The Hawk Ridge Systems Blog

How Engineers Are Actually Using AI in 2026: 5 High-Value Use Cases (With Prompts)

Scott Woods — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 17:18:06 +0000

The Engineer’s Companion

We asked our engineering leaders at Hawk Ridge Systems where AI is adding the most value and how it’s helping in real-world, everyday workflows in 2026.

A single use-case keeps showing up at the top of the value list: AI as a companion to the engineer.

Not a replacement. An accelerant — one that helps people interpret documentation, troubleshoot errors, write code and technical docs, validate outputs, and get higher-quality projects to the finish line, much faster.

Why Human-in-the-Loop AI Beats Full Autonomy in Manufacturing

The conversation around AI in manufacturing often focuses on autonomous engineering. In reality, most manufacturers are finding the greatest value in AI that works alongside engineers, not AI that replaces them.

“Where it’s [AI/LLMs/automation] delivering real value today: Helping people interpret documentation, troubleshoot errors, write code and technical docs, validate outputs, and accelerate learning.”

— Expert Insights on Automation, Hawk Ridge Systems (Vol. I, 2026)

Each of those five tasks (documentation, troubleshooting, technical writing, validation, and learning) can eat up enormous chunks of time.

And when human engineers and subject matter experts stay in the loop in AI-assisted workflows, the failure modes are bounded.

5 Practical AI Use-Cases for Engineers and Manufacturers: Documentation, Troubleshooting, Code, Validation, and Training

Here’s what those five recurring high-value opportunities for AI-as-companion look like when they are put into practice:

#1 Finding the Right Information & Interpreting It

One of the biggest productivity drains in engineering isn’t solving problems; it’s finding information. Engineers routinely search through QMS procedures, AS9100 documentation, ISO standards, internal SOPs, design standards, engineering specifications, customer requirements, supplier documentation, CAD help files, and legacy project documentation looking for the one section that answers their question. AI assistants excel at locating and summarizing that information, allowing engineers to spend less time searching and more time designing.

Mechanical Engineer and SOLIDWORKS expert, Ryan Navarro, shared several prompts in his D2M presentation, “AI in Engineering: Past, Present, and Future.” The same session covers text extraction from scans and digitizing fan-curve plots into CSV tables, if you want more variants.

Prompt

Here’s the full MIL-STD PDF. Reference it and tell me where to look for requirements on aircraft-mounted equipment subject to shock and vibration. Cite the section numbers.

Why this works: It gives the AI a specific document (a 1,089-page document that would take a little while to read) to search and asks for pointers, not answers — the engineer still reads the actual standard, so a wrong pointer costs seconds, not a design review.

Helpful Tip: With SOLIDWORKS AI assistants, AURA and LEO, you can now use AURA to answer queries like “How can I do something,” and LEO as the agent that will do it for you.

#2 Troubleshooting Errors

From CAM toolpath errors to SOLIDWORKS rebuild failures to DriveWorks rule conflicts, error messages are notoriously cryptic. AI is a fast first responder — not always right, but a useful sparring partner. AURA AI in SOLIDWORKS, because it’s pulling answers from a reputable, subject-matter-expert-backed knowledge repository, can get you more granular and more helpful information when troubleshooting.

Scott Woods, Senior Technical Product Manager and 3DEXPERIENCE Expert, shares several useful best practices for getting the most out of design and engineering AI-assisted workflows in his AURA Best Practices Guide and his session at the annual D2M conference, “Beyond the Hype: What’s New with AI in Design.”

Prompt

I’m getting this rebuild error in my SOLIDWORKS assembly… walk me through resolving it — then tell me what most often causes this and how to avoid it.

Prompt

Here’s the rebuild error text. It appeared after I edited the sketch driving this swept boss. Give me the three most likely causes in order, and how to test each.

Why this works: It includes what changed last — the context the error message leaves out — and asks for ranked hypotheses with tests.

Note: Source data matters. AURA is grounded in trusted engineering resources, including SOLIDWORKS documentation, technical knowledge bases, 3DSwym communities, and official engineering content. By focusing on trusted engineering sources instead of unverified public internet content, AURA helps engineers quickly find accurate, relevant answers with confidence.

#3 Writing Code and Technical Docs

You can use AI to help with macros, post-processor edits, design rules, build instructions, and change notes. AI doesn’t ship the code: it drafts it based on requirements and the engineer reviews. The example below uses a CAMWorks post processor.

Prompt

Here’s the output block from my CAMWorks post for a Haas VF-2. I need it to add a header with the programmer’s name and date and bring the table to front-center at end of program. Draft the edit and explain each change — I’ll dry-run it without stock before cutting anything.

Why this works: It names the machine (G-code dialects differ), asks for an explained change rather than a black box, and the verification step is planned before the AI answers, not after.

#4 Validating Outputs

Checking a parts list against a BOM, spot-checking a generated quote, or sanity-checking a rule’s edge cases. AI’s pattern-matching is well-suited to quality control/quality assurance.

Prompt

This topology study assumed a 500 N load on the bracket face, 6061-T6, target factor of safety of 2. Here are the results. What should I check before trusting this — and where would you expect this design to fail first?

Why this works: It states the assumptions so the AI has something to validate against, and it invites skepticism — “Where would this fail?” gets a more honest answer than “Does this look good?”

#5 Accelerating Learning

New-hire ramp-up is one of the most under-discussed manufacturing pain points. AI as a patient, always-on Q&A partner shortens the path from hired to productive.

Prompt

Using only the uploaded SOP documents, walk me through how we release a drawing revision. If the answer isn’t in these documents, say so — don’t pull from external sources.

Why this works: Grounding the AI in company docs plus an explicit refusal instruction means a new hire gets your process, not the internet’s — and “I don’t know” becomes a signal to ask a human.

The unifying principle: Every one of these uses keeps a human in the loop, with clear ownership of the final answer.

Prompt Engineering and Output Validation: The New Core Engineering Skills

We’re making a quiet (but important) point about workforce implications:

“Build fluency in your team now. Prompt engineering and output validation are becoming core skills.”

— Expert Insights on Automation, Hawk Ridge Systems (Vol. I, 2026)

Prompt engineering and output validation — together.

Knowing how to ask is half the skill. Knowing how to check the answer is the other half. The teams that get this right are training their engineers in both halves at once, the same way they once trained machinists to set up a fixture and inspect the first article.

Capturing Institutional Knowledge: Connecting Knowledge Bases to AI Workflows

It would be a mistake to talk about AI in 2026 without acknowledging the bigger, and much older challenge it sits inside: migrating tacit, expert knowledge into a usable asset. Every company’s most valuable (and fragile) asset is its institutional knowledge, or intellectual capital. Many organizations already maintain knowledge bases to preserve and leverage it. An important grounding step is connecting those libraries to your enterprise LLM workflows, so the AI can actually reference them reliably as source materials. That combination is game-changing.

“Talent shortages are accelerating automation adoption — and for good reason. Retiring machinists and engineers take institutional knowledge with them. Tools like DriveWorks (design automation) and CAMWorks (CAM automation) capture that expertise in rules and templates, lower the skill floor for newer hires, and let your senior team focus on truly custom and innovative work.”

— Expert Insights on Automation, Hawk Ridge Systems (Vol. I, 2026)

And a knowledge base repository that is consistently updated with inputs from the team means when an employee leaves for a new role at a new company, that knowledge isn’t lost forever.

This is where AI-as-companion, intellectual capital, and rules-based automation converge.

How to Start with AI in Manufacturing: A 5-Step Playbook

If you’re an engineering or operations leader weighing where to put AI investment in the next two quarters, the Hawk Ridge synthesis points to a clear sequence:

Start small. Pick one repetitive, high-frequency task — a documentation lookup, an error-message interpretation, a code-drafting use-case — and ship it. Expect ROI in 1–4 months when scope is tight.
Automate the workflows that already work. “Automating a broken process just scales the problem.” AI is a force multiplier in both directions.
Train both halves of the skill. Prompt engineering and output validation. Together.
Build visibility in from day one. Make it easy for engineers to see what the AI did and why.
Build out your KB (Knowledge Base): Consolidate company information assets in a knowledge base that gets auto-updated with new information and regularly source subject-matter-expert input for topics not covered or documented yet. The knowledge base (KB) can be used for new hire training, AI/automation workflows, and much more.

The Bottom Line: Start Small, Keep Humans at the Core of the Process

The top AI use-case in 2026 is AI as a companion to the engineer. The value shows up in five everyday workflows: interpreting documentation, troubleshooting errors, drafting code and technical docs, validating outputs, and accelerating learning.

What makes it work is equally clear: keep a human in the loop with ownership of the final answer, train prompt engineering and output validation together, and ground your AI in a well-maintained knowledge base so it draws on your expertise, not the internet’s.

So, start now — and start small. Pick one high-frequency task from the playbook above and put an AI companion to work on it this quarter. Then talk to the team that’s already done this on real shop floors: contact Hawk Ridge Systems to map out where AI and automation will deliver ROI fastest in your workflows, explore the Expert Insights on Automation report, or check out additional resources below. Your competitors’ engineers are already prompting. Make sure yours are validating, too.

Sources & Resources:

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SOLIDWORKS 2027 Sneak Peek: The Beta Excitement Is Real — Here’s What’s Coming and Why It Matters

Marketing Team — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 19:15:21 +0000

Every fall, SOLIDWORKS users get that familiar itch: What’s actually new this year?

This time, the answer feels different. The SOLIDWORKS 2027 Preview Program kicks off July 15, 2026, giving subscription customers and channel partners early beta access (mid-July through mid-August) to test new features under NDA.

If you’ve ever jumped into a game beta or new AI tool early, you know the rush: being first, testing real workflows, and shaping what ships. For designers and engineers, this Preview delivers exactly that — early looks at built-in SOLIDWORKS AI (LEO, AURA, MARIA), maturing drawing automation, continued large-assembly performance gains, and more.

The bigger shift? Dassault no longer drops one big October release. Enhancements now arrive year-round through Functional Deliveries (FDs). The fall release is the headline chapter in a continuous story — and Preview access lets you prepare, test in your environment, and give feedback that actually influences the final product.

AI Is the Through-Line: LEO Keeps Rolling Out

At 3DEXPERIENCE World 2026 in Houston this February, Dassault unveiled LEO, its agentic AI assistant — the next evolution beyond AURA. Where AURA tells you how to do something, LEO actually does it: reverse-engineering BREP bodies and 2D drawings into parametric models, generating manufacturable parts from sketch inputs, building assemblies from natural-language prompts, and setting up SIMULIA Abaqus simulations from a simple prompt.

The demo that stopped the room: SOLIDWORKS CEO Manish Kumar prompted LEO to design a steel structure frame supporting a water tank, accounting for Massachusetts wind loads. In under five minutes, LEO returned the complete assembly, 3D sketches and Structure System features, a validated linear static study, and a report on weight, footprint, and factor of safety.

