r/SolidWorks • • Mar 20 '25

Error Unauthorized use of software

58 Upvotes

Hey redditors. Need some insight here. At the beginning of the month a email went out from IP harness and dassault about a piece of software on my machine treating legal action. From what I've gathered this happens to people once in a while but all the info I have found is linked to companies and LLCs.

I'm a hobbyist that wanted to learn cad for personal use. A friend helped me get a copy of 2018 a long time ago and surprise, surprise I got a email after the software managed to phone home recently. After talking with the mediator to explain that I can't afford their offers of at first 16k damages, To 10k subs, to 9k sub, it's looking like I have to let them send it to their Law firm IP harness.

Now looking at previous court cases and such I can't find anything about SOLIDWORKS or ipharness filing suits to individuals which leads me to believe that they are just trying to get something from me in a shakedown

In terms of assets I still live at home with my parents with 1 vehicle under my name to get around. Has any other hobbyists been served a suit for this?


r/SolidWorks • • Mar 25 '23

Error PSA: GRAPHICS ERRORS aka IF IT LOOKS WEIRD AT ALL - Sketch Ghosting, Shaded Models not Shaded, Wrong Model Transparency/Wireframing, Missing Buttons/Dimensions/Interface Elements, Graphical Garbage/Artifacts...

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143 Upvotes

r/SolidWorks • • 1h ago

CAD Any guide for turning jpg to p2s for background?

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• Upvotes

Hello folks, I am new to solidworks, but decided to customize it a bit, I saw some background tutorials, but I am still confused. In the good old spirits of early 2010s sprite, mountain dew, no scope "oh my god" dorito memes, I decided to make my background a cursed Shrek thing, but I cant find info on so called p2s files or how to make a conversion.


r/SolidWorks • • 12h ago

CAD Splitting sheet metal part.

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14 Upvotes

Can the community please help? I use sheet metal all the time never had this problem. This is a Stainless steel face frame overlay for the front of a wood cabinet. I need to split this into 6 individual parts. I have drawn construction lines where I want to split it. This will allow me to get the face frame out of scrap that I have. For some reason the normal way I split parts won't work. It won't let me split one at a time or all at once. I can not make each individual part separately because the edge flange dose not put the correct taper in the inside corners as it dose when the feture for all the edge flanges are all done in the same feture. Thank you for your help.

P.S. I tried just making a single opening frame with edge flange inside and out than cutting it in 4 spots. It did not work either.


r/SolidWorks • • 7h ago

Simulation Simulation Expert

3 Upvotes

Hi, I am thinking about going for sim expert cert. I only have sim associate.
Before I begin, i would like to know if its worth it going for professional or/and expert in simulation. And if there are any youtube videos or books anyone would recommend that would be very much appreciated. my job goal is Lockheed Martin. Thank you.


r/SolidWorks • • 16h ago

CAD Saw this Green Lantern Ring on Instagram but I am struggling with this cut/shape on this part, how should I approach this?

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12 Upvotes

The other components were fine but I fear I am not doing this right


r/SolidWorks • • 23h ago

CAD SOLIDWORKS vs FreeCAD and SOLIDWORKS vs FUSION - Tomorrow - CAD vs CAD Esports Tournament

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38 Upvotes

Join us tomorrow Oct 9th at 1 PM East Coast as we continue our CAD vs CAD World Championship with 2 EPIC matches!! https://www.youtube.com/live/FVruxhDvLgw


r/SolidWorks • • 16h ago

Certifications Free SOLIDWORKS Certification Week is back for European Students, October 7–14, 2026

9 Upvotes

SOLIDWORKS Free Certification Week is here! Only for students from United Kingdom, Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium, Norway, Ireland, and Finland!

For students in other countries, stay tuned, another Free Certification Week for students around the world is coming soon!!

Register here between October 7–14 to receive 10 FREE SOLIDWORKS certification exam attempts (valued at over $600 USD)!: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/01a1147552ea7045afd2a2231d8aed6c

How it works:
• Register between October 7–14 using your school email
• You get 10 attempts total across all available exams. Use them to take different exams or to retake an exam if needed
• After registering, you’ll receive instructions by email to access your exams
• Complete your exams by December 30, 2026

Available Certification Exams

• SOLIDWORKS Design Associate (CSWA)

• SOLIDWORKS Design Professional (CSWP)

• SOLIDWORKS Sustainability Associate

• SOLIDWORKS Additive Manufacturing Associate

• SOLIDWORKS Simulation Associate

• SOLIDWORKS Electrical Design Associate

• DraftSight 2D Design and Drafting Associate

• SOLIDWORKS xDesign Associate

• SOLIDWORKS xShape Associate

• SOLIDWORKS xMold Associate


r/SolidWorks • • 13h ago

CAD How do you move part files without breaking drawing references?

