works provides a Safe, Social, Connected, Informed and Structured alternative to SOLIDWORKS Education Edition for team leaders, project managers and other professionals who want to manage data on the cloud and collaborate without constraints.

Safe: Customer controlled access. Transparent cloud backup. Encrypted communication protocols. Data always safe-no overwrite, no loss of data.

Social: Integrated structured and unstructured collaboration tools enabling social innovation. Collaborate on product design or engage with your stakeholders early in product development.

Connected: Every user always connected to a single, common database. Access data anywhere, anytime, on any device. Review and markup models.

Informed: Choose from the widget library, Create and share Dashboards. Get the latest information about your product development. Always have access to your latest data.

Structured: Zero overhead data management - store and manage data across collaborative spaces, share information in communities. Find indexed data faster by using tags, custom search, etc.

Learn more

DraftSight

Rod Mackay — Thu, 24 Aug 2023 07:30:16 +0000

Software

DraftSight

Powerful 2D design and drafting solution

What is DraftSight desktop software?

DraftSight is a feature-rich 2D and 3D CAD solution for architects, engineers and construction service providers, as well as professional CAD users, designers, educators and hobbyists.

More options, choices and tools to suit your design needs and preferences.

Real design freedom is letting you work the way you want to work. It’s the ability to effortlessly go from 2D drafting to 3D modeling and back again in order to optimize and maximize designs. And the capability to seamlessly integrate with other Dassault Systèmes and SOLIDWORKS® solutions, including SOLIDWORKS PDM to easily manage your DWG file designs from first inspiration to final outcome.

DraftSight gives you the freedom to do what you do best — no matter who you are or what you’re trying to accomplish.

Overview Demo

Get to know DraftSight

DraftSight Capabilities

Built with AutoCAD users in mind, DraftSight includes the following:

User Environment & Features

Cartesian coordinate system
Command line input
Traditional toolbars and menus
Wheel-mouse pan & zoom
Blocks & reference files
Layers & layer manager
Polygonal ViewPorts
ViewPort locking
Freeze, lock or turn off layers per ViewPort
Background masks for notes
Property manager
View proxy objects
Dynamic pan & zoom
Command aliases
Menu files
CTB and STB print style tables
SHX and TTF fonts
LineStyle files
Hatch pattern files
Templates

Productivity Enhancers

Consolidated options dialog
Enhanced, easy to read, command prompts
Home palette
Smart calculator
Quick print
Context sensitive help

Setup and Administration

Support for Windows®, Mac & Linux operating systems
Multi-language character set support including Unicode fonts
Customizable interface: command aliases, double-click actions, menus, right-click menus, shortcut keys, toolbars, etc.
Quick and free to download
Fast “one-click” installation

Entities

Arcs, circles, & lines
Notes & Simple Notes
Tables
Blocks and Block Attributes
Ellipses & elliptical arcs
RichLines, PolyLines, 3D PolyLines, & Splines
Points & rings
Hyperlinks
ViewPorts
Masks & region
ISO, ANSI & traditional hatch patterns
Solid & gradient Fill
Dimensions: arc length, radius, diameter, baseline, linear, ordinate, etc.
Tolerances, leaders & center marks

Interoperability

Read and write support for DWG/DXF files¹
Save DWG/DXF files back to previous versions¹
Create binary or ASCII DXF files¹
Attach image files (.bmp, .gif, .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .tif, & .tiff)
Attach external reference drawings
Export to file (.jpg, .pdf, .png, & svg.)
Save as .jpeg, .pdf, .png, .sld, .svg, .tif, & .stl file formats
Multi-page PDF creation
Publish to eDrawings or Drawings Now

¹Uses the Teigha™ Classic for .dwg files and Teigha for .dwg files specifications from the Open Design Alliance.

Drafting Tools

Snap & Grid
Chamfer & Fillet
Tracking guides & Polar guides
Get area, distance, or coordinates information
Double-click editing
Undo/Redo
EntityGrips, EntitySnaps, Entity
InfiniteLines, Rays & Reference Points
Select entities using filters, SmartSelect, or by window, crossing window, crossline, polygonal window, etc.

Drawing Setup Tools

Customizable coordinate system
RichLine styles
Layer manager
Table styles
Points format
Text Styles
Unit system
Multiple layout
Dimension styles
Named page layouts

Edit Tools

Move, scale & rotate
Stretch & change length
Mirror, copy, offset and pattern copy
Trim & extend
Split & weld
Edit blocks in-place or isolate for edit
Open reference drawings from within the base drawing
Clip references and images
Modify Hatch and fill pattern, origin, etc
Edit note properties: direction, justification, line spacing, text height, text style, etc.

"DraftSight is the best alternative to AutoCAD 2D on the market today. In addition to being a free product, as with all of Dassault Systemes products, DraftSight is a pleasure to work on and with."

Larry Sketo

Owner, Design Pallets, Inc.

"DWG files are the most popular file format for 2D CAD data in the world. It was only natural that we choose a solution that processes this format natively and renders DWG data incompatibility issues a thing of the past."

Thanh Canh Pham

Project Manager, Bobst Group

DraftSight Features

DraftSight 2023 adds new productivity tools including the new Data Extraction Wizard

Page Layout Manager

The DraftSight 2023 release includes one of our users' most requested features. The new Page Layout Manager will save you time setting up your print or plot settings.

Instead of creating and managing an external print configuration file, you can save all your print or plot parameters in a named setup that is saved inside your drawing or template file.

Annotation Monitor

DraftSight’s associative dimensioning tool is a fantastic way to make sure your dimensions update whenever your geometry changes.

But sometimes these associative dimensions become disassociated from their entities.

DraftSight 2023 addresses this issue with the introduction of the new Annotation Monitor feature. When it’s enabled, any dimension that has lost its association will display a small, yellow, warning icon next to the offending dimension.

Contextual Ribbon Tab

Access to the commands you need for your current workflow has been made easier in DraftSight 2023 with Contextual Ribbons.

Now, instead of a dialog box cluttering your editor, the Ribbon will display a new, active tab that is appropriate for your current task.

HomeByMe Improvements

DraftSight has provided an add-in for years that acts as a bridge between a HomeByMe project and a functional 2D CAD drawing.

That interface has been updated in 2023 to provide a more intuitive user experience. And the underlying program architecture has been completely revamped to give our customers even greater functionality

Data Extraction Wizard

DraftSight 2023 lets you dig deep into your drawing files to gather critical information. And we made it as easy as stepping through a Wizard to find and use that valuable data.

The new EXTRACTDATA command can be found in the Tables panel of the Annotate tab in the Ribbon Menu. And of course, if you prefer, you can type it into the Command Window.

DraftSight Packages

For CAD users, Professionals, Educators and Students

Package

DraftSight Premium

For individuals, designers, makers, manufacturers, professionals, and companies that need a robust 2D drafting and 3D design experience to help meet their needs on drafting, modeling, prototyping, manufacturing, laser cutting and 3D printing.

It includes all DraftSight Professional features plus a comprehensive set of 3D DWG design and constraint capabilities.

Download a 30-day trial or purchase from the DS Online Store. Note there is no support from TriMech for this product.

Download Trial

Package

DraftSight Professional

For professionals and companies that need an advanced 2D CAD drafting solution with powerful, productivity boosting features and API to help bring their designs to life quickly and easily.

Includes industry standard content that can be added to a document with ease, batch printing to print multiple files without opening them, and a familiar user interface that makes it easy to transition from other comparable CAD applications.

Buy now from the DS Online Store. Note there is no support from TriMech for this product.

Buy Now

Package

DraftSight Enterprise

For large organizations with many users or multiple sites that need an advanced 2D CAD drafting solution with powerful, productivity boosting features and API to help bring their designs to life quickly and easily.

Enterprise includes full technical support from TriMech and network licensing to enable concurrent usage across your organization.

Get a Quote

Package

DraftSight Enterprise Plus

For large organizations with many users or multiple sites that need a robust 2D drafting and 3D design experience to help meet their needs on drafting, modeling, prototyping, manufacturing, laser cutting and 3D printing.

Includes all DraftSight Enterprise features plus a comprehensive set of 3D DWG design and constraint capabilities, full technical support and network licensing to enable concurrent usage across the organization.