LEO’s first capabilities are already shipping in SOLIDWORKS 2026 SP1, accessible from the SOLIDWORKS Labs tab in the Task Pane — assembly structure creation and automatic BREP-to-features conversion in xDesign. Dassault has said more capabilities are rolling out through SP2 and beyond, which puts additional LEO functionality squarely on the path toward the fall release. Built on the Dassault–NVIDIA “physical AI” partnership, LEO is designed to reason with physics and causality, not just text patterns. Kumar’s framing from the keynote: “AI is the multiplier. You are the value.”

Drawing Automation Is Maturing Fast

If you want a preview of how beta features graduate, watch auto-generate drawings. Introduced as a beta through the 3DEXPERIENCE add-in, it produces standard views, section views, hole callouts, driven dimensions, GD&T control frames and datums for parts, plus revision tables and bills of materials for assemblies — all generated in the background while you keep working. The output is a regular SOLIDWORKS drawing you can edit normally; the goal is to get the groundwork done so you spend your time on final detailing.

Two characteristics worth knowing: it’s a static AI model, so it isn’t learning from your drawings and your IP stays yours, and it requires a 3DEXPERIENCE platform connection — though a simple login and the SOLIDWORKS connector are enough, no full PDM implementation needed. Given the year-over-year expansion this feature has already seen, expect drawing automation to keep gaining ground in the fall release.

The 2026 Themes That Point Forward

Performance where it counts. SOLIDWORKS 2026 stopped flagging assemblies for rebuild over cosmetic-only edits — appearances, decals, non-driving sketches and planes now show a bracketed indicator instead of forcing a save and rebuild. This is an optional setting where you can choose whether it marks the assembly as modified (in need of a save), ignores it, or asks you to decide.

You can also hit Escape to cancel a lengthy rebuild mid-process. Note: This is actually specific to Parts, and specific features at that (Linear Pattern, Circular Pattern, Fillet, Chamfer). Expect large-assembly and parts performance to remain a priority.

Configurations and design reuse. The new split configurations command publishes one or more configurations as separate part files in a single step, with an “update where used” option that automatically remaps assemblies and drawings.

Manufacturing workflows. Sheet metal base flanges can now be offset from the sketch plane to support layout-sketch and master-model workflows; weldment cut-list properties like length are now available as file properties for drawing notes; structure systems show the full array of corner trim options; and CAMWorks added a dedicated Swiss-style CNC module with automatic feature recognition.

Smarter everyday tools. AI-recognized fasteners snap into SmartMates on drag-and-drop, search accepts non-native terms (it understands terminology from other CAD tools), and you can render directly from SOLIDWORKS to the Visualize engine without opening Visualize — included with Professional and Premium subscriptions.

Add-ins, too. PDM gained the ability to transfer ownership of checked-out files without losing work, and Simulation can now plot angular rotation directly as a displacement quantity for evaluating torsional stiffness.

Every one of these is a foundation the fall release builds on through the FD cadence.

One Compatibility Fact to Remember

Since SOLIDWORKS 2024, you can save files back to the last two releases. A feature that didn’t exist in the older version can’t be preserved — SOLIDWORKS warns you when saving — but this materially eases collaboration during the transition window when your team, suppliers, and customers are on mixed versions.

Get Upgrade-Ready with Hawk Ridge Systems

The 2027 release will arrive faster and evolve more continuously than ever. Now is the time to confirm your subscription, plan your rollout, and prepare your team.

Hawk Ridge Systems brings 28+ years of support from practicing engineers (430+ certifications, 99.8% satisfaction). Subscription customers receive proactive support and annual reviews. Our Elite plan adds unlimited SolidProfessor training, a training voucher, and expert consultations.

Need help planning your upgrade? Contact us.

We’ll do a deep dive into new enhancements in SOLIDWORKS and more at our annual Design to Manufacturing Conference this fall. Want to stay in the loop? Get our newsletter for updates.

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How to Get Real Value from Every Simulation Project

Julio Guzman — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 16:03:01 +0000

Simulation projects rarely fail because of bad engineering — they stall because of process gaps. I’ve spent the last seven years at Hawk Ridge Systems in roles ranging from application engineer to simulation specialist, and today I scope and deliver simulation projects on our services team. In my recent webinar, I shared the framework that separates simulations that drive real design decisions from those that produce results nobody can act on.

Whether your team runs finite element analysis (FEA) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in-house, partners with simulation consultants, or is still weighing the options, this playbook applies to you — and you can watch the complete webinar right here.

Why Companies Launch Simulation Projects

Every simulation project starts with a trigger. Here are the ones I see most often:

Design verification. The most frequent driver — confirming a design performs as expected before committing to production or shipping to a customer.
Product failure investigation. Something broke in the field or failed a test, and you need the root cause before you can fix it.
Design optimization. The design works, but you know it can be lighter, stronger, or more thermally efficient.
Early-stage validation. Catching problems before you spend money on physical prototypes.
Regulatory compliance. Aerospace, medical, and automotive requirements drive significant simulation work — tailoring designs to MIL standards with random vibration analysis or shock analysis is one of the most common projects I deliver.
Cost and time reduction. Physical testing is expensive and slow. Simulation lets you run dozens of scenarios in the time it takes to build and test one prototype.

Three Ways to Tackle a Simulation Project

Once you’ve decided to simulate, the next question is how. There are three paths — and I want to be clear that none is inherently better than the others. It depends entirely on where your team is right now.

1. Do It Yourself

Your team owns the process end to end. This works well when you have the software, hands-on experience, and a recurring need.

2. Mentoring and Guided Learning

An expert coaches your team through the project while you drive. You build internal capability and still get expert oversight — the best of both worlds for teams investing in long-term simulation skills.

3. Done-for-You Simulation Services

Hand the project to a provider who handles everything from geometry cleanup to the final report. This is the right call when the project is urgent, outside your team’s current capability, or a one-time need.

A quick self-assessment helps you choose: Do you have a trained team? Is the timeline fixed or urgent? Is this recurring or one-time? Is the goal fast results or building capability? How involved does your team want to be? At Hawk Ridge Systems, we support all three paths.

The Six Most Common Simulation Project Types

Static stress analysis. To me, the most common question in FEA: Will this part hold up under load?
Dynamics and impact. Drop tests, shock loads, collision events, and random vibration analysis — essential for MIL standard compliance.
Thermal and CFD analysis. Are temperatures staying within spec? Is airflow adequate? Think assemblies with multiple PCBs and hundreds of chips approaching maximum temperature.
Fluid flow and pressure drop. How does fluid behave through a manifold or valve?
Fatigue analysis. How long will a part last under repeated loading? Notoriously difficult to test physically — and a perfect fit for virtual simulation.
Assembly and contact studies. How do mating parts behave together under load? A word of caution from experience: CAD mates don’t carry over as simulation contacts, so defining the right component interactions is critical — I see new users get over-ambitious here more than anywhere else.

SOLIDWORKS Simulation drop test analysis results showing impact stress contours on a product housing — dynamics and impact simulation project.

Six Things to Prepare Before You Start

Regardless of who runs the analysis, have these ready — or at least know their status:

Clean geometry. Cosmetic features, logos, and small fillets that don’t affect structural behavior make meshing painful. Strip them out first — I’ve seen geometry simplification consume hours of a project when it isn’t done up front.
Material properties. Yield strength, modulus, thermal conductivity — whatever your analysis needs. If you don’t know them, flag it early so assumptions are documented.
Objectives. What decision does the simulation support?
Boundary conditions. Loads, pressures, temperatures, constraints. Even rough estimates beat nothing — document what’s known and what’s assumed.
Timeline. When do you need results? Design reviews and launch dates drive the schedule.
Budget. A rough range helps scope the work and prevents misaligned expectations.

The Secret to Actionable Results: Define a Goal You Can Work With

To me, this is the most important lesson in the entire webinar. The number one reason simulation projects produce results nobody can act on is a goal that sounds clear but isn’t. “Run a stress analysis on this part” tells me nothing — what load, what failure mode, what pass/fail criterion? Compare that to “verify the bracket won’t yield under 500 pounds at the mounting point.” That’s a goal I can work with.

A strong simulation goal answers three questions:

What is the physical scenario being tested?
What are the pass/fail criteria?
What decision will the simulation inform?

Don’t open the software until you can answer all three — whether you’re briefing a partner or setting up the analysis yourself. And if you’re engaging a simulation partner, interview them right back: What do you need from me? How will you validate the setup? What will I receive at the end? Clear, confident answers are a signal worth paying attention to.

Common Pitfalls That Stall Simulation Projects

Dirty geometry. Manufacturing models aren’t simulation-ready. Clean them up before you start.
Vague goals. If you can’t define success before opening the software, your results won’t help you decide anything.
Scope creep. It starts with one innocent mid-project ask, and suddenly you’re running three extra load cases. Define scope in writing up front and treat anything outside it as a new conversation.
Missing data. Material properties or load values nobody confirmed before kickoff.
Silent assumptions. Assumptions are inevitable in simulation — the problem is when they go undocumented.
Communication gaps. A quick midpoint check-in catches late-stage surprises before they become expensive. In my experience, waiting days for critical inputs is one of the most common reasons “urgent” projects stall.

What a Smooth Simulation Project Looks Like

When the process is followed, every project moves through six steps:

Define goals — before anything else.
Plan and scope — agree on deliverables, assumptions, timelines, and resources; planning your simulation study up front pays for itself. For critical projects, my recommendation is to map two or three alternate paths to mitigate risk.
Prepare data — geometry, materials, and boundary conditions in order.
Run the simulation — with a midpoint review for projects longer than a few days.
Review results — interpret findings against your pass/fail criteria.
Apply and decide — the step most often skipped. Connect the output back to the decision that started the project in the first place.

SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation thermal analysis of a processor board with flow trajectories and goal plots — thermal and CFD simulation project.

How Hawk Ridge Systems Can Help

Everything above is how my team approaches every engagement. If you want to hand off a project entirely, our full simulation services cover everything from geometry prep to final report. If you want to build your team’s capability, our mentoring hours put our engineers alongside yours. Not sure where to start? We’ll help you scope it before any work begins.

And if you need the software itself, we have deep expertise across SOLIDWORKS Simulation for FEA, SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation for CFD, SOLIDWORKS Plastics for injection molding analysis, plus SIMULIA Abaqus for advanced structural and nonlinear work, SIMULIA CST for electromagnetic simulation, and XFlow for complex fluid problems — available on desktop and the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.

If anything here resonated, I’m happy to have a conversation. Contact Hawk Ridge Systems to talk through your next simulation project, or watch the full webinar above for the complete framework. And if you want to keep building your simulation knowledge, here are more resources from our library, from introductory to advanced:

SOLIDWORKS Simulation Overview [Video] — a quick introduction to what FEA inside SOLIDWORKS can do.
3 Golden Rules for SOLIDWORKS FEA Simulation Analysis — foundational habits for trustworthy results.
SOLIDWORKS Simulation Fixtures 101: Understanding Fixtures — getting boundary conditions right.
Ins and Outs on Meshing Elements for SOLIDWORKS Simulation — a deeper look at the mesh behind every study.
How to Use CFD Results as FEA Inputs for Multiphysics Analysis — advanced workflows that combine fluid and structural simulation.
SIMULIA Abaqus — where to go when your projects outgrow linear analysis: complex materials, contact, and nonlinear FEA.

