DriveWorks continues to be an essential time-saving tool that provides design automation when you are producing similar, yet different designs repeatedly. It’s included in every SOLIDWORKS seat (so if you have SOLIDWORKS you also have this product) and integrates with all your SOLIDWORKS projects so you can work with the data you already have stored. In this article, we’ll review how to set up DriveWorksXpress and showcase the top five features you may not be aware of that will save you even more time.

DriveWorksXpress

DriveWorksXpress is a rule-based product design automation software that allows companies to capture and control existing designs, associated drawings and control parameters utilizing your own custom designed input form. This tool is very useful for designers and engineers that typically create custom products and can meet specific customer needs.

To access DriveWorksXpress in SOLIDWORKS go to Tools > Xpress Products > DriveWorksXpress (Pro Tip: pin this tab open while you work).

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Be specific about where you want your database to be located. Then, select what file you want and if you do have it open, it will simply allow you to select ‘current model’ instead of browsing. The third step will be selecting which dimensions and features you’d like DriveWorks to access. Watch our Video Tech Tip below for a step-by-step demonstration.

>> Watch our Video Tech Tip, Getting Started With DriveWorksXpress

The Top Five Features in DriveWorksXpress

Now that DriveWorksXpress is activated, you can start automating your own designs and taking advantage of these five key features:

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1) Design Easy to Use Input Forms that Limit Inputs

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2) Automatically control dimensions, features, custom properties and switch configurations

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3) Automatically generate all parts and models

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4) Generate product drawings with the press of a button

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5) Reduce your repetitive engineering tasks from days to minutes! Yes, really!

And what’s more, DriveWorks is completely scalable! Once you discover the power of DriveWorksXpress, you can quickly and easily scale up your projects to take them to the next level with DriveWorks Solo or DriveWorks Pro.

>> Improve Your SOLIDWORKS Skills with the DriveWorksXpress Certification

These features can aide in decreasing repetitive tasks and save you time while designing. Learn more about DriveWorks automation with our On-Demand Webinar: 
Create “Same but Different” Designs with DriveWorks.