What is SOLIDWORKS Simulation?
With powerful and intuitive SOLIDWORKS® Simulation solutions, product engineers can virtually test new ideas, quickly and efficiently evaluate performance, improve quality, and get the knowledge for product innovation.
Virtual Simulation Software
Manufacturing companies across all industries have made 3D virtual simulation a valuable engineering tool to synthesize and define their physical products.
Sophisticated simulation is no longer just for specialists. It’s the inspiration that fuels innovation. Product engineers can make their technical decisions driven by simulation insights, uncovering significant product and business benefits.
Overview Demo
Get to know SOLIDWORKS Simulation
SOLIDWORKS Simulation Capabilities
SOLIDWORKS Simulation helps you ask and answer complex and important engineering questions earlier. Allowing you to test your product virtually with real world insights.
"Evolve Design Solutions appreciates the excellent customer service, product knowledge and technical support provided by TriMech, our SOLIDWORKS Value Added Reseller (VAR).”
Aldo Balatti
Principal, Evolve Design Solutions
“Our engineering processes are well defined and well documented. I can tell new customers with confidence that we’re delivering on milestones because we’re tracking our performance on speed and quality every day.”
Ray Minator
Owner, Inertia Engineering + Design
SOLIDWORKS Simulation Features
Enable everyone involved in your projects to share information and collaborate
Analyze assembly motion for process and task workflow with event–based simulation
Easily simulate complex machine operations using event-based motion analysis with SOLIDWORKS Simulation and validate the sequencing of the design to ensure correct operation, product quality, and safety.
See how your product would move in the real world and measure the forces and loads while you design, helping you correctly size the motors and the structure and confirm the timing.
Tightly integrated with SOLIDWORKS CAD, event-based motion analysis using SOLIDWORKS Simulation can be a regular part of your design process—reducing the need for costly prototypes, eliminating rework or delays, and saving time and development costs:
- Define motion studies based on model event and assembly actions.
- Trigger actions through motion sensors, time, or the completion of a previous task.
- Evaluate characteristics like actuator force and joint loads for motion optimization.
- Gain greater control of model actuators with servomotors.
Verify your design with powerful linear static analysis
SOLIDWORKS Simulation linear stress analysis enables designers and engineers to quickly and efficiently validate quality, performance, and safety—all while creating their design.
Tightly integrated with SOLIDWORKS CAD, linear stress analysis using can be a regular part of your design process, reducing the need for costly prototypes, eliminating rework and delays, and saving time and development costs.
- Test products made of weldments, sheet metal, and volume geometry with mixed mesh.
- Evaluate strain and stresses between contacting parts, including friction.
- Apply bearing loads, forces, pressures, and torques.
- Improve designs based on structural, motion, or geometric criteria.
- Use connectors or virtual fasteners to model bolts, pins, springs, and bearings, and dimension them under applied loads.
- Activate the Trend Tracker and Design Insight plots to highlight optimal design changes while you work.
- Intuitively manage your shell model with the Shell Manager.
Simulate frequency or buckling in your designs
Quickly and efficiently investigate the natural frequencies of a design—with and without loads and boundary conditions—with easy-to-use SOLIDWORKS Simulation.
Ensure that the natural modes of vibration are away from environmental forcing frequencies, indicating that the design will meet the required service life.
Frequency analysis with SOLIDWORKS Simulation uses an Eigen value approach to determine the natural modes of vibration for any geometry. If a design’s natural modes and its expected service vibration environment are closely matched, a harmonic resonance may occur and lead to excessive loads which will result in failure.
- Examine how vibrating or unstable modes can shorten equipment life and cause unexpected failures.
- Assess the effects of load stiffening on frequency and buckling response.
Understand the effects of temperature on your design
SOLIDWORKS Simulation Professional enables every designer and engineer to carry out thermal analysis at any stage of design to ensure that every component and assembly performs properly within expected temperature ranges, and spot safety issues before they arise:
- Study conduction, convection, and radiation heat transfer.
- Utilize isotropic, orthotropic, and temperature-dependent material properties.
- Determine the combined stresses and deformations due to structural and thermal loads.
