Dassault Systèmes Brings SolidWorks 2013 to Market

Dassault Systèmes Brings SolidWorks 2013 to Market

Users can select common regions created by multiple solid and surface bodies
Estimate costs for parts with turned, milled, and drilled features
Creating in-context features in SolidWorks 2012 SP5, referencing 2013 components
Quickly define and adjust conic curves with just a couple of inputs
Review machine configuration and performance at a glance
Based on custom properties, the financial impact factor can be overwritten to match companies’ material pricing information
Blue squares show the network rendering processes being used

Dassault Systèmes this week officially released SolidWorks 2013 into the wild.  Focusing on changes to further accelerate the product design process, they tout over 200 user-driven enhancements.

In keeping with the recent release of their Electrical and Plastics products, they’ve beefed up their Costing, Sustainability, and Flow Simulation tools.  They also provided numerous Modeling improvements, specifically beneficial to hybrid and surface models.

With a background in CAD management, several new features really stood out to me.  The new CAD Administration dashboard, the network rendering capabilities, and the previous release interoperability.  The ability to monitor the performance and configuration of all systems on your network from a single (browser-based) dashboard sets a new precedent in the industry.

Despite all the good news they brought to the table, the thing that surprises me most was the two words I didn’t hear at all.  Direct Modeling.  After the impressive technology previews they’ve shown the past few years, to have the topic be completely absent from this release surprised me.  I certainly don’t expect that they’ve abandoned the technology, but I can only assume that there is a part of this story that has yet to play out.  It wouldn’t be the first time deafening silence has preceeded news.  We’ll just have to wait and see…

 

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