We looked for software that solves a specific engineering problem for SOLIDWORKS users rather than simply including every product that markets itself as “AI for CAD.” Each tool needed a clear role alongside SOLIDWORKS, whether that was design review, simulation, design exploration, or computational design.

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We also considered the maturity of the product, the quality of its technical documentation, customer examples, and independent reviews where enough were available. Finally, we looked at how easily the tool fits into an existing SOLIDWORKS workflow, including native file support, CAD and CAE interoperability, and how much additional work is required to move between systems.