The SOLIDWORKS Modeler allows Altium users to create a SolidWorks assembly of a printed circuit board (PCB) directly from the Altium application. This enables designers to check for problems such as misalignment of mounting holes or mechanical interference. It also provides a means of visualizing the PCB assembly. The product that your printed circuit board is part of can be "virtually assembled" in SolidWorks, eliminating the need for prototyping. The product enables the detection of design errors very early in the design process thus reducing the cost of error correction. The SolidWorks Modeler is a COM Automation client created using the SolidWorks API. It launches SolidWorks from Altium and builds up the PCB assembly by calling SolidWorks commands from inside Altium. As the program runs, it checks the SolidWorks parts library for parts matching footprints. If there is no part in the library, it automatically creates a SolidWorks part from geometry in the Altium component. The product is fully bi-directional and also allows you to model PCB features such as traces and silk screen in the SolidWorks assembly.
