How to get started with the #1 professional mechanical CAD program.
What is SOLIDWORKS? It’s only the leading professional mechanical CAD software available. That’s the short answer. Keep reading and you’ll learn why SOLIDWORKS is the first choice for millions of engineers and designers who want to bring their ideas and concepts to life in 3D. You’ll also have other questions, like Why is SOLIDWORKS so popular? Why should I learn SOLIDWORKS? What should I know about engineering tools and design software? How do I get started with SOLIDWORKS? Keep reading for everything you’d want to know (and more) as you begin your journey with SOLIDWORKS.
Important Definitions and Concepts
Before we get into the answers to these important questions, let’s first build a foundation by introducing some concepts we will reference in this article.
- 3D Design—Designing something in a virtual 3D space instead of a flat 2D drawing. Imagine the difference between what you might draw in Microsoft Paint or PowerPoint and SOLIDWORKS.
- Engineers and designers use CAD to create a computer model of a concept or idea. Think of it as the step between a paper napkin sketch and a real-world product.
- Computer-aided engineering (CAE) is similar to CAD except there are additional tools that are useful for engineering functions like virtual strength testing or other analysis and performance applications.
- Solid modeling—a more realistic approach to computer modeling; instead of just lines and wires, the designs have 3D geometry like they would in real life.
- Parametric Features—CAD models are created with parametric features, or simply parameters, which means they are not made with just abstract lines but rather geometric elements with real dimensions and definitions.
Several factors contribute to SOLIDWORKS becoming the go-to 3D CAD package for creating solid models with parametric features. You’re designing on a 2D computer screen, but it’s a virtual 3D environment. The geometry you create isn’t just lines and pixels but rather solid geometry defined by parameters and features.
The Origin Story
SOLIDWORKS was introduced in 1995 and was the first 3D CAD package made to run on the Microsoft Windows operating system.
SOLIDWORKS was born out of the MIT CAD Lab where John Hirschtick worked in the 1980s. Hirschtick might not be a household name, but you probably already know him from his time on the MIT Blackjack Team. Hollywood made movies about it such as “21.”
Rumor has it that Hirschtick used millions of dollars from his winnings from the Blackjack Team to start the SolidWorks Corporation in 1993 with the goal of creating 3D design software that worked on Windows PCs—software that would for the first time be affordable and easy to use.
What seems like a simple goal now with today’s personal computers was a dream back in 1993. Back then, CAD only worked on expensive UNIX systems.
After 2 years of development, the first version of SOLIDWORKS was released on December 12, 1995. And on that day, everything changed. Here was SOLIDWORKS 95 at a fraction of the cost (from $18,000 on UNIX to $4,000), and it could be learned in a fraction of the time (from 3 months to 3 days).
Since then, SOLIDWORKS has evolved year over year to become the best and most popular CAD package available, and it hasn’t strayed from its core mission statement of “3D CAD on every engineer’s desktop.”
How Do I Get Started with SOLIDWORKS?
Here’s what you need to know to get started with SOLIDWORKS. Three different file types—part (.SLDPRT), assembly (.SLDASM), and drawing (.SLDDRW). They technically are different files, but they are fully associative, meaning it’s the same 3D design data handed off between the files. This is huge because if you make a change in one place, it’s updated in every place that it’s referenced. In other words, there are no errors from working off the wrong or outdated geometry.
There are four main types of environments or modes in SOLIDWORKS. You’ll need to understand each of them individually as well as all four combined together.
1. Sketches—the basis for a 3D model. Your 3D model will start with a sketch. It’s the main way to create your 3D geometry.
2. Parts—the basic building blocks of SOLIDWORKS designs. These are the individual components made up of solid geometry.
3. Assembly—putting the parts together to make assemblies.
4. Drawing—automatically created drawings of your designs where you can indicate all the dimensions of your part.
To get started, I recommend learning sketches and parts. Sketches are used to make the features that create the solid geometry to make individual parts. So, these two make up the first step in learning SOLIDWORKS. Next are assemblies. The parts can be put together to make assemblies. Depending on how you will be using your 3D models, you might be able to save time and skip drawings. Drawings are great if you are getting your parts made by an old-school machine shop but are unnecessary if you plan on sending them to a CNC machine, using additive manufacturing (3D printing), or working off the 3D model using model-based definition (MBD).
What Else Do I Need to Know to Get Started with SOLIDWORKS?
Hardware Requirements
You will be learning and using SOLIDWORKS on a Windows PC. Sure, it’s evolved to include web-based and mobile tools, but for the “real” work, you’ll turn to a PC.
One thing to be aware of is the graphics card/hardware requirements to run SOLIDWORKS. The software is famous for its realistic graphics, but that only comes at the cost of some significant hardware requirements beyond the entry-level machines. I recommend looking at the SOLIDWORKS hardware requirements web page and especially looking for a certified graphics setup that can be found here on the certified cards and drivers web page. Keep in mind that there’s a difference between gaming graphics and professional graphics. SOLIDWORKS works closely with card manufacturers, such as NVIDIA with its Quadro series graphics, to ensure stability and performance.
Warning: If you don’t use a certified or recommended setup, there’s no guarantee that SOLIDWORKS will work. There’s a chance it might work but it won’t work well. There will be issues that could potentially prevent you from ever using the software.
SOLIDWORKS Licensing and Costs
There are plenty of license options available for SOLIDWORKS, including the student or maker/hobbyist version, or monthly rental or outright purchase options. You should check with an authorized reseller to determine which is the best option for your needs.
SOLIDWORKS Community
SOLIDWORKS has an active user community, so take advantage of it! The best example I’ve found for this is by looking at the various communities for CAD software on Reddit. See the image below, which outlines the different communities. SOLIDWORKS clearly has the biggest and most active CAD community out there.
