WHAT’S NEW IN SOLIDWORKS 2021
WHAT’S NEW IN SOLIDWORKS 2021
1. LARGE ASSEMBLY DRAWINGS FOR FASTER DESIGN
• Detailing Mode: Open drawings in a matter of seconds while maintaining the ability to add and edit annotations.
• Graphics Acceleration for Drawings: Improve frame rates when panning and zooming within drawings with hardware accelerated rendering.
Benefits
Work faster on drawings with many sheets, configurations, and resource-intensive views.
2. FASTER CALCULATIONS AND IMPROVED ACCURACY FOR SIMULATION
• Speed and Accuracy: Speed up analysis and improve accuracy by combining linear and quadratic elements in the same simulation study.
• Pin and Bolt Connectors: Deform faces attached to Pin and Bolt connectors.
• Beam Models: Import temperatures to perform a stress analysis after running a thermal analysis on a model with beams.
Benefits
Run faster calculations and better simulation of real-world behavior.
3. MORE FUNCTIONALITY IN SOLIDWORKS MBD
• Datum Targets and Helical Coil Callouts: Provide richer product definition by defining semantic datum targets and semantic helical
coil callouts
• Annotation Organization: Easily locate and sort annotations for assemblies and parts using subfolders under the Annotations folder
in the FeatureManager® design tree.
Benefits
Communicate design requirements directly in 3D and drive downstream manufacturing automation.
4. IMPROVEMENTS TO SOLIDWORKS VISUALIZE
• XR Exporter: Easily convert your Visualize files to AR/VR experiences.
• PDM Integration: Manage your files more easily with SOLIDWORKS® PDM integration.
• Light Profiles: Work with IES Light Profiles and newly customizable MDL materials.
Benefits
Enhance flexibility with support of new file formats and customizable materials and lighting.
5. SOLIDWORKS PDM AND SOLIDWORKS MANAGE FOR WORKING FASTER/span>
• Enhanced SOLIDWORKS PDM Browsing: Avoid waiting for all data to be loaded before you continue to browse in the PDM Vault, with
asynchronous loading of file data.
• Enhanced Search User Interface: Perform faster searches by combining multiple search operands.
• SOLIDWORKS Manage Outlook Integration: Save emails directly into a SOLIDWORKS Manage record and create new records, e.g. cases, from the data in a message.
Benefits
Manage your product data more efficiently and easily.
6. IMPROVED MANUFACTURING WORKFLOWS WITH SOLIDWORKS CAM
• CNC Probing: Use a probe tool to speed up setup and your manufacturing processes.
• Automatic Tab Generation for Small Profiles: Create multiple tabs or micro-joints in parts needed for multiple fabrication workflows.
• Tapered Multipoint Thread Tools: Enhance your threading options with a multipoint tapered threading tool available in the library.
Benefits
Support improved manufacturing workflows that save time and reduce errors with new CAM features.
7. SIMPLIFIED 3D PRINTING
• 3D Printer Library: Access an extensive list of commercially available 3D printer volumes.
• Create Slices from SOLIDWORKS Geometry: Generate slices from precise SOLIDWORKS geometry to export to a 3D manufacturing format (.3MF)
file without first having to save the geometry to a mesh file.
Benefits
Save time, improve accuracy, and simplify 3D printing tasks.
8. SOLIDWORKS ELECTRICAL AND PCB ENHANCEMENTS FOR MECHATRONICS DESIGN
• Rigid-Flex Design: Enable single-board rigid-flex PCB design with the ability to define rigid-flex regions, layers, and stack thicknesses with SOLIDWORKS PCB or SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD.
• Flattening Routes: Speed up the flattening of electrical cables and harness designs with enhancements in SOLIDWORKS Electrical.
• Wire Mass Properties: Calculate mass properties for wires, cables, and harnesses with SOLIDWORKS Electrical.
Benefits
Meet critical project schedules and design goals while reducing design and manufacturing costs.
9. IMPROVED WORKFLOWS FOR SOLIDWORKS PLASTICS
• Mesh Property Manager: Reduce the number of steps to create a mesh.
• Warpage: Export a deformed shape as a SOLIDWORKS part after running a warpage analysis.
• Materials Library: Access the plastics materials library, expanded with the world’s largest database for plastics material suppliers.
Benefits
Design and manage plastics products more easily.
10. CONNECTED DESIGN-TO-MANUFACTURING ECOSYSTEM IN THE CLOUD
• Direct Connection: Easily connect SOLIDWORKS 2020 with key tools through the cloud-based 3DEXPERIENCE® platform.
• Data Sharing and Collaboration: Share models back and forth between SOLIDWORKS and 3DEXPERIENCE tools. Collaborate in real time from anywhere and on any device.
• Extended Workflows: Easily extend your design ecosystem with new capabilities such as subdivisional modeling, conceptual design, and
product lifecycle and project management in the cloud.
Benefits
Enable seamless product development workflows and easily extend them with new tools as your business needs evolve.
