What is SOLIDWORKS Electrical 3D?

SOLIDWORKS Electrical 3D serves as the bridge between the 2D schematic space and the 3D product model. With SOLIDWORKS Electrical 3D, you can automatically interconnect electrical design elements within the 3D model via the bidirectional, real-time data integration between SOLIDWORKS Electrical Schematic Professional and SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD.

The ability to bring 2D electrical designs into the 3D mechanical CAD space brings a wealth of benefits including the ability to determine optimal wire, cable, and harness lengths, and automatically synchronize design and documentation between both electrical and mechanical projects.

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Key Benefits of SOLIDWORKS Electrical 3D

Faster Time to Market

SOLIDWORKS Electrical 3D combines the reduced documentation time, intelligent automation, and cutting edge productivity tools offered in both SOLIDWORKS Electrical Schematic and SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD to bring you a unified end-to-end design process which improves accuracy, saves time, and ultimately accelerates the timeline of bringing a product from design to production.

Easier Collaboration

Collaboration between electrical and mechanical teams has never been easier. With SOLIDWORKS Electrical 3D, users of SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD and SOLIDWORKS Electrical Schematic Professional can now work collaboratively, thus breaking down barriers of communication between teams. Plus, with shared libraries across projects, all teams will be aligned and using the most up-to-date parts and components.

Smoother Design Process

SOLIDWORKS Electrical 3D synchronizes documentation across all electrical and mechanical documents. Since data is updated bidirectionally across electrical and mechanical design projects, you can simplify your workflow, effectively eliminating the need for timely back-and-forth document checks and file updates.

A New Dimension of Design in SOLIDWORKS Electrical 3D

SOLIDWORKS Electrical 3D opens up a new dimension of design through its ability to unite 2D schematic and layout designs with 3D CAD product models, thus improving consistency, saving time, and encouraging collaboration. You can find some of these capabilities detailed below.

Electrical Design in 3D CAD

With SOLIDWORKS Electrical 3D, designers and engineers can seamlessly integrate electrical schematic design data from SOLIDWORKS Electrical within the 3D model of a machine or other product. This real-time, bidirectional tool enables improved collaboration between electrical and mechanical designers and allows for placement or removal of electrical components in the 3D CAD model. The ability to design across both 2D and 3D helps ensure component fit, optimize wire lengths and routing paths, and eliminate the need for excess costly physical prototyping.

Multi-wire Auto-routing

SOLIDWORKS Electrical 3D brings advanced SOLIDWORKS routing technology to your 2D and 3D designs. This automation simplifies the auto-routing process for wires, cables, and harnesses in the 3D CAD model. Auto-routing is able to follow route paths and obey segregation rules like separating high voltage power from sensitive control/data signals, giving you time back in your design process.

Real-time Collaboration

SOLIDWORKS Electrical 3D addresses the needs of multi-user and cross disciplinary projects with a synchronized design environment bridging both electrical and mechanical teams. This synchronization allows for the implementation of schematically-defined electrical systems into a SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD model. Multiple electrical and mechanical engineers can work on the same project simultaneously and in real-time using SOLIDWORKS Electrical 3D’s advanced database technology with its collaborative, multi-user environment.

Design Planning and Visualization

SOLIDWORKS Electrical 3D is equipped to handle a range of design planning cases, including both electrical harness and embedded electrical system design planning. SOLIDWORKS Electrical 3D creates a virtual “design-in-place” electrical system development environment that provides auto-routing of a schematically-defined electrical harness in a SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD model, which simplifies harness development while eliminating errors.

With this virtual harness, SOLIDWORKS Electrical 3D can produce detailed assembly drawings using the built-in drawing tools. These drawing creation tools include capabilities to create flattened manufacturing drawings and form boards (also called nail boards or pin boards) including ballooned assemblies, cut lists, and associated BOM documentation. Regardless of use case, SOLIDWORKS Electrical 3D creates a new technology paradigm, incorporating purpose-built design tools for schematically-driven embedded electrical subsystem development and improved ECAD/MCAD integration.

3D Electrical Cabinet Design

SOLIDWORKS Electrical 3D provides a design environment enhanced for electrical 3D cabinet design via the integration of SOLIDWORKS CAD and SOLIDWORKS Electrical technologies. This cohesive environment is enhanced with SOLIDWORKS automation and is synchronized with an existing 3D CAD design in real-time without the need to import a new electrical connection file/from-to list with each revision.

Integrating the 2D and 3D design elements at this stage of the design process also allows you to precisely layout each component of a harness or cabinet, flatten all components to one cohesive blueprint for fabrication, and provide the fabrication team with a perfectly fitting harness, enabling verification that there’s no interference within the design including strain relief for cabinet doors and/or service loops.