Mr. Burk, how has the integration of manufacturing been implemented in the new Solidworks version?

Burk: Solidworks 2018 from Dassault Systèmes offers, among other things, an integrated CAM solution with an associative link to the mechanical design. This solution demonstrates the possibilities that arise from the direct linking of design and production - and is also exemplary for future solutions from the many Solidworks CAM partners. The corresponding programming interfaces are freely available to all partners.

With the Electrical and PCB products, Solidworks 2018 also offers electrical engineering solutions that are fully integrated into the Solidworks environment. This integration provides an optimized path for electrical engineering data all the way to production. Mechanical information such as the position of motors and display elements can be taken into account at an early stage when designing cables and their lengths. Using direct interfaces, data can be exchanged between the individual modules in real time. This increases the efficiency of heterogeneous teams in the development process and improves communication and collaboration.

Why is production integration so important?

Burk: New products have to be developed and launched on the market in ever shorter timeframes with ever increasing requirements in terms of weight, size and functionality. Today's products can only be developed and manufactured through the efficient interaction of the individual disciplines in the development and design process.

If production-relevant information can be transferred quickly and accurately to production, additional costs for prototypes and redesigns can be avoided. The aim must be to manufacture new products without errors right from the first shot in order to get to market faster.

What other new tools play an important role in the new version?

Burk: In addition to the solutions already mentioned, Solidworks 2018 offers the option of verifying and analyzing mechanical and electrical components with 'Flow Simulation'. This means that mechanical components can be optimized during the development phase, for example in terms of weight, size, rigidity and load, without the need for a prototype. In the field of electrical engineering, assemblies can be examined for possible hotspots or accurately designed for cooling or heating. The information available at the time of simulation is crucial for a realistic simulation. Thanks to the seamless integration of the individual tools in Solidworks 2018, the mechanical design, the housing, the electrotechnical information, the cable harnesses, as well as the electrical information, the PCB, can be accessed and used directly. This provides a development environment with which a holistic product analysis can be carried out. Collisions when assembling the prototype, for example if the PCB does not fit into the housing, connectors and front elements are placed in the wrong position or the cable harness is defined too long or too short, are now a thing of the past.