The SolidWorks brand was founded as Winchester Design Systems by Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate Jon Hirschtick on December 30, 1993.[3] Jon and cofounders Dr. Constantine Dokos, Scott Harris, Bob Zuffante, Mike Payne, and Tommy Li aimed to create 3D design software that was affordable, easy to use, and available on a Windows NT personal computer.
SolidWorks developed the world's first 3D CAD solution that ran on a desktop PC.[4] They had a simple mission statement of "3D on every engineer's desktop".[5]
SolidWorks released its first product, SolidWorks 95, on November 1, 1995. Within two months, it established a new benchmark for ease of use.[6] Since then, the 3D CAD product, now known as SolidWorks, has become the flagship product for the SolidWorks brand.
By 2023, approximately 7 million engineers and designers were using SolidWorks software to create production-ready 2D and 3D engineering drawings and advanced 3D models using a parametric feature-based approach.[7] SolidWorks also gives users the ability to perform analyses and simulations, including Finite Element Analysis. The product places an emphasis on faster modeling, new design tools, and enhanced collaboration.
History
The SolidWorks brand was founded in December 1993 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate Jon Hirschtick and cofounders Dr. Constantine Dokos, Scott Harris, Bob Zuffante, Mike Payne, and Tommy Li.[8] Hirschtick used $1 million he made while being a member of the MIT Blackjack Team to set up the company.[9]
Initially based in Concord, Massachusetts, United States, Hirschtick recruited a team of engineers with the goal of building 3D CAD software that was easy to use, affordable, and available on the Windows desktop. Operating later from Waltham, Massachusetts, SolidWorks released its first product SolidWorks 95, in November 1995.[10]
On July 25, 1997, Dassault Systèmes, best known for its CATIA CAD software, acquired SolidWorks for $310 million in stock. SolidWorks became a brand within Dassault Systèmes.[11] The founder Jon Hirschtick stayed as a board member for the next 14 years, guiding its growth under a series of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), he went on to found Onshape, another successful 3D CAD company.
Following Jon Hirschtick, SolidWorks was headed by John McEleney from 2001 to July 2007,[12] Jeff Ray from 2007 to January 2011,[13] Bertrand Sicot from 2011 to Jan 2015,[14] and Gian Paolo Bassi from 2015 to Jan 2022.[15] In February 2022, Manish Kumar was named the new CEO of SolidWorks, while Gian Paolo Bassi was promoted to the Executive VP of 3DExperience Works at Dassault Systèmes.[16]
Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks acquired and successfully integrated a number of technologies over the years:
On April 4, 2001, Dassault Systèmes acquired SRAC to bring simulation into mainstream design.[17]
On June 1, 2002, Dassault Systèmes acquired Design Source Technology for its PDM product PDMWorks.[18]
On May 7, 2006, Dassault Systèmes acquired GCS Scandinavia to leverage Conisio, their product data management software.[19]
On October 2, 2007, Dassault Systèmes acquired Seemage, a leader in the creation of 3D interactive product documentation.[20]
On March 26, 2008, Dassault Systèmes acquired CircuitWorks provider Priware to bridge the gap between electronic CAD and mechanical CAD software.[21]
On May 7, 2013, Dassault Systèmes acquired software maker Simpoe SAS to provide more options for planning injection molds.[22]
On April 1, 2019, Dassault Systèmes acquired the elecworks electrical and automation design software product line from Trace Software International, a developer of software solutions and services dedicated to industrial engineering.[23]
Market
The SolidWorks' user base ranges from individuals to large corporations and covers a wide cross-section of manufacturing market segments. Its core industries include industrial equipment, high-tech, life sciences, home and lifestyle, architecture, engineering, and construction. Commercial sales go through an indirect channel that consists of 500+ partner resellers throughout the world. SolidWorks also partners with third-party developers to add functionality in niche market applications such as circuit layout and tolerance checking.[24]
SolidWorks held the first edition of its user conference, SolidWorks World, in Palm Springs in February 1999.[25] The event was renamed 3DExperience World in February 2019.[26] Since the event's founding, it has gathered current and prospective SolidWorks customers, value-added resellers, technology partners, students, educators, the press, and SolidWorks employees annually, even during the COVID-19 pandemic.[27]
The user conference provides an opportunity for the close-knit community of engineers and designers that use SolidWorks products to connect and share ideas with each other. The community shares a passion for solving problems, helping people and organizations, and making the world a better place.[28]
Modeling technology
Screenshot captured from a SolidWorks top-down design approach
SolidWorks is a solid modeler, and utilizes a parametric feature-based approach which was initially developed by PTC (Creo/Pro-Engineer) to create 3D CAD models and assemblies. The software uses the Parasolid modeling kernel.[29]
