11 May 2022
What is SolidWorks? Its Features, Uses And Applications
Ekeeda Moderator
Works at Ekeeda
Mechatronics – The combination of robotics, electronics, computers, and control systems results in the development of various amazing products such as smartphones to gadgets, automated door locks to even self-driving cars. To design such beautiful products, you need digitally modelled and developed. Solidworks – a solid modelling computer-aided design and computer-aided engineering program is one of the best software options for mechatronics engineers.
SolidWorks released its first product SolidWorks 95 in November 1995. Solidworks was developed by Jon Hirschtick – an MIT graduate and was bought by Dassault Systems into the market in 1997. The software now consists of a number of programs that can be used for both 2D and 3D Designs.
What Is Solidworks Uses?
Solidworks course is used to develop a robust and fully functioned mechatronics system from beginning to end. At the initial stage, the software is used for planning, visual ideation, modelling, prototype, and project management. The software will then help you to design and build mechanical, electrical, or software elements. Finally, you can manage things like device management, analytics, data automation, and cloud services with the help of Solidworks.
While Solidworks software is feature-rich and lets you design any imaginable shape, it focuses on engineering design by way of geometric parametric modeling.
The SOLIDWORKS software is efficiently used by mechanical, electrical, or ECE engineers to invent a new connected design. The program suite aims to keep engineers in sync, communicate and respond to design needs or any changes.
The application is quite easy to use and affordable. Over the years, several versions have been developed to help meet the needs of engineers that cater to various business requirements.
Solidworks has rapidly become a leader in mechanical computer aid design programming. Solidwork software tool lets you create, simulate, and publish while data management. This is a software program that provides the users a way to improvise the product design while they work quick and on economical basis.
Why Solidworks Program?
Solidworks helps any business size to maximize its productivity. Termed as ‘21-century engineering design tool’, the mechanical computer-aided design software is used by millions of designers & engineers worldwide. Over 1.5 lakh+ businesses make efficient use of software to elevate their process and enhance productivity. Experts predict – 1 million+ licenses have been sold internationally with a major percentage of these being for educational licenses.
It is the most accepted computer-aided design software worldwide. The sale of the Solidworks software is through partners and dealers that are located globally. Users vary from large-scale businesses to individuals.
MCAD is one of the top resellers of the software, and it has marketed the product to the right companies. MCAD not only offers its clients with product development solutions but also specializes in training and sales support.
MCAD provides Solidworks training and customer support, companies will benefit by training their staff to make sure they get educated on how to use Solidworks software efficiently.
When individuals are trained in the right way they will be able to use the program with full potential and produce quality work.
Solidworks training for individuals will take little time but it reduces the time learning on board. Once individuals are educated on the use of Solidworks, they can finish projects with no delays and customer satisfaction.
Today, various versions of the Solidworks are available in the market. Each one has uniquely designed to meet the needs of various kinds of mechanical drawing. When you go through the Solidworks website, it will help you determine which of the programs meets the specific need for a particular industry, processes, and business model using MCAD
Also, using the internet you can evaluate other customer reviews and comments related to various Solidworks products available in the market. You can understand the quality of the software and possibly see how others rate the program. Also, it will help provide information on technical support, training quality, and more.
Our blog will give a complete idea of Solidworks features, Solidworks courses online, pricing and licensing, system requirements, uses & application, support, community support, and more.
Stay tuned and know all about Solidworks software with Ekeeda – India’s top edtech app for millions of aspirants to upskill and become job-ready.
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System Requirements For SolidWorks
Operating System -
SolidWorks is available on Windows and based on the version of Windows, certain conditions will be applicable:
You can only run SolidWorks on Windows 10
There is no support for Windows 8.1.
Both SW2018 and SW2019 support Windows 7, however, only SW2018 supports Windows 8.1
Hardware System -
Dassault Systems suggest the specification mentioned below are the minimum required to run the program as intended. If these requirements are not met - High complexity assembles, complex drawings, simulations and rendering are expected not to be performed.