The post How to Get Real Value from Every Simulation Project appeared first on Hawk Ridge Systems.

Engineering as Art: 12 Builds That Double as Masterpieces

Emily Williams — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 16:03:09 +0000

We put a question to the people at Hawk Ridge Systems: What counts as damned good engineering that also passes as art? What we got back was a catalog of obsessions. This is just a thin slice of engineering excellence. Here are the 12 builds our team swears are equal parts engineering and art. (Want to color them in? Get the free engineering coloring book.)

Engineering as art, before CAD existed

Applications Engineer Nick Keglovits didn’t hesitate when asked which famous project he’d travel back in time to work on. “The Golden Gate Bridge: what a marvel of technology and beauty to this day, and before computer-aided design to boot.”

That last clause is the whole point. The bridge was drawn by hand, calculated with slide rules, and raised over a strait engineers of the era called impossible to span — no CAD model, no simulation, no digital twin. It held the record for the longest suspension span in the world until 1964, and it was built to move: the roadway can swing as much as 27 feet to the side in high winds. Nearly a century on, it’s still the first thing most people picture when they picture a bridge.

Hawk Ridge Systems applications engineer Nick Keglovits beside a line drawing of the Golden Gate Bridge, his pick for engineering as art.

Cameron Carson, Senior VP of Engineering, reached back even further, to the Roman aqueducts — specifically the kind of structure embodied by the Pont du Gard. The Romans moved water across whole landscapes on a grade so gentle it’s hard to believe gravity did the rest. The Pont du Gard was part of a 50-kilometer channel that fell barely 12.6 meters end to end, yet delivered tens of thousands of cubic meters of water a day. Built from cut stone with no mortar, much of it still stands today. That’s the quiet flex of great construction: it doesn’t just impress its own generation, it keeps working for the ones who forgot how it was built.

Cameron Carson, Senior VP of Engineering at Hawk Ridge Systems, beside a line drawing of the Pont du Gard Roman aqueduct, an example of engineering as art.

Aircraft that double as art: the SR-71, F-117, and F-22

If there’s a spiritual home for engineering-as-art on this team, it’s Lockheed’s Skunk Works. Taylor Hoff, Applications Engineer III, named Skunk Works by Ben Rich as the book every engineer should read — the inside account of how a small team led by people like Kelly Johnson designed the SR-71 Blackbird, the U-2, and the F-117A: “engineering challenges, political influences, and development processes of these aircraft that were hugely impactful, both in the engineering world and with the history of the US post-WWII.” The Blackbird is still the fastest air-breathing crewed aircraft ever built; its evasive move against a missile was simply to accelerate.

Hawk Ridge Systems applications engineer Taylor Hoff in a formula race car he built, beside a line drawing of the SR-71 Blackbird — his Skunk Works engineering-as-art pick.

For Scott Woods, Senior Product Manager, 3DEXPERIENCE & Mechanical Design Tools, that history isn’t a book — it’s a memory. One of his earliest is standing at Beale Air Force Base in the early 1990s, watching the SR-71 retirement ceremony. “Even as a kid, I knew I was seeing something different,” he wrote. “Long, black, and impossibly fast, it felt like it came from somewhere else.” His father helped unveil the aircraft that day — a detail that meant little to Scott at the time and means everything now.

Over time, his pick shifted to the F-117 Nighthawk, the aircraft his father spent much of his career maintaining. The Nighthawk isn’t graceful — it’s angular, flat-surfaced, sharp-edged, “unfinished, almost,” in Scott’s words. But none of that is accidental: as the world’s first operational stealth aircraft, its body is built from flat facets that scatter radar away from its source, designed before computers could model curved stealth shapes. The SR-71 reflects speed; the F-117 reflects stealth. Same idea, opposite silhouettes.

What stays with Scott most isn’t the planes — it’s the people. His father retired from the Air Force as an E-7 Master Sergeant after working on the F-117, the F-15 Eagle, and the A-10 Thunderbolt II. “Behind every mission were maintainers, mechanics, and technicians. People whose names you don’t usually hear, but whose work makes everything else possible.” As he puts it: “Those aircraft became legends, but their success depended on thousands of people working behind the scenes. My father was one of them. For me, that’s where engineering becomes art.”

Scott Woods of Hawk Ridge Systems beside a line drawing of the F-117 Nighthawk stealth aircraft, an example of engineering as art.

John Farmer, AI Engineer, kept it short and certain: the F-22 Raptor, hands down. A fifth-generation stealth fighter with thrust-vectoring nozzles, it can supercruise past Mach 1.5 without afterburners and point its nose almost independently of where it’s flying. Anyone who’s watched one stand on its tail and climb straight up understands the answer without further explanation.

Hawk Ridge Systems AI engineer John Farmer and his dog Bun beside a line drawing of the F-22 Raptor fighter jet, his engineering-as-art pick.

Engineering as art that left the planet: the Space Shuttle, Starship, and Merlin engine

Applications Engineer Kenny Truong will defend the Space Shuttle against anything that flies, including the rocket that arguably made it obsolete. “The Falcon 9 can never touch the Space Shuttle in terms of just coolness,” he said. “It flies up and then it lands like a plane. Every other rocket just looks like a stick… But that one is just funny to me. It’s like a plane.” It’s a real engineering argument dressed up as a joke: the first reusable orbital spacecraft, shielded by roughly 24,000 silica tiles, gliding home unpowered from orbit at around Mach 25.

Hawk Ridge Systems applications engineer Kenny Truong beside a line drawing of the Space Shuttle orbiter, his engineering-as-art pick.

Its spiritual successor sits one plate over. SpaceX Starship is the tallest and most powerful rocket ever flown — 121 meters of stainless steel over 33 Raptor engines — and it’s designed to be fully reusable, landing both stages back near the pad.

Damon Tordini, Product Portfolio Manager, is excited about where that goes next. “It’s hard not to be excited about the rise of reusable launch vehicles,” he said — and he has skin in the game, having worked with Tom Mueller, the designer of the Merlin engine that powers SpaceX’s Falcon rockets. Nine Merlins power a Falcon 9 first stage, and the engine has among the highest thrust-to-weight ratios of any rocket engine ever built — and it’s made to fly again. Between Kenny and Damon you get the whole arc of the argument: the Shuttle’s beautiful, expensive grandeur and the lean, relentless iteration of the engines that followed it.

Damon Tordini, Product Portfolio Manager at Hawk Ridge Systems, beside a line drawing of the SpaceX Merlin rocket engine, an example of engineering as art.

Engineering as art at human scale: watches, sculpture, and walking machines

Not everything our team admires is the size of a building or the speed of a bullet.

Patty Fogarty, Content Marketer, has always been fascinated by wind-up watches. “When you see them without their covers, they are so beautiful. So intricate and delicate.” She’s talking about the mechanical watch movement — dozens of tiny gears, each its own small work of art, that assemble into something almost philosophical. Some parts are thinner than a human hair; the balance wheel swings about five times a second, over 400,000 beats a day. “When you realize how all of those tiny pieces work together to create time, that’s amazing engineering.”

Hawk Ridge Systems content marketer Patty Fogarty beside a line drawing of a mechanical watch movement, her engineering-as-art pick.

Matt Taylor, Senior VP of Marketing, went for Cloud Gate — the Chicago “Bean.” It’s officially art, which is exactly why it belongs here: 168 stainless-steel plates welded and polished until every seam vanished, leaving a single flawless mirror that warps the Chicago skyline into a liquid curve. The line between the sculpture and the engineering underneath it simply disappears.

Matt Taylor, Senior VP of Marketing at Hawk Ridge Systems, beside a line drawing of Cloud Gate (the Chicago Bean), an example of engineering as art.

Dale Ford, Chairman & CEO, brought it home — two of his picks are Hawk Ridge Systems customers, and both were built in SOLIDWORKS. The first is the Prosthesis exo-bionic racer, the largest controllable exo-bionic robot ever built: a ~15-foot, four-legged, all-electric machine with no AI, no autonomy, and no joysticks — the pilot stands inside a full-body exoskeleton and the machine mirrors their limbs, amplifying human motion across rough terrain.

Hawk Ridge Systems Chairman & CEO Dale Ford beside a line drawing of the Prosthesis exo-bionic racer, the largest controllable exo-bionic robot ever built in SOLIDWORKS — engineering as art

The second, from the same collective of artists and engineers, is the Mondospider — a rideable, ~1,700-pound, six-legged electric-hydraulic walking machine whose legs lift and place each foot in sequence to carry a passenger across rough ground. A racing mech and a giant walking spider, designed by people who plainly believe engineering and art are the same discipline wearing different hats. They’re not wrong.

The thread: where engineering becomes art

Look at the whole catalog and the pattern is hard to miss. A bridge and an aqueduct. A spy plane and a stealth fighter. A shuttle and the engine that replaced it. A pocket watch, a polished bean, a walking machine the size of a truck. Across two millennia and every scale we can build at, the same instinct keeps showing up: to make rather than take, to put order where there wasn’t any, to look at the impossible problem and pick up the tools anyway.

Download the free Engineering as Art coloring book

Loved these builds? We turned all 12 into a free engineering coloring book you can print and color in. Each page is a clean, detailed line drawing of an iconic feat of engineering and design — from a mechanical watch movement to SpaceX Starship — with a quick spec sheet and field note so you learn a little while you color.

It’s part engineering coloring book, part engineer’s sketchbook: a STEM-friendly, all-ages way to slow down and really look at how these machines are put together. Whether you’re an engineer who wants a mechanical-engineering coloring book for the desk drawer, a teacher looking for an engineering-and-design coloring book for the classroom, or a parent raising a future builder, every page is free to download below.

Color the full set (free PDF download)

Engineering as Art — the complete 12-page coloring book: Download the full engineering coloring book (PDF).

Download individual engineering coloring pages

Hawk Ridge Systems helps engineers and designers turn impossible problems into real products with SOLIDWORKS and 3DEXPERIENCE. See what our customers are building.

The post Engineering as Art: 12 Builds That Double as Masterpieces appeared first on Hawk Ridge Systems.

How a SOLIDWORKS-Powered Startup is Transforming Utility Grid Resilience with 24/7 AI Monitoring

Emily Williams — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 20:24:28 +0000

We sat down with Jeff Pickles, co-founder of Green Grid Inc., to talk about how his team uses SOLIDWORKS to design the AI-powered sensors that keep utility grids resilient and help prevent wildfires. He shares Green Grid’s journey from mechanical and aerospace engineering roots to real-time physical AI monitoring, along with candid insights on fundraising, hiring, and what’s next on the product roadmap.

Green Grid’s Origin Story

What is your role and background at Green Grid? What do you love most about it? How did you end up there, and what experiences shaped your approach?

