Introduction: why “old-fashioned drafting” is already expensive
In most manufacturing and hardware companies, the “idea → approval → documentation → production” cycles are stretched across 2D files, disparate tools, and endless revisions. The market demands something different: quick iterations, remote collaboration, transparent changes and painless handover to the shop floor. This is where SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD plays a decisive role – an industry standard that combines intuitive parametric modelling with tools for production documentation and collaboration. Its strength is not just in its 3D capabilities, but in its ability to remove “friction” between departments and reduce rework.
What has changed in engineering in recent years
- Large assemblies have become the norm. Thousands of parts, variable configurations, short deadlines.
- Teams are distributed. Contractors and clients connect to approvals online, need transparent change history.
- mistakes get expensive. Any unnecessary iteration of drawings is lost engineer time and direct costs to production.
The answer is not “just another plugin” but a holistic tool stack where data flows consistently from idea to series.
Adaptation framework:from 2D logic to digital pipeline
- A single source of truth for models and drawings. Associativity: model → drawings → specifications.
- Collaboration without “heavy” files. View and markup via browser, version control and access rights.
- Verification of manufacturability to the shop floor. Geometric checks, motion/load analyses, manufacturability.
- direct bridge to CAM. Less manual transformations – less errors and faster start of production.
Solution core:SOLIDWORKS CAD
SOLIDWORKS CAD – intuitive parametric modelling of parts and assemblies, quick release of drawings or 3D markings, collision control, standard product libraries. Thanks to associativity, changes to the model automatically update documentation, reducing manual edits and versioning errors.
Tools that “close” process bottlenecks
- Preparing production without manual routine – SOLIDWORKS CAM. Rule-based Cam allows you to work “from model to machine” in a single environment: less export/import, less risk of data loss, faster first part pass.
- Visual communication for non-engineers – SOLIDWORKS Composer. Assembly instructions, service materials and illustrations are created from an existing 3D model – without waiting for the design department.
- Electricity “under control” – SOLIDWORKS Electrical. Schematics, cable routes, front-back between electricity and mechanics: fewer conflicts in assemblies, faster coordination with contractors.
- Physics in CAD – SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation. Fluid and gas flows, heat transfer, aerodynamics – proof of concepts before prototyping.
- Photorealist and presentations – Solidworks Visualise. Renderings and animations for executive and customer decisions: faster approvals – shorter project cycles.
- Control documentation – Solidworks Inspection. Automated markup, sampling, and quality reports reduce data entry time and human error.
- Design without drawings – SOLIDWORKS MBD. 3D designations (PMI) replace part of 2D drawings: data is immediately understandable to production and suppliers.
- Versions, accesses, change history – SolidWorks PDM. CAD-aware repository with revisions and access rights removes duplicates and “last-last” versions of files.
- Injection moulding – SOLIDWORKS Plastics. Prediction of mould filling and shrinkage as early as the 3D stage reduces scrap and rework.
- probability without unnecessary prototypes – Solidworks Simulation. Statics, fatigue, motion – physics is “built in” to the process, so decisions are made on data, not assumptions.
Examples of applications (briefly and substantively)
- Mechanical Engineering. Frame and welded structure manufacturer moves to profile templates and smart fastening libraries → minus hours on typical assemblies. Collision control at 3D level reduces rework on the shop floor.
- plastic enclosures. The team checks mould fill in Plastics and makes changes to ribs and injection points before the mould is even made → less tool iterations.
- HVAC/electronics. Flow Simulation aligns heat maps and enclosure aerodynamics → less overheating and noise, faster customer approvals.
- contracting offices. PDM unifies revisions and access rights across different customers → “version” conflicts and data transfer delays disappear.
Performance metrics that the manager will realise
- Production documentation preparation time (before / after),
- number of iterations of approvals and “rebases” of versions,
- proportion of rework on the shop floor,
- speed of launching the first part after the change,
- percentage of libraries/templates used in standard assemblies