TL;DR
SOLIDWORKS 2025 introduces groundbreaking advancements in ECAD, revolutionizing how electrical and mechanical design teams collaborate. With seamless integration on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, teams can unify electrical and mechanical product structures for a single source of truth.
Key enhancements include dynamic 2D drawings from 3D models, automated splice positioning for harness routing, and powerful tools like CircuitWorks for bidirectional ECAD-MCAD collaboration. These updates also offer enhanced copper trace support for PCBs, precise terminal strip configurations, and accelerated imports of electrical content.
Intro
The relationship between electrical and mechanical design is vital for modern product development. With SOLIDWORKS 2025, Dassault Systèmes introduces powerful new features and enhancements to streamline workflows, improve precision, and enhance collaboration across ECAD and MCAD teams. Whether designing complex PCBs or routing intricate harnesses, these updates provide solutions that simplify even the most challenging tasks.
This blog explores how SOLIDWORKS 2025 streamlines complex tasks, saves time and sets a new standard for electrical design.
Unified Product Structures with 3DEXPERIENCE Integration
Managing electrical and mechanical design data in silos can lead to miscommunication, inefficiencies, and errors. SOLIDWORKS 2025 addresses this issue by enabling seamless integration of product structures on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, creating a unified source of truth.
What’s New
- Save Electrical Data: Electrical symbols and product structure data can now be stored directly within 3DEXPERIENCE, alongside mechanical data.
- Combined Documentation: Integrate electrical and mechanical product data into a single, cohesive BOM for streamlined project documentation.
Why It Matters
For teams managing both electrical and mechanical elements of a product, this integration eliminates redundant workflows and ensures consistency. Picture a scenario where an electric vehicle’s wiring harness needs to align precisely with the chassis design. With SOLIDWORKS 2025, ECAD and MCAD teams can collaborate effectively, reducing the risk of mismatched designs and costly rework. The ability to combine data in real time enhances productivity and project transparency.
Enhanced Terminal Strip Functionality
Designing terminal strips for electrical schematics often involves handling complex connections and configurations. SOLIDWORKS 2025 simplifies these workflows with new tools that improve flexibility and accuracy.
What’s New
- Distributed Terminals: Split a circuit across multiple schematic symbols for better organization and readability.
- Pin-Level Control: Select specific pins when adding terminal strips to fine-tune designs.
Why It Matters
These enhancements are particularly valuable for industries that rely on precise electrical panel designs, such as manufacturing and industrial automation. For example, when creating control panels for an assembly line, distributed terminals allow engineers to organize connections efficiently. This reduces confusion during installation and ensures error-free implementation in production.
Accelerated Electrical Content Import
For projects involving diverse manufacturers or complex cable setups, importing electrical data can be a time-consuming bottleneck. SOLIDWORKS 2025’s enhanced import tool solves this issue.
What’s New
- Excel-Based Template: Import cable references and manufacturer part information with a customizable Excel template.
- Comprehensive Data Inclusion: Incorporate details like cable cores and terminal connections directly into your library.
Why It Matters
Engineers can now build detailed libraries quickly, ensuring that all necessary components are readily available. Imagine managing a project with multiple vendors supplying different cables and connectors. This tool consolidates all relevant data into one platform, reducing manual entry errors and speeding up project setup.
Harness Routing Simplified
Routing electrical harnesses in 3D requires precision, especially when dealing with splices in complex bundles. SOLIDWORKS 2025 introduces automation to streamline this process.
What’s New
- Splice Positioning Automation: Automatically position splices along the bundle centerline, ensuring clean and logical routing.
Why It Matters
This feature is a game-changer for industries like automotive and aerospace, where harness routing can involve hundreds of splices. By automating splice positioning, engineers can focus on optimizing the overall design rather than spending hours manually adjusting individual components. This not only saves time but also improves manufacturability.
Dynamic 2D Drawings from 3D Models
Documentation is essential for turning designs into reality. SOLIDWORKS 2025 improves the connection between 3D models and 2D schematics, enabling faster, more accurate drawings.
What’s New
- Dynamic Drawing Creation: Automatically generate 2D drawings from 3D models of electrical cabinets or harnesses.
- Schematic Linkage: Link 2D drawing components to their corresponding schematic symbols for consistent documentation.
Why It Matters
By automating the creation of 2D drawings, this feature reduces manual effort and ensures that documentation remains aligned with design changes. For example, in the design of an industrial control panel, the ability to link physical layouts to schematics simplifies installation instructions and ensures compatibility across teams.
CircuitWorks and ECAD-MCAD Collaboration
Effective collaboration between ECAD and MCAD teams is vital for designing products that involve both electronic and mechanical components. SOLIDWORKS 2025 enhances this collaboration with expanded CircuitWorks capabilities.
What’s New
- ECAD-MCAD Integration: CircuitWorks is now available in all SOLIDWORKS offerings, enabling bidirectional collaboration.
- Shared Libraries: Access a common PCB component library on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform for consistent design standards.
Why It Matters
With tools like CircuitWorks, ECAD, and MCAD teams can seamlessly share data, ensuring that PCBs and mechanical designs align perfectly. For instance, in consumer electronics, where space constraints are critical, this collaboration ensures components fit precisely within their enclosures.
Copper Trace Support for Advanced Simulations
Accurate PCB design requires precise simulation data. SOLIDWORKS 2025 introduces copper trace support to improve analyses like thermal and structural simulations.
What’s New
- Copper Feature Import: Include vias, traces, and shapes in your PCB simulations for more accurate results.
- Expanded Analysis Capabilities: Perform mass, thermal, structural, and electromagnetic simulations with detailed copper data.
Why It Matters
This feature ensures PCBs meet performance requirements without overengineering. For example, thermal simulations of high-power electronics can now account for copper traces, providing engineers with realistic insights into heat dissipation and overall performance.
Improved Harness Board Documentation
Creating clear, precise manufacturing documentation is critical for harness boards. SOLIDWORKS 2025 simplifies this process with advanced auto-placement and updating capabilities.
What’s New
- Auto-Placement of Elements: Tables, dimensions, and balloons are automatically organized for cleaner documentation.
- Automatic Updates: Ensure harness documentation reflects the latest design changes without manual intervention.
Why It Matters
Manufacturing teams rely on accurate documentation to build harnesses efficiently. These enhancements reduce errors and ensure production-ready documentation, saving time and costs during assembly.
Why Choose SOLIDWORKS 2025 for ECAD?
SOLIDWORKS 2025 revolutionizes ECAD design with tools that prioritize collaboration, accuracy, and usability. Whether you’re optimizing PCB layouts, managing harness designs, or collaborating on electrical and mechanical systems, these updates simplify the most complex tasks.
Key Benefits
- Streamlined Collaboration: Enhanced ECAD-MCAD integration ensures seamless workflows between teams.
- Time-Saving Features: Automated splice positioning, improved imports, and dynamic drawings reduce manual effort.
- Scalable Solutions: With 3DEXPERIENCE integration, designs remain adaptable and future-proof.