I’m Jeff Pickles, co-founder of Green Grid Inc. alongside my awesome business partner Chinmoy Saha. We launched the company in 2011 after working together at a defense and technology firm in Silicon Valley. Both of our backgrounds are in mechanical and aerospace engineering, and SOLIDWORKS has been our go-to design tool since 1998. For us, it’s always been the bridge from napkin sketch to functional prototype.

Early in my career I focused on complex energy systems including everything from steam reformers for hydrogen production to massive assemblies with hundreds of sensors, valves, and fittings. When utility-scale solar took off, we moved into mapping and LIDAR to optimize shading and panel placement. That work naturally evolved into helping utilities understand vegetation risks around power lines.

Utilities approached us with a growing problem: wildfires sparked by tree contact with lines. We already had deep LIDAR and 3D modeling expertise from solar projects, so we built automated systems to detect and map every tree. But we quickly realized one-time flyovers weren’t enough. Power infrastructure needs real-time monitoring. This is the same principle we’ve applied to every other high-stakes system we’ve ever engineered. That insight became the foundation for Green Grid Inc.’s mission.

Building Real-Time Physical AI Inspectors

How would you describe the technology you’ve built?

We call it iSIU® (Instant Situational Insights for Utilities). It’s an AI-powered, always-on inspector that watches power lines 24/7. Using computer vision, thermal imaging, weather sensors, and edge AI, it detects risks before they become outages or fires. It detects things like vegetation encroachment, loose or broken hardware, object contact, animal activity, ice buildup, or equipment failure.

Unlike traditional cyclic inspections, iSIU® delivers actionable video alerts the moment a problem appears. Utilities get exact location, visuals, and risk level, so crews arrive prepared with the right parts and tools. It’s shifting the industry from time-based maintenance to true condition-based maintenance at massive scale.

Using SOLIDWORKS to Design Resilient Hardware

What role does SOLIDWORKS play in your product development?

SOLIDWORKS is foundational — it’s how we design every enclosure, bracket, solar/battery system, and sensor package. We use it for component selection, thermal and airflow analysis, packaging optimization, and full assembly modeling. Because our devices operate in remote, harsh environments, we simulate real-world conditions early and iterate fast.

We also leverage it for rapid prototyping and on-demand manufacturing. I can design a sheet-metal bracket, send the flat pattern to a partner, and receive a perfectly welded, powder-coated part days later. It’s still the fastest, most intuitive way to turn ideas into reliable hardware. The startup support program from SOLIDWORKS gave us two full licenses with FEA and CFD when we were just getting started. The startup program was game-changing.

Thermal Simulation and Enclosure Design with SOLIDWORKS

What’s the biggest design challenge you’ve solved with SOLIDWORKS?

Packaging sophisticated cameras, multi-sensor fusion, cellular/satellite connectivity, solar, and batteries into a compact, weatherproof unit that can be installed on almost any pole or tower. SOLIDWORKS lets us explore the needed configurations quickly, optimize thermal performance, ensure parts fit perfectly, and generate manufacturing-ready drawings on demand. It dramatically improves prototype maturity and reduces costly revisions.

Real-World Impact and an $80M Pipeline

Can you share some of the product’s real-world impact and current scale?

Even with just 17 sensors deployed so far, we’re already proving transformative value. One utility moved from two sensors to a full high-risk circuit deployment after seeing immediate results. The cameras can see details up to half a mile, so just 2–4 units per mile deliver comprehensive coverage in high-risk areas.

We recently won an award at DTECH® (voted on by utilities themselves) and have an $80 million pipeline of serious opportunities. The product only officially launched in 2024, but the underlying technology and patents were years in the making. We’re a small, agile startup, yet we’re already the leader in physical AI for grid resilience.

Fundraising, Hiring, and 2026–2027 Product Roadmap

What’s next for Green Grid Inc.?

We’re just getting started. Miniaturization, additional sensors, lower cost-per-unit, and even richer AI capabilities are all on the roadmap for 2026–2027. We’re actively raising capital in a seed-extension round to scale sales, engineering, and manufacturing to meet demand. We’re also hiring across sales, full-stack engineering, AI model development, electrical/mechanical design, and manufacturing operations. If you’re excited about building the future of infrastructure resilience, we’d love to talk.

Anything else you’d like people to know?

The name “Green Grid” has a double meaning. Like a stoplight, “green” means go. Everything is safe, operational, and moving forward. We want every critical utility grid (electric, water, communications, transportation) to stay green: clean, safe, secure, and reliable. That’s the future we’re building.

Check out more customer interviews.

Want to learn more about Green Grid Inc. or discuss how iSIU® can strengthen your utility operations? Visit greengridinc.com or check them out on YouTube, LinkedIn, or Instagram.

The post How a SOLIDWORKS-Powered Startup is Transforming Utility Grid Resilience with 24/7 AI Monitoring appeared first on Hawk Ridge Systems.

Cost-Saving Ideas for Manufacturing Processes

Marketing Team — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 16:36:23 +0000

How Automation Can Significantly Improve Manufacturing Workflows

Manufacturers are under constant pressure to move faster, reduce costs, and deliver higher-quality products with fewer resources. Yet many organizations are still relying on manual workflows that quietly drain productivity.

The costs are not always obvious but add up quickly. A few extra minutes updating CAD files. A programming delay on the shop floor. Engineers recreating work because the latest file version cannot be found. Individually, these issues may seem minor. Collectively, they create a significant drag on profitability and growth.

For many manufacturers, “business as usual” has become a silent profit killer.

The good news is that modern automation tools are changing the equation. By automating repetitive engineering and manufacturing tasks, companies can reduce waste, improve consistency, and create more scalable operations.

Common Workflow Challenges in the Manufacturing Industry

Manual processes often become normalized over time when teams adapt to inefficiencies. But hidden costs accumulate in several areas of the business.

Engineering Bottlenecks

Engineering teams frequently spend valuable time on repetitive tasks that add little strategic value.

Examples include:

Recreating similar CAD models
Updating drawings manually
Revising Bills of Materials
Copying project data between systems
Correcting avoidable data entry errors

These activities consume hours that could otherwise be spent on innovation, product development, or customer support.

As product complexity increases, manual workflows also increase the risk of design inconsistencies and costly downstream mistakes. Even a small data error can create manufacturing delays, scrap, or rework.

Shop Floor Inefficiencies

Manual workflows create issues beyond engineering.

Manufacturers who look for these inefficiencies often discover that highly skilled employees spend a surprising amount of time managing administrative tasks instead of focusing on high-value production work.

CNC programmers may repeatedly create similar toolpaths from scratch. Production teams may wait for updated documentation or revised drawings. Scheduling changes may require manual coordination between departments.

These delays affect throughput, machine utilization, and lead times.

Lost Collaboration and Duplicated Effort

Disconnected systems and poor data management create another hidden cost: duplicated effort.

When files are stored in multiple locations or version control is inconsistent, employees waste time recreating work that already exists or searching for information. Teams may unknowingly work from outdated data, resulting in communication breakdowns and production errors.

The larger the organization, the more these inefficiencies compound.

What are the best tools for manual process automation?

Instead of relying on manual intervention at every step, automated systems streamline workflows and reduce opportunities for error. Here are some of the tools that can help.

DriveWorks: Automating Repetitive Design Tasks

For manufacturers offering configurable or customized products, repetitive CAD work can consume significant engineering resources.

DriveWorks helps automate:

Product configuration
CAD model generation
Drawing creation
BOM generation
Quote creation

By capturing engineering rules once in DriveWorks, companies can automatically generate accurate outputs for new product variations in minutes rather than hours.

This not only accelerates design cycles but also improves consistency across projects.

CAMWorks: Faster, More Consistent CNC Programming

CAMWorks helps manufacturers reduce programming logjams through automation and feature recognition technology.

Instead of manually programming every feature, CAMWorks can:

Automatically recognize machinable features
Apply standardized machining strategies
Reduce repetitive programming tasks
Improve programming consistency

This allows programmers to support more machines and more complex jobs without increasing workload.

The result is faster throughput, reduced setup time, and more efficient use of skilled labor.

PDM and PLM: Eliminating File Chaos

Data management platforms like PDM and PLM help manufacturers maintain control over engineering information.

These systems improve:

File version control
Collaboration between departments
Document accessibility
Process traceability
Change management

With centralized data management, teams spend less time searching for files and more time executing projects efficiently.

It also reduces the risk of costly mistakes caused by outdated or incorrect data.

Automation Offers Multiple Cost Reductions in Manufacturing

The real impact of automation extends far beyond labor savings alone. There are a number of improvements that can result in measurable gains, even for modest operations.

Scrap & Rework Rate

The amount of output that is lost due to defects and errors is mostly avoidable.

Better output can be achieved from the same production resources with improved consistency, reduced manual errors, and the ability to catch quality issues earlier in the process can be obtained through automation.

These have a direct impact on material costs, capacity, and customer satisfaction.

Machine Utilization

Automation tools such as feature recognition and rules-based machining strategies help standardize programming processes while reducing repetitive work. As a result, manufacturers can shorten lead times, improve consistency across jobs, and increase throughput without adding additional programming resources.

Reducing CNC programming time by as little as 20–30% can significantly impact machine utilization and production capacity.

Faster Quoting

Automated quoting and configuration tools allow manufacturers to deliver faster proposals while maintaining accuracy. Faster response times can improve customer satisfaction and increase win rates.

Engineering Change Cycle

Missteps in processing and implementing design changes can delay jobs, create confusion, and increase risk on the floor.

By using automation to streamline approvals, automatically update documentation, and sync changes across systems and teams, there is minimal disruption to production, resulting in multiple cost savings.

Time Savings Per Project

The list of ways automation results in cost reductions would not be complete without mentioning labor.

If engineers save just two hours per project through design automation, those savings compound quickly across dozens or hundreds of projects annually.

Labor Efficiency and Scalability

Automation allows manufacturers to grow output without increasing headcounts at the same rate.

Rather than replacing employees, automation enables teams to focus on higher-value work:

Engineers spend more time innovating
Programmers optimize processes instead of repeating tasks
Production teams spend less time waiting for information

This creates more scalable and resilient operations, especially in today’s challenging labor market.

A Jaw-Dropping Example of Automation Cost Savings

RPG Off-Road, a custom vehicle manufacturer and consultant to OEMs like Shelby, Hennessey, and Roush, was spending $40,000 a month outsourcing machining labor.

By bringing production in-house with SOLIDWORKS and CAMWorks — using Advanced Feature Recognition to automate programming and VoluMill for high-speed roughing — they now go from design to finished part in under an hour and dramatically extended tool life (hundreds of parts off a single end mill).

That’s the compounding effect of automation: less outsourced labor, faster throughput, lower tooling costs, and a team that scales without adding headcount. Read the full RPG Off-Road story.

Getting Started with Automation

Manufacturers do not need to automate everything at once.

The best approach is often to start small and focus on high-impact opportunities.

Identify Low-Hanging Fruit

Look for repetitive processes that:

Consume excessive time
Frequently cause errors
Depend heavily on manual data entry
Create recurring bottlenecks

These areas often provide the fastest ROI.

