What’s New in SOLIDWORKS 2027? A First Look at the New Features

Engineers lose time to small limitations that repeat across every project: selecting weld edges individually, rebuilding drawings after design changes, creating exploded views component by component and entering equations manually.

SOLIDWORKS 2027 addresses that work through improvements to parts, assemblies and drawings, alongside AI-assisted workflows designed to provide an editable starting point rather than a finished answer.

During the Technology Showcase 2026, Graham Stephenson and James Hankins gave attendees an early look at SOLIDWORKS 2027 and recent workflow enhancements, ahead of our What’s New in SOLIDWORKS 2027 live launch event on Wednesday 18 November 2026.

SOLIDWORKS 2027 Part Modelling Improvements

Apply Sheet Metal Stamps Across Bends

Sheet metal stamps and embossed details have traditionally been restricted to a single planar face. That creates additional work when a logo, identifying mark or formed detail needs to continue across a bend.

In SOLIDWORKS 2027, stamp features can be applied across multiple faces, including the bend face. The stamp is created while the sheet metal body is unfolded and then follows the geometry correctly when the component is folded again.

The existing Stamp interface is retained, giving users the new behaviour without requiring them to adopt a different workflow. Formed details can cross bends accurately without splitting the operation across separate faces or relying on workaround features.

Work With Larger Point-Cloud Data Sets

Point-cloud data gives engineers the physical context needed to position equipment within factories, plant rooms and existing installations.

Historically, the size of the point-cloud data that could be used directly inside SOLIDWORKS was limited. SOLIDWORKS 2027 introduces support for larger data sets and the industry-standard E57 file format, including both point and colour information.

This makes it more practical to bring factory scans and other large environments into the design process without first reducing the data to the point that useful context is lost. Engineers can design equipment around existing environments using a more complete representation of the available space.

Detect Weldable Edges Automatically

Adding weld beads to a complex multibody component can require engineers to locate and select every edge where two bodies meet.

A new Collect All Weldable Edges option identifies edges where bodies are in contact or sit within a defined gap tolerance. SOLIDWORKS creates a separate weld path for each result while leaving the PropertyManager open, allowing the engineer to review and adjust the selections before committing them.

As Stephenson explained:

“That saves a huge amount of time.”

The engineer retains control over the final result but no longer needs to locate every likely weld edge manually.

SOLIDWORKS 2027 Drawing Enhancements

Open Models in the Correct Display State

Opening a model through a drawing view has previously respected the referenced configuration but not necessarily its display state.

This can create a disconnect between the drawing view and the model that opens, particularly where components have different appearances or visibility settings.

SOLIDWORKS 2027 respects both the referenced configuration and display state, helping the model open as it appears in the drawing.

Update Drawings in the Background

Introduced in SOLIDWORKS 2026 FD03

Design changes can leave an entire series of drawings waiting to be rebuilt.

Background drawing updates allow affected drawings to regenerate through a task queue while the engineer continues working. Rather than opening, rebuilding, saving and closing each drawing individually, multiple files can be processed together.

This allows drawing documentation to catch up with design changes without taking the engineer away from the active model.

Protect Drawing Formats From Accidental Changes

Drawing templates and sheet formats help maintain consistent title blocks, borders and manufacturing information.

SOLIDWORKS 2027 introduces password-protected administrative controls that can restrict sheet-format editing. Locked commands are unavailable to the user, with the interface explaining why the restriction applies.

This gives CAD managers greater control over drawing standards without relying entirely on individual users to avoid unintended edits.

SOLIDWORKS 2027 Assembly Improvements

Lock Rotation on Coincident Mates

Concentric mates already allow rotation to be locked, but that option is not always available when components lack suitable cylindrical geometry.

SOLIDWORKS 2027 extends rotation locking to suitable coincident and distance mates. This can reduce the need for additional planes, axes or supplementary mates used solely to prevent a component from rotating.

It is a relatively small adjustment, but one that can simplify mate structures and remove repeated setup work.

Lock Multiple Components With One Mate

Lock mates were previously limited to two components, requiring engineers to chain several mates together when creating a rigid group.

The updated Lock Mate PropertyManager accepts more than two components within a single mate. This gives engineers a cleaner way to control larger groups of components without building an equivalent chain of individual relationships.

Control Configurable Products Through Variability Tables

Introduced in SOLIDWORKS 2026 FD04

Products with multiple sizes and options often rely on a mixture of dimensions, configurations, display states and feature suppression.