Analyze your design in the nonlinear world
Nonlinear stress analysis calculates the stresses and deformations of products under the most general loading and material conditions for dynamic (time dependent) loads, large component deformations, and nonlinear materials, such as rubber or metals, beyond their yield point:
- Easily transition between linear and nonlinear simulations for comprehensive evaluation.
- Examine deformations caused by overloads, contact (including self-contact), and flexible materials.
- Determine residual stresses and permanent deformations in metals after material yield.
- Study nonlinear buckling and snap-through events.
- Investigate designs with hyperelastic materials, such as rubbers, silicones and other elastomers.
- Conduct an elasto-plastic analysis to study plastic deformation and the onset of yield.
- Examine creep effects and material changes with temperature.
- Test the performance of your molded plastic part taking into account in-mold residual stresses and temperature with SOLIDWORKS Plastics.
SOLIDWORKS Simulation Packages
Three simulation packages to choose from
Package
SOLIDWORKS Simulation Standard
“What if?” It’s the inspiration that fuels innovation—and with SOLIDWORKS®
Simulation Standard software, you remove the risk and replace it with a 3D workspace to virtually test your new ideas, develop new designs, and accelerate your products to market.
Package
SOLIDWORKS Simulation Professional
SOLIDWORKS Simulation Professional adds to SOLIDWORKS Simulation Standard with more powerful and sophisticated simulation capabilities, to help you answer engineering challenges with complex load scenarios and multi-physics solutions.
Package
SOLIDWORKS Simulation Premium
SOLIDWORKS Simulation Premium includes all of the capabilities of SOLIDWORKS Simulation Professional, plus additional features like composite materials and powerful analysis tools for simulating nonlinear and dynamic response.
SOLIDWORKS Simulation Matrix
Compare the different versions of SOLIDWORKS Simulation software
| Capability | SOLIDWORKS Simulation Premium | SOLIDWORKS Simulation Professional | SOLIDWORKS Simulation Standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ease of Use/Intuitiveness | ● | ● | ● |
| Linear Static Simulation for Part & Assembly | ● | ● | ● |
| Time Based Mechanism Motion Simulation | ● | ● | ● |
| Finite Element Analysis | ● | ● | ● |
| Contacts and Connectors | ● | ● | ● |
| Post Processing | ● | ● | ● |
| Communication | ● | ● | ● |
| Design Comparison Studies | ● | ● | ● |
| Trend Tracker | ● | ● | ● |
| Fatigue Simulation | ● | ● | ● |
| Detecting Unconstrained Bodies | ● | ● | ● |
| Equation Driven Results | ● | ● | ● |
| Design Optimization (based on Simulation data) | ● | ● | |
| Advanced Contacts & Connectors | ● | ● | |
| Event-Based Motion Simulation | ● | ● | |
| Frequency Simulation | ● | ● | |
| Buckling or Collapse Simulation | ● | ● | |
| Structural Thermal Simulation | ● | ● | |
| Drop Test Simulation | ● | ● | |
| Pressure Vessel Design Simulation | ● | ● | |
| Submodeling Simulation | ● | ● | |
| 2D Simplification | ● | ● | |
| Load Case Manager | ● | ● | |
| Non Linear Simulation | ● | ||
| Dynamic Simulation | ● | ||
| Composites Components Simulation | ● | ||
| Offloaded Simulation | ● |
Looking for a Cloud Alternative?
3DEXPERIENCE Works provides a Safe, Social, Connected, Informed and Structured alternative to SOLIDWORKS Simulation for team leaders, project managers and other professionals who want to manage data on the cloud and collaborate without constraints.
Safe: Customer controlled access. Transparent cloud backup. Encrypted communication protocols. Data always safe-no overwrite, no loss of data.
Social: Integrated structured and unstructured collaboration tools enabling social innovation. Collaborate on product design or engage with your stakeholders early in product development.
Connected: Every user always connected to a single, common database. Access data anywhere, anytime, on any device. Review and markup models.
Informed: Choose from the widget library, Create and share Dashboards. Get the latest information about your product development. Always have access to your latest data.
Structured: Zero overhead data management - store and manage data across collaborative spaces, share information in communities. Find indexed data faster by using tags, custom search, etc.