Pilot, Measure, and Scale

Successful automation initiatives typically begin with a focused pilot project.

Measure:

Time savings
Error reduction
Throughput improvements
Resource utilization

Once value is demonstrated, organizations can expand automation efforts across additional departments and workflows.

Conclusion

Manual workflows may feel manageable in the moment, but their long-term costs can be substantial. Lost productivity, repeated errors, delayed production, and duplicated effort all reduce profitability and limit growth potential.

Automation provides manufacturers with a practical path toward more efficient operations.

By automating repetitive tasks, improving data consistency, and streamlining collaboration, companies can reduce waste while empowering employees to focus on more high-value tasks.

Ready to see where automation could have the biggest impact on your operation?

At Hawk Ridge Systems, we help manufacturers identify savings opportunities and discover how tools like DriveWorks, CAMWorks, and PDM solutions can help your team work smarter and scale more efficiently.

Talk to an automation expert today.

The post Cost-Saving Ideas for Manufacturing Processes appeared first on Hawk Ridge Systems.

10 Tips to Eliminate SOLIDWORKS Large Assembly Performance Issues

Scott Woods — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 05:52:17 +0000

If you’ve ever watched a large assembly take several minutes to open, waited endlessly for a rebuild, or struggled with sluggish drawings, you’re not alone.

Large assembly performance is one of the most common challenges SOLIDWORKS users face. The problem is that many engineers start looking for solutions only after performance has already become an issue.

The reality is that there is no magic setting that instantly fixes large assembly performance. Instead, performance is the result of hundreds of small decisions made throughout the design process. The good news is that a handful of proven best practices can dramatically improve how your assemblies perform.

Here are 10 practical tips to help you work more efficiently with large assemblies in SOLIDWORKS.

1. Use the Right Opening Mode for the Task

Not every assembly needs to be opened fully resolved. If you’re only reviewing a design, taking measurements, or creating screenshots, you’re often asking SOLIDWORKS to do more work than necessary.

SOLIDWORKS provides several opening modes to match the task:

Large Design Review loads only the graphical representation of the assembly, making it ideal for viewing and basic investigation.
Lightweight Mode loads component geometry while deferring much of the underlying model data until it’s needed, providing a good balance between performance and functionality.
Fully Resolved Mode loads the complete model, including geometry and feature history, and should be used when actively editing parts or mate relationships.

The same concept applies to drawings. Detailing Mode allows you to add dimensions, annotations, and make documentation changes without fully loading the underlying model.

The key is simple: match the amount of data being loaded to the work you’re actually doing.

2. Let SOLIDWORKS Tell You What’s Wrong

Before you start changing settings or simplifying models, let SOLIDWORKS show you where there are bottlenecks.

The built-in Performance Evaluation tool analyzes your assembly and highlights:

Opening time
Rebuild time
Graphics triangles
Mate count
Component count

Once you understand where the time is being spent, use Assembly Visualization to quickly identify the biggest offenders by sorting components based on:

Graphics triangles
Rebuild time
Opening time
File size
Custom properties

Instead of hunting through thousands of components, these tools quickly highlight the parts consuming the most resources. In many cases, a handful of components are responsible for the majority of the slowdown.

3. Use the Right Mates

Not all mates are created equal.

Every mate you add creates another relationship that SOLIDWORKS has to solve, and in large assemblies those calculations add up quickly. Whenever possible, choose mates that allow a single mate to do the work of several.

A few simple guidelines can make a big difference:

Use mates that eliminate multiple degrees of freedom.
Eliminate redundant or overlapping mates.
Use Lock Rotation instead of adding an additional mate when appropriate.
Aim for 50 or fewer mates at the top level of the assembly.
Avoid Flexible Sub-Assemblies unless they are absolutely necessary, as they promote their mates back into the top-level solve.

A simpler, more intentional mate strategy not only improves rebuild performance, but also creates assemblies that are easier to maintain and troubleshoot.

4. The Master Sketch Method

A master sketch provides a single source of truth for your design, allowing multiple features and even multiple parts to be driven from the same underlying geometry.

A well-planned master sketch can:

Simplify design changes.
Maintain consistent geometry.
Reduce duplicated sketching effort.

Master sketches can be used entirely within a single part, or as part of a top-down design approach where a layout part drives the geometry of other components in the assembly.

The key is moderation. A few well-structured references help maintain design intent, but too many dependencies can become difficult to manage and troubleshoot.

5. Control External References

An external reference is created whenever a part or assembly uses geometry from another file to drive its own design. This could be as simple as converting edges from a neighboring component, building parts from a shared layout sketch, or importing a model with 3D Interconnect, which maintains a live link back to the original CAD file.

External references are a powerful way to maintain design intent, but they should be managed carefully as a project matures.

As components become stable, consider:

Locking references that are no longer changing.
Breaking references when the design is finalized.
Removing unnecessary dependencies between files.

Every external reference creates another relationship that SOLIDWORKS has to evaluate during rebuilds. Keeping those relationships intentional can improve performance while making assemblies easier to manage and troubleshoot.

6. Make a Simple Configuration

A simplified configuration should be built around the intended use of the assembly. Ask yourself: What is this assembly being used for? If a component doesn’t contribute to that task, it probably doesn’t need to be loaded.

Consider suppressing:

Internal components
Hardware and fasteners
Cosmetic features
Detailed geometry that won’t be seen

For design reviews, layouts, and documentation, a simplified configuration often provides everything you need while significantly reducing the amount of geometry SOLIDWORKS has to load and rebuild.

The goal is simple: only load the components that need to be visible for the job at hand.

7. Use Appropriate Part Detail

One of the biggest factors affecting large assembly performance is simply how much detail SOLIDWORKS has to process. Every edge, face, feature, and graphics triangle adds to the amount of work required to open, display, and rebuild an assembly.

The key is to build your models around their intended use. If a detail doesn’t provide value at the assembly level, consider simplifying or removing it.

A few simple guidelines can make a big difference:

Use Display States when you only need to change visibility or appearance. Reserve Configurations for actual geometry changes.
Remove unnecessary detail such as cosmetic threads, embossed logos, small fillets, and decorative features that add little value to the overall assembly.
Reduce Image Quality on components that don’t require highly-detailed graphics. Lower tessellation means fewer graphics triangles for SOLIDWORKS to display.
Simplify vendor models before adding them to your library. Remove internal geometry, suppress unnecessary features, and save a clean version for future projects.

A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself: Will this detail ever be used for a mate, manufacturing operation, or drawing? If the answer is no, it may not belong in the assembly model.

This same philosophy applies to visibility. If the only thing changing is what the user sees, use a Display State instead of creating another Configuration. Display States provide visual flexibility without adding significant model overhead.

Spending a few minutes simplifying a component can save hours of waiting over the life of a large assembly, especially when that component is reused hundreds of times.

8. Drawing Workflow Matters

Detailing Mode is called Detailing Mode for a reason. It was designed to let you finish your drawings without the overhead of loading the entire model.

A good workflow for large drawings is:

Create and position drawing views while the model is fully resolved.
Save the drawing once the heavy lifting is complete.
Reopen the drawing in Detailing Mode.
Add dimensions, annotations, balloons, and other documentation details.

You can also improve performance by loading only the sheets you need instead of the entire drawing package.

By separating view creation from annotation work, you let SOLIDWORKS spend its resources where they’re needed most. Build the drawing first, then use Detailing Mode to add the details.

9. Use CATIA for Large Assembly Assist

For most engineering teams, the techniques covered in this article will provide all the performance improvement they need. But there are projects that simply push beyond the practical limits of traditional assembly workflows.

This isn’t about the average machine design assembly. It’s for teams that have already optimized their models, invested in high-end hardware, and are still working with datasets that stretch the limits of what SOLIDWORKS was designed to handle.

Typical examples include:

Entire factory and facility layouts
Process plants and piping systems
Large industrial equipment lines
Shipbuilding and marine projects
Infrastructure and construction models
Assemblies containing tens or even hundreds of thousands of components

At that point, adding more RAM or finding one more performance setting often produces diminishing returns.

This is where tools like CATIA and xDesign can complement a SOLIDWORKS workflow. By leveraging lightweight representations and connected data management, they provide additional scalability for extremely large datasets while maintaining integration with existing engineering processes.

The goal isn’t to replace SOLIDWORKS. It’s to recognize when a project has grown large enough that extending the workflow becomes the better solution.

10. Virtual AI Companions

Large assemblies don’t just create modeling challenges, they create knowledge challenges. The bigger and more complex a project becomes, the more time engineers spend searching for commands, troubleshooting workflows, and deciding on the best approach. Virtual AI companions help remove that friction.

AURA is built specifically for the Dassault Systèmes ecosystem, with answers drawn from official documentation, knowledge bases, and the 3DSwym community. For large assembly workflows, it can help:

Find the right tools and settings for improving assembly performance.
Provide guidance on workflows such as Lightweight Mode, Large Design Review, and Detailing Mode.
Reduce time spent searching documentation, leaving more time for engineering.

LEO focuses on accelerating design and problem solving by:

Helping explore different approaches to large assembly design challenges.
Assisting with concept development and workflow planning.
Reducing the time between an idea and a workable solution.

Like every other tip in this article, the goal isn’t to replace engineering expertise. It’s to remove unnecessary work, allowing engineers to spend less time searching and more time designing.

The Real Secret to Large Assembly Performance

After reviewing hundreds of customer assemblies, one principle consistently stands out:

Performance is rarely improved through a single setting.

Instead, it comes from making thoughtful decisions throughout the design process.

Use only the detail you need. Create only the references you need. Add only the mates you need.

Think of it as the “Goldilocks Principle” for CAD performance: not too much, not too little, but just enough.

When applied consistently, these small optimizations compound into dramatically faster assemblies, more responsive drawings, and a far more productive engineering workflow.

If you have any questions about using SOLIDWORKS, reach out to us. We’re happy to help!

This article was based on a livestream offered in June, 2026. You can view the presention on-demand at your convenience.

The post 10 Tips to Eliminate SOLIDWORKS Large Assembly Performance Issues appeared first on Hawk Ridge Systems.

What’s New in SOLIDWORKS PDM 2026: Transfer Ownership & Key Collaboration Updates

Marketing Team — Thu, 11 Jun 2026 14:39:22 +0000

Every year, the SOLIDWORKS portfolio ships hundreds of enhancements — and the data management products are no exception. At our “Get the Latest: What’s New in Data Management and Governance” D2M webinar, we walked through the most useful 2026 updates for SOLIDWORKS PDM, SOLIDWORKS Manage, and the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.

These updates target the friction points administrators and end users have been quietly waiting on for years: recovering checked-out files when someone is unavailable, guiding external partners through complex vault structures, retiring obsolete workflows without losing history, and surfacing richer BOM context without forcing users to jump between tabs.

SOLIDWORKS’ shift to incrementally rolling out new features year-round means that sometimes even a service pack update will get you access to new features, rather than always having to wait for the next major version update.

Many of these features are already live, which means your team may already own them. Below is a practical walkthrough of the enhancements we think will pay back the fastest for engineering teams running PDM today, plus a preview of what’s coming in SOLIDWORKS Manage.

