TrustRadius: an HG Insights company

SOLIDWORKS

Score8.3 out of 10

430 Reviews and Ratings

What is SOLIDWORKS?

Dassault Systemes offers SOLIDWORKS, a computer-aided design (CAD) system for education and manufacturing supporting 2D or 3D design, electrical design, simulations, and product development with collaboration tools.

Categories & Use Cases

Videos

SOLIDWORKS Key Features

Learn about the best (and worst!) features SOLIDWORKS has to offer, as determined by TrustRadius' reviewers.
Based on 430 ratings of SOLIDWORKS's features
View all SOLIDWORKS features

Top Performing Features

  • 3D Modeling

    Allows users to create and manipulate 3D objects with precise measurements and control.

    Category average: 8.1

  • Compatibility with other software and formats

    Allows users to import and export designs in various file formats, ensuring compatibility with other software and stakeholder requirements.

    Category average: 7.4

  • Collaboration and Sharing

    Provides tools for sharing and collaborating on designs with others in real-time, including the ability to track changes and manage design revisions.

    Category average: 6.4

Areas for Improvement

  • Simulation and Analysis

    Provides tools for simulating physical properties and behaviors of designs, allowing users to test and optimize their designs before production.

    Category average: 5.9

  • Documentation and Annotation

    Allows users to create detailed technical drawings, including the ability to add dimensions, annotations, and symbols.

    Category average: 6.8

  • Parametric Design

    Enables users to define and modify design parameters, allowing for faster iteration and design changes.

    Category average: 7.3

Who Buys & Uses SOLIDWORKS

SOLIDWORKS Reviews

What users are saying about SOLIDWORKS.
View all SOLIDWORKS reviews

SOLIDWORKS fits all of my needs.

Incentivized
Verified User
Executive (1-10 employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use SOLIDWORKS to view models sent to us from our customers, design fixtures and other tooling, and CAM. It has all of the tools and more that we need to manufacture our products.

Pros

  • 3D Modeling
  • PDM
  • CAM

Cons

  • Very large files
  • I have a lot of issues with the fastener Tool Box
  • Cost

Return on Investment

  • Because of SOLIDWORKS' ease of use, I can design parts very quickly.
  • The PDM software helps with file organization and makes it easy to find what I'm looking for.
  • Before we had SOLIDWORKS, we had to outsource part design, which could be very expensive.

Usability

Alternatives Considered

AutoCAD

Other Software Used

AutoCAD, Onshape, Adobe Acrobat

SOLIDWORKS in Aerospace

Incentivized
Kevin Skariah
Quality Assurance Engineer in Quality Assurance at Av-Tech Industries, Division of Fastenal (11-50 employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use SOLIDWORKS to create 3D drawing for mainly aerospace fasteners. We need to create drawings for First Article Inspection Reports AS9102, and SOLIDWORKS is very helpful in creating 3D drawings. We use SOLIDWORKS to create mil-spec fasteners for example, bolts, screws, washers and o-rings.

Pros

  • Simulation and Analysis
  • Sheet metal Design
  • 3D modeling

Cons

  • complex assembly management
  • Difficulty in maintaining smooth transitions between different surface patches, potentially leading to design inconsistencies.
  • Need for more sophisticated material properties and behaviors within simulation tools, especially for specialized applications like composites or non-linear materials.
  • Large assemblies can push the limits of even high-end hardware, potentially causing performance issues on less powerful machines.

Return on Investment

  • significantly increasing design productivity
  • reduced design errors
  • improved product quality
  • ultimately a positive ROI through cost savings and enhanced competitiveness

Usability

Alternatives Considered

Autodesk Fusion Manage and AutoCAD

Other Software Used

Ansys Fluent, AutoCAD, Autodesk Fusion

A perfect software for 3D modeling and large assemblies

Giuliano Peressini
CTO (Chief Technical Officer) in Engineering at Casagrande (201-500 employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use SolidWorks for 3D design of mechanical components and assemblies. We sometimes use SolidWorks also for rendering creating the images for out catalogues

Pros

  • 3D modeling
  • Manage of large assemblies
  • Quick rendering without much knowledge

Cons

  • Further improve the large assemblies management
  • Quite a lot of requirements for the workstation

Most Important Features

  • All the 3D modeling features
  • Integration with SolidWorks PDM

Return on Investment

  • Improved performance compared to the previous software
  • Slightly reduced costs
  • Added the chance of creating catalogue images on our own

Alternatives Considered

Siemens NX CAD

Other Software Used

DraftSight, ClickUp

A student's perspective on SOLIDWORKS

Incentivized
Prey Patel
Student in Engineering at Milwaukee School of Engineering (1001-5000 employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

SOLIDWORKS is used at my institution in order to help 3d model complex objects or new designs that are being conceptualized. For example, my formula hybrid team has used SOLIDWORKS for the past 7 years in order to design entire race cars from scratch and model every single part that is used on the car.

Pros

  • User Interface
  • Accessibility
  • Creating Drawings
  • Ease of Use

Cons

  • Battery Consumption
  • Time taken to Start
  • File Sharing

Most Important Features

  • Organization
  • Ease of Use
  • Great amount of Features

Return on Investment

  • Greater Cohesion of Design
  • Easier Collaboration
  • Can be finicky with lots of parts in an assembly.

Alternatives Considered

Autodesk Inventor

Other Software Used

PTC Windchill, GrabCAD Workbench

SOLIDWORKS - Best Companion for Mechanical Engineers

Incentivized
AAKIF SHAIKHView profile
Subject Matter Expert at Chegg Inc. (501-1000 employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I have started using SOLIDWORKS during my college days, and from the experience I can say that it is the first software that a Mechanical Engineer requires to study for different mechanical components due to it's simple user-interface and placing of all the features in a concise manner that even a fresher can start without any prior experiecne. Using SOLIDWORKS we can make 3D design of parts from 2D, can make orthographic views from 3D model, we can make assembly by combining different parts. SOLIDWORKS also support various types of analysis like Static, Thermal, Flow, Fatigue, Linear, Non-linear, Drop test, Buckling, as well as Mold Simulation. With SOLIDWORKS Design Library, we can also import different standard mechanical components as per our design requirements based on different codes like ANSI, DIN, ISO, BIS, etc. Plus, we can also use the animation wizard of SOLIDWORKS to view the live results of deformation or stress distribution in the parts, hence allows us to study as per real time scenario.

Pros

  • Simple Modelling and Assembling of parts
  • Contains large database of materials
  • Design Library to import every important standard parts, hence reducing time in designing the same
  • Allows every simulation, with results as per the real time scenario
  • Animation wizard, to view the deformation and stress occuring in a precise way
  • No need of manual calculation in calculating the weight and inertia of the component, SOLIDWORKS can do the work for you

Cons

  • With increase in complexity of the mechanical components, the solving time also increases exponentially.
  • With SOLIDWORKS, I can't do manual meshing by selecting the face of the components, unlike Ansys
  • SOLIDWORKS is a high end software, hence requires system which can support the software.

Most Important Features

  • Allows direct importing of standard mechanical components in my design window
  • Simple and detailed simulation procedure, allows us to simulate without any hassle
  • Can make General Assembly drawings easily in SOLIDWORKS Drawing window
  • Large database collection of materials

Return on Investment

  • Instead of designing standard components, I can directly import it from design library, thus saving my simulation time and improves productivity.
  • No manual weight calculation, SOLIDWORKS will do the same for us
  • For complex components, the results are not very accurate, hence need to use different software for the same.

Alternatives Considered

Ansys Fluent, AutoCAD and CATIA

Other Software Used

AutoCAD, Ansys Fluent, CATIA