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From the engineering blog

Hands-on SOLIDWORKS guides, product walkthroughs and CAD best practices — published live from our team.

P CAD CAM
P CAD CAMJun 27, 2026

How to Create Interactive 3D Assembly Animations with SOLIDWORKS Composer

A step-by-step guide to creating interactive 3D assembly and disassembly animations using SOLIDWORKS Composer — from importing your CAD model to publishing interactive HTML5, 3D PDF, and video outputs.

7 min readRead
P CAD CAM
P CAD CAMJun 13, 2026

How to Build Your First Assembly Manual in SOLIDWORKS Composer

A complete step-by-step guide to creating professional assembly manuals using SOLIDWORKS Composer — from importing your CAD model to publishing interactive documentation ready for technicians, customers, and service teams.

8 min readRead
P CAD CAM
P CAD CAMJun 10, 2026

What SOLIDWORKS Composer Actually Does (And Who Should Buy It)

SOLIDWORKS Composer turns CAD assemblies into interactive technical illustrations, exploded views, and step-by-step animations — without waiting on screenshots. Here's what it actually does, who needs it, and who should stick with what they have.

5 min readRead
P CAD CAM
P CAD CAMJun 3, 2026

How to Run Your First Static Stress Analysis in SOLIDWORKS Simulation

A beginner-friendly, step-by-step guide to setting up and running your first linear static stress analysis using SOLIDWORKS Simulation — from enabling the add-in to interpreting factor of safety plots.

6 min readRead
P CAD CAM
P CAD CAMJun 3, 2026

How to Use the New DraftSight BIM Module: A First Walkthrough

A hands-on walkthrough of DraftSight Premium's BIM module — learn how to import Revit and IFC models, generate 2D floor plans, extract schedules, and streamline your AEC documentation workflow.

5 min readRead
P CAD CAM
P CAD CAMMay 27, 2026

How to Use DraftSight Connected for Cloud-Based 2D Collaboration

Learn how DraftSight Connected on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform enables cloud-based 2D collaboration, real-time feedback, and secure DWG management for distributed teams.

4 min readRead
P CAD CAM
P CAD CAMMay 27, 2026

DraftSight Editions Compared: Standard vs Professional vs Premium vs Enterprise

A comprehensive comparison of all DraftSight editions — Standard, Professional, Premium, Enterprise, Enterprise Plus, and Mechanical — to help you choose the right 2D/3D CAD solution for your workflow.

6 min readRead
P CAD CAM
P CAD CAMMay 23, 2026

How to Migrate from AutoCAD to DraftSight Without Losing Productivity

A practical step-by-step guide for AutoCAD users switching to DraftSight — covering DWG compatibility, customization transfer, pilot testing, and productivity features that can actually speed up your workflow.

4 min readRead
P CAD CAM
P CAD CAMMay 20, 2026

Meet AURA: Your New AI Companion Inside SOLIDWORKS

Discover AURA, the new AI-powered virtual companion inside SOLIDWORKS that learns from you, automates tedious tasks, and provides real-time design assistance — all while keeping your IP safe.

3 min readRead
P CAD CAM
P CAD CAMMay 20, 2026

Why DraftSight 2026 Is the Smart Choice Over AutoCAD (An Honest Comparison)

DraftSight 2026 isn't just an AutoCAD alternative anymore — it's the smarter choice for 2D drafting, manufacturing, and cost-conscious engineering teams. Here's why.

6 min readRead
P CAD CAM
P CAD CAMMay 15, 2026

The 2026 Sheet Metal Enhancements Every Fabricator Should Know

Discover the key SOLIDWORKS 2026 sheet metal enhancements — from offset base flanges and internal corner breaks to bounding box control and ERP-ready cut lists — that every fabricator should know.

3 min readRead
P CAD CAM
P CAD CAMMay 15, 2026

DraftSight Explained: The 2D CAD Tool Hiding Inside the Dassault Ecosystem

DraftSight is Dassault's professional 2D CAD tool with native DWG support, CATIA integration, and a cost-effective alternative to AutoCAD. Here's what it can do for your team.

