SolidWorks
Desktop software for 3D modeling
SolidWorks (stylized as SOLIDWORKS, officially rebranded as SOLIDWORKS Design in 2026) is a brand of software used for solid modeling computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided engineering (CAE). It was one of the first 3D CAD applications designed to run on a desktop PC.
The brand is owned by French software company Dassault Systèmes.
01Company overview
Manish Kumar is CEO of SolidWorks, as of 2025.
SolidWorks, originally a privately held company, was acquired by Dassault Systèmes in 1997 through a stock transaction valued at $300 million. Prior to the acquisition, it was named Solidworks Corporation.
As of 2024, SolidWorks had an estimated 7.5 million users.
02History
SolidWorks Corporation was established in December 1993 by MIT graduate Jon Hirschtick. During this time, computer-aided design software was only compatible with UNIX systems. Hirschtick aimed to create a software that was easy to use and affordable and so created SolidWorks for Microsoft Windows.
SolidWorks was originally based in Concord, Massachusetts with Hirschtick as its first chief executive officer. Its first product, SolidWorks 95, was released in November 1995 after two years of development. The next year, John McEleney succeeded Hirschtick as CEO. In 1997, Dassault Systèmes acquired SolidWorks for $316 million.
Under McEleney, SolidWorks increased its number of customers to over 40,000 and had a market valuation of $1.5 billion. After 12 years as CEO, McEleney stepped down and was succeeded by Jeff Ray.
In 2011, Dassault Systèmes purchased a new office in Waltham, Massachusetts, where SolidWorks became headquartered.
By 2013, SolidWorks was used by 62 percent of engineering professionals.
Gian Paolo Bassi was named CEO in 2015. During his tenure, he was credited with modernizing SolidWorks by adding cloud features, utilizing databases in the software over files, and pushing for environmental initiatives. Bassi stepped down in 2022 and was succeeded by Manish Kumar, SolidWork's vice president of research and development.
03Modeling technology
SolidWorks is a solid modeler, and uses a parametric feature-based approach which was initially developed by PTC (Creo/Pro-Engineer) to create 3D CAD models and assemblies. The software uses the Parasolid modeling kernel.
SolidWorks software includes tools for analyses and simulations, such as Finite Element Analysis, which supports modeling, design, and collaborative work.
SolidWorks offers multiple work tools to be used when building system assemblies such as the interference detection tool. This enables the detection of potential interfering parts which could cause issues in the assembly system.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “SolidWorks”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Swstapler00.jpg by Unknown author, PD
- Sw03.jpg by Unknown author, Cc-by-sa-3.0
- SolidWorks 2023 3D Assembly.png by Dassault Systèmes, Fair use
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