What’s New in SOLIDWORKS 2020 – Highlights

We had a couple of our Application Engineers sit down and watch all of the day’s launch announcements and provide a recap of what was said and what they think the main take-aways to look forward to were. See their conversation in the video below. 

If you missed the live sessions from SOLIDWORKS, you can watch the recordings for each of the three main parts below: 

• Part 1: Improved Performance
• Part 2: Streamlined Workflows
• Part 3: Connected Design to Manufacturing Ecosystem

What’s New in SOLIDWORKS 2020 – New Feature Videos

One of the best resources available to you is the What’s New section on the SOLIDWORKS website. Here you can find all of the new features that will be available in the 2020 update. We put the full list of the over 40 highlighted features at the bottom of this post so you can jump straight to the ones you’re interested in. They also created a YouTube playlist so you can stream the entire “What’s New” video library. 

SOLIDWORKS “Top 10 New Features” Infographics

This year SOLIDWORKS has provided a downloadable infographic of their top-ranked new features in SOLIDWORKS 2020 for five of their most popular products. Each list contains photos, descriptions and benefits to guide you through the key updates. 

>> Click to download all of the “Top 10 New Features in SOLIDWORKS 2020” lists

Guide for Getting Ready for SOLIDWORKS 2020

To make sure you’re ready for the big upgrade we prepared you a quick guide. Once you read through this simple step-by-step manual, you will be able to analyze user trends, evaluate your licensing options, prepare for the SOLIDWORKS 2020 upgrade requirements and access launch resources or training.

>> Click to download “Complete Guide for Getting SOLIDWORKS Users Ready for 2020”

TriMech 20 for 20 

Join us this October for our first month-long digital engineering summit with 20 days of education and discussion with over 40 webinar sessions. These will include the new SOLIDWORKS 2020 features and the latest innovations in 3D technology. Learn more about the  update and ask questions as we break down these new features into what matters most for your industry and application. Ensure that your time designing is as efficient as possible by utilizing these new features like a pro!

What’s New in SOLIDWORKS 2020 – Key Feature List

• SIMULATION Evaluator – A new tool that provides users a single location to verify and update or re-attach simulation results, check simulation study setup, verify materials and mesh.
• Project Management Enhancements – With the 2020 release, you can import projects as XML from tools like Microsoft Project. You can now visualize your project in popular formats like Load Charts, PERT Charts and Network Diagrams.
• Task Templates – You can now create task templates to predefine the subject, priority, time allocated, assignee, task details and notes of your repeatable activities. Use task templates to quickly create and assign your next task.

• Process Management Enhancements – Related records can all be added at once even if they are stored in different objects like libraries, bill of materials, PDM and more. Special objects like risks, project issues and product requirements can also be added to a process so that their disposition can be automated. 

