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Assessing the software's new Generative Experience.
Dassault Systemes, under its new CEO, seems finally ready again to embrace Solidworks. For many years, Dassault applied pressure on Solidworks users to switch to its more expensive and less compatible 3dExperience software, which runs on the cloud. On offer is a genuinely confusing array of new program names, such as Solidworks Connected, Solidworks Cloud, Solidworks xDesign and 3dExperience Solidworks. Solidworks users are, however, a stubborn lot who like their MCAD software grounded firmly on the desktop, and many don't take kindly to what they consider a distraction.
And so, at 3dExperience World 2025, new Dassault CEO Pascal Daloz, who trained as an engineer, announced that he is "A Solidworks lover. Really, I am!". Не and all other executives bore "30" pins, celebrating the 30th anniversary of Solidworks, famous for being the first MCAD program to launch only on Windows, back in 1995. By comparison, Autodesk came out with Inventor four years later.
But once the anniversary congrats ended, Daloz moved on to acclaim Dassault's big-iron software. The theme of his keynote speech was The Generative World, where designers take inspiration from nature to create digital twins of everything, and maximize the business at their manufacturing shops. "It results from the convergence of the Experience Economy and the Circular Economy," he explained, which, to me, wasn't clear at all. In any case, the slide accompanying his talk showed the generative economy not emerging until 2040.
Never mind. Daloz was keen to introduce Dassault's seventh generation of software, cleverly marked as "3D Univ+rses". He said it will combine modeling, simulation, and data science, with assistance from generative Al.
Dassault loves coming up with new eponyms and acronyms, and so I was not that surprised to learn that 3D Univ+rses is a XaaS (experience as a service) made up of GenXp (generative experiences), POWER'byAlI, VTaaS (virtual twin experience as a service), and Virtual Companions. The long-standing PLM (product lifecycle management) abbreviation is renamed IPLM, short for "intellectual property lifecycle management." In short, 3D Univ+rses is Dassault's new trademark for its form of digital twins.
New Generative Experiences
The term 'generative' is now ambiguous in CAD. It refers to 2D drawings generated semi-automatically from 3D models; but it also pertains to a form of AI. So, when Dassault talks about "generative" software, it could be generative-automation or generative-Al - or generative-economy, as cited by Daloz - or even generative AI that is constructing generative drawings for the Generative Economy, with software named "Generative."
The new Generative-branded programs from Dassault include Generative Mechanical Assembly for Solidworks xDesign. It's a virtual reality environment that gathers parts automatically into an assembly, using Al, after we answer a few questions. Once assembled, we can interact with the virtual assembly using real-world-like behaviour.
When we need 3D models of existing parts, we can take pictures with our phones using the new Generative 3D Part app. It analyzes the pictures and then generates 3D parts that we can add to our assemblies.
Generative Stacked Dimensions lets us sketch on a design, after which it generates dimensional constraints, while Generative NC Machining charts tool paths. When these ship, however, was not revealed.
There's gotta be Al
Nearly every software vendor big and small wants to demonstrate a link to AI, and for Solidworks it's named Aura. As in other CAD systems, Aura is starting as a chatbot that's been fed help files and training guides to assist us in finding answers. Competitors, such as Brics CAD Mechanical, have had this for a couple of years now.
As Dassault develops Aura further, it will alert us to regulations, suggest 3D solutions, and generate change requests. Aura is due to ship as an update to Dassault's 3DsWym collaboration software mid-summer 2025, and so Aura requires an Internet connection.
Dassault plans to add more Al functions, as shown to us by Solidworks CEO Manish Kumar by canned demos:
* Adjusting factory floor layouts to meet the latest safety protocols
* Choosing correctly-sized bolts, then applying SmartMates
* Converting raster images into constrained sketches
* Performing real world tests on components through AT-based virtual testing
* Turning meshes into parametric 3D models
On this last item, Kumar exclaimed, "Whether you are working with 3D scan data, imported mesh files, or legacy CAD models, making modifications is easier than ever!". But then he advised, "...once fully developed." It seems it's a tough problem to solve, for he noted that "Multiple teams are exploring different ways of delivering" this capability. Odd, given that solutions already exist, such as from Shining3D.
Another demo showed Al in a future version of Solidworks Connected reading a human's prompt - "Create renderings of this camper van with beige and silver exterior. For every scene, let's do a gravel campsite next to a foggy lake by trees at sunrise" - and generating images automatically, no manual selection of materials or backgrounds. Cool!, although other CAD vendors, such as Nemetschek and its AI Visualizer, already offer Al-generative renderings.
Not all AI functions are immediately available. Al-driven generative design, for instance, will be rolled out in stages over at least two years, so what we saw at 3dExperience World were teasers. Perhaps this is why Develop3D editor-in-chief Stephen Holmes said, "While some or all of these capabilities will eventually reach users, one thing was clear: The desire to keep users tied to the 3DExperience platform and well | away from the clutches of emerging [AI] start-ups."
Business consultant and author Tom Goodwin cautions about the use of Al, warning that its potentially negative implications are very real.
"The security risks are absolutely vast. The legal issues are massive. Even a leap like cloud is still a very slow process, despite the gains being obvious and the threats slight."
But Dassault says it processes our Al prompts on its 3dExperience servers, and it won't scan customer design data for itself or for resale to others.
What's New in Solidworks 2025
The highlight of 3dExperience World is seeing the new functions that'll be arriving in future releases of Solidworks. Here are some of them:
* Customizing simpler user interfaces for new designers
* Constraining sketches to squares with the Shift key
* Snapping drawing elements to magnetic lines
* Stretching sheet metal flanges to sketch geometry
* Converting boss extrudes to sheet metal
* Inserting tables of families of parts, and rolling up BOMs (bills of materials) of sub-assemblies
* Supporting parts in large assembly settings, with more selection criteria
* Pressing Esc to cancel more running operations
Solidworks is updated several times throughout the year through feature drops. Solidworks 2026 ships later this year, possibly in November.
Going forward
AI has yet to prove itself useful for Solidworks, beyond serving to fill a marketing checkbox. Some of the Al functions within Solidworks that were shown at 3dexperience World might not ship until 2026, or later. In fact, there's no mention of a ship date anywhere on the company's website.
Dassault's grand plan for its exciting AI/ design future requires that customers hook up online to 3dExperience, which plenty of the 7.5 million Solidworks users have spent the last decade resisting.
"Guys, you are not yet embracing everything we do for you," complained Daloz during a Solidworks Partner session.
I think this is because Dassault still doesn't "get" Solidworks, despite professing love for it. Ultimately, something like Aura may not matter, as Solidworks users have thirty years' experience over the newbie chatbot. Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see what Al can eventually contribute.
Copyright Annex Publishing & Printing, Inc. 2025