Dassault Systèmes recently unveiled SolidWorks Education Edition 2012-2013. New enhancements include tools for mechanical design, simulation, sustainable design, and cost tracking, enabling students to experience real-life engineering situations.
In addition to offering software that empowers educators to more easily train their students, Dassault Systèmes provides a SolidWorks curriculum library with more than 20 hands-on projects for students at every level and experience.
Designing and building bridges, cars, and trebuchets helps make science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fun. The latest version of the product also integrates Facebook access within SolidWorks, making it easier to collaborate. Students can now post projects on their personal pages to share with friends, or post to the SolidWorks Facebook page to share with the larger SolidWorks community.
Sustainable design is also a focus of this year’s enhancements. The updated CAD Instructor’s Guide includes a chapter on sustainable design to help students analyse the future environmental impact of their designs.
Qualified schools with a SolidWorks Education Edition subscription can now administer the Certified Sustainable Design Associate (CSDA) exam, in addition to the Certified SolidWorks Associate (CSWA) exam to its students.
The new exam tests the fundamentals of lifecycle assessment and provides an introduction into the environmental impact of products. SolidWorks Certifications are considered a major asset in a job search because they effectively validate student expertise to prospective employers.
“More than 24,000 secondary schools and universities worldwide have inspired and effectively equipped the next generation of design leaders to solve the world’s most pressing design problems with the SolidWorks Education Edition,” said Bertrand Sicot, CEO, SolidWorks, Dassault Systèmes.
“The latest version of the software and updated curriculum helps us to provide our customers with highly trained employees who can immediately add value in collaborating on design issues, across time zones and different cultures.”
“This new SolidWorks Education Edition is part of a more comprehensive 3DExperience Platform Education program that we run each year to enhance the learning and understanding of students and users everywhere in the world,” said Monica Menghini, Executive Vice President Industry, Marketing and Corporate Communication at Dassault Systèmes. “The applications of our 3DExperience Platforms are more and more of an indispensable tool for the academic world.”
Based on SolidWorks Premium 2012 software, the new education edition includes the following enhancements:
- An electronics cooling application that lets users analyze thermal simulations, helping ensure that heat doesn’t melt a product’s electronics;
- A heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) application for simulating airflow;
- A design costing tool that makes it possible for students to utilize their STEM competencies to evaluate material characteristics and design costs.
The following additional products that support the SolidWorks Education Edition are available through SolidWorks channels:
- SolidWorks Simulation, software that makes it possible to easily subject designs to the same conditions that they’ll experience in the real world;
- Equation editor, a tool to help students visualize their mathematic skills and see their theories come to life;
- DraftSight, a free (standalone license requires activation) 2D drafting software application, with new curriculum for educators on subscription.