• Outlook and PDM Integration – Emails can now be saved directly in SOLIDWORKS Manage so that they can be referenced in the future without searching.
• Dashboard Viewer and Plenary Web Client – The new dedicated Dashboard Viewer can run on community monitors to display relevant information so that everyone is current with your company activities and performance. The Plenary Web Client now has the Home and Projects modules in addition to expanded capabilities with SOLIDWORKS PDM so you can do more work remotely or on the go using your internet browser.
• Distributed Coupling – This option provides more accurate stress distribution through the connector, eliminating stress concentrations at bolt and nut heads.  
• Mass Properties – This new feature addition includes mass properties for wires, cables, coverings and partial coverings. 
• Envelope Publisher – This feature makes top-down design simple. Envelopes are no longer limited to components within the same assembly.  
• Assembly Patterns – Pattern Driven Component Patterns are more intelligent, Linear and Circular Patterns are more versatile and Mirror Components are more robust.
• Geometry Based Conditions – SOLIDWORKS Plastics 2020 streamlines and simplifies the process in setting up your plastic injection mold simulations by allowing you to reference the 3D geometry without the need for meshing.
• 3D Interconnect – This feature allows you to reference neutral and native CAD files directly from other CAD applications. 
• Performance – You no longer have to wait for file contents and their details to load to browse to a subfolder. PDM tabs load data in the background as well. Overall system efficiency is improved. 
• Workflows – SOLIDWORKS PDM 2020 introduces Child Reference Sate Conditions for Workflows which helps automate your processes to ensure the correct data gets released.
• Search – Quick Search and fields in traditional search cards now support multiple variables to help simplify your search experience.
• Drawings – Learn how to rapidly change sheet scale, a new Chain dimension and Alternate Position Views for parts.
• User Rights – In addition to the five baseline profiles, now it is possible to create custom profiles where each piece of functionality can be enabled individually.
• Free Body Forces in NL Studies – SOLIDWORKS SIMULATION 2020 adds the ability to calculate free body forces at every time step for both non-linear static and dynamic studies.
• Leader Lines – SOLIDWORKS Electrical 2020 introduces leader lines for text and balloons.
• CAM Probing – Probing is now included in SOLIDWORKS CAM Professional saving time in your toolpath generation setup versus manually adding these operations after post-processing.
• CAM Tab Cutting – Manufacturing operations need to have larger pieces of scrap to remain attached to the finished product. Tab Cutting in SOLIDWORKS CAM 2020 includes these operations.
• Annotation Folders – SOLIDWORKS MBD 2020 helps companies define and organize product and manufacturing data, or PMI, including 3D model data, and publish to Theme-standard file formats. 
• Reports – In SOLIDWORKS Electrical 2020, report customization now includes row height in addition to text height. With a single click, add row numbers to reports with ease.
• Surface Offset – Surface Offset command gives users the option to SEE and REMOVE any surfaces that cannot be offset, building the remaining geometry.
• Detailing Mode – With the new Detailing Mode productivity is enhanced by allowing users to open in seconds, drawings containing large assemblies, lots of sheets, many configurations or resource intensive views. 
• Web2 – Web2 with SOLIDWORKS PDM 2020 introduces expanded functionality for accessing your data from a web browser on your computer, phone or any device with an internet connection. 
• Sketching – Sketching enhancements include improved workflows when using touch-enabled devices, smoother transitions with G3 Continuity and significant improvements to the “Redo” functionality.
• Markup – Markup enhancements include its own toolbar and CommandManager tab, improved hover previews, exporting to PDF, JPEG and TIFF formats, support for 2D Drawings and the ability to create markups with a mouse – no need for a touch screen device. 
• Decimation and Body Compare – Mesh enhancements include the ability to simplify complex mesh data using the new Mesh Decimation tool, creating accurate solid bodies with planes and axis generated using mesh facets, improvements to facet selection with the new Tangency Select tool and visually inspecting the idealized geometry against the original mesh using Body Compare.
• Direct Mesh Editing – Mesh enhancements improve the ability to directly edit BREP Mesh formats like STL by introducing new tools like Fillet, Chamfer, Mutual Trim, Knit Surfaces, Delete Hole, Delete & Fill and more. 
• 3D Printing – Enhancements include a searchable database of 3D Printers with envelope information, generating 2D slice data from high-quality solid geometry rather than a tesellated file and the ability to save this information to the 3MF format.
• SOLIDWORKS Composer 2020 – SOLIDWORKS Composer 2020 can now import all the exploded views and their steps from the SOLIDWORKS CAD model which can be reused for a variety of purposes including animations.
• Flexible Components – Make any part dynamic with the new Make Part Flexible tool. Remap external references of parts with ease without creating additional configurations or part files.
• eDrawings VR – Virtual Reality in eDrawings Professional enables users to explore their designs at a one-to-one scale using a VR headset. It has higher visual quality, including transparency, Full Scene Anti-aliasing and Ambient Occlusion.
• Assembly Mates – The Quick Mates toolbar provides a means to rapidly assemble components directly from the graphics area. This popular tool is extended by adding the Slot and Width mates with their position constraints and Limit Mates.
• Structure System – Structure system provides a flexible method to create welded structures with or without the use of complex 3D Sketches to define all members. 
• Fillet Repair – This feature can automatically repair these missing references for you, saving you time in re-selecting the references or re-creating the feature.

Too many details?

Starting in October we will be hosting 20 days of online education and discussion with over 40 different webinar sessions, including the new SOLIDWORKS 2020 features and the latest innovations in 3D technology. We break up all these new features into manageable categories and, best of all, let you ask questions!