SMART MANUFACTURING
WHAT’S NEW IN SOLIDWORKS
FEATURES FOR THE USERS, REQUESTED BY THE USERS
Great products begin with great designs—from concepts to manufactured parts and assemblies. SOLIDWORKS provides new tools and enhancements to help you get your design to manufacturing faster, with higher quality and at lower costs. From a more intuitive user interface to improved sheet metal design tools, many of the new enhancements and improvements were added based on your requests. Take a look at some of the new features and discover how SOLIDWORKS can help accelerate innovation and grow your business.
FEATURE HIGHLIGHTS IN SOLIDWORKS
SOLIDWORKS CAM FOR CNC MACHINING
Users can now seamlessly integrate design and manufacturing with easy-to-use, world class CAM technology. Powered by CAMWorks™, SOLIDWORKS® CAM is production-proven, seamlessly integrated CAM for SOLIDWORKS that provides rules-based machining and automatic feature recognition to dramatically streamline, and even automate, CNC manufacturing operations.
WORK DIRECTLY WITH MESH DATA
Work with mesh data similar to surface or solid geometry. Combine, intersect, split, move/copy, cut with surface, and check for interference. In addition, quickly fit surface bodies to regions of mesh models.
MORE FLEXIBILITY WITH 3D INTERCONNECT
Seamlessly work with more file formats including ACIS, STEP and IGES, and automatically update your design whenever new files are received. In addition, 3D Interconnect now supports internal file information like custom properties, materials properties and reference axes.
NEW, MORE INTUITIVE USER EXPERIENCE
SOLIDWORKS supports freehand sketching with pen or touch on compatible devices. Enhancements to mouse gestures and user interface customization also help speed product development.
REFINED SHEET METAL DESIGN TOOLS
SOLIDWORKS includes tab and slot features for self-fixturing of parts for welding, a normal cut feature to ensure clearances are included for manufacturing, and tools to easily create or flatten corners that include three bends.
COLLABORATE MORE EFFICIENTLY FOR MODEL BASED ENTERPRISE
Speed up design detailing while also streamlining and automating downstream manufacturing tasks, such as CNC programming and inspection, by importing 3D models along with PMI from all major CAD formats, as well as STEP 242.
POWERFUL USABILITY ENHANCEMENTS FOR ELECTRICAL ROUTING
Routing is faster and easier with more detail than ever before. New features include drag and drop of in-line connectors and support for shrink-wraps and boots. Users can also now flatten a route in drawing with support for clips and disjointed routes.
SOLIDWORKS provides new tools and enhancements to help you get your design to manufacturing faster, with higher quality and at lower costs.
GENERATIVE DESIGN FOR BETTER PART GEOMETRY
Utilize the SOLIDWORKS Simulation Topology Study tool to automatically optimize the shape of a design based on weight, function, and manufacturing criteria. Improve performance or reduce product weight based on simulation and manufacturing constraints.
SOLIDWORKS INSPECTION SUPPORT FOR MBD
With the enhancements in SOLIDWORKS , you can now create inspection documentation directly from 3D models with Production Manufacturing Information, as well as from 2D drawings, PDFs, and TIFFs. SOLIDWORKS Inspection is now integrated with SOLIDWORKS PDM, and supports SOLIDWORKS part and assembly files (*.sldprt, *.sldasm), as well as non- native 3D CAD formats.
SOLIDWORKS MANAGE FOR PROJECT AND PROCESS MANAGEMENT
SOLIDWORKS Manage provides data management, project management, and process management all in one familiar package. It adds powerful project, process, and item management capabilities to SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional.
DESIGN BRANCHING AND MERGING
Users are able to investigate different design approaches without affecting approved files with the new features in SOLIDWORKS PDM. The software also helps to streamline the process of working with external users.
AUTOMATED PDF CREATION FOR SOLIDWORKS DRAWINGS
SOLIDWORKS PDM Standard can automatically create PDFs from SOLIDWORKS drawings via workflow transitions. The new features eliminate the manual creation of PDFs to enable better collaboration and help the migration from Workgroup PDM.
AUTOMATIC REVISION TABLE UPDATE
SOLIDWORKS PDM can now manage and automatically update SOLIDWORKS revision tables, allowing users to streamline their engineering change processes by reducing manual data entry and drawing updating.
CLOUD-CONNECTED SOLIDWORKS
Empower desktop computers with cloud convenience through online licensing. SOLIDWORKS Online Licensing makesusingyourlicenseonmultiplemachines effortless. The SOLIDWORKS login moves customized content and settings to any machine on which SOLIDWORKS is installed. The SOLIDWORKS Admin Portal allows easier management of SOLIDWORKS products and services.
IT’S A SMARTER WAY TO GO
The new features and enhancements in SOLIDWORKS enable designers and engineering teams to work faster than ever before. With 3D design data at the center of the process, SOLIDWORKS allows changes from design or manufacturing to flow automatically to all related CAD models, CAM programs, drawings, and documentation. Managing changes has never been easier.
