SolidWorks is a 3D mechanical CAD (computer-aided design) program that runs on M icrosoft Windows and is being developed by Dassault Systmes

SolidWorks Corp., a su bsidiary of Dassault Systmes, S. A. (Vlizy, France). SolidWorks is currently used by over 2 million engineers[3] and designers at more than 165,000 companies worldw ide. FY2011 revenue for SolidWorks was 483 million dollars.[4] Contents [hide] 1 History 2 Release history 3 Market 4 Modeling methodology 5 Products 5.1 3D mechanical design applications 5.2 Design validation tools 5.3 Product data management tools 5.4 Design communication and collaboration tools 5.5 CAD productivity tools 5.6 Specialty design tools 6 File format 7 See also 8 References 9 External links History[edit] SolidWorks Corporation was founded in December 1993 by Massachusetts Institute o f Technology graduate Jon Hirschtick; Hirschtick used $1 million he had made whi le a member of the MIT Blackjack Team to set up the company.[5] Initially based in Waltham, Massachusetts, USA, Hirschtick recruited a team of engineers with th e goal of building 3D CAD software that was easy-to-use, affordable, and availab le on the Windows desktop. Operating later from Concord, Massachusetts, SolidWor ks released its first product SolidWorks 95, in 1995.[6][7] In 1997 Dassault, be st known for its CATIA CAD software, acquired SolidWorks for $310 million in sto ck.[6] SolidWorks currently markets several versions of the SolidWorks CAD software in addition to eDrawings, a collaboration tool, and DraftSight, a 2D CAD product. SolidWorks was headed by John McEleney from 2001 to July 2007 and Jeff Ray from 2007 to January 2011. The current CEO is Bertrand Sicot. Release history[edit] Name/Version Version SolidWorks 95 440000? SolidWorks 96 270 SolidWorks 97 483 SolidWorks 97Plus SolidWorks 98 817 SolidWorks 98Plus SolidWorks 99 1137 SolidWorks 2000 1500 SolidWorks 2001 1750 SolidWorks 2001Plus SolidWorks 2003 2200 SolidWorks 2004 2500 SolidWorks 2005 2800 Solid Works 2006 SolidWorks 2007 3400 SolidWorks 2008 3800 SolidWorks 2009 4100 SolidWorks 2010 4400 SolidWorks 2011 4700 History Value Release Date 1995 1996 1996 629 1997 1997 1008 1998 1998 1999 2000 1950 2001 2002 2003 2004 3100 2005 2006 July 1, 2007 January 28, 2008 December 9, 2009 June 17, 2010

SolidWorks 2012 5000 September, 2011 SolidWorks 2013 6000 September, 2012 SolidWorks 2014 7000 October 7, 2013 Market[edit] DS Solidworks Corp. has sold over 1.5 million licenses of SolidWorks worldwide.[ 8] This includes a large proportion of educational licenses. The Sheffield Teleg raph comments that Solidworks is the world's most popular CAD software.[9] Its u ser base ranges from individuals to large corporations, and covers a very wide c ross-section of manufacturing market segments. Commercial sales are made through an indirect channel, which includes dealers and partners throughout the world. In the United States, the first reseller of SolidWorks, in 1995, was Computer Ai ded Technology, Inc, headquartered in Chicago. Directly competitive products to SolidWorks include Solid Edge, and Autodesk Inventor. SolidWorks also partners w ith third party developers to add functionality in niche market applications lik e finite element analysis, circuit layout, tolerance checking, etc. SolidWorks h as also licensed its 3D modeling capabilities to other CAD software vendors, not ably ANVIL.[10] Modeling methodology[edit] screen shot captured from a SolidWorks top-down design approach. SolidWorks is a Parasolid-based solid modeler, and utilizes a parametric feature -based approach to create models and assemblies. Parameters refer to constraints whose values determine the shape or geometry of the model or assembly. Parameters can be either numeric parameters, such as line lengths or circle diameters, or geometric parameters, such as tangent, parallel , concentric, horizontal or vertical, etc. Numeric parameters can be associated with each other through the use of relations, which allows them to capture desig n intent. Design intent is how the creator of the part wants it to respond to changes and updates. For example, you would want the hole at the top of a beverage can to st ay at the top surface, regardless of the height or size of the can. SolidWorks a llows the user to specify that the hole is a feature on the top surface, and wil l then honor their design intent no matter what height they later assign to the can. Features refer to the building blocks of the part. They are the shapes and opera tions that construct the part. Shape-based features typically begin with a 2D or 3D sketch of shapes such as bosses, holes, slots, etc. This shape is then extru ded or cut to add or remove material from the part. Operation-based features are not sketch-based, and include features such as fillets, chamfers, shells, apply ing draft to the faces of a part, etc.

