EN: '3DEXPERIENCE Integration' options in the SOLIDWORKS® 3D CAD software

Q: In the SOLIDWORKS® 3D CAD software, what are the '3DEXPERIENCE Integration' options and what are the benefits of using them?

A: The 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS® R2021x FD01 (July 2020) release introduced the 3DEXPERIENCE Integration option as shown below. The R2021x FD07 (September 2021) release added this option to Collaborative Designer for SOLIDWORKS for users of SOLIDWORKS 2021 SP4.0 (June 2021) and later versions.

The benefits of this option are

• Exposure to 3DEXPERIENCE platform terminology and content types within SOLIDWORKS.

• Visibility of the SOLIDWORKS data model within the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. Please refer the more information on the SOLIDWORKS data model. EN: Solidworks data model cad familyPreview

As documented in the 3DEXPERIENCE Integration Options page of the SOLIDWORKS Help, when you turn on this option, it updates the SOLIDWORKS documents for 3DEXPERIENCE compatibility. You can update existing SOLIDWORKS documents using the Update for 3DEXPERIENCE compatibility shortcut menu command.

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In both scenarios, you cannot undo the change.

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After you update a document for 3DEXPERIENCE compatibility, three things happen:

1. An option for configuration views in the FeatureManager design tree becomes available.

   1. The first image below shows this option. You can view ConfigurationManager: CAD Family or the traditional ConfigurationManager. The ConfigurationManager: CAD Family view uses 3DEXPERIENCE terminology and concepts. It displays Physical Products and Representations, allows you to create those objects, and allows you to convert Physical Products to Representations, and vice versa. SOLIDWORKS Representations are comparable to derived configurations and display states.

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2. Configurations display as Physical Products or Representations.

   1. The Part number displayed when used in a bill of materials property for each configuration determines how the configuration displays.

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      • Document Name displays as a Representation, and automatically creates a parent Physical Product with a name that matches the Windows filename.

      • Configuration Name displays as a Physical Product.

      • User Specified Name displays as a Physical Product.

After you update a document for 3DEXPERIENCE compatibility, the choice for this property reduces to Configuration Name. If the system automatically creates a new configuration (Physical Product), you can also choose from the names of configurations (Physical Products) that are already set to Configuration Name. Choosing the name of a configuration converts the configuration (Physical Product) to a SOLIDWORKS Representation. 

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3. Removes custom properties leaving only configuration properties.

   1. If custom properties exist in a file, then they are merged into the configuration properties.