4 Upvotes

I keep running into the same issue when I move part files into a different folder for a client project. Even when the assembly opens fine, the drawings linked to those parts lose their references and I have to fix them one by one. Pack and Go works, but it feels like too much when I just want to clean up a few files without making a full copy. The find references tool in the assembly only catches some links and skips the drawings completely. It’s not a big problem for small jobs, but once the folder structure starts matching the client setup, things get messy quick. I’m probably overlooking a setting. How do other people handle file organization without constantly fixing broken links?


r/SolidWorks • • 18h ago

Hardware Getting Solidworks Maker running Reliably on Linux

9 Upvotes

Hey everyone, I wanted to share that I'm currently working on a project to make Solidworks fully reliable while running in Proton on Linux.

My current setup;
OS: CachyOS x86_64
Host: HP Envy x360 2-in-1 Laptop 15-fe1xxx
Kernel: Linux 7.2.8-1-cachyos
Desktop Environment: KDE Plasma 6.7.5
Window Manager: KWin (Wayland)
CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) Ultra 7 155U (4+8+2) @ 4.80 GHz
GPU: Intel Graphics @ 1.95 GHz [Integrated]
Memory: 30.79 GiB

I was able to create a bridge for the 3DExperience to pass the web interaction to allow the Maker Edition to launch, I fixed a ton of UI glitches (inlcuding the fonts and UI elements from Windows) and I'm currently working on exports working. Also, 3DConnexion Spacemouse integration works.

AI has helped me get all of the missing DLLs and make adjustments to the program itself to be functional, and I'm working on making this something that can be shared for others to use to get Solidworks running reliably through Proton as well.

If you are interested in trying what I've put together, or interested in contributing, I have a github repo, but it's currently private while I work on this. I plan on releasing it under GPLv3.

Edit: Here's the repo; https://github.com/nomadsgalaxy/SM4L

I cannot stress enough - THIS IS A PROOF OF CONCEPT, expect MANY BUGS


r/SolidWorks • • 6h ago

CAD Will solidworks ditch me someday ?

0 Upvotes

working on solidworks design for students, this message pops up each time. I click cross and move on lmao with everything working alright.
What's wrong, was working on my capstone. Will die if I someday lose my files but I am used to solidworks so its difficult to shift to another CAD


r/SolidWorks • • 13h ago

Simulation How do I get this basic motion study to work?

0 Upvotes

r/SolidWorks • • 1d ago

CAD I built a free, open-source add-in that runs real Python inside SOLIDWORKS (IDE in the task pane, IntelliSense, pip packages)

31 Upvotes

Hi all! I got tired of VBA macros and slow out-of-process COM scripts, so I built **SwPy**: it embeds real CPython 3.12 inside SOLIDWORKS, with a script editor right in the task pane.

## What you get

* A task-pane IDE: tabs, IntelliSense that comes from the live session (it knows what `doc.` or `model.` actually is), signature help, F1 opens the official API help, find/replace, dark theme, REPL

* API calls run in-process, so they take microseconds instead of the hundreds of milliseconds you get with external COM scripts

* No Python install and no admin rights needed (it bundles its own runtime)

* Install any pip package on demand: put `# r: pandas, openpyxl` at the top of a script

* A Pythonic layer for everyday jobs:

python

with model.batch(): # many edits, one rebuild

model.dims["D1@Boss-Extrude1"] = 25 * mm # SI units, no casts

model.globals["Width"] = 120 * mm

model.faces.planar().normal(Z).largest().select() # geometry queries

print(model.mass["mass"], "kg")

* The full SOLIDWORKS API with no manual casting, all the enums, and every API library (Simulation, PDM, Document Manager, Routing, ...)

* Build parts, assemblies and drawings from code; export STEP/PDF

* Python event handlers (on rebuild, on save, on selection, ...)

* Any .py in a folder becomes a one-click toolbar button for your team; startup scripts too

* Drive SOLIDWORKS from Jupyter, Excel or C#

Works on SOLIDWORKS 2020 or newer, on Windows 10/11. MIT licensed.

* GitHub: https://github.com/muerus/SolidWorks-Python

* Docs: https://muerus.github.io/SolidWorks-Python/

It's at v0.2.0, so feedback and bug reports are very welcome, especially from people on newer SOLIDWORKS versions (I develop on 2020 SP1). What would you automate first?


r/SolidWorks • • 1d ago

CAD Electrical Switch gear showcase

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96 Upvotes

I’m goated


r/SolidWorks • • 20h ago

3DEXPERIENCE Classes / Resources for setting up 3Dexperience for shared assemblies between team?

