You’ve probably heard the term “Cloud Services” in relation to SOLIDWORKS lately. In July 2023, SOLIDWORKS announced something new coming to SOLIDWORKS customers.
Cloud Services is a collection of SOLIDWORKS data and collaboration tools on the cloud, now included with all new purchases of SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD . The Cloud Services tools can be used for a variety of purposes, from simple 3D design sharing & markup, to CAD-aware cloud storage, to full change management.
Once users are comfortable with Cloud Services, they can easily implement a whole array of additional design, simulation, and manufacturing tools from 3DEXPERIENCE , since they operate on the same cloud infrastructure.
A SOLIDWORKS user’s welcome to the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform.
Common Questions About Cloud Services (Purchasing)
What types of SOLIDWORKS licenses include Cloud Services?
The Cloud Services subscription is included with all new purchases of SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD standalone, network, and term licenses.
Our data is highly sensitive and is regulated by a government agency. How does this affect us?
Customers may request an exception from adding Cloud Services to their licensing when their business data is required to meet regulatory requirements governed by the following agencies:
- A government agency
- International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) for the United States
- Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) for the European Union
- Export Administration Regulations (EAR)
- Canadian Controlled Goods Program (CGP)
Reach out to our team for additional information.
What about existing SOLIDWORKS licenses? Can existing licenses upgrade to Cloud Services?
Yes! With Cloud Services you can take advantage of the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform and begin managing and storing your data on the cloud and access your data anywhere on any device. However, SOLIDWORKS licenses purchased prior to July 2023 will not have Cloud Services added automatically.
My company is using SOLIDWORKS PDM or a different data management solution, what does this mean for our business?
Cloud Services are included with all new SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD licenses, but using all the cloud data management capabilities is not required. Some companies will only use portions of the Cloud Services tools, like Share & Markup, while others may use Cloud Services for data management on special projects, R&D, etc.
What if a SOLIDWORKS license has lapsed subscription/maintenance?
Making a lapsed subscription current again would introduce Cloud Services to that license.
What Is “Cloud Services”? (The Long Answer)
Cloud Services is the foundation of product lifecycle management on the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform. Cloud Services enables customers and users to quickly share information and designs with people both inside and outside an organization and securely store, manage, and control data.
With Cloud Services, data is organized on a purpose-built platform with CAD relationships and collaboration at the center. This CAD-aware environment ensures that work does not get overwritten and references between parts, assemblies, and drawings are always maintained.
The Cloud Services tools have three major use cases:
Share & Markup
Share & Markup lets SOLIDWORKS users share their 3D designs with anyone directly from within SOLIDWORKS, similar to the ubiquitous “Share” button we find in so many other websites and apps. The recipient may view, markup, share feedback, and collaborate in your design process without needing any software licenses of their own. They may securely interact with your information from anywhere, on any device. Share & Markup is like a supercharged version of eDrawings.
Visit the Share & Markup section of our Cloud Services page for activation and how-to videos.
Store & Revise
With SOLIDWORKS connected to the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform, users can save CAD directly to the cloud from within the SOLIDWORKS interface. The 3DEXPERIENCE Platform offers the flexibility to create and manage revisions, explore relationships, and much more, from within SOLIDWORKS or your browser, whichever you prefer. While in the web browser, users get a high-performance 3D CAD viewer to quickly explore even the largest assemblies. For designers, this CAD-aware cloud is a huge step up from any general-purpose, non-CAD cloud storage service.
Visit the Store & Revise section of our Cloud Services page for activation and how-to videos.
Manage & Control
Beyond just storing and revising, users have web-based, CAD-aware tools for control and management of the collaborative design process. Users can assign tasks, identify and capture issues, formalize a change process, monitor project progress, and receive notifications when events occur. What’s amazing is that this all occurs right in the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform with 3D CAD assembly view, full design tree, relations view, drag-and-drop to SOLIDWORKS, and much more.
Visit the Manage & Control section of our Cloud Services page for a slightly more in-depth tour of Manage & Control, and reach out to us when you’re ready to take this step.
How Do We Start Using Cloud Services?
When you make a qualifying SOLIDWORKS purchase that includes Cloud Services, you specify the individual who will become your 3DEXPERIENCE Platform administrator, and they must act first:
First Steps as the Administrator
Visit the Access Cloud Services section of our Cloud Services page for step-by-step instructions on activating your Platform. Administrators can invite users to the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform, assign roles, remove users, etc. It’s a simple and efficient process. A couple of clicks and it’s all set!
First Steps as the User
A 3DEXPERIENCE Platform invitation email.
If it hasn’t already been done, request for your 3DEXPERIENCE administrator to invite you to the Platform and assign you the appropriate Cloud Services roles.
- Check your email for Platform invitation and role assignments.
- Once that’s done, you can log into the Platform to get started.