Cascading Assembly Variability Tables provide a top-level point of control. Choices made within the main assembly can drive dimensions, feature states and configurations within child parts and subassemblies.

This is relevant to configurable equipment, furniture and modular assemblies, where a relatively small number of customer choices can affect many connected design parameters.

As Stephenson explained:

“It gives the user a much nicer experience to access, edit and change all of this cascading set of options.”

See the wider SOLIDWORKS 2027 release demonstrated live at our launch event.

AI in SOLIDWORKS 2027

The latest SOLIDWORKS AI developments focus on recognisable engineering tasks rather than generic content generation.

During Technology Showcase 2026, James Hankins previewed how SOLIDWORKS Virtual Companions could support exploded-view generation, assembly-structure creation and design parameterisation.

These workflows use native SOLIDWORKS features, giving engineers an initial result they can inspect, modify and validate rather than a static output they must either accept or reject.

As Hankins explained:

“These AI tools are working with you to get the job done, rather than taking all the control away from you.”

The capabilities demonstrated are at different stages of development. Some are connected Virtual Companion skills that may be delivered through functional updates or Early Access programmes. Availability may depend on the connected SOLIDWORKS Design environment, licensing and the release status of each AI skill.

Generate Editable Exploded Views

Creating an exploded view for an assembly containing hundreds of components can involve a significant amount of manual selection and positioning.

The SOLIDWORKS 2027 preview demonstrated how a Virtual Companion could use natural-language prompts to generate an initial exploded view. The result is not a rendered impression of the assembly. It creates editable explode steps that the engineer can review and refine within the existing workflow.

An engineer could provide an instruction such as:

“Explode this assembly in the Y direction, with 20 mm spacing.”

The resulting steps can then be reviewed and adjusted using the established exploded-view tools.

As Hankins explained:

“If I can get you 70, 80 or 90 per cent of the way there and then you can tweak it, that’s a huge time saver.”

Enhanced Assembly Structure Generation

Top-down assembly modelling often benefits from an agreed structure before detailed modelling begins.

AI-assisted assembly-structure generation was introduced through an earlier functional delivery. The preview demonstrated its continuing development, allowing users to describe an assembly structure in natural language and then review and refine the proposed hierarchy before creating the detailed models.

The engineer can move components, dissolve subassemblies and reorganise the structure before detailed modelling begins.

This can be particularly useful in collaborative design work, where agreeing the product structure early helps multiple engineers work within the same overall plan.

Create Global Variables and Equations Through Natural Language

Parametric models can depend on large collections of variables and equations. Building these relationships manually takes time and leaves room for syntax and data-entry errors.

Another capability previewed was the use of natural language to create and implement global variables and equations. The engineer describes the required parameters and relationships, and the Virtual Companion creates them within the model’s equation library for review.

Rather than replacing design intent, this gives engineers a faster way to express and implement it while retaining control over the resulting parameters.

As Hankins said:

“More tools are coming to users to speed up the job that they’re doing. Lots of nice little efficiency gains.”

Customer Feedback Continues to Shape SOLIDWORKS

The new release is not limited to a handful of headline features. User and partner feedback continues to influence the wider development of the SOLIDWORKS portfolio.

Stephenson explained how Dassault Systèmes gathers that feedback:

“Every year, Dassault runs surveys. They question the user base and they question us as partners to get feedback on future projects and future development in the software.”

Hankins also encouraged users of LEO, AURA and MARIE to share their experiences, explaining that feedback from early users is influencing the features under development.

SOLIDWORKS 2027 includes hundreds of portfolio enhancements across design, AI, simulation, electrical, PDM and 2D CAD. Across the portfolio, the emphasis is on reducing the manual work surrounding engineering.

See What’s New in SOLIDWORKS 2027 Live

The enhancements covered here represent only a small part of SOLIDWORKS 2027.

Join our technical team on Wednesday 18 November 2026, from 15:00 to 16:30 GMT, for practical demonstrations of the latest improvements across the SOLIDWORKS portfolio.

The live event will bring the wider release together through practical demonstrations covering:

• The most significant SOLIDWORKS 2027 features
• AI and Virtual Companions within engineering workflows
• New tools for parts, assemblies and drawings
• Data collaboration and connected working
• Practical demonstrations from SOLIDWORKS technical specialists

The session is intended for existing SOLIDWORKS users, CAD managers and engineering teams that want to understand which changes could make a practical difference to their work.

Register for What’s New in SOLIDWORKS 2027.