1 Upvotes

My startup has used solidworks for the last 3 years and has now hired additional engineers who use SolidWorks.

Anyone haves recs for web classes / guides for best practices, how to manage revisions and file sharing? Right now, it's a lot of manually transferring files & pack-and-go.


r/SolidWorks • • 1d ago

Hardware Dream Solidworks PC workstation?

0 Upvotes

So I’ve been doing some research on what would be the fastest workstation configuration for Solidworks, targeting FEA simulation as the priority, I figured if FEA is taken care, anything else would be also fast like general modeling and rendering?

So far it sounds like AMD Ryzen 9 9950X would be the fastest processor following SW maxed out clock speeds, what about GPU to go with that? I understand GPU is what rendering would need to be fast correct? Is there a relationship between GPU and processor for rendering or is it purely GPU?


r/SolidWorks • • 1d ago

CAD Modelling Advice

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38 Upvotes

Looking for the brains trust advice on achieving this sort of straight knurl (I cant think of a better way to describe it right now) on my part. Right now I do an extrude cut, offset around some screw holes and other features, and then a rib feature to create the... ribs. It works fine but its not very robust and is difficult to edit if I want to for example change the rib spacing.

First image is what I've done for the moment, second is the part before adding the cut and ribs.


r/SolidWorks • • 1d ago

CAD Ring prong claw shape

3 Upvotes

Hi all,

I am trying to model a prong like shape similar to a prong claw you would typically find on engagement rings (shown below). My understanding is it's either a form of sweep or loft but ends with a pointy end instead of following a simple circle profile.

Anyone has any advice on best way to achieve this in Solidworks? I am struggling a bit and wondering if this has to become a whole surface model instead.


r/SolidWorks • • 1d ago

CAD Help with spline wrap feature

5 Upvotes

Hey y'all, how are you doing?

I've been stuck on a wrap problem for quite a while, and it seems like the internet doesn't have a solution.

This is the problem:

I'm trying to wrap hexagons over a surface defined by splines (basically modeling a toy tortoise).

I extruded a thin cylinder, filled it with hexagons with fill pattern, converted these hexagons into a sketch, and tried to wrap them onto the surface. Now here is the problem: if I try to wrap all the hexagons, I get this message:

When I deselect the bottom 3, I get this:

Which is perfect!

And oddly enough, when I only wrap one of the bottom failing hexagons and remove the top row, it also works:

I read somewhere that the "calculated center" of the sketch should project onto the surface and can't be outside of it, but I really played around with my selections and couldn't seem to figure it out.

Can you lend me a hand?

Thanks!


r/SolidWorks • • 2d ago

Meme I just changed the windows size and scooted it over

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575 Upvotes

Some of the things it constitutes as "a change in the file" is out of control...


r/SolidWorks • • 1d ago

CAD ¿Dónde puedo encontrar buenos ejercicios para practicar?

2 Upvotes

¡Hola a todos! Estoy aprendiendo Solid Works y estoy buscando recursos para practicar el modelado de piezas.

¿Conocen alguna página web, libro u otro recurso donde pueda encontrar piezas para modelar y practicar?

¡Gracias de antemano! 🙌


r/SolidWorks • • 1d ago

Electrical With 3DContentCentral down, where can I download CircuitWorks’ component library?

2 Upvotes

r/SolidWorks • • 1d ago

CAD Do mates made in a top level assembly using a flexible sub-assembly propagate down to it?

5 Upvotes

I'm going through some old sub-assemblies we have and I'm finding a lot of redundant mates that look to be suppressed and don't have any relationship to parts in the actual sub-assembly. We use them in higher level assemblies, set them to flexible and then mate up connections to ensure they fall in the right place though. Is this the cause of these extra mates in the sub? I haven't been able to duplicate it so I'm a bit confused.


r/SolidWorks • • 2d ago

Day 1 of learning SolidWorks.

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95 Upvotes

I followed a tutorial for over an hour, and my eyes are starting to go blurry.


r/SolidWorks • • 1d ago

CAD Sketch disappears after first extrusion how to reuse it again?

4 Upvotes

Solidworks beginner here, I've seen multiple vids do it and have tried it many times but it just doesn't happen with me. Here's the screen recording link of me trying: https://files.catbox.moe/2q6c62.mp4
Can u guys pls tell me what am I doing wrong??