screen shot captured from a SolidWorks top-down design approach. Building a model in SolidWorks usually starts with a 2D sketch (although 3D sket ches are available for power users). The sketch consists of geometry such as poi nts, lines, arcs, conics (except the hyperbola), and splines. Dimensions are add ed to the sketch to define the size and location of the geometry. Relations are used to define attributes such as tangency, parallelism, perpendicularity, and c oncentricity. The parametric nature of SolidWorks means that the dimensions and relations drive the geometry, not the other way around. The dimensions in the sk etch can be controlled independently, or by relationships to other parameters in side or outside of the sketch. In an assembly, the analog to sketch relations are mates. Just as sketch relatio

ns define conditions such as tangency, parallelism, and concentricity with respe ct to sketch geometry, assembly mates define equivalent relations with respect t o the individual parts or components, allowing the easy construction of assembli es. SolidWorks also includes additional advanced mating features such as gear an d cam follower mates, which allow modeled gear assemblies to accurately reproduc e the rotational movement of an actual gear train. Finally, drawings can be created either from parts or assemblies. Views are auto matically generated from the solid model, and notes, dimensions and tolerances c an then be easily added to the drawing as needed. The drawing module includes mo st paper sizes and standards (ANSI, ISO, DIN, GOST, JIS, BSI and SAC). Products[edit] 3D mechanical design applications[edit] SolidWorks Standard SolidWorks Professional SolidWorks Premium provides a suite of product development tools mechanical desi gn, design verification, data management, and communication tools. SolidWorks Pr emium includes all of the capabilities of SolidWorks Professional as well as rou ting and analysis tools, including SolidWorks Routing, SolidWorks Simulation, an d SolidWorks Motion. SolidWorks Education Edition provides the same design functionality but is confi gured and packaged for engineering and industrial design students. Design validation tools[edit] SolidWorks Simulation is a design validation tool that shows engineers how their designs will behave as physical objects. SolidWorks Motion is a virtual prototyping tool that provides motion simulation capabilities to ensure designs function properly. SolidWorks Flow Simulation is a tool that tests internal and external fluid-flow simulation and thermal analysis so designers can conduct tests on virtual proto types. SolidWorks Simulation Standard is a new FEA module for 2014. SolidWorks Simulation Professional is a Finite Element Analysis (FEA) design val idation tool that can handle some multiphysics simulations as well as nonlinear materials. SolidWorks Simulation Premium is a Finite Element Analysis (FEA) design validati on tool that can handle some multiphysics simulations as well as nonlinear mater ials. SolidWorks Sustainability is a product that measures the environmental impact of designs while they are modeled in SolidWorks. Product data management tools[edit] SolidWorks Workgroup PDM is a PDM tool that allows SolidWorks users operating in teams of 10 members or less to work on designs concurrently. With SolidWorks PD M Workgroup, designers can search, revise, and vault CAD data while maintaining an accurate design history. SolidWorks Enterprise PDM is a PDM tool that allows SolidWorks users operating i n teams at various separate facilities to work on designs concurrently. With Sol idWorks Enterprise PDM, designers can search, revise, and vault CAD data while m

