Mold, Tool & Die
Today’s mold, tool & die customers demand precision and durability from your products. They also demand shorter lead times and reduced pricing.
SolidWorks® software provides the full range of integrated modeling, simulation, visualization, and communication tools that mold, tool, & die manufacturers need to design better products faster – and at lower cost.
Click on the links below to see how SolidWorks can help you meet your challenges at every stage of Mold, Tool & Die design.
- Win new business
- Produce precise design iterations in less time
- Quickly and accurately revise your designs
- Design with standard components
- Ensure your designs are manufacturable
- Publish complete, accurate documentation
Win new business
SolidWorks software gives you a competitive edge when it comes to answering requests for proposals (RFPs). Using tools like SolidWorks product data management software and SolidWorks Search, you can quickly locate existing designs that prove your experience and competence to prospects – and quote projects faster. SolidWorks also offers:
- Conceptual 2D and 3D assembly layout tools such as Instant 3D, which enables you to “rough out” new design ideas.
- Automated bill of material (BOM) generation. Provide more accurate costs in your customer quotes
- Easy import and repair of a broad range of data formats, including IGES, STEP, Parasolid®, ACIS®, and others.
- SolidWorks eDrawings® files, DWGviewer, and 3D Instant Website. Securely and effectively communicate your ideas in 3D to any firm, regardless of their CAD platform.
- PhotoWorks™ and SolidWorks animation capabilities to clearly demonstrate how your products will look and perform.
Produce precise design iterations in less time
More than ever, your teams need to quickly turn around precision designs. Thanks to SWIFT™ (SolidWorks Intelligent Feature Technology) and our Heads-up Interface, they can deliver innovative, accurate 3D cavity and MoldBase models with fewer picks and clicks. The SolidWorks learning curve is short, so beginners can design with expert-level skill. SolidWorks also offers:
- Advanced surfacing tools, including sweep/loft, for creating complex ergonomic shapes and surfaces. Create complex ergonomic shapes and surfaces by simply pushing and pulling on control points.
- Specialized functionality for mold design, including cavity and MoldBase design, shrinkage, parting surfaces, parting line, and splitting.
- Design checks: draft check, undercut check, geometry check, and thickness check.
- DimXpert. Reduce drawing time with automated drawing views, dimensioning, and tolerancing.
- Interference checking in 3D before assembly.
- Hole alignment checking to ensure assembly fit.
- Assembly animation for animated mold opening and assembly sequences.
- Fully integrated Finite Element Analysis (FEA) software. Eliminate mechanism and structural design failure with stress, thermal, kinematics, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and weldment analysis, as well as part analysis and optimization.
Quickly and accurately revise your designs
Even the smallest change can have significant downstream effects. When revisions come in, SolidWorks quickly handles them with fully associative top-down and bottom-up design techniques. Make a change – and SolidWorks applies it precisely across your entire model. SolidWorks also offers:
- SolidWorks Workgroup PDM and SolidWorks Enterprise PDM solutions. Securely manage design versions, track changes, prevent overwrites, and reduce errors.
- SolidWorks eDrawings® self-contained viewing tool, which allows users to mark up and comment on drawings and models.
Design with standard components
By logging in to 3DContentCentral.com, you can access a vendor’s latest parts, including functionality and performance specification data. You’ll also find component costs for use in your estimates. SolidWorks also offers:
- SolidWorks Toolbox, an extensive, shared library of standard fasteners and other parts.
- Smart Fasteners Technology and Smart Components for automated assembly of often-used hardware and components.
Ensure your designs are manufacturable
Can your design be manufactured once it gets to the production floor? You can get the answer – and save significant costs – with DFMXpress, which will test your design for machinability. SolidWorks also offers:
- TolAnalyst integrated tolerance stack-up analysis
- Solution Partners for Mold Design. Single-button integration of automated, 3D MoldBase, and electrode design tools.
- Certified CAM Partners, seamlessly integrated with SolidWorks to automatically generate NC code from your files.
- SupplierSource.com. Quickly identify compatible service providers using native SolidWorks.
Publish complete, accurate documentation
When your products are ready for production and release, SolidWorks provides integrated BOM generation capabilities, enabling you to drive on-time component delivery and meet production deliverables. SolidWorks also offers:
- Design Checker. Ensure that your team’s drawings comply fully with your company’s standards.
- 3DVIA Composer. Create accurate, detailed assembly procedures, technical manuals, and consumer instructions.