Processor – 3.3 GHz (Minimum)
Memory - 16 GB RAM (minimum)
Storage – SSD (for Optimum load times)
Graphics Supported Graphics Card (recommended)
It’s possible to run Solidworks on GPU official not supported by Dassault Systemes.
SolidWorks Features & Functions
Solidworks functions as a parametric CAD program; meaning every feature that’s designed in the program is built on the parameters of the feature it’s physically attached to.
For instance, if the parameters of a primary feature were to change (such as width) attached secondary features will lower down in the timeline also get affected (such as hole spacing)
The new Solidworks 2022 has several unique selling points that would diversify it from various other professional CAD programs. Such tools have helped gain the reputation as one of the most ‘Promising Software’ amongst engineers and designers.
Some Important Solidworks Features
Rendering
Solidworks visualize will help you make presentation-ready rendering a cakewalk in the park. You can import Solidworks CAD files directly into the software and those rendered with accurate lighting, texture and reflection.
Simulation
Through simulation, parts can be subjected to stress tests for structural flaws with accurate measurement and powerful analysis tools. With the premium package, one can measure flow rates and compressions to reduce the need to build & test physical prototypes.
Evaluation
Once a part or assembly is done, the drawing tools can be used. It instantly creates an accurate 2D representation of a part and enables the user to drag & drop different view angles to come up with complete orthographic representation. Dimensions can be added to draw by simply click on the surface or vertex and click to select the dimension being displayed.
Manufacture
Once a part gets evaluated, it’s ready for manufacture. Solidworks CAM generates G-code that could be sent straight to CNC machines, ready for production.
Exclusive Features
3-D Printing – It’s new to Solidworks 2022. It enables a shortcut to the prototype stage by including useful features such as checking if your part fits in a specific 3D printer’s bed or not before the part is exported for 3D printing.
Flexible Parts – It can make a part flexible in assembly mode. This is the most useful to visualize how a sprung sub-assembly will operate and can be used within simulations.
Weldments – It will simulate the welded structures & glue parts together with welds, plates, and gussets.
Sheet metal – It converts a solid part into sheet metal configuration with automatic flattening and bend length compensation based on material thickness.
Mould Design – It enables the designing of moulded parts and tooling need to manufacture them, including automatic draft compensation & cavity creation.
Design Automation – Using DriveWorks Xpresss will let the user repeat repetitive design operations by clicking the button to quickly complete large assemblies with repetitive features.
BOM – It rounds up a bill of materials to estimate the part costs/assembly/final product.
SolidWorks 2022 maintains a beginner-friendly CAD program that's perfect for designing & engineering studies or users who are new to CAD concepts. It’s extremely intuitive default layout, easy-to-see button, and flexibility makes it the most preferred choice amongst designer and engineer and the program is also easily approachable.
2D Modelling in Solidworks
2D Design process very well designed & quite streamlined. You can put a drawing together in a couple of seconds with the program doing most of the work for you. It will make the 3D design process altogether efficient and smooth. Drawing functions suite includes:
Shapes – Lines, circles, rectangles, arcs, text, polygons, ellipses and more.
Sketch Functions – Trim, offset, circular & linear patterns, move, copy, scale, stretch, rotating entities.
3D Modelling in Solidworks
There would be complexities, but creating 3D forms in a CAD program right from basic to mid-range has never been exciting and easier before. Here are some of the available tools to help you:
Extrusion - Extrude, revolve, swept, lofted, boundary boss, cut, hole wizard
3D build tools - Fillet, chamfer, mirror, Rib, draft, shell, wrap, linear-, circular-, curve-, or sketch-driven pattern
SolidWorks Software: Use Cases & Applications
SolidWorks is one of the best programs and a leader in the field. Below are the examples of its Solidworks uses and where the specific toolset will be most useful:
Engineering
SolidWorks is considered a powerful program for engineering designs and production. There are a plethora of design options, evaluations and manufacture-based features. Infact SolidWorks is termed as ‘The 21st Century Engineers Software’. It’s designed to make production in an engineering firm as efficient as possible, with all the topics covered from ideation to end manufacture.