aintaining an accurate design history. Enterprise PDM maintains an audit trail, is compatible with a variety of CAE packages (AutoDesk, Siemens, PTC, Catia, etc .) to maintain interfile relations, and will manage the revisions of any documen t saved in the vault. Enterprise PDM also uses a workflow diagram to automatical ly notify team members when a project moves from one stage to the next, as well as tracking comments. Enterprise PDM is capable of interfacing with various MRP/ ERP systems and can be used online to interface with customers and the supply ch ain. 'SolidWorks n!Fuze' is a cloud-based PDM tool that allows users operating in dif ferent locations to collaborate while providing many of the features of SolidWor ks Enterprise PDM with less IT infrastructure in-house. Design communication and collaboration tools[edit] eDrawings Professional An e-mail-enabled communication tool for reviewing 2D and 3D product design data across the extended product development team. eDrawings generates accurate representations of DWGgateway is a free data translation tool that enables any AutoCAD software user to open and edit any DWG file, regardles s of the version of AutoCAD it was made in. Mobile eDrawings SolidWorks Viewer is a free plug-in for viewing SolidWorks parts, assemblies, an d drawings. '3DVIA Composer', now known as 'SolidWorks Composer', is a technical communicati ons software that allows 3D views of models to be integrated into documents such as work instructions, internal or external manuals, marketing materials, or web applications. The 3D views can be updated automatically when the design updates , reducing the workload of the employee creating the technical document, as edit ing for changes is not as severe. CAD productivity tools[edit] SolidWorks Toolbox is a library of parts that uses "Smart Part" Technology to au tomatically select fasteners and assemble them in the desired sequence. SolidWorks Utilities is software that lets designers find differences between tw o versions of the same part, or locate, modify, and suppress features within a m odel. FeatureWorks is feature recognition software that lets designers make changes to static geometric data, increasing the value of translated files. With FeatureWo rks, designers can preserve or introduce new design intent when bringing 3D mode ls created in other software into the SolidWorks environment. Specialty design tools[edit] SolidWorks Routing SolidWorks Electrical SolidWorks Plastics is a mold design validation tool that was built into a solid modeling environment. It enables mold designers to quickly and easily validate whether a plastic injection-molded part can be filled. SolidWorks MoldBase is a catalog of standard mold base assemblies and components . The package enables designers to generate a completely assembled mold base. Print3D is a 3D printing feature that allows users to convert their 3D CAD model to an .STL file and then have it sent to specialty manufacturers for quote. The .STL files can be used to generate an instant binding quoted using the Quickquo

te technology. DriveWorks Xpress DriveWorksXpress is rules-based design automation tool for eng ineers. File format[edit] SolidWorks files use the Microsoft Structured Storage file format. This means th at there are various files embedded within each SLDDRW (drawing files), SLDPRT ( part files), SLDASM (assembly files) file, including preview bitmaps and metadat a sub-files. Various third-party tools (see COM Structured storage) can be used to extract these sub-files, although the subfiles in many cases use proprietary binary file formats. Solidworks 2010 SP3.1 opens/saves following file formats: SolidWorks Files (*.sldprt, *.sldasm, *.slddrw), Part Files (*.prt, *.sldprt), Assembly Files (*.asm, *.sldasm), Drawing Files (*.drw, *.slddrw), DXF (*.dxf), DWG (*.dwg), Adobe Photoshop Files (*.psd), Adobe Illustrator Files (*.ai), Lib Feat Part (*.lfp, *sldlfp), Template (*.prtdot, *.asmdot, *.drwdot), Parasolid (*.x_t, *.x_b, *.smt_txt, *xmt_bin), Stereolithographic STL (*.stl) IGES (*.igs, *.iges), STEP AP203/214 (*.step, *.stp), ACIS (*.sat), VDAFS (*.vda), VRML (*.wrl) Catia Graphics (*.cgr), ProEngineer Part (*.prt, *.prt.*, *.xpr), ProEngineer Assembly (*.asm, *.asm.*, *.xas), UGII (*.prt), Autodesk Inventor Part (*.ipt), Autodesk Assembly (*.iam), Solid Edge Part (*.par, *.psm), Solid Edge Assembly (*.asm), CADKEY (*.prt, *.ckd), Add-ins (*.dll), IDF (*.emn, *.brd, *.bdf, *idb). A TransMagic plug-in for SolidWorks is available that expands its import/export capability via native CAD kernels.