SWOOD 2026: Design with more freedom, automate further, and produce faster

The wood and furniture manufacturing industry is evolving quickly. Manufacturers are under constant pressure to shorten lead times, increase product personalization, overcome the shortage of skilled labor, and improve profitability. In this context, digital tools play an increasingly strategic role.

With SWOOD 2026, EFICAD continues its vision of an integrated digital chain where design, manufacturing, and data management work together to accelerate processes while reducing manual interventions.

This new release brings significant improvements across the entire SWOOD suite: SWOOD Design, SWOOD CAM, SWOOD Nesting, and SWOOD Center. More than just an update, SWOOD 2026 directly addresses the current challenges faced by manufacturers in the woodworking, cabinetry, commercial furniture, and bespoke fit-out sectors.

Today’s challenges in wood manufacturing

Before diving into what’s new, it’s important to understand the issues companies face today:

• Growing demand for customized products

• Reduced delivery lead times

• Difficulty recruiting and training specialized resources

• Increasing complexity of architectural projects

• Need to integrate ERP, MES, and CNC equipment

• Ongoing pursuit of greater productivity

The new features in SWOOD 2026 were developed specifically to address these realities.

SWOOD Design 2026: more freedom for complex projects

Manufacturers of bespoke furniture know that atypical projects often pose the greatest design challenges. SWOOD Design 2026 introduces several improvements that make it easier to create customized products without increasing model complexity.

1. SWOOD Box supports non-rectangular geometries

Traditionally, standard furniture relies on simple, rectangular geometries. However, modern projects often require more complex shapes:

• Under-stair furniture

• Vehicle fit-outs

• Built-ins under sloped ceilings

• Custom architectural installations

Thanks to the new Point parameter in SWOOD Box, you can now position and intelligently constrain components according to non conventional geometries.

Benefits

• Fewer specialized configurations

• More flexible libraries

• Better reuse of existing models

• Faster development of parametric catalogs

2. Free Machining in SWOOD Box

Manufacturing rarely follows rules perfectly aligned with a model’s standard CAD planes. With the new Free Machining feature, machining operations can now be defined according to the actual orientation of a sketch.

This improvement enables:

• Better consistency between design and manufacturing

• Simplified handling of angled panels

• Reduced manual adjustments in CAM

3. Multilingual libraries

For companies working with multiple plants, subsidiaries, or international partners, library management can quickly become complex. SWOOD 2026 now allows SWOOD Box parameters to be displayed in multiple languages.

Outcome

• Simpler rollout of corporate standards

• Improved collaboration across international teams

• Fewer misunderstandings

SWOOD CAM 2026: automation reaches a new level

For many manufacturers, the bottleneck is no longer design but the preparation of CNC programs. SWOOD CAM 2026 introduces features that significantly reduce manual interventions.

1. CAM Filters: one of the most important new features in SWOOD 2026

The new CAM Filters allow you to automatically assign machining strategies based on different criteria:

• Materials

• Geometry

• Machines

• SOLIDWORKS properties

• Manufacturing properties

• Post-processors

Why it matters

Rather than creating specific rules for every situation, manufacturers can develop reusable and scalable manufacturing logic.

The benefits are immediate:

• Reduced programming time

• Standardized machining methods

• Lower risk of errors

2. Relationships between CAM operations

Another major improvement concerns communication between machining operations. Operations can now automatically share already-identified geometries.

For example:

• A drilling operation can pass references to a secondary operation

• A groove can be automatically recognized by other strategies

• Specialized connectors can be processed more efficiently

Direct impact

• More robust automation

• Less duplication of rules

• Simplified maintenance of CAM libraries

3. New 3D machining strategies

Manufacturers producing complex parts will also benefit from new toolpath strategies:

• 3D roughing

• Projected finishing

• Spiral

• Alternating spiral

• Circular zig-zag

• Cavity machining

Outcome

• Better surface finish quality

• Optimized machining times

• More efficient use of modern CNC machines

SWOOD Nesting 2026: more control over panel optimization

With material costs remaining high, panel optimization is essential. SWOOD Nesting 2026 delivers greater stability in the handling of nests.

1. Nesting Lock

Users can now lock an optimization result to prevent accidental modification.