Rather listen? Catch the full recording of “Get the Latest: What’s New in Data Management and Governance,” our D2M Conference session covering PDM, Manage, and 3DEXPERIENCE — plus the live demos referenced in this article.

SOLIDWORKS PDM 2026: Smarter Ownership, Better Visibility, Cleaner Workflows

SOLIDWORKS PDM remains the workhorse vault and workflow engine for most engineering teams — controlling revisions, securing data, and enforcing release processes for SOLIDWORKS files and dozens of other formats. The 2026 release continues to focus on features that will improve the experience for both users and administrators of SOLIDWORKS Data Management tools.

Here are four enhancements worth turning on this quarter:

1. Transfer Ownership: Solving the “Out of Office” Dilemma

We’ve all experienced that moment of frustration when a colleague is unavailable, but you urgently need access to files they’ve checked out. Whether someone is on vacation, out sick, or has left the company, checked-out files can bring projects to a standstill.

The new Transfer Ownership feature in SOLIDWORKS PDM 2026 solves this problem. With a simple right-click, an authorized user can take ownership of a file checked out by someone else — and crucially, all of the original user’s local modifications are preserved instead of being thrown away.

“What happens if a file is checked out by somebody and they end up leaving the company?” is a question we hear frequently. Previously, administrators had limited options like undoing the checkout, which meant potentially losing valuable work. Now, ownership can be transferred to the manager or another team member, and the new owner can pick up the work, check it in, and the file’s history captures a clean timestamp of the handoff.

This works because vault views are automatically synchronized to the archive server, so even if the original user’s computer is unavailable, their local data can still be recovered. Two new folder/state permissions control the behavior:

Can transfer ownership of files checked out by other users — can be used whether someone is no longer with the company or if they’re just on vacation.
Can transfer ownership of files checked out by current user — for the user with files checked out on a different machine (e.g., a laptop at home) who needs to pick up where they left off on a workstation in the office, without remoting into the original machine.

2. Enhanced Folder Navigation: Creating Clear Pathways for Collaboration

A second persistent administrative headache: an external user (like a contract manufacturer) may only have read access to one deep subfolder, but they have no idea how to find it because they can’t see any of the folder structure leading up to it. The old workarounds were sharing the full path string or asking the user to search by filename.

The new folder permission “May see folders to navigate to this subfolder with read file contents” creates a guided pathway through the vault. Users see only the parent folders required to reach their authorized content, with no exposure to the sibling folders or files along the way. The same behavior carries through to the PDM Web2 web client, which is critical for external collaborators who don’t have the Windows client installed.

This enhancement is particularly valuable for contract manufacturers, suppliers, and reviewers who don’t need access to your entire design process but require specific released files. Instead of relying on searches or direct links, they can now navigate naturally through the vault to find exactly what they need.

3. Archive Workflows: Keeping Your Environment Clean and Organized

For PDM administrators, managing obsolete workflows has long been a challenge. Workflows that have been used by files can’t be deleted (the history has to be preserved), so vaults gradually fill up with outdated workflows renamed to Obsolete 1, Obsolete 2, and so on.

The new Archive Workflow action gives administrators a much cleaner option. Right-click the workflow, click Archive, confirm, and it moves into a dedicated archive section in the admin tool. Files in motion remain intact. Should you ever need to reinstate an archived workflow, unarchive is a single click away.

4. Expanded Image Previews: Faster Browsing Across More File Types

PDM’s embedded preview tab loads a quick image of a selected file directly in the file list. For SOLIDWORKS and DWG files, you could already enable a faster bitmap preview to speed up browsing through large folders (a tip many users don’t realize exists). In 2026, that bitmap preview support expands to eDrawings files, neutral CAD formats (STEP, Parasolid, and similar), and third-party CAD files.

For teams that work with a mix of native and imported geometry (which, increasingly, is everyone), this quality-of-life upgrade adds up across a typical day of clicking through assemblies.

Looking for the full list? The 2026 release includes far more PDM enhancements than fit in a 30-minute webinar. The full “What’s New in SOLIDWORKS PDM” documentation is available on the SOLIDWORKS website — there’s almost certainly something there that maps to a workflow you’ve been wishing was easier.

SOLIDWORKS Manage: Tighter Integration, Richer BOMs, Stronger API

SOLIDWORKS Manage layers PLM capabilities: project management, item-based BOMs (EBOM/MBOM), and process management on top of PDM Professional. You keep your PDM vault; Manage adds the cross-discipline visibility that growing teams typically need when they outgrow PDM. The 2026 release continues a clear development pattern: less context-switching for users.

Desktop Links to Records

Previously, when you built a dashboard widget, custom notification, or cross-reference that pointed to another Manage record, the link opened the web client. Useful, but it forced users to operate two interfaces in parallel. The new desktop links open the referenced record directly in the desktop Manage client — keeping the user in one environment and removing the “Wait, where am I now?” moment.

BOM Fly-Out Panel: eDrawings, Where-Used, and Process History

This one is genuinely powerful for anyone who lives in BOMs. Manage now offers a richer fly-out panel when viewing a bill of materials. As you click through line items in a BOM (CAD parts, packaging, shipping materials, the whole record), the panel can:

Load an eDrawings preview of the selected CAD line item — including standard views, measure tools, and section navigation without leaving the BOM.
Show preview images for non-CAD records placed in Manage.
Display Where Used information for any line item — every BOM, project, or process the part belongs to.
Surface related process records — every ECR or ECO that has revised the item.

In a typical “Where do we use this part, and how many times has it changed?” question, you no longer jump between three different views to answer it.

BOM Redline Comparison

Manage has offered BOM comparison tools for a while, but they opened in a separate window. The new comparison overlay redlines the BOM in place — visually highlighting additions, deletions, and modifications across versions.

API Expansions: Event Triggers and Thumbnail Capture

The Manage REST API introduced in the previous release continues to mature. Two new capabilities are worth flagging for integration teams:

Event triggers for sending data downstream when records are created or change state — making it easier to push notifications, sync to ERP, or kick off external automations.
Thumbnail capture when records are created or updated via the API — preserving the visual context that downstream consumers expect, even when the record was generated automatically.

If you’re feeding Manage from another system (a configurator, an ERP, a custom intake portal), these two additions cover the two most common gaps in API-driven workflows. Hawk Ridge Systems’ integration team can help scope and implement those connections if you don’t want to build them in-house.

Looking Ahead

These enhancements represent just a few highlights from the numerous improvements to SOLIDWORKS PDM and the broader data management stack. Worth mentioning alongside them: ongoing AI work in the 3DEXPERIENCE platform (AURA), cloud-side BOM/PLM attribute linking, and an improved Transition Assistant role specifically designed to migrate data from SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional and ENOVIA SmarTeam into 3DEXPERIENCE. If your team is currently scoping a move to cloud PLM, those updates change the cost/benefit math meaningfully.

We’re particularly excited about how these tools will help your team maintain better organization, recover from workflow disruptions, and create clearer collaboration pathways with both internal teams and external partners. As you explore these features, consider which specific frictions in your design and data management processes they might address first — small wins like enabling the expanded bitmap preview or archiving old workflows can be done in a few clicks.

Want Help Putting These Features to Work?

A few of these enhancements are quick wins your administrator can roll out today — Archive Workflow, Transfer Ownership permissions, and the expanded preview support. Others, like the Manage BOM fly-out panel or a move toward cloud PLM on 3DEXPERIENCE, deserve a short pilot and a conversation with your team about how they fit your existing processes.

If you’d like to dig deeper on any of the topics above or check whether you’re on the right platform for where your team is heading, reach out to a Hawk Ridge Systems engineer. For broader context on choosing between PDM Standard, PDM Professional, SOLIDWORKS Manage, and 3DEXPERIENCE, the PDM/PLM Buyer’s Guide and our data migration and integration services pages are great starting points.

Keep Learning

The post What’s New in SOLIDWORKS PDM 2026: Transfer Ownership & Key Collaboration Updates appeared first on Hawk Ridge Systems.

Maximize Adoption of Automation & AI in Daily Workflows: 5 Things Manufacturers Can Do NOW

Marketing Team — Thu, 21 May 2026 20:44:16 +0000

Headlines about automation and AI in manufacturing make it sound like every shop floor is already a fully autonomous, AI-driven wonderland, or worse — AI is coming for your job today.

Neither of these accurately reflects what’s actually happening.

We wanted to find out:

What do people on the manufacturing and engineering front lines actually think and feel about AI and automation?

We sat down with three of our subject-matter experts — David Kelly (DriveWorks Specialist), Doug Maatman (CAM Specialist), and Chris Miller (PDM / Data Enterprise Support Manager) — and combined their hard-won lessons from real implementations with the latest on automation and AI in SOLIDWORKS and the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.

Here are the five things any manufacturer can act on right now:

1. Start Small. Solve One Problem Really, Really Well

The single most common reason automation projects stall or fail? Scope creep. Trying to automate too much, too soon, almost always erodes trust before the project can deliver its first win.

“Start small. Pick one problem and solve it really well.” — Doug Maatman

Pick a high-frequency, repetitive task — quoting, drawing creation, hardware mates, post-processor edits — and ship a minimum-viable automation. With a tight scope, our team consistently sees meaningful ROI in 1–4 months for CAM workflows and 3–4 months for a typical DriveWorks implementation. The phased approach is the cheat code: prove value fast, then expand.

2. Automate The Workflows That Already Work — Not the Disasters

Counterintuitive, but it’s the pattern we see again and again: the best ROI comes from well-understood, “good enough” workflows — not the broken ones.

“Automating an inefficient process doesn’t fix it — it scales the problem.” — Doug Maatman

Before you automate, redesign or fully document the workflow. Lean processes are predictable, which makes them automatable. Disasters are unpredictable, which makes them automation traps. Tools like CAMWorks and DriveWorks work best when they’re capturing rules and patterns that humans-in-the-loop have already validated.

3. Build Trust from Day One with Visibility and Transparency

Automation only creates value if the team trusts it. The biggest predictor of long-term adoption isn’t the technology — it’s whether end users can see what the automation is doing.

“Automation only creates value if people trust that it behaves as expected.” — David Kelly

Bake transparency in from the start: preview runs, dashboards, notifications, and clear communication. Pair that with rigorous validation and regression testing — Kelly calls testing “non-negotiable” — and you remove the two things that most often kill an automation rollout. As Chris Miller puts it, “Start small — grow big.”

4. Use AI As a Companion — And Start Adopting the Agentic Tools That Are Already Shipping

This is where the conversation has shifted most dramatically in the past year. For most small-to-mid-size shops, the idea of AI as a magical autonomous engineer is still hype. But practical, productive AI tools are already inside the software you use every day are not hype, and neither is the next wave of agentic AI. They’re both…kind of a big deal.