4 min readRead
P CAD CAM
P CAD CAMMay 15, 2026

SOLIDWORKS Simulation: Standard vs Professional vs Premium

A practical guide comparing SOLIDWORKS Simulation Standard, Professional, and Premium — with feature tables, decision rules, and real-world scenarios to help you pick the right tier.

4 min readRead
P CAD CAM
P CAD CAMMay 14, 2026

How to Tame Large Assemblies: A Practical Performance Guide

Practical techniques to speed up large SOLIDWORKS assemblies: hardware tips, Lightweight mode, SpeedPak, image quality settings, and more.

4 min readRead
P CAD CAM
P CAD CAMMay 13, 2026

How to Set Up Your SOLIDWORKS Workspace for Maximum Productivity

A practical guide to configuring SOLIDWORKS — from UI customization and keyboard shortcuts to performance tuning and file management — so you spend more time designing and less time hunting through menus.

5 min readRead
P CAD CAM
P CAD CAMFeb 21, 2024

SOILDWORKS CONFIGURATIONS

SOLIDWORKS configurations allow users to maintain multiple versions of a part or an assembly in a single file. They are used to manage different versions of a design without having to create multiple separate files and configurations are established by …

2 min readRead
P CAD CAM
P CAD CAMAug 9, 2023

SOLIDWORKS FEATURE WORKS

Feature Works is a tool available in SOLIDWORKS that allows to import 3D CAD models from STEP, STL and other below mentioned file Extensions convert them into SOLIDWORKS features. This feature recognition technology identifies the individual features used to create …

1 min readRead
P CAD CAM
P CAD CAMFeb 28, 2023

VENT-SHEET METAL IN SOLIDWORKS

The Vent feature in SOLIDWORKS is a great way to add any sort of vents for airflow through sheet metal and plastic parts. It’s a very simple way to create a vent opening, spars and ribs as needed. Select Front …

1 min readRead
P CAD CAM
P CAD CAMFeb 24, 2023

CUSTOM WELDMENT PROFILE IN SOLIDWORKS

You can create your own weldment profiles to use when creating weldment structural members. You create the profile as a library feature part, then file it in a defined location so it is available for selection. 1.Select the Front Plane …

2 min readRead
P CAD CAM
P CAD CAMNov 10, 2022

CREATE INSPECTION REPORT BY SOLIDWORKS INSPECTION

The SOLIDWORKS® Inspection add-in automates the ballooning of engineering drawings and 3D files with Product and Manufacturing Information (PMI). Minimizing the time needed to record inspection measurements, SOLIDWORKS Inspection streamlines the creation of industry-standard inspection reports. Open the Drawing. Make …

1 min readRead
P CAD CAM
P CAD CAMOct 25, 2022

Detailed Cutlist in SOLIDWORKS BOM

We can include detailed weldment cut lists for parts and assemblies in indented BOMs. You can insert multiple weldment cut lists in a single BOM. You can insert multiple BOMs in a single drawing with multiple views. 1) Create Weldment …

1 min readRead
P CAD CAM
P CAD CAMJul 20, 2022

Automate Designs With DriveWorksXpress

DriveWorksXpress is a rule-based software that is included with every license of SOLIDWORKS. It allows you to quickly generate new versions of your SOLIDWORKS parts, assemblies and drawing by capturing and controlling dimensions, features, custom properties and configurations. Select Tools , …

1 min readRead
P CAD CAM
P CAD CAMJun 22, 2022

Random Vibration Analysis

Step-by-step procedure to perform random vibration analysis in SOLIDWORKS Create new study as show. Select study random vibration under linear dynamic, as shown Expand the parts folder and apply material as shown the image below 4. Select the material from …

1 min readRead
P CAD CAM
P CAD CAMMar 21, 2022

Creating Drawings Automatically With SOLIDWORKS Task Schedular

1.Open New Drawing. Select Predefined View and Place 4 views as shown in figure. 2.Select 1st view , select Front in Properties, Similarly select top,Right,isometric for 2nd,3rd,4th views, 3.Select System options, document properties, detailing and select Dimension Marked for drawing …

1 min readRead