A: Yes. DELMIAWorks and SOLIDWORKS are both part of the Dassault Systemes portfolio, and they connect in more than one way. SOLIDWORKS BOMs can be used as the basis for DELMIAWorks BOMs, SOLIDWORKS PDM can connect to DELMIAWorks Document Control, and the 3DEXPERIENCE Bridge links the 3DEXPERIENCE platform to DELMIAWorks. Which path fits depends on how your engineering team works today.
Why the Connection Matters
When engineering and manufacturing run on disconnected systems, the same part is entered twice. An engineer finishes a design, and someone in manufacturing rebuilds the bill of materials by hand. When the design changes, the data has to be re-entered again. Every re-entry is a chance for a wrong quantity, a missing material, or a revision that never reached the floor.
The purpose of connecting SOLIDWORKS to DELMIAWorks is to start manufacturing from the engineering data instead of retyping it.
Path 1: SOLIDWORKS BOMs as the Basis for DELMIAWorks BOMs
DELMIAWorks documentation describes the ability to use the SOLIDWORKS BOM as a basis for populating a new DELMIAWorks BOM. The SOLIDWORKS fields it names include item number, part number, quantity, dimensions, cut lengths, weight, and materials.
The DELMIAWorks BOM then carries the manufacturing detail that engineering does not model, such as process steps, machines, tooling, and packaging. SOLIDWORKS describes the same idea as converting SOLIDWORKS BOMs into bills of manufacture with minimal effort.
Two tools come up in this path under different names. DELMIAWorks documentation refers to a DELMIAWorks SOLIDWORKS Connector and SOLIDWORKS macros, and our 2026 DELMIAWorks promotional packages list a SOLIDWORKS Add-in as an add-on for CAD integration. Which one fits your setup is a scoping question.
Path 2: SOLIDWORKS PDM and Document Control
For teams that manage drawings and engineering documents in SOLIDWORKS PDM, DELMIAWorks documentation describes connecting SOLIDWORKS PDM to the DELMIAWorks Document Control system. The goal is that the person on the floor works from the current approved document rather than a copy that drifted from the source.
Path 3: The 3DEXPERIENCE Bridge
Teams working on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform use a different route. Dassault describes the 3DEXPERIENCE Bridge, introduced as a web-based tool in the DELMIAWorks 2025 release, as linking the platform to the ERP and keeping data consistent from engineering models through to manufacturing BOMs.
The DELMIAWorks 2026 release, available worldwide on January 16, 2026, improved the bridge. Dassault’s release notes describe better mapping of BOMs, work plans, inventory, and work centers between 3DEXPERIENCE and DELMIAWorks.
Which Path Fits Your Team
The three paths answer different questions, and the right starting point depends on where your engineering data lives today.
- Engineers work in SOLIDWORKS and hand BOMs to manufacturing. Path 1 is the natural starting point, because it removes the rekeying step.
- Drawings and released documents live in SOLIDWORKS PDM. Path 2 addresses a separate question from BOM transfer: which version of a drawing the floor is looking at.
- Your engineering team is on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, or moving to it. Path 3 is the route Dassault describes for keeping engineering models and manufacturing BOMs consistent.
Some teams will need more than one path. A shop that designs in SOLIDWORKS and controls drawings in PDM, for example, has both a BOM question and a document question.
What Public Documentation Does Not Settle
The published material describes these connections at a high level. Details such as which fields map to which, whether data flows one way or both, and how an engineering change reaches an open work order are decisions made during scoping. They depend on your CAD environment, your item numbering, and how your team releases changes.
That is not a weakness in the integration. It is the reason to treat it as a project with an owner rather than a checkbox on a feature list.
What to Confirm Before You Scope
Bring these questions to the first conversation:
- Which engineering tools do you use? SOLIDWORKS desktop, SOLIDWORKS PDM, the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, or a mix.
- Who owns item numbering? Engineering and manufacturing need one rule for part numbers and revisions.
- Which BOM fields does manufacturing need? The fields that matter on your floor may not match the defaults.
- How do engineering changes reach production? Decide whether a changed BOM updates open work orders or applies only to new ones.
- Who maintains the mapping after go-live? Integrations need an owner when either system is upgraded.
Start With Clean Item Data
An integration moves whatever data it is given. If part numbers, descriptions, materials, and units of measure are inconsistent in SOLIDWORKS, they will arrive just as inconsistent in DELMIAWorks, only faster. Before connecting the systems, review how parts are numbered and described on the engineering side, and agree on a single convention for revisions. Cleanup before go-live is far cheaper than corrections afterward, and it makes every later engineering change easier to trace.
What Implementation Looks Like
A SOLIDWORKS integration is usually configured alongside the rest of your DELMIAWorks setup, so BOM structures, item masters, and routings are designed to work together from the start. DR Software Services also builds custom integrations when a standard connection does not match how your team works.
If you design in SOLIDWORKS and manufacture with DELMIAWorks, or you are evaluating whether the two fit together, reach out at info@drsoftwareservices.com or visit drsoftwareservices.com/our-services.