Where AI Is Delivering Real Value Right Now

In day-to-day engineering work, AI is most useful as a companion. Our engineers use general-purpose (but enterprise-grade tier) LLMs for things like:

Interpreting documentation and standards
Diagnosing errors and unexpected system behavior
Drafting technical writing, emails, and clear communications
Helping write and explain code
Generating quick renderings and ideation visuals (e.g., a recent prosthetic-leg cover workflow combined ChatGPT renderings with xDesign and xShape for organic surfacing)

Best practice: Use paid / enterprise versions of general-purpose LLMs whenever proprietary data is involved to protect your IP and follow company guidelines.

Meet AURA — Your In-app SOLIDWORKS AI Assistant

AURA is the conversational AI assistant developed by Dassault Systèmes and built directly into SOLIDWORKS and the broader 3DEXPERIENCE platform. It’s available to all 3DEXPERIENCE commercial users through the 3DSwym app.

What makes AURA different from a general purpose/public LLM is exactly what makes it trustworthy for engineering work:

Narrow, trusted sources only. AURA draws from Dassault Systèmes documentation, the 3DSwym community, and Dassault Systèmes Direct. It does not crawl the open web — no Reddit, no Wikipedia, no random forum hallucinations.
Every answer cites its sources. AURA ends each reply with a “Sources” line linking to the exact documentation pages or community threads it used. You can audit, verify, and dive deeper.
Built for data privacy. AURA does not access personal or user-specific data. Your interactions stay confidential.
It’s a help-me button for the whole Dassault Systèmes stack. Works across SOLIDWORKS, CATIA, ENOVIA, and 3DEXPERIENCE.

How to Maximize your AURA (from our AURA Best Practices Guide):

State your goal in one sentence — start with “I need to…”
Add one line of context — what app you’re in, whether you’re in Part / Assembly / Drawing mode, and the geometry involved
Ask for what you want back — step-by-step instructions, multiple approaches, or a pitfall check

+Pair AURA with the other AI and “AI-adjacent” features already shipping in SOLIDWORKS:

Mate Assistance / Automatic Hardware Mates — AI intelligently detects hole patterns and applies the correct mates without pre-defined references
Automatic Drawings (Beta, requires Cloud Services) — generates orthographic views, dimensions, hole callouts, and annotations automatically. Not perfect yet, but excellent for batch-starting hundreds of drawings
Command Predictor — uses machine learning to anticipate your next command based on your design patterns
Selective Filtering — preview a large assembly in a browser, then open only the components you actually need (a huge time-saver on factory-layout-scale assemblies)
Topology Optimization in SOLIDWORKS Simulation — AI-adjacent geometry generation that informs your final design

And Now, The Agentic Leap: LEO

At 3DEXPERIENCE World 2026, Dassault Systèmes unveiled LEO — the true engineer’s agentic AI assistant. Where AURA tells you how to do something, LEO actually does it. As SOLIDWORKS CEO Manish Kumar put it: “AI is the multiplier. You are the value.”

LEO is physics-aware, standards-aware, and built on Dassault’s partnership with NVIDIA for “physical AI” — meaning it reasons with the laws of physics and causality, not just pattern-matching on text. Real capabilities being released today:

Reverse engineer a BREP body or 2D drawing into a full parametric model
Generate a manufacturable part from a sketch input
Produce clean, standard-compliant drawings by filtering through title blocks and identifying dimensions automatically
Set up SIMULIA Abaqus FEA simulations from a simple prompt — or trigger them automatically when a design changes
Predict simulation results using surrogate models trained on prior validated cases, giving early insight without waiting for a full solver run
Flag stress concentrations and likely failure points before you ever run an analysis
Create issues and change actions in 3DEXPERIENCE to streamline approvals

The demo that stopped the room: Kumar typed a single prompt — “I need to design a SOLIDWORKS model for a steel structure frame to support a water tank… considering all types of load situations including load due to winds in Massachusetts, USA.” LEO returned a complete assembly with 3D sketches, Structure System features, a Linear Static simulation, and a full report on weight, height, footprint, and Factor of Safety.

Total processing time: under 5 minutes.

LEO’s assembly structure creation and the automatic BREP-to-features conversion in SOLIDWORKS xDesign are already shipping in SOLIDWORKS 2026 SP1, accessible from the SOLIDWORKS Labs tab in the Task Pane. If you’ve installed the latest SP1, you can start using them today.

What To Do This Quarter:

Turn on AURA for your engineering team and standardize the “I need to… / one line of context / ask for steps” prompting pattern
Pilot LEO in SOLIDWORKS Labs on a low-risk reverse-engineering task or a parametric model from sketch
Stand up an internal AI working group (as many manufacturers are now doing) to identify validated use cases and train your team on prompt engineering, output validation, and IP-safe LLM usage

5. Codify Your Experts’ Knowledge Before It Walks Out the Door

Talent shortages are accelerating automation adoption — and for good reason. Retiring machinists and senior engineers take institutional knowledge with them. Newer hires often don’t have deep CAM or CAD expertise yet.

The play here is twofold:

Lower the skill floor with rules-based automation. DriveWorks captures design logic for standard and configured products, letting non-engineers (or even customers, via online configurators) generate compliant designs. CAMWorks captures experienced machinists’ knowledge in Technology Database rules so newer programmers can produce consistent, optimized toolpaths.

Raise the ceiling with AI-augmented tooling. AURA, LEO, and enterprise LLMs let your senior team move faster on the high-judgment work — innovation, optimization, truly custom designs — while the repetitive work runs itself.

“Standardized products are being automated, reducing resource requirements for simple work so we can increase focus on complex and new product design.” — Chris Miller

One of our clients started with a single standardized DriveWorks product, hit ROI in a couple of months, and has since expanded automation across multiple product lines — shifting their engineering focus almost entirely to new and complex designs.

Key Takeaways for Manufacturers

“Manufacturers don’t need more technology; they need a clear vision for how automation, AI, and people work together.” — David Kelly

Start with one well-understood problem. Build trust through transparency. Treat AI — including agentic tools like LEO — as a multiplier on the people you already have. And capture the expertise of your senior team before it’s gone.

The manufacturers who win in 2026 won’t be the ones with the biggest tech budgets. They’ll be the ones with the discipline to start small, the curiosity to adopt agentic AI early, and the focus to keep their people at the center.

Next Steps

Whether you’re scoping your first automation project, evaluating AURA and LEO for your engineering team, or need to assess AI and workflow automation readiness, our experts can help you build a practical, phased plan. Here’s how you get started: Connect with a Hawk Ridge Systems engineer.

Sources

Expert Insights on Automation – Hot Takes from Hawk Ridge Systems, Vol. I (2026) — David Kelly, Doug Maatman, Chris Miller
AURA Best Practices Guide — Scott Woods, Hawk Ridge Systems
Beyond the Hype: What’s New with AI in Design — Scott Woods, November 2025
What’s Here Today: The AI Buzz in SOLIDWORKS CAD & 3DEXPERIENCE — Scott Woods, August 2025
How AI Fits into the SOLIDWORKS Workflow: An Engineer’s Practical Guide — Hawk Ridge Systems, December 2025
3DEXPERIENCE World 2026: SOLIDWORKS Goes All-in on AI — Damon Tordini, February 2026
Future-Proof Your Engineering & Manufacturing Workforce Checklist — Hawk Ridge Systems

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Automation: The Key to Combating the Manufacturing Labor Shortage

Marketing Team — Tue, 19 May 2026 19:33:54 +0000

The manufacturing industry is facing one of its toughest challenges in decades. Skilled labor shortages and a wave of employee retirements are forcing companies to rethink how they operate. Traditional hiring strategies simply cannot keep pace with current demand.

Fortunately, automation has emerged as an effective solution, not by replacing people, but by acting as a powerful workforce multiplier through smarter automations and workflow engineering.

Let’s investigate the situation as it stands today.

The State of the Labor Market in 2026

Manufacturing is experiencing a perfect storm:

Millions of experienced workers are retiring
Younger generations are not entering trade careers at the same rate
Persistent skill gaps exist in CNC programming, engineering, and advanced manufacturing roles

Even with aggressive recruiting, many companies struggle to fill open positions. The result? Delayed production, missed deadlines, reduced output, and increased overtime costs.

Deciding to simply hire more people is no longer a viable strategy.

Why Automate Manual Processes in Manufacturing?

One of the questions some manufacturers ask is why they should automate manual processes in the first place.

The answer is simple: repetitive work limits productivity, increases burnout, and creates inefficiencies across the manufacturing workflow process. Modern engineering workflow automation allows manufacturers to streamline operations while enabling employees to focus on higher-value work.

Plus automation can play a key role in addressing the labor shortage.

Despite fears to the contrary, modern automation is not about eliminating jobs. It allows companies to use human capabilities where they make the most sense.

Instead of asking workers to perform repetitive, physically demanding, or low-value tasks, smart automation tools take over the monotonous work so employees can focus on higher-value activities that require judgment, creativity, and problem-solving.

Automated Manufacturing Processes Driving Efficiency

Key technologies leading this shift include:

DriveWorks – Automates product configuration, design and drawing generation, and quote creation
CAMWorks – Automates CNC programming and toolpath creation
DELMIA – Optimizes factory scheduling, resource allocation, and production flow
AI-powered tools – Assist with design optimization, quality inspection, and predictive maintenance

By handling rote tasks, these automated manufacturing processes allow manufacturers to produce more with the same (or fewer) people, while simultaneously reducing errors and improving employee satisfaction.

Engineering Workflow Automation in the Real World

Those same technologies produce efficiencies that cannot be met with a traditional workforce.

Automated Design Configuration

Companies that offer custom or configurable products no longer need engineers to manually redraw models for every variation. DriveWorks captures design rules once and automatically generates accurate models, drawings, and BOMs, freeing engineers to focus on innovation and complex custom work.

This is one of the clearest examples of the benefits of automating a manual process and reducing repetitive engineering work while improving consistency and speed.

CAM Automation

Programming CNC machines has traditionally been a major bottleneck requiring highly skilled programmers. With CAMWorks, feature recognition and rules-based machining strategies dramatically reduce programming time, allowing one programmer to support multiple machines and more complex jobs.

For manufacturers exploring how to automate manufacturing processes, CAM automation is often one of the fastest ways to improve throughput and reduce dependency on skilled labor.

Factory Flow Optimization

Today, the same workforce can achieve significantly higher throughput without additional headcount. DELMIA’s factory simulation tools optimize production sequences, reduce idle time, and minimize bottlenecks.

These types of automations and workflow engineering strategies help manufacturers create more agile and more efficient operations.

The Cost Benefits of Automating Workflows

Manufacturers adopting automation often discover benefits that go beyond labor savings.

The cost benefits of automating workflows can include:

Faster production cycles
Improved machine utilization
Fewer production errors and scrap
Better schedule predictability
Increased employee productivity

Automation also creates more scalable operations, allowing manufacturers to grow output without increasing labor costs at the same rate.

Upskilling Through Technology

Automation can also be used to elevate a workforce.

As repetitive tasks are automated, workers can transition into new, more valuable roles:

Operators become automation technicians
Programmers become process optimizers
Engineers shift focus from routine documentation to strategic design

Modern technologies also include built-in instructions, simulation-based training, and intuitive dashboards that make upskilling faster and more effective. The result is a more engaged, capable, and future-ready workforce.