Advantages

• Protection of validated decisions

• Greater control over the production process

• Lower risk of unintentional reorganization

2. Nesting Freeze

This feature goes even further. CAM edits and adjustments made after optimization can be retained even when the project is updated.

Benefits

• Simplified revision management

• Protection of work already completed

• Fewer unnecessary reworks

3. Smart nesting updates

Manufacturers rarely work on frozen projects. With SWOOD 2026, nesting assemblies can be reopened and updated while preserving previous adjustments.

This improvement is especially useful for:

• Evolving projects

• Commercial furniture

• Make-to-order environments

SWOOD Center 2026: connecting engineering to the shop floor

The value of a modern manufacturing solution also depends on its ability to communicate with other enterprise systems. SWOOD Center continues this mission with several important additions.

1. PTX export for panel saws

SWOOD now supports PTX formats 1.14 and 1.21. This improvement makes it easier to integrate with many production machines used in the industry.

Outcome

• Less manual data entry

• Lower risk of errors

• Smoother data flow between systems

2. Batch document generation

Users can now automatically generate:

• Drawings

• Reports

• Panel lists

• Hardware lists

• Production documents

Impact

• Significant time savings

• Standardized documentation

• Higher team productivity

3. Enterprise integration automation

SWOOD Center can now automatically launch external applications from generated reports. This capability opens the door to advanced integrations with:

• ERP

• MES

• Planning tools

• Custom internal systems

The vision behind SWOOD 2026

Looking across all the new features, a clear trend emerges. SWOOD is no longer just aiming to speed up design or CNC programming. The platform now strives to create complete digital continuity between engineering and production.

This strategy rests on four pillars:

1. Design without constraints

The new SWOOD Box capabilities let you tackle increasingly complex projects without multiplying models and configurations.

2. Automate further

CAM Filters and inter-operation relationships reduce reliance on individual know-how and foster standardization.

3. Optimize materials

The new SWOOD Nesting functions protect completed work while simplifying revision management.

4. Connect systems

New features in SWOOD Center strengthen integration between engineering software, ERPs, and production equipment.

Why consider upgrading to SWOOD 2026?

For companies already using SWOOD, this release is a major opportunity to increase their level of automation. For manufacturers currently evaluating their digital processes, SWOOD 2026 clearly demonstrates that it is possible to:

• Reduce preparation time

• Standardize manufacturing methods

• Simplify management of complex projects

• Maximize material usage

• Improve cross-department integration

In a context where every minute saved and every avoided error has a direct impact on profitability, the new features in SWOOD 2026 offer concrete tools to improve overall business performance.

Explore SWOOD 2026 with SOLIDXPERTS

Want to assess the impact of SWOOD 2026 on your design and manufacturing processes? The SOLIDXPERTS team can help you:

• Analyze your current methods

• Identify automation opportunities

• Demonstrate SWOOD 2026’s new features

• Develop a deployment strategy tailored to your manufacturing reality

Contact our SWOOD specialists today to discover how SWOOD 2026 can accelerate your digital transformation and increase your production efficiency.

 SOLIDWORKS and its parent company, Dassault Systems, have been ahead of the competition when it comes to all things AI. SOLIDWORKS started developing AI features, also known as Smart Features, decades ago, giving their software a lead above the competition. While continuing to invest and stay ahead of the pack, all new AI assistants are now directly available within the application, ensuring that integration is seamless.

Follow along in this blog, because I want to show you all the amazing features SOLIDWORKS has already implemented over the year, along with what is in store for the future. By the end, I will have shown how the recent attempts of our competition’s software do not hold a candle to the advances SOLIDWORKS has already made, let alone what is in store for the future.

Past Additions of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence

For over a decade, SOLIDWORKS has been continuously adding features that make use of machine learning and artificial intelligence. From features such as Smart Mates or Smart Fasteners to new AI Drawing Creation, SOLIDWORKS has been working to optimize engineer time, and reduce the number of tedious repetitive tasks.