Product Design
Product designers can also benefit from SolidWorks software since it helps them realize concepts through quick 3d modeling in Solidworks & rendering solutions.
Colleges & Universities
SolidWorks is a popular choice to teach engineering and production design to students and how to make efficient use of industry-standard software. Its simplicity in the basic 3D form will help students understand concepts easily and the complexities could be easily taught as lectures progress. An educator package is available and includes tutorial & example files as a foundation resource to teach. Students can also purchase their own software with once-year licenses at a specific cost.
Official Support
When a problem arises with software, users would approach the Dassault Systèmes professionals. But live technical support is provided for Solidworks users and there’s also the official support site and solidworks Knowledge Base.
Most resellers will provide a minimum technical support level. This is usually quite limited, however, mostly it is related to the installation, deployment, or initial configuration of the program.
Services pack updates & hotfixes are also provided if a SolidWorks subscription remains active & persists until the lifecycle for yearly release ends.
SolidWorks Community
While official help is available for an active SolidWorks subscription, those who buy just a software license will lack the added benefits. However, the SolidWorks community is easy to reach and quite collaborative and it comes to rescuing individuals from problems with anything related to SolidWorks.
Here are some main places where you will find information for projects, promotions and help:
SolidWorks Official Forum - The first place one should look in the event of a SolidWorks mishap. It’s also the largest & most sophisticated tool around. It’s managed by Dassault Systèmes and it's full of a network of users. Users can search for threads by filtering based on topic, author, date, and place, and also have the option to follow popular bloggers to keep track of tips and tricks.
3D CAD forums – It has a SolidWorks dedicated area of 1500+ threads and communities specializing in other similar programs such as AutoCAD and Rhino 3D. It means that it could be the end solution you’re looking for - if you work with multiple programs. The site even has forums dedicated to graphic design, and even job postings relating to design and engineering.
SolidWorks SubReddit – It has a smaller community but the dedicated SolidWorks Reddit subforum is the place for happening upon specific problems. Users are quick to respond and helpful, many of them are seasoned SolidWarriors.
CADTutor – It was set up by an architecture lecturer from Greenwich University in the UK and caters exclusively to AutoCAD users; however, it has since grown into a much more diverse place. A SolidWorks dedicated area provides useful guides and helpful tips, solved and unsolved SolidWorks hiccups.
Solidworks Facebook Group – It has nearly 85K+ diverse international members. You get solutions from users asking for critiques of their models or rendering. With the FB handy built-in translation tool, users can ask questions in their native tongue & receive replies from anywhere across the globe.
Pricing & Licensing
It's good to buy SolidWorks from a certified seller. As you might expect, discounts will be available for bulk buying and it will reduce your costs on the software. This option is quite in demand at educational institutes, large design and engineering companies or business. But there are chances you might be duped.
It’s worth to note that resellers will offer packages to clients with specific needs, and reduce the costs by selling only the parts of programs. Most resellers, instead of listing prices, provide quotes on the customer by customer basis.
A SolidWorks license never expires. To get regular updates, the user should buy a yearly subscription. Along with a subscription, SolidWorks will provide full technical support. You’ll need to be a registered user, and the license is strictly limited to professional use.
If you google you will find hundreds of Solidworks courses online that will help aspirants achieve skills. Ekeeda – India’s top EdTech app also offers Solidworks courses for aspirants to upskill and become industry-ready. 1:1 Live classes from top educators of leading tech companies will help you clear all your doubts and gain an edge on the cut-throat competition.
The industry-focused curriculum consists of topics such as: Introduction to SolidWorks, Sketching, Part Modelling, Surfacing, Weldments, Environment & Utilities, Photoview, etc.
To take a look at SolidWorks Software Syllabus – Click here
Hope you now got an idea of what is Solidworks, what are the Solidworks features, Solidworks uses, community, pricing & licensing, etc, through our blog.
This Solidworks tutorial is a complete package of: an incredible curriculum, world-class instructors, 1:1 live mentorship to clear doubts, and mostly job search skills & interview best practices. This program will open doors for you in the design world and help you grab your dream job in top tech giants and start-ups.
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