Get a Quote

DraftSight Matrix

Compare the four versions of DraftSight software

Features	Professional (2D)	Premium (3D)	Enterprise (2D)	Enterprise Plus (3D)
2D Design Tools Create basic elements such as lines, polylines, arcs, circles, ellipses, layers, blocks, and others.	●	●	●	●
2D Documentation Tools Create basic annotation elements such as notes, dimensions, tables, hatches, clouds, and others.	●	●	●	●
Community Resources Offer learning resources and a collaborative environment to interact with your peers, ask questions, and share opinions.	●	●	●	●
Toolbox Quickly generate hardware, holes, balloons, Bills of Materials (BOMs), welding and surface finish symbols.	●	●	●	●
Batch Printing Send a set of drawings and sheets to printers in a batch job.	●	●	●	●
Drawing Compare Compare graphically similar entities between two drawing documents.	●	●	●	●
Power Trim Trim multiple, adjacent entities by dragging the pointer across each entity.	●	●	●	●
G-Code Generator Communicate with a CNC machine for fabrication.	●	●	●	●
DGN Import Directly import and convert the DGN file format drawing into a DraftSight project for direct editing.	●	●	●	●
DraftSight APIs Allow end users or third-party developers to customize and automate DraftSight.	●	●	●	●
Image Tracer Convert an imported raster image file (ex. floor plan, logo) into vectorized line entities.	●	●	●	●
Using Formulas in Table Cells Use formulas in cells with arithmetic operators and the Sum, Average, and Count functions.	●	●	●	●
Trimming of Hatches and Gradients Trim hatches and gradients with the Trim and PowerTrim commands.	●	●	●	●
Premium Tools
3D Modeling Tools Introduces 3D modeling using basic geometrical shapes (ex. Box, Pyramid) or other methods (ex. Extrude, Revolve) with Boolean operations (ex. Union, Subtract).		●		●
2D Constraints Use 2D Constraints to control drawing entities parametrically by specifying geometric and dimensional properties of entities.		●		●
Interoperability Tools
3DEXPERIENCE® Marketplace Integration	●	●	●	●
HomeByMe Integration	●	●	●	●
3DEXPERIENCE, GEOVIA, DELMIA, SOLIDWORKS Electrical, PDM Connectors	●	●	●	●
PDF Import/Convert & Underlay	●	●	●	●
DGN Import/Convert & Underlay	●	●	●	●
Customization Tools
Application Programming Interface (API)	●	●	●	●
Macro Recording	●	●	●	●
Enterprise Tools
Network License Enable concurrent usage and compliance across the organization.			●	●
Deployment Wizard Enable large groups of users to install or upgrade DraftSight.			●	●
Technical Support Answer questions or troubleshoot issues related to DraftSight.			●	●

DraftSight Benefits

Easy to use software which will adapt to your business process

The DraftSight community

The online DraftSight community facilitates a collaborative, design-focused environment where the global community of CAD users can learn and interact with community members, and let their opinions be heard about specific topics, challenges or anything else they’re passionate about when it comes to CAD and DraftSight.

DraftSight support options

Free Community Support provides immediate, open access to engaging online training videos, easy-to-follow tutorials, curriculum materials and more.

The Enterprise License Subscription package is ideal for organizations that need telephone, remote, and email support from technical experts.

Ideal for students

Web access to download DraftSight free at home and in their dorm. Immediate, open access to engaging online training videos, easy-to-follow tutorials, curriculum, materials and much more. Free access to upgrades.

Familiar Interface

DraftSight software has a familiar UI and commands. You can transfer your LISP routines, shortcuts, customizations, Dynamic Blocks and Script files. DraftSight also integrates seamlessly with SOLIDWORKS, a popular 3D CAD software.

Looking for a Cloud Alternative?

3DEXPERIENCE Works provides a Safe, Social, Connected, Informed and Structured alternative to DraftSight for team leaders, project managers and other professionals who want to manage data on the cloud and collaborate without constraints.

Safe: Customer controlled access. Transparent cloud backup. Encrypted communication protocols. Data always safe-no overwrite, no loss of data.

Social: Integrated structured and unstructured collaboration tools enabling social innovation. Collaborate on product design or engage with your stakeholders early in product development.

Connected: Every user always connected to a single, common database. Access data anywhere, anytime, on any device. Review and markup models.

Informed: Choose from the widget library, Create and share Dashboards. Get the latest information about your product development. Always have access to your latest data.

Structured: Zero overhead data management - store and manage data across collaborative spaces, share information in communities. Find indexed data faster by using tags, custom search, etc.

Learn more