An electrical engineer using SOLIDWORKS PCB can make changes to a printed circuit board and push those changes to a shared repository. A mechanical engineer using the SOLIDWORKS software can pull the changed circuit board from the repository, analyze the modifications, make additional changes, and push the design back to the repository, where it can then be accessed again by the electrical engineer.

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In this passage, we are providing all the details of Solidworks PCB. If you are searching for more information about Solidworks PCB, please check and read the content below for professional knowledge. 

What are the basics and history of Solidworks PCB?

SOLIDWORKS PCB is a professional standalone PCB design tool capable of meeting the demands of today’s products, which allows you to develop the most efficient schematics for your board layouts. Integration of PCB design seamlessly with SOLIDWORKS CAD, with a managed ECO change process and distinct workflows to keep you at your most productive.

Powered by Altium Designer, it combines the power and usability of Altium with the 3D expertise of SOLIDWORKS to unite the electronic and mechanical worlds, one design at a time. By integrating Electronic designs seamlessly with SOLIDWORKS utilizing your trusted mechanical workflow, designs come to life with integrated design data, managed ECO processes, and greater analysis capabilities. SOLIDWORKS PCB is focused on bringing the best of both worlds together. Do what you do best in SOLIDWORKS, and let SOLIDWORKS PCB handle your PCB design needs.

It's a well-accepted fact that electrical design (ECAD) and mechanical design (MCAD) disciplines are fundamentally (and significantly) different from each other. Their design tool suites echo this difference.

To bridge that gap, SOLIDWORKS PCB was created with its roots in Altium Designer. Dassault developed in cooperation with Altium Inc. to smoothly bring together the ECAD and MCAD worlds.

For many years, previous attempts to bridge these worlds were focused on the simple translation of the primitives from one tool suite to another. Though universal 2D formats, like DWG, DXF, and IDF, existed, they could not capture all the necessary details. In most cases, manual duplication for each tool was required, making it extremely difficult to keep mechanical representations in sync across various tools.

In 2008, Altium Inc. revolutionized the ECAD industry by introducing an easy to use 3D modeling in their layout tool, which took advantage of a universal 3D mechanical format called STEP. Altium Designer was then able to pass graphical information to and from the MCAD tool readily.

As this capability developed, it allowed the ECAD and MCAD worlds to pass information back and forth in real-time.

What are the challenges of Solidworks PCB?

Despite efforts over the years, collaboration between MCAD and ECAD workflows has been difficult. Mechanical and electrical engineers still have to exchange design information in various incompatible file formats via email or other data-sharing methods. This makes for a laborious process in which much is lost in translation.

For example, a mechanical engineer creates a 2D footprint of the board outline containing locations of mounting holes, connectors and keep-out areas. This information is then sent to the electrical engineer in the form of a PDF or DXF. The electrical engineer imports or recreates the outline inside the PCB design software to being the route and layout process in conjunction with the schematic. The completed design is then sent back to the mechanical engineer in various file formats (STEP, IDF, DXF, etc.) to ensure the board fits in the enclosure.

There is little intelligence in these file formats and, inevitably, changes have to be made. Even a simple revision, such as adjusting the location of a component or even modifying the text on the silkscreen, could cost $1,500 or more. Before all is said and done, a typical circuit board design may undergo numerous costly and time-consuming revisions.

What are the features of Solidworks PCB?

An electrical engineer using SOLIDWORKS PCB can make changes to a printed circuit board and push those changes to a shared repository. A mechanical engineer using the SOLIDWORKS software can pull the changed circuit board from the repository, analyze the modifications, make additional changes, and push the design back to the repository.  From the repository it can then be accessed again by the electrical engineer.

To enable this collaboration, you must install SOLIDWORKS PCB Services.  It manages the repository on a shared server. PCB Services is installed by SOLIDWORKS Installation Manager as part of a Server installation and does not require a separate license.  It utilizes Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) and a database that stores data used to synchronize the work of the electrical and mechanical designers.

SOLIDWORKS PCB 2022 can be used with standalone and network licenses. Note that the license type differs from the installation configuration type, which can be standalone or shared. The installation configuration type can be standalone or client-server (this guide is for the standalone configuration). Either license type can be used with either configuration type.

If you have a standalone license, you will need to activate SOLIDWORKS PCB 2022 after installing. You will be automatically prompted to do this when launching the application after an upgrade. Refer to our guide titled 2022 Product Activation for more information on activation methods. If you are moving your SOLIDWORKS PCB 2022 installation to a new computer, you will need to transfer your license activation off the old computer before activating on the new one. Refer to the Appendix for instructions on transferring your SOLIDWORKS PCB standalone license.

If you have a network license, the SolidNetwork License Manager on the license server computer needs to be of a version at or above the version of SOLIDWORKS PCB 2022 that you are installing. If this is not already the case, refer to our guide titled 2022 Network Server Installation to install and activate the SolidNetwork License Manager.