SolidWorks

SOLIDWORKS
DeveloperDassault Systèmes
ReleaseNovember 1, 1995; 30 years ago (1995-11-01)
Stable release
SolidWorks 2026 / November 14, 2025
Operating systemMicrosoft Windows
Available inChinese, Chinese Simplified, Czech, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish
TypeCAD CAE PDM PLM
LicenseProprietary, term
Websitesolidworks.com

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.

Company 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.

History

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.

Korea

Dassault Systèmes Korea previously maintained territorial exclusivity for its dealers, but it was discontinued after regulatory sanctions. Following the discontinuation of territorial exclusivity, eight SolidWorks dealers NodeData, Maven, Solco, Webs System Korea, Wivermansi, K&Solution, Hanyoung Solutec, and Prism conspired and colluded on customer allocation and pricing causing SolidWorks pricing to increase by over 50% from August 2021 to July 2024. These companies have set a price floor on SolidWorks and restricted dealers from soliciting other dealers existing customers.

Modeling technology

Screenshot captured from a SolidWorks top-down design approach
Screenshot captured from a SolidWorks top-down design approach

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.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The future of Solidworks". September 27, 2011. Archived from the original on April 12, 2017. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
  2. 1 2 "SOLIDWORKS Support". SOLIDWORKS. SOLIDWORKS. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  3. ↑ Grabowski, Ralph (June 19, 2025). "30 Years Of Solidworks - Design Engineering". Design Engineering. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  4. ↑ "Dassault Systemes Is Acquiring SolidWorks". The New York Times. June 25, 1997. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on September 5, 2023. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  5. ↑ Petrock, Stephen (June 15, 2023). "The Guide to Passing the SOLIDWORKS CSWP". Engineering.com. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
  6. 1 2 Petrock, Stephen (September 22, 2023). "An Introduction to SOLIDWORKS". Engineering.com. WTWH Media LLC. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  7. 1 2 3 Tara, Roopinder (February 9, 2022). "Dassault Systèmes Replaces CEO of SOLIDWORKS. What Does This Mean for the Future of SOLIDWORKS?". Engineering.com. Retrieved August 26, 2025.
  8. ↑ Kirsner, Scott (March 6, 2015). "Can 50-somethings rekindle that old startup magic? - The Boston Globe". Boston Globe. Retrieved August 28, 2025. SolidWorks users could simply click and drag elements of a widget to move them around. When the software debuted in 1995, a trade publication called it "possibly the best ever" first release of a CAD product. Two years later, SolidWorks was bought by Dassault Systemes for $316 million.
  9. ↑ "Belmont Technology Draws In $25M for CAD Software Led By NEA - WSJ". Wall Street Journal. April 6, 2013. Retrieved August 27, 2025. Under Mr. McEleney, SolidWorks grew to more than 40,000 global customers, $350 million in revenue and a market valuation of $1.5 billion.
  10. ↑ Farrell, Michael (December 8, 2011). "Dassault Systèmes opens Waltham campus - The Boston Globe". Boston Globe. Retrieved August 28, 2025. The French product design software company Dassault Systèmes will open its new North American headquarters in Waltham today, bringing 850 employees from Lowell and Concord to a sleek new 27-acre campus on the edge of Route 128.
  11. ↑ Jungreis, Max. "The week ahead in business". Boston Globe. No. 18 August 2019. Retrieved August 28, 2025. Dassault Systemes/Solidworks, 185 Wyman St., Waltham.
  12. ↑ Kirsner, Scott (March 6, 2015). "Can 50-somethings rekindle that old startup magic? - The Boston Globe". Boston Globe. Retrieved August 28, 2025. Today, SolidWorks is used by about 62 percent of engineering professionals, according to a 2013 survey by the site CNC Cookbook
  13. ↑ Finance, BigGo (July 9, 2026). "Eight SolidWorks Dealers in South Korea Colluded on Prices for Three Years; Flagship Product Price Surged 53%". BigGo Finance. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Stepping outside of the parametric feature-based paradigm in SolidWorks". April 30, 2007. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  15. ↑ Alba, Michael (July 14, 2020). "Sports Cars and Chin-Up Bars: Accelerating Designs with SOLIDWORKS Simulation". Engineering.com. WTWH Media LLC. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  16. ↑ Patil, Rajesh V. (2025). "Performance Assessment of Sagacious E-Powertrain Tiller for Smart Farming". Retrieved November 6, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)