Parameters refer to constraints whose values determine the shape or geometry of the model or assembly. Parameters can be either numeric parameters, such as line lengths or circle diameters, or geometric parameters, such as tangent, parallel, concentric, horizontal or vertical, etc. Numeric parameters can be associated with each other through the use of relations, which allows them to capture design intent.[30]
Design intent is how the creator of the part wants it to respond to changes and updates. For example, the user would want the hole at the top of a beverage can to stay at the top surface, regardless of the height or size of the can. SolidWorks allows the user to specify that the hole is a feature on the top surface, and will then honor their design intent no matter what height they later assign to the can.[30]
Features refer to the building blocks of the part. They are the shapes and operations that construct the part. Shape-based features typically begin with a 2D or 3D sketch of shapes such as bosses, holes, slots, etc. This shape is then extruded to add or cut to remove material from the part. Operation-based features are not sketch-based, and include features such as fillets, chamfers, shells, applying draft to the faces of a part, etc.[30]
Screenshot captured from a SolidWorks top-down design approach
Building a model in SolidWorks usually starts with a 2D sketch (although 3D sketches are available for power users). The sketch consists of geometry such as points, lines, arcs, conics (except the hyperbola), and splines. Dimensions are added to the sketch to define the size and location of the geometry. Relations are used to define attributes such as tangency, parallelism, perpendicularity, and concentricity. The parametric nature of SolidWorks means that the dimensions and relations drive the geometry, not the other way around. The dimensions in the sketch can be controlled independently, or by relationships to other parameters inside or outside the sketch.[30]
In an assembly, the analog to sketch relations are mates. Just as sketch relations define conditions such as tangency, parallelism, and concentricity with respect to sketch geometry, assembly mates define equivalent relations with respect to the individual parts or components, allowing the easy construction of assemblies. SolidWorks also includes additional advanced mating features such as gear and cam follower mates, which allow modeled gear assemblies to accurately reproduce the rotational movement of an actual gear train.[30]
Finally, drawings can be created either from parts or assemblies. Views are automatically generated from the solid model, and notes, dimensions and tolerances can then be easily added to the drawing as needed. The drawing module includes most paper sizes and standards (ANSI, ISO, DIN, GOST, JIS, BSI and SAC).[30]
Product portfolio
SolidWorks' goal is to "build new development models that address the major challenges currently facing the world".[31] Challenges for CAD/CAM engineers and designers include software compatibility, hardware reliability, and affordability of these tools.[32] The SolidWorks mission began with the release of SolidWorks 95 in 1995 and continues today.
Since 1995, SolidWorks' has filed hundreds of patents worldwide and holds over 70 active US-granted patents.[33] Examples of active patents include patent "Predictive Modeling" (US20210240881A1),[34] patent "Constructing Multi-Element Features Using A 3D CAD System" (US10,430,524),[35] patent "Automatic creation of fasteners for simulating a computer-aided design (CAD) model" (US10,303,809),[36] patent "Computer-aided interactive learning" (US10,635,461),[37] and patent "Generation of section view cutting lines with automatic constraints" (US9,465,894).[38]
Design-to-Manufacturing solutions
In 1999, the SolidWorks brand started introducing solutions complementary to 3D modeling and in 2006 introduced SolidWorks Design-to-Manufacturing solutions, an integrated system enabling design and manufacturing teams to work together concurrently. As a result, companies can go from conceptual design to manufactured parts faster and more easily using 3D CAD.[39]
Enables users to interrogate and share 3D models to view, create and share markups
September 1999
SolidWorks Explorer
A file management tool designed to help users perform tasks such as renaming, replacing, and copying SolidWorks files. Later replaced by SolidWorks File Utilities.
September 2000
SolidWorks Simulation
Structural analysis tools that use Finite Element Analysis (FEA) as well as rigid-body dynamics tools to predict a product's real-world physical behavior by virtually testing CAD models. Initially launched as COSMOSWorks, the software was renamed SolidWorks Simulation in September 2008
September 2002
SolidWorks Workgroup PDM
Simple data management tool for single-site companies using SolidWorks 3D CAD offering tracked versions, applied status changes and controlled access. Initially launched as PDMWorks, the software was renamed to SolidWorks Workgroup PDM in October 2009. It was discontinued in October 2017 and replaced by SolidWorks PDM Standard.