The Cultural Shift Behind Successful Manufacturing Workflow Process Improvements

One of the biggest barriers to adopting automation is fear, the belief that automation means job loss.

Successful manufacturers address this head-on with strategic transparency:

Clearly communicating that automation is being implemented to protect jobs and grow the business
Involving employees early in the process
Celebrating wins and sharing productivity gains with the team

When employees see automation removing drudgery and giving them more time for meaningful work, resistance often turns into enthusiasm.

Conclusion

Automation and AI are not replacing the manufacturing workforce — they are empowering it.

By reducing reliance on repetitive manual labor, optimizing workflows, and creating automated manufacturing processes, manufacturers can overcome labor shortages while building more resilient, productive, and competitive operations.

Ready to turn automation into your competitive advantage?

Contact Hawk Ridge Systems today to discover how DriveWorks, CAMWorks, DELMIA, and other intelligent solutions can help your team do more with less — and build a stronger, more sustainable workforce for 2026 and beyond.

The post Automation: The Key to Combating the Manufacturing Labor Shortage appeared first on Hawk Ridge Systems.

How Park Industries Masters Large-Part Machining with Eureka Simulation

Marketing Team — Wed, 06 May 2026 15:36:43 +0000

Park Industries, the OEM behind some of the most advanced CNC saws, waterjets, and routers on the market shares how they use a unique combination of digital twins with Eureka, custom A.C.E. automation, and Hawk Ridge Systems’ SOLIDWORKS + CAMWorks expertise to save days of validation time while protecting multimillion-dollar equipment.

“We view ourselves as consultants and subject matter experts first. The equipment is the means to the solution, but it is not the only solution,” said Doug Voight, Senior CNC Programmer at Park Industries.

Read Doug’s full interview.

About Park Industries

Founded more than 70 years ago, Park Industries serves the stoneworking industry with advanced CNC saws, splitters, routers, and waterjet systems. Known for its consultative approach and custom automation solutions, Park Industries combines robust machinery with intelligent software and automation to deliver productivity and precision for its customers. The company is focused on long-term relationships and customized automation solutions tailored to each customer’s unique operation.

See the shop floor and machines at Park Industries.

The Challenge: Turning High-Risk Large-Part Machining into a Predictable Process

Park manufactures large structural components for its stone cutting systems, including machine bases, bridges, and weldments that can measure up to 22 feet long. These parts are machined on multimillion-dollar portal milling systems that can span as much as 70 feet of travel.

“When you are dealing with machines of this scale, an oops is not a bad day, it is a bad quarter,” explained Voight.

Prior to advanced simulation, the team faced excessive time validating approach and clearance moves at the machine, soft limit issues with large parts consuming the full travel range, limited visibility into the true machine path while programming, and challenges validating complex probing routines offline.

The Solution: Building a Smarter Automation System with A.C.E. and Eureka Digital Twins

Two years ago, during the acquisition of a new traveling column portal mill, Park initiated a complete overhaul of its G-code structure and machine automation strategy. Voight developed the A.C.E. (Adaptive Cutting Environment) system — a structured programming architecture that includes unified probing language across all Fanuc-controlled portal mills, automated restart logic, tool life monitoring, and dynamic part processing capabilities.

By building accurate digital twins of its large, highly customized portal mills inside Eureka Simulation, Park transformed its validation process. The team can now fully validate entire programs, including complex probing routines and custom macro logic, offline before they ever reach the machine.

Park also leverages SOLIDWORKS and CAMWorks, supported by its long-term partner Hawk Ridge Systems, for design and CAM programming that integrates seamlessly with their custom automation architecture.

The Results: Cutting Machine Validation Time from Days to Hours

With Eureka Simulation in place, Park now experiences zero approach or collision surprises when running new programs.

Key benefits include:

Elimination of one to two days of physical machine validation per complex job

Confident validation of advanced probing and arithmetic routines

Verified working envelope fit before long machining cycles begin

Improved rigidity through optimized quill length validated in simulation

“I would not have dared attempt some of this logic without Eureka,” said Voight. “The iteration time in the physical world would have tied the machine up for one to two days just to build the offsetting logic.”

How Hawk Ridge Systems Helped Park Industries

Hawk Ridge Systems has played a critical role in this transformation, providing advanced portal milling post-processor development, custom G-code formatting aligned to Park’s structured automation architecture, and ongoing technical support as Park continues to push deeper into macro-based programming and adaptive workflows.

This collaboration demonstrates how Park Industries combines consultative expertise, custom automation, and accurate G-code simulation to deliver high-performance solutions while protecting its significant capital equipment investment.

The post How Park Industries Masters Large-Part Machining with Eureka Simulation appeared first on Hawk Ridge Systems.

Meet the CNC Programmer Powering the Machines at Park Industries

Emily Williams — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:52:04 +0000

We sat down with Doug Voight, Senior CNC Programmer at Park Industries — the OEM behind some of the most advanced CNC saws, waterjets, and routers on the market. From launching complex 10-axis mill-turn machines to inventing a magnetic chip-removal tool and exploring agentic AI for CAMWorks, Doug brings 13 years of hands-on expertise and infectious passion for smarter manufacturing.

How’d you get into engineering?

As a young machinist, I noticed that machine controls and automation were very generic. I found myself constantly repeating information to the machines and thought that there must be a more sensible way to use them. I made it my mission to learn all aspects of CNC controls.

What’s an actual day in the life like for you?

My days vary quite a bit, but generally, they go something like this:

Wish my wife and 3 kids a nice day. Smile because I’m blessed.

Arrive at work, field a few operator questions and program updates.

Work on some new function program, or perhaps some ladder updates as requested.

Build probing routines for workpiece identification, inspection, etc.

Fixture design for new products as needed.

Add features to my growing library of Eureka simulators.

Collaborate with other departments on internal projects.

Improve/update programming tools.

Work with Park’s mechanical engineering staff on design to manufacture.

What do you think about the resurgence of US manufacturing? What more do you think could be done to encourage manufacturing in the US?

I welcome it. I think it’s long overdue. The supply chain vulnerabilities that exposed themselves during COVID were obvious well before 2020. I think it’s more important than ever for us to have domestic supply chains and energy streams.

As for encouraging more, that’s a difficult problem. We could talk about flexible automation, lights-out production, etc., but I believe American manufacturing will always be on the hind foot so long as its people are content to chase the bottom dollar without regard to the second and third order effects. Unless that changes, I fear this resurgence will fade with the memory of COVID.

So, how do we change the culture?

How often are you using LLMs in your day-to-day compared to two years ago?

I am just beginning to use them on the daily. Two years ago, I’d never touched one. I am currently exploring agentic AI for my specific applications. I also have ideas for some killer API customizations in CAMWorks — I think AI could help me realize them.

How’d you end up working at Park Industries?

I toured the shop as a young machinist and recognized the unique growth potential available. Park is an OEM manufacturer of CNC saws, waterjets and routers that handles all stages of production. I knew that getting a foot in the door would lead to many opportunities and cross-discipline exposure.

I took the job on the spot and I have yet to regret it, 13 years on.

Get a sneak peak of the shop floor and machines at Park Industries.

What are you working on the most these days?

Building programming tools, being technical support for the shop, and internal projects.

What’s the most fun or quirky project you’ve ever worked on?

Launching our 10-axis DMG NTX2500SZY. It was by far the most complex machine tool I’ve worked on, but it was a huge leap forward for us. We went from turret lathes with tailstocks to a two-channel, twin spindle mill-turn with 76 tools. At the time, it felt like we’d jumped out of a buggy and into a space shuttle.

We then added a bar feeder, and I developed a programming strategy that allows every workpiece program to be a main, sub or pass-through program. We can mix and match any number of programs on a given bar size, and the machine will switch parts to consume the bar down to a nub. It only stops to cue the operator to change the collet on the sub spindle as needed (they’re quick-change).

Do you have any side quests or pet projects?

Last year I had a difficult problem of large, heavy chips getting trapped in some workpieces. Chip fans, air nozzles, coolant blasts, etc. were not moving the goods. I designed and built a magnetic device that uses the machine’s through-spindle air supply to drop the chips, and it mounts in a standard tool holder. I can “peck” the magnet in and out with a simple canned cycle until the part is clean enough to proceed with further machining. It’s reliable, albeit a little bit slow.

Relearning Arduino IDE so that I can help my 10-year-old son take over the world with his 3D printer and imagination.

What’s the coolest company or project you’ve worked with? What’d you get to work on and why it was enjoyable?

JOBS Spa of Italy. They have some incredible machine tools and installations in many impressive shops. They built two of our large mills. I was involved in the launches of both of these machines, working with JOBS to modify the systems to our liking and build custom features.

I’ve found their technicians to be smart, professional and open-minded and we’ve developed a great working relationship that continues to bring value to both parties.

I get much satisfaction seeing these machines run every day, knowing that the tools and methods I’ve developed enable daily success while reducing the operators’ workload.

What book should every engineer read?

Your machine control manuals. You likely have untapped potential just sitting there, and you can realize gains without a CapEx.

What are you reading/watching/learning/playing currently?

Where Eagles Dare by Alistair MacLean

Mark Felton’s YouTube channel, and Air Crash Investigations are my go-to shows.

I regularly play Cribbage, Catan and Euchre

Misadventures with Remote Control vehicles.

What do you want to learn next?

SolidWorks and CAMWorks API.

Favorite engineering or dad joke or meme?

“Wow, a different error message… Finally, some progress!”

What excites you about the future of engineering?

I think AI is going to make integrating discrete systems into cohesive production streams much simpler. There will be a lower barrier to entry to incorporate vision systems, material handling, and finishing ops to your production streams. That should have everyone excited.

Advice to people considering engineering as a career?

AI is great, but it’s not a replacement for deep technical knowledge. It performs best when guided by an experienced and discerning voice.

If you could time-travel to any point in engineering history and contribute to a famous project, where would you go and what would you do? And would you take credit or prefer to go unknown?

I would be James Watt’s shadow, there for the development of the steam engine. I would tell him, “The horsepower is a great unit of measure, but we need to talk about the Watt.” I would, however, remain anonymous. How does one eclipse the legacies of such men?

What’s the one engineering problem you’d love to solve, but it feels like it’s still 50 years away from being possible?

Holistic CAM programming. Something that’s smart enough to choose the longer tool holder because an adjacent feature is tall, or there’s another part on the machine that interferes with the chosen approach. It would have to consider everything, including the G-code sim, and alter the CAM setup in response. I don’t think there is any one software that does this, however with APIs and AI tools, a savvy user might be able to achieve some degree of this.

What’s the most absurd engineering failure you’ve ever witnessed or heard about?

The 2007 collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis. That bridge started receiving deficient ratings in 1991, yet the extent of structural repair was drilling cracks. The real shock was discovering how much normalized deviance MNDOT and USDOT were apparently comfortable with. That bridge had a rating of 50/100 in its 2006 inspection.

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