I keep seeing Dassault Systems pushing Draftsight as a 2D, and now more often as a 3D design package…
It seems DS is pushing all of the 3dEcperience stuff, and the collaboration stuff, but isn’t really putting much focus on the basic Solidworks program.
Anyone have any inside info, or predictions on where Solidworks will be in 5 years? 10 years?
I believe Dassault is working toward moving away from the desktop version of SW, and toward something where the software and files will be 100% online. What that something will be is anyone’s guess.
Unless something fundamentally changes then when that happens I expect a mass exodus to another software.
It’s heading straight for the dump if it doesn’t change course, that’s for sure.
My guess
SW Desktop>Solidworks 3DE with Parasolid kernel>Solidworks 3DE with CATIA Kernel>Solidworks replaced by other modeling package with CATIA kernel.
My completely uneducated guess is that the we’ll see the last release of SW desktop in 10-15 years.
The Choice to move to Solidworks 3DE is the choice to move to whatever new CAD system DS comes out with as it’s replacement. I’d say we see the release of that in 5-10 years or so.
The above is based entirely on my experience with Adesk, MDT and Inventor that followed a similar trajectory without the “Middle man” step of 3DE. The difference here is that DS is trying to get you to pay for the new software and ADesk did not, they converted your MDT to IV and essentially started shipping IV with MDT at no charge. Here you’ll pay to go to 3DE from SW Desktop and then you’ll probably pay a bit more to get to the new system.
Wild guesses and conspiracy theory on my part.
I’ve said it before, I whole heartedly believe that that is the plan. The decsion has been made to phase out SW. As I posted it will be done in steps, the first of which is 3DE.
I was on the phone with my VAR the other day and she slipped 3DE a couple times “Selling it” even though the subject at hand was completely devoid of anything related. I’d bet there’s a HUGE push at the VAR level to get people to migrate. The more, the sooner, the quicker they can nuke SW desktop.
Straight to the bottom of the SwYmP.
I really hope your time estimates are <= reality. The cost of just migrating our data set from SE to SW has a ~20 year? ROI if any. Having to do another model migration in say 5 years would… well, I wouldn’t be here to worry about it I guess.
Ferris Bueller: Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
Like I said just basing it on what ADesk did with MDT and IV. First release of IV was 1999, Last release of MDT was 2009 and all support for MDT stopped in 2012.
I think SW lifespan depends on the release of what is to replace it and I don’t think 3DE counts, so they’ve not release SW Desktops replacement yet so maybe the timeframe is longer.
However the existence of 3DE may actually shorten the span as well because I suspect 3DE is the “Bridge” to the replacement.
All pretty much a guessing game and maybe SW Desktop is around for several more decades, who knows. I just see to many similarities to the MDT/IV scenario to not think the ending scenario’s will be similar.
I’d say you error on the side of optimism. After watching the debacle of the last year (3DSwymP), I can’t see SWX Desktop surviving ten more years. I trust DSS leadership slightly less than politicians, which is to say…less than zero.
Contrast this to Siemens: According to Dan Staples, Solid Edge will not force users to the cloud. Ever. He expressed concern about the state of the industry with many SE competitors forcing users to adopt the cloud. He then pointed out that even though Solid Edge introduced Synch Tech ~10 years ago, they haven’t taken ANY functionality away from the Ordered environment. In other words, even if change and new development eclipses current technology, they will not divorce their users from “archaic” systems.
I agree I just didn’t want to sound like a Chicken Little.
It’s a self full filling cycle. DS wants to get rid of Solidworks entirely. The take a step toward that end and the user base is unpleased which only serves to prove DS’s belief of “We need to do something else”.
The only reason I’m not certain the time frame will be shorter is because I’m not sure that 3DE is the actual replacement. It could very well be SW Desktop>3DE Parasolid>3DE CATIA. If that is the case then 3DE has been out for a while and SW Desktop is already in it’s Swan’s Song.