Excelling in time optimization for years, SOLIDWORKS has continued making tools designed with engineering resources in mind. Tools like Fully Defined Sketch and Selection Accelerators have been available for years, helping make the sketching and selection processes faster. Always improving, SOLIDWORKS took the predictive selection accelerator from the Fillet command, and added it into Chamfers in recent years, making seamless group selection even easier than before in both features.

Users can go from this underdefined sketch to this fully defined sketch in 3 quick clicks!

There have even been productivity increasing tools in the assembly environment for just as long! Smart Fasteners and Smart Mates have allowed engineers to snap together parts and fill their holes with fasteners for over a decade. Even before the general public heard about AI and chatbots, SOLIDWORKS has been working to implement AI based features to improve the engineering experience.

Current SOLIDWORKS AI Tool Additions

In 2026, SOLIDWORKS continues this trend of improving the engineering experience through implementing countless new features in the most recent as well as future updates. Some such features include AI Drawing Creation, AI Assembly Creation, Automatic Fastener Recognition, Command Predictor, and Pattern Assistant, to name a few. With these tools, SOLIDWORKS will become even smarter, and can predict an engineer’s next move; whether that move is dropping a nut into place, or needing to add a pattern of bolts in one swift movement. SOLIDWORKS can now even assist engineers in making sure the most efficient patterning methods are being used, as an efficiency check to young engineers.

Tools, like Automatic Fastener Recognition, make use of a database of thousands of fastener files, allowing the SOLIDWORKS AI to determine if a part is a fastener as soon as it is dragged in to your current project. This recognition will allow the system to offer better mate conditions and groupings, for instance pairing a new nut to your existing bolt.

Additionally, features like AI Drawing Creation and AI Assembly Creation take processes out of the engineers hands and begin these processes in the system background before bringing the engineer in for confirmation. From laying out standard views and annotations, to organizing folder structures in assemblies, SOLIDWORKS continues to assist in simplifying and standardizing these initial steps in creation and documentation.

With the use of SOLIDWORKS AI Drawing Creation, a simple conversation with LEO about the desired settings and defaults leads to a drawing created faster than ever before!

Addition of AI assistants in SOLIDWORKS

The most recent additions of artificial intelligence to SOLIDWORKS include the three all new AI assistants; AURA, LEO, and MARIE. Each serves a unique role throughout the CAD Design process, as described below.

AURA is the starting point of any great project, even before you draw your first sketch. AURA holds the ability to leverage knowledge from both web and enterprise sources, making it your one stop shop for rapid confirmation. For questions regarding basic design rules and suggestions, or even searching your company’s knowledge base, AURA can answer it all.

After the first steps with AURA are completed, LEO takes the reins. LEO can help users effectively solve many complications through the design process, helping validate your design and optimize your processes. Throughout both mechanical design, as well as simulation, LEO can take your prompts to generate assembly structures, as parametric features, run studies, and even help resolve design errors. For both answering questions, and offering solutions, LEO can solve many engineering headaches.

The last assistant in the lineup is MARIE, your scientific research specialist. With expertise in materials science, chemistry and more, your thorough scientific research can be simplified. With this third member of the SOLIDWORKS AI trifecta, you have an assistant in your corner for every part of the engineering design process.

Competitors attempts at replication

Outside of SOLIDWORKS, many competitors have tried their hand in implementing AI for the benefit of users. While many companies have had good feature additions in recent years, it is hard to compare them to the decades of experience and additions seen in SOLIDWORKS. The following sections detail some of these features within the competing software, and shows how SOLIDWORKS has taken the lead in all things AI.

For starters, Autodesk has invested in AI in Fusion 360. However, you will find no such features in Inventor. Looking into these, features like CAM hole recognition have existed in SOLIDWORKS for some time. The drawing AI tool seems to be in the early stages, having very little interaction or flexibility. Fusion can add relationships and dimensions automatically, much like Fully Define Sketch (something that has existed in SOLIDWORKS for nearly 20 years). The main hurdle that Autodesk will have to overcome is that their files don’t talk to each other, unlike the fully associative files found in SOLIDWORKS, making their AI feature development harder.

Other competitors like Siemens have three main enhancements, Magnetic Snap, Automated Drawings, and a design copilot, all things that have existed or do now exist in SOLIDWORKS. Lastly, Onshape has a lot of potential due to their cloud-based nature, however the content released as of now is just in the infancy stage.