September 2002
3DContentCentral
Provides users with a community to interact with shared models.
November 2002
SolidWorks Flow Simulation
A Computational Fluid Dynamics tool that uses a finite volume approach to solve the Naiver-Stokes equations for continuum flow. SolidWorks Flow Simulation solves for both fluid characteristics as well as solid temperatures. Initially launched as COSMOSFloWorks, the software was renamed to SolidWorks Simulation in September 2008.
September 2003
SolidWorks PDM Professional
A mainstream Product Data Management (PDM) system that stores and organizes engineering CAD data and other documents in a central vault that has a relational database to manage all the information about files and references, user and group permissions, electronic workflow processes, and more. Initially launched as PDMWorks Enterprise, the software was renamed to Enterprise PDM in October 2009. SolidWorks PDM Standard was introduced in September 2015 and was included in SolidWorks 3D CAD Professional and Premium.
July 2006
SolidWorks Composer
Work directly from 3D CAD data to create high-quality illustrations, photorealistic images, and interactive animations and to import design data. Initially launched as 3DVIA Composer, the software was renamed SolidWorks Composer in September 2013.
September 2008
SolidWorks Plastics
A finite element analysis tool that simulates the flow of melted plastic during the injection molding process to predict manufacturing-related defects so users can quickly evaluate part manufacturability. SolidWorks Plastics simulates the mold fill, packing, and cooling processes to produce real-world results prior to manufacture.
April 2012
SolidWorks Electrical
Unified electrical toolset that provides single- and multi-line schematic tools and enables 2D and 3D work to be synchronized for both mechanical and electrical parts.
August 2012
SolidWorks Inspection
Automates the creation of ballooned inspection drawings and inspection sheets for the first article inspection (FAI) and in-process inspection.
April 2014
SolidWorks MBD
Define, organize, and publish 3D annotations, including 3D model data in industry-standard file formats.
September 2014
SolidWorks Visualize
Allows users to leverage 3D CAD data to create photo-quality content from images to animations, interactive web content, and immersive Virtual Reality.
October 2015
SolidWorks CAM
Quickly program individual milled parts and configurations without leaving the SolidWorks 3D CAD environment. Define rules to create and build to users' company standards. The software uses rules-based technology that enables users to integrate design and manufacturing in one application, connecting design and manufacturing teams through a common software tool and 3D model. Includes High-Speed Machining (HSM), configurations, assembly machining, turning, and 3+2 programming to drive four- and five-axis machines.
September 2017
SolidWorks Manage
A set of advanced data management tools that adds powerful project, process, and item management capabilities with interactive dashboards and reports on top of the file management capabilities of SolidWorks PDM Professional.
January 2018
3DExperience Works portfolio
Since 1995 SolidWorks has expanded beyond the desktop portfolio. Dassault Systèmes introduced 3DExperience (stylized as 3DEXPERIENCE) Works, a business that connects people, data, and applications to take products from idea to delivery.[40] 3DExperience Works leverages the cloud-based 3DExperience platform to provide a single, unified collaborative environment, enabling everyone involved in product development to contribute to the innovation process.[41]
At the center of the 3DExperience Works portfolio are the Design and Engineering solutions built by the SolidWorks brand. The SolidWorks Governance roles connect SolidWorks desktop to the 3DExperience platform.[42] The portfolio also features simulation, manufacturing, governance, and marketing solutions from other Dassault Systèmes brands including 3DEXCITE, CATIA, DELMIA, ENOVIA, NETVIBES, and SIMULIA.
The SolidWorks roles include both browser-based and cloud-connected roles. Each role is a collection of apps focused on a particular job function (e.g., 3D Creator), enabling a broad set of activities that users in that function typically perform.[43]
Provides industry-leading SolidWorks desktop CAD along with powerful browser-based CAD solutions and built-in data management capabilities in the cloud
^US10430524B1, Stiles, Jody Todd; Kanjarkar, Satish Rao & Darwatkar, Sachin, "Constructing multi-element features using a 3D CAD system", issued 2019-10-01
^US10303809B2, Banta, Marlon Robert Leon; Huang, Li-Ling & Chirla, Subbi Reddy, "Automatic creation of fasteners for simulating a computer-aided design (CAD) model", issued 2019-05-28
^US10635461B2, Padmanabhan, Hari & Roderick, Amina M., "Computer-aided interactive learning", issued 2020-04-28
^US9465894B1, Lorono, Matthew; Kulkarni, Nikhil & Spine, Thomas M., "Generation of section view cutting lines with automatic constraints", issued 2016-10-11