- SOLIDWORKS users can install the 3DEXPERIENCE Connector for SOLIDWORKS. There are video and written instructions .
We’re now doing Store & Revise/Manage & Control, so our CAD data is on the cloud. How do we collaborate with someone who’s outside of our cloud?
You have two options:
-
- You can export native SOLIDWORKS CAD packages as loose files that you can then give to an outside collaborator. The collaborator can make their changes and send the updated data back to the Platform user, who can import the package and reconcile the changes by accepting those they wish to keep. This will happen as part of the revision process, so previous revisions will still be part of the data history.
-
- If the collaborator also uses the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform, the two organizations can control direct access to each other’s data via “Cross-Tenant Sharing”. When using this function, there is some setup for each company to allow proper access, and care should be taken to not “overshare” data from one company to the other. This tenant sharing functionality really pays off, as the sharing process for the users is much faster, and fully cross-organizational integration of users and data for things like change management is extremely efficient and powerful.
We have a lot of CAD data. Can we move it to the cloud in bulk?
Yes. The Bulk Save to 3DEXPERIENCE Toolset can be used to bring data into your Platform in bulk. We suggest running this tool on a couple of small data sets to verify that the data is formatted correctly. Typically, you want to have all of your attributes, mapping, etc., setup before you start bulk loading data. Pulling the correct clean data and metadata into the system will make the system easier to use and search.
Data brought into the system using the bulk load tool will always be brought in as the initial revision and In Work * state. This data is brought into the system as it is new data ** .
* Default import maturity state is dependent on platform setup by your administrator
** If the data being imported into the system already exists the system may or may not allow the import depending on platform setup by the administrator
We’re Going Strong with Cloud Services. What Can We Do Next?
The beauty of Cloud Services is that anyone you work within the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform, no matter what they’re doing, uses the same data, directly accessible in native format with all metadata and context intact. It’s a huge productivity enhancer, so how do you grow this advantage into new departments, functions, and geographies? Below are some of our favorite next steps after Cloud Services. In addition to the innate benefits of the Platform, since all of these growth opportunities are part of the same system, their purchasing, implementation, and training are much easier than trying to onboard separate tools from a new vendor.
Integrate More Management Tools
Editing product variants with live CAD in the web browser.
Issue and change management are just the start. 3DEXPERIENCE has powerful toolkits for configuration management, product management, project management, IP management & reuse, and more . Everything, of course, works from the same data in real time.
Include Your Multi-CAD Assemblies and Users
The 3DEXPERIENCE Platform easily handles assemblies built from parts modeled in different CAD packages. Just like Cloud Services includes a “Connector” for SOLIDWORKS, there are “Connectors” for Solid Edge, Inventor, Creo, Cadence, AutoCAD, and many more third-party CAD tools . The Platform also has specialized tools for visualizing, editing, and managing these multi-CAD assemblies.
Add CATIA Tools to Your SOLIDWORKS-Based Projects
CATIA is unmatched for systems engineering.
This ease of multi-CAD also means it’s also very simple to buy and implement 3DEXPERIENCE CATIA for design tasks that are difficult or inconvenient in SOLIDWORKS , such as advanced surfacing, composites , systems engineering, and very large assemblies.
Speed Up Your FEA
You can switch from SOLIDWORKS Simulation to 3DEXPERIENCE STRUCTURAL for faster-solving CAD-integrated structural FEA. 3DEXPERIENCE STRUCTURAL is powered by Abaqus with cloud compute capabilities, so in addition to using a more efficient solver (especially for nonlinear scenarios), you can run your FEA on the latest server hardware in a Dassault Systèmes data center, rather than on your own machine.
Level Up Your Simulations in Every Way
Cloud compute for faster solving is just one way simulation is better on the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform. The 3DEXPERIENCE SIMULATION portfolio contains sophisticated structural, fluids, and electromagnetics simulation tools. They’re useful at all levels, but they’re ultimately made for true-to-life virtual prototyping – when they are used appropriately, they significantly reduce the need for costly physical testing.
They accomplish this by being full of advanced software technology that scales very well on high-end enterprise computing systems (which you don’t have to own yourself if you compute on the cloud!). Moreover, as 3DEXPERIENCE-native tools, they are fully integrated into the cloud PLM and PDM, just like SOLIDWORKS with Cloud Services. Read our article SOLIDWORKS Simulation vs Abaqus: When Should You Upgrade? to learn more about the advantages of Abaqus (and 3DEXPERIENCE STRUCTURAL, which uses the Abaqus solvers).
Add Cloud-Connected Manufacturing
The 3DEXPERIENCE Platform also has programming and simulation tools for NC programming, 3D printing, and robotics, factory layout and simulation, lean manufacturing, and ERP , again, all connected to your original data with no in-between steps, just like SOLIDWORKS with Cloud Services.