SOLIDWORKS 2027 delivers focused improvements across parts, weldments, and sheet metal, plus better ways to work with external and legacy data. Here’s what changed, where to find it, and when each tool earns its place in your workflow.
The best-equipped engineering labs rarely happen by accident. Labs running SOLIDWORKS, Stratasys or Formlabs 3D printers, or WAZER waterjets are the result of an educator who started planning months before capital was released. Q4 is when next year’s district budgets take shape, current-year funds must be committed, and major grant windows open. If you want commercial-grade design and prototyping tools in your lab for Fall 2027, the groundwork starts now.
With any part in SOLIDWORKS, there are often several potential strategies and starting points to create the same end product. For sheet metal parts specifically, there are two primary approaches depending on the features involved: 1) design primarily with the end result in mind; 2) design with the starting materials in mind (as though manufacturing the physical product on your computer screen). In general, Edge Flange features favor the first approach, while Sketched Bends favor the second. This article discusses both modelling approaches and when to choose each.
Anyone who has machined titanium knows the pattern. The program is proven, the feeds are conservative, and the tool still gives out well before the plan said it would. Often the problem is not the insert grade, but that the heat has nowhere to go.
This article examines mass properties in SOLIDWORKS sheet metal parts and discusses why they may differ between folded and flattened configurations.
This article explains how to create a 3D SOLIDWORKS model from a picture of a part. Users can take a photo of an existing object with their phone, create a 2D sketch of that object, and turn it into a 3D model that can then be modified and manufactured. This involves using the Sketch Picture tool and splines.
Ohio’s TechCred Program provides businesses the chance to increase their current and future employees’ SOLIDWORKS skills with available funding. Businesses who submit successful applications will be reimbursed, up to $1000 per credential, when current or prospective employees complete technology-focused credentials, such as GoEngineer’s SOLIDWORKS Training offerings.
For decades, the machine shop has been the heartbeat of the manufacturing floor. When a new line starts or a part design changes, the first call is to the CNC department to mill out a set of 6061-T6 aluminum jigs and fixtures. It’s a tried-and-true process, but these days, tried-and-true is quickly becoming slow and expensive.
While low-cost, entry-level desktop or handheld 3D scanners introduce basic scanning concepts, they often leave students with noisy, uncalibrated surface meshes rather than actionable measurement data. To bridge the gap between classroom theory and modern manufacturing practices, engineering labs must adopt true metrology-grade 3D scanning workflows.