SOLIDWORKS is a 3D design software, officially capitalized to SOLIDWORKS. It is one of the leading pieces of engineering 3D design software globally. Today, more than two million organizations use SOLIDWORKS to bring in products and innovations, which represent a large proportion of over 3 million SOLIDWORKS users in total. In this section, we will explore the different applications that SOLIDWORKS supports.
Introducing SOLIDWORKS
SOLIDWORKS applications
SOLIDWORKS mainly targets engineers and product designers. It is used in a variety of applications and industries. Some of these industries are as follows:
- Consumer products
- Aerospace
- Construction
- High-tech electronics
- Medicine
- Oil and gas
- Packaging machinery
- Engineering services
- Furniture design
- Energy
- Automobiles
Each of these industries utilizes SOLIDWORKS for its design applications to some extent. SOLIDWORKS uses applications under the following disciplines:
- Core mechanical design
- Two-dimensional (2D) drawings
- Surface design
- Sheet metal
- Sustainability
- Motion analysis
- Weldments
- Simulations
- Mold making
- Electrical
Even though the preceding list highlights some possible domains where SOLIDWORKS can be applied, it is not necessary for a single individual to master them all. However, they do demonstrate the capabilities enabled by the software and the fields it can serve. This book will focus on addressing applications within the core mechanical design disciplines. This discipline will cover the most common usage scenarios for SOLIDWORKS.
Core mechanical design
Core mechanical design skills are the most commonly used foundational design application for SOLIDWORKS users. This includes the fundamental 3D modeling features that are essential for modeling mechanical components. This book will focus on this type of design application. Mastering this will enable you, as a learner, to draft complex parts and assemblies. These can include engines, furniture, and everyday consumer products such as phones and laptops.
We will cover all the knowledge and skills needed to achieve the two major SOLIDWORKS certifications under the core mechanical design discipline. These are the CSWA and CSWP levels. Also, mastering core mechanical design concepts can be considered as a prerequisite to learning most other specialized modeling disciplines, such as sheet metal and mold making. Because of that, we will only cover a common foundation for mechanical core design in this book.
Now that we know what SOLIDWORKS is, and the different applications and disciplines it covers, we will cover the principle under which the software operates: parametric modeling.