SOLIDWORKS 2026 Routing - What's New

The latest enhancements to Routing for SOLIDWORKS 2026 are here! See what's new, including improved coverings for pipes and tubes, sketch-guided auto route, and the flexibility to automatically rescale drawing views for electrical routes.

Create Custom Coverings

Prior to SOLIDWORKS 2026, modeling custom coverings for pipes and tubes didn’t calculate the overall diameter or show the appearances accurately.

To add a covering to the route segment:

1. Turn on the Routing add-in.
2. Right-click on the route and select Edit Route.
3. Then, right-click on the sketch segment and select Add/Edit Covering > Covering.
   
   
   
   
4. Add any additional route segments requiring coverings.
   
   
   
   
5. Select from the dropdown list of coverings from the library, or select Create custom covering.
   
   
   
   
   • For a custom covering, click Select Material.
6. This will open the SOLIDWORKS Materials Library.
   
   
   
   
7. Select the material required, then click Apply, then Close in the Material dialog, and click on the Apply button in the Covering PropertyManager.
8. Set the covering thickness and add any additional route segments. Click OK.
9. To add another custom material, repeat steps 6 and 7.
10. If you want to change the order of the layers or to delete any, use the up or down arrows in the Covering Layers area.
    
    
    
    
11. Click on the green check mark to complete the covering, then exit the sketch and the subassembly to see the results.
    
    

Save Covering Favorites

To use the applied layers to create a Favorite to be used again:

1. Repeat steps 2 & 3 above.
2. Select the Add to Favorite icon in the Covering PropertyManager.
   
   
   
   
3. Then give the Favorite a name (like "Vermeer”) and click OK.
   
   
   
   
4. Exit the Covering PropertyManager.
5. Repeat Step 1 above, but select a different Route.
6. Select the sketch segments, then select “Vermeer” from the Favorites dropdown and click the Apply button. (This will apply the previously used layer’s material order and thickness to the current route.)
   
   
   
   
7. Click OK and observe the results.
   
   

Use Guidelines in the Auto Route Function to follow 3D Sketches and Drive the Route

Once the Electrical route has been created, all the components have been added, and a From-To list has been added. A 3D sketch can be created at the top assembly level.

1. Edit the route and select Auto Route. Turn off the orthogonal route in the first option.
   
   
   
   
2. Select Guidelines, Follow Routing Path, click on the 3D sketch, and select Convert guidelines to routes.
   
   
   
   
3. Select the guidelines and click OK.
   
   
   
   
4. Exit the route sketch and the route subassembly, hide the sketches, and observe the result.
   
   

Automatically Scale Tables, Views, and Annotations when Changing Drawing Sheet Size of Flattened Route

When creating flattened drawings of electrical routes, sometimes the default sheet size becomes too crowded with the views, tables, and annotations, and it become necessary to change the sheet format to a larger paper size. In previous versions of SOLIDWORKS, this has been tedious and time-consuming because of the requirement to scale the views, tables, and annotations separately.

In SOLIDWORKS 2026, moving to a larger sheet size is much simpler.

This is currently a D-size sheet, and I would like a bit more room to add additional annotations and give more room for the table, so I will make it into an E-size sheet.

1. Right-click in the drawing and select Properties.
   
   
   
   
2. Use the Sheet Properties to change the Sheet Format/Size to E (ANSI) Landscape and Apply Changes. (You may see a message about notes. Click “yes”.)
   
   
   
   
3. Notice that the sheet has much more space to rearrange/resize the tables without needing to change the drawing view.
   
   

That's a wrap for what's new in SOLIDWORKS Routing 2026. Check out the rest of our SOLIDWORKS 2026 What’s New series for more updates across the SOLIDWORKS platform.

More What's New

SOLIDWORKS Simulation 2026 - What's New

SOLIDWORKS 2026 UI/UX, Performance & Imports - What's New

SOLIDWORKS 2026 Drawings - What's New

SOLIDWORKS 2026 Assemblies - What's New

SOLIDWORKS 2026 Parts and Features - What's New

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