The Bottom Line: SOLIDWORKS AI is Changing the Game

After looking at the history of feature development, as well as a brief look at the competition, you can see that SOLIDWORKS continues to be designed with the engineer in mind. From features that increase productivity by decreasing repetition, to tools that give you a head start in the design process, SOLIDWORKS is a lifesaver. Many competitors’ Artificial Intelligence ambitions are just beginning, so SOLIDWORKS is working hard to maintain the lead they already have, while pushing engineering design technology to the next level. Our SOLIDWORKS Technical Team has been ahead of the pack when it comes to learning and using AI, so please contact us with any questions, and find out what makes us the Solidxperts.

As a result, this is a question we are regularly asked: “Why are part names not the same in eDrawings as in the SOLIDWORKS assembly?”

So, if you use eDrawings as a viewer for shop floor personnel, this article is for you. Let’s take a few minutes to understand why this happens and more importantly, how to fix it in a sustainable way.

The Typical Context: eDrawings as a Workshop Support Tool

In many manufacturing companies, eDrawings is used to:

• View assemblies without a SOLIDWORKS license;

• Visualize complete machines on the shop floor;

• Quickly identify parts to manufacture or assemble;

• Reduce paper drawings.

It is an excellent tool as long as the displayed information is clear and consistent.

However, in some cases, workshop users are faced with:

• Cryptic file names;

• Internal references that are not meaningful;

• Part names different from those used by engineering.

A Key Point to Understand: eDrawings Does Not Interpret, It Displays

First of all, it is important thing to clarify: eDrawings does not “guess” anything. It simply displays the information coming from SOLIDWORKS, based on the assembly structure, the properties defined on each part, and the export options used. Therefore, if the display does not meet your expectations, it is almost never an eDrawings bug, but rather a source data or configuration issue.

The Three Most Common Causes

In practice, three main causes explain this behavior:

1. The displayed name is the file name, not the business designation

By default, eDrawings often displays the part file name (.SLDPRT) instead of:

• The business designation;

• The part number;

• The workshop-oriented description.

Example: PLT_4587_V3.SLDPRT instead of Conveyor support plate – 10 mm steel

For the shop floor, the added value is… very limited.

2. Custom properties are not being leveraged

Additionally, in SOLIDWORKS, you most likely already have:

• Description

• Part Number

• Internal reference

• Customer name

But if these properties are not filled in consistently or eDrawings is not configured to display them, they become useless for the workshop.

3. The eDrawings export process is not standardized

Finally, an export performed quickly, by different users and without a clear procedure often results in:

• inconsistent displays;

• different habits from one project to another.

As a result, the workshop gradually loses confidence in the tool.

Recommended Best Practice: Think “Workshop” Directly in SOLIDWORKS

In reality, the solution is not in eDrawings…it starts in SOLIDWORKS.

Here is a simple and effective approach:

Use a workshop-oriented property

For example:

• Description

• or Workshop_Description

This property should be clear, readable and free of unnecessary CAD jargon.

Standardize how properties are filled in

Apply the same logic to all parts:

• same property name

• same text convention

• same language

Ultimately, this is a small effort on the engineering side…but delivers significant gains on the production side.

Structuring the eDrawings Export for the Workshop

To ensure consistency, the eDrawings export should:

• always come from an up-to-date assembly;

• follow a simple, documented procedure;

• display useful information, not technical noise.

This is exactly why a short internal procedure is often an excellent idea.

eDrawings: An Excellent Tool, When Properly Prepared

eDrawings is neither a design tool nor a PDM system. It is a technical communication tool.

In other words, like any communication, quality depends on what is sent, not only on the tool itself.

As a result, when best practices are in place the workshop gains autonomy, the unnecessary questions decrease, and the interpretation errors are reduced.

From Confusion to Clarity: Making eDrawings Work for the Workshop

If part names displayed in eDrawings do not match what you expect, know that you are not alone, it is not inevitable, and it is almost never a bug. More often than not, it is an opportunity to review how information is prepared and transferred to the workshop.

Very often…a few simple adjustments are enough to turn eDrawings into a true production support tool.