TL;DR
SOLIDWORKS PDM 2025 introduces a series of user-driven enhancements aimed at making design, collaboration, and performance better than ever. With improvements to part modeling, assemblies, drawings, and data management, this latest release streamlines workflows and boosts productivity for engineers and designers.
New features such as Selection Accelerators for Chamfers, faster interference detection, enhanced 3D dimensioning, and more powerful rendering capabilities improve usability, efficiency, and precision. SOLIDWORKS 2025 also enhances ECAD-MCAD collaboration, electrical and pipe routing, UX/UI refinements, and cloud-based workflows, ensuring a seamless experience across devices and teams.
Introduction
SOLIDWORKS has remained the industry-standard 3D CAD solution, helping designers and engineers create innovative, manufacturable products. Each year, new enhancements are driven by real user feedback, making the software more powerful, intuitive, and flexible.
With SOLIDWORKS 2025, improvements span design and modeling, assemblies, drawings, collaboration, UX, and simulation. This update introduces workflow accelerators, improved performance, and intelligent automation, ensuring users can design faster and more efficiently than ever before.
Let’s explore the top improvements in SOLIDWORKS 2025 and how—thanks to users like you—they help everyone work smarter.
Design and Modeling Enhancements: Faster, Smarter Part Creation
SOLIDWORKS 2025 improves part modeling efficiency with tools that accelerate selections, automate repetitive tasks, and enhance flexibility when designing complex components.
What’s New
- New Selection Accelerator for Chamfers – Quickly select inner or outer edges with a streamlined selection toolbar.
- Delete Items Below the Rollback Bar – Remove unnecessary features without rolling the bar forward, saving clicks.
- Sheet Metal Bend Notch – Automatically create customizable bend notches for better manufacturability.
- Variable Fillet Chain – Achieve smoother edge blending with the Continuous Edge Blend option.
- Pattern Reference Geometry – Pattern planes, axes, and reference geometry to simplify skeleton modeling.
Why It Matters
These enhancements reduce manual effort, improve efficiency, and provide greater control over complex part geometry. The new selection tools and streamlined feature management mean fewer clicks—and faster part creation.
Assembly Design: Faster Component Placement and Interference Detection
Assembly design is now quicker and more intuitive, with enhancements that preserve mates, improve interference checks, and accelerate large assembly workflows.
What’s New
- Copy Assembly Components with Mates – Duplicate assembly components while preserving advanced and mechanical mates.
- Interference Checking for Surface Bodies – Detect interferences between surfaces and solids, even for imported geometry.
- Seamless Transition Between LDR and Edit Part – Instantly edit parts in Large Design Review (LDR) mode.
- Interference Detection in LDR Mode – Check manufacturability in LDR mode for massive assemblies.
Why It Matters
These features speed up assembly creation, ensure interference-free designs, and enhance collaboration in large-scale projects. The ability to preserve mates when copying reduces errors, while LDR improvements ensure smoother performance in complex assemblies.
Drawing & Detailing: Smarter Documentation Workflows
Creating detailed, accurate drawings is now faster and more flexible with new features that improve standardization and automate documentation tasks.
What’s New
- Multi-Approval Stamps – Enforce company rules by applying multi-approval stamps to drawings.
- BOM Quantity Override for Cut Lists – Customize how quantities appear in BOM tables.
- Surface Finish Symbols – Ensure ISO 21920 compliance when adding surface finish callouts.
- DimXpert Enhancements – Generate 3D model dimensions directly from sketches and support automatic draft dimensions.
Why It Matters
These updates reduce manual adjustments, enforce company-wide drawing standards, and automate dimensioning, helping teams document designs faster and more accurately.
ECAD-MCAD Collaboration: Better PCB Integration
Collaboration between electrical and mechanical engineers is now smoother, thanks to new ECAD-MCAD enhancements.
What’s New
- CircuitWorks Available for All SOLIDWORKS Roles – Now accessible in all 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS tiers.
- Support for Board Outline & Cutout Modifications – Modify PCB outlines from either ECAD or MCAD environments.
- Copper Trace Support – Import copper traces and vias directly into SOLIDWORKS for more accurate PCB modeling.
Why It Matters
These updates enhance PCB collaboration, ensure accurate data exchange, and reduce the risk of design inconsistencies between ECAD and MCAD teams.
Rendering & Import/Export: Improved Visualization & File Compatibility
What’s New
- Photorealistic Rendering via SOLIDWORKS API – Automate rendering workflows using SOLIDWORKS Visualize.
- Fast Mode Rendering with DSPBR Engine – Experience real-time interactive ray tracing with Vulkan API.
- Export Drawing Views as Blocks – Ensure faster downstream editing in DXF/DWG applications.
- glTF Export with DSPBR Support – Generate high-quality 3D assets for cross-platform visualization.
Why It Matters
From automating high-quality renders to improving data exchange between CAD platforms, these improvements help users produce better visuals and manage designs more efficiently.
Performance & UX/UI: Faster, More Intuitive Workflows
SOLIDWORKS 2025 boosts system performance and streamlines user interaction, making everyday tasks smoother and more efficient.
What’s New
- Rapid Part Simplification – Simplify parts using the Silhouette Defeature method.
- SpeedPak Configurations at the Assembly Level – Create SpeedPak configurations without modifying subassemblies.
- AI Command Prediction (Beta) – SOLIDWORKS predicts your next command to accelerate design.
- Breadcrumb Selection in LDR Mode – Speed up assembly editing with smarter selections.
Why It Matters
These updates enhance productivity by reducing clicks, simplifying large assembly handling, and introducing AI-powered workflow improvements.
Why Choose SOLIDWORKS 2025?
SOLIDWORKS 2025 isn’t just about new features—it’s about improving the way engineers and designers work.
- Design Faster – Enhanced selection tools and feature automation reduce repetitive tasks.
- Build Better Assemblies – Copy components with mates, detect interferences, and edit faster in LDR mode.
- Improve Drawing Efficiency – Automate dimensioning, ensure BOM accuracy, and maintain compliance.
- Enhance Collaboration – Seamlessly integrate ECAD-MCAD workflows for better PCB design.
- Leverage the Power of Cloud – Work from anywhere with cloud services and browser-based CAD tools.
Ready to Dive Deeper?
Talk to our experts for a personalized demo on how SOLIDWORKS 2025 can enhance your workflow. See the new features in action! Let our team show you how these updates can improve your design process. Contact Solidxperts today to upgrade or explore your licensing options!
Check out the previous blogs in our What’s New in SOLIDWORKS 2025 series:
