SOLIDWORKS Simulation Product Matrix

Test your product while you design it. The easy-to-use 3D virtual simulation capabilities are fully embedded in SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD, eliminating tedious, time-consuming tasks.

Optimize your design/simulation process as any design change is automatically updated in SOLIDWORKS Simulation

Manage multiple “what-if?” design ideas in the same file, analyze each design separately and then easily compare results.

Solve part and assembly structural analysis problems for stress, strain, displacements and Factors of Safety (FOS). Problems are limited to static loading, elastic linear materials and small contact displacements.

Carry out fatigue analysis and predict component fatigue failures during the design phase. You can then adjust your design or define a preventive maintenance schedule to reduce warranty costs and maximize product life.

Simulate moving or dynamic systems to get outputs to size your design. Some of the outputs available include displacements, reaction forces, accelerations and motor power.

Use an event-based rigid body kinematic and dynamic motion tool to calculate the velocities, accelerations and movements of an assembly under operational loads where actions and movements are triggered by the location or movement of components.

Investigate what-if scenarios based on defined variables (dimensions, mass properties, simulation data).

Use the many pre-defined material properties or define default and custom materials yourself before running a simulation study.

Model solid, shell, and beam elements using h- and p-adaptive element types with mesh control and failure diagnostics.

Specify local mesh control at vertices, edges, faces, components and beams for a more accurate representation of the geometry.

Use the mesh failure diagnostics tool to locate and resolve meshing problems. The Mesh Failure Diagnostic tool renders failed parts in shaded display mode in the graphics area.

Create and use your own custom material libraries to ensure your virtual test reflects its real world, physical counter part.

Evaluate the effects of various load combinations on your model with fixtures to prescribe zero or non-zero displacements, plus force, pressure and remote structural loads, temperature loading and the ability to import flow/thermal loads.

Simulate entities as if they were welded with bonded contact conditions.

Use node-to-node, surface-to-surface conditions to prevent entities interference, but allow gaps to form

Use Shrink Fit to simulate Shrink Fit between two bodies.

Use Virtual Wall to define contact between an entity and a virtual wall.

Simulate the behavior of bolts, springs and welds between the parts of the assembly without having to create the detailed geometry. Use a connector mechanism that defines how an entity is connected to another entity or to the ground, such as a bolt, spring, pin, edge and spot weld and bearing.

Validate if connections will sustain the applied loads or if these connectors need resizing.

Use self-contact conditions for contact between faces of a body or part in large deflection analysis.

Simulate the behavior of welded components with the edge and spot weld connector.

Investigate your design performance and isolate critical areas by viewing iso-surfaces, surface and section result plots.

Use the probe tool to display the numerical value of the plotted field at the closest node or element's center to the selected model location. You can graph the results or save them to a file.

Visualize results on the full geometry for symmetrical models, instead of only a section of the model, giving you better insight on the model behavior.

Differentiate stress singularities from legitimate stress concentrations with the stress hot spot diagnostics tool.

Compare FEA results to test data.

Animate the response of your assembly under loads to visualize deformations, vibration modes, contact behavior, optimization alternatives and flow trajectories.

Detect trends quickly in different iterations of a static study by using Trend Tracker to compare a baseline analysis to subsequent iterations. Save time with the rollback function that allows you to restore the model to a specific iteration.

Create and publish customized reports to provide technical and business insights for product development decisions.

Communicate your simulation results and collaborate easily with non-SOLIDWORKS users via eDrawings, a shareable 3D file format.

Access traceable, purpose-specific material properties data for more advanced material models including fatigue curves, hyperelastic properties of rubber and viscoelastic data on plastics.

Analyze symmetrical and unsymmetrical composite layups, as well as composite sandwiches. Each layer can be defined by a unique set of material properties and orientation, giving the designer maximum control to find the optimum layup and material for maximum product performance.

Solve steady-state and transient part and assembly thermal problems for temperature, temperature gradient and heat flux. With the Thermal Analysis completed, you can import temperature loads into a Static Study.

Analyze the natural frequencies and mode shape of parts and assemblies of any geometry.

Investigate the buckling strength of a design with and without environmental loads. Calculate the buckling load factor, a scale factor similar in nature to the stress factor of safety (FoS).

Analyze the structural behavior of parts and assemblies under loading to determine linearized stress, a key for safe pressure design.

Perform structural topology studies during design to cut out costly prototypes, discover new minimal material design alternatives and reduce material costs.

Build on the frequency study to calculate the stresses due to forcing vibrations and calculate the effects of dynamic loads, and impact or shock loading for linear elastic materials.

Study structures that are subject to dynamically changing sinusoidal loads. Predict displacements, accelerations, strains and stresses on an assembly that is shaking continuously – for instance brackets attached to a rotating engine or motor.

Calculate the response due to non-deterministic loads with a random vibration study. Examples of non-deterministic loads include loads generated on a wheel of a car traveling on a rough road, base accelerations generated by earthquakes, pressure generated by air turbulence and pressure from sea waves or strong wind.

Use a response spectrum analysis to estimate the response of structures to random or time-dependent loading environments such as earthquakes, wind loads, ocean wave loads jet engine thrust or rocket motor vibrations.

Analyze complex material behavior, such as post-yield metals, rubbers and plastics, as well as account for large deflections and sliding contact-in components. Non-Linear Dynamic Study accounts for the effect of real-time varying loads that are included in calculations and results. In addition to solving non-linear static problems, Non-Linear Dynamic Studies can also solve impact problems.

Apply loads gradually and uniformly in individual steps to account for stiffness changes during loading.

Study nonlinear buckling and snap-through events.

Use nonlinear stress analysis to determine the response of parts and assemblies to the effect of contact between components.

Perform analysis of models made of rubber material.

Conduct an elasto-plastic analysis to study plastic deformation and the onset of yield.

Run a simulation study offloaded on a different computer connected to your local network.