Solidworks Desktop Forum - Gone and or thrown in with 3DE
VAR’s - Pushing 3DE pretty hard
DS - Refusal to do any serious code rewrite to fix persistent flaws and pouring resources into SW 3DE and accompanying suite.
All points to bye-Bye SW Desktop
Just checking: 3DE does not use SW Desktop files? So a company cannot just upload their files to the platform and use them in 3DE like they did in SW Desktop, right?
They use different Kernels, so I think the answer is no, but I’m not entirely sure.
Well who the @#$% does? VARs aren’t sure either!
DSS to all the kids on the playground: Hey! come check out this new play set I made.
Everyone else on playground: Ok, what’s it do?
DSS: EVERYTHING! better with more innovative colloberating disruption!
Everyone else: Ok, but what does it do?
DSS: It will seamlessly do anything you need it to do!
Everyone else: Ok, but how does it work?
DSS: Perfectly!
Everyone else: What is it again?
DSS: knocks down other playsets
DSS says “Yes”, but since they always lie I’d put my money on “No”. 
They can’t manage to keep their own templates from corrupting, how can they migrate files between two programs with the worst translation in the industry (SWX <> CATIA)? This isn’t even any kind of secret knowledge either. CATIA and SWX are awful together.
LOL Inventor do a better CATIA translate then SW.
Much better.
I had this discussion on the Swymp and of course I can’t for the life of me find the post…however.
I went back and forth on this issue with a couple DS employees and I believe the following to be correct.
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The only difference between Solidworks 3DE and Solidworks Desktop is that it is integrated with the 3DS platform. IE all the “Collaborative stuff” that you see on the forum is actually part of the software so you can set up communities in your company for projects, etc.
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Again, My understanding. At present SW 3DE is running on the parasolid kernel just like SW desktop is. What isn’t running on the Parasolid kernel is pretty much all the other programs that you get in the 3DE suite of programs, IE X-Design etc or whatever they are calling the new stuff.
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Despite being the “Same program”, and again my understanding that you can directly open SW desktop files, there’s a whole lot that works on Desktop that does not work on 3DE. Last I checked NO 3rd party programs were supported, Driveworks, CAMWorks etc.
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I think people are confusing 3dx SolidWorks with Xdesign
3dx SolidWorks - The desktop SolidWorks we all know and love plus a connector to 3dx (PLM) to store files and colloberate.
Xdesign - Cloud only 3d CAD
The connector in 3Dx SolidWorks allows it to connect to 3dx site and read xDesign data but its just a dumb solid. There is no feature transfer.
There is a Cloud only SW. Don’t ask me what they call it.
You can see some of the post in Solidworks Connect Community.
2022 beta has cloud version. Don’t know if its The cloud version or SW on cloud VM.
Solidworks has done an absolute fail with their names here. From what I understand, which I’m far from believing is correct, is that there are only two options SW “Cloud” version and SW “Desktop” version.
I could have sworn that “Solidworks Connected” was SW Desktop with a plug in to access the Swym platform. However I’m not at all sure that is correct and as far as I have seen “Solidworks connected” could be a completely different platform or the same thing as Solidworks 3DExperience.
In short, after probably almost two years of reading articles, posting etc I’m still not at all sure what all these names mean or how they work together.
I do know SW desktop is what I’m using. I’m pretty sure SW 3DExperience is the whole suite of products that includes and is cloud based hooked up toe the SwYm platform…not at all sure what 3D Connect is.
I mean really look at this https://www.solidworks.com/lp/3dexperience-solidworks-offers
“3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS offers” (All caps mandatory) includes “3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS”. Isn’t this like saying “We are selling a screwdriver that is a screwdriver”…“so you’re selling a screwdriver?”, “No sir we are selling a screwdriver…that has a screwdriver”…“What!?, well what is the screwdriver”, “It’s the thing that is inside the screwdriver…and the thing that is the screwdriver itself. You shouldn’t worry about it, It’s on the cloud, has synergy, is innovative and allows collaboration…that’s all you really need to know about the screwdriver…either the screwdriver or the one that is in the screwdriver”