Solidworks 2009 Premium is 65 per cent faster

Paul Boughton
Dassault Systems Solidworks has unveiled Solidworks 2009 Premium, the newest version of its 3D CAD software package, with a claimed speed increase of up to 65 per cent over Solidworks 2008. According to the company, no 3D CAD software is faster or easier to use in helping users transform their innovative ideas into intelligent 3D models that are ready for manufacturing.

Solidworks 2009 enhances what was already among the highest-performing products in the 3D CAD market. The new software reflects an intensive R&D effort focused directly on performance, which company research reveals is designers' and engineers' most valued CAD software trait.

The speed increase is calculated on documented productivity gains measured in the creation and modification of large assemblies and drawings using workflows adapted from real-world customer environments and data. Customer workflows were studied and tested to ensure that the overall design process was being improved, not just specific functions and tasks. More significantly, these performance gains were attained without new features and functions, meaning that users do not have to learn new techniques, settings, or functionality to take advantage of the power of Solidworks 2009.

In addition to raw out-of-the-box performance, Solidworks 2009 introduces Speedpak, a new approach to handling large assemblies that reduces the amount of computer memory needed while maintaining full graphic detail and associativity. As a result, users can build and work with large assemblies and drawings with high performance and memory efficiency.

Performance improvements reflect just a few of more than 260 enhancements in Solidworks 2009, nearly all of which directly satisfy customer requests submitted in surveys, user groups, customer visits, formal voice-of-the-customer analysis, and prospect/user studies. The product is the result of thousands of interviews, countless hours of customer research, usability testing, and the most thorough vetting by beta customers to date. The many improvements help product development organisations improve business performance, satisfy customers, design elegant products, and develop new users into power users.

And though speed improves productivity, product quality is also important. With improved workflow and verification capabilities, Solidworks 2009 also helps designers and engineers develop better, higher-quality products. For example, Solidworks 2009 includes a new Simulation Advisor that helps users analyse designs for hidden flaws, guiding them through every stage of a simulation.

Building on the integration of Solidworks and Solidworks Simulation software, new Simulation Sensors alert users when parts and assemblies deviate from user-defined limits. At any point in the design process, users can set goals such as permitted stress, displacement, part weight, measurement, interference, or simulation data. It is claimed that no other CAD software possesses this level of 'set it and forget it' alerting capability.

Solidworks 2009 also adds a new quality capability, Assembly Clearance Verification, that lets designers and engineers specify keep-out areas around parts because of operating requirements - such as heat or electromagnetics.

Solidworks 2009 also incorporates Circuitworks software, which enables designers and engineers to integrate electronic and mechanical designs.

Understanding that 2D is still vital in a 3D world, Solidworks 2009 includes numerous drawing enhancements that directly benefit those many users whose final output is a manufacturing drawing. A new Title Block Wizard, for example, automates the creation, editing, and standardisation of title block information. The Solidworks 2009 Dimension Jog capability enables users to make drawing details clearer and easier to interpret.

Solidworks 2009 also simplifies plastics design. For example, users no longer have to resort to advanced modelling commands to create the lips and grooves used in snapping together moulded parts. A new Lip and Groove command handles this automatically, saving multiple steps for every designer and shortening the learning curve.

Finally, for the third consecutive year, Solidworks 2009 introduces a product based on Solidworks Intelligent Feature Technology (SWIFT), which helps novice CAD users achieve expert results. A new simple-to-use progressive rendering tool called Photoview 360 lets users render a scene photo realistically while allowing the user to continue working on the same scene - unlike software that forces users to wait until scenes are complete.

Solidworks 2009 Premium

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