SolidWorks for Dummies

SolidWorks is a 3D solid-based mechanical Computer Aided Design (CAD) software developed by Dassault Systemes SolidWorks Corp, from France.

Review: 

SolidWorks was the first CAD system that I learnt, and I have to say that SolidWorks could be said as one of the easiest CAD software to learn. The interface is very user-friendly and it does not require very rigorous reference as compared to Pro/E. Creating 3D model can be done pretty straight forward and in a very flexible way. The best part of SolidWorks that make it stands out ahead of its competitor is on surface modelling. With plenty of surface modelling feature, which can't be found in any other CAD systems, SolidWorks is the number one choice for designers who require extensive surface modelling. You can check out some CAD community, for example GrabCAD, and you will realize that most of complex car body modelling are done in SolidWorks.

Another good things about SolidWorks is that user could install a built-in plug-in additional tools such as rendering tool (PhotoView 360), Finite Element Analysis tool (SolidWorks Simulation), and a lot other application. While we can't compare the quality of the SolidWorks Simulation with other paying software like ANSYS, it offers some flexibility to the engineer to perform preliminary analysis on a single platform without the need to import the model to another software (which most of the time require exporting originial CAD model to .igs file). The quality of the rendered image produced is exceptional for non-dedicated rendering software.

However, the flexibility offered on the 3D modeling come with quite a trade-off on its 2D drawing creation. Creation of engineering drawing could be quite difficult to be done compared to other more rigid CAD software such as Pro/E. Converting the 3D model to CNC-ready file could be quite troublesome and sometimes require additional software.

Learn SolidWorks for free!

If you are interested to learn 3D Modelling using SolidWorks, you can find the explanation of the basic function of SolidWorks in the following topics.

• Basic Interface
• Orienting the View
• Extrude
• Revolve
• Sweep
• Loft
• Assembly
• Fillet/Chamfer

Free SolidWorks tutorial!

Practise makes perfect. The only way to improve your SolidWorks skills, is by practising and doing actual work yourself. In order to kick start your journey to SolidWorks, we have prepared few free tutorials for you. You can see the full list of available tutorial here.