Solidworks 2022 - [updated]

SOLIDWORKS 2022: Key Features & Enhancements

1. Streamlined Detailing & Documentation

• Improved Detailing Mode: Open and detail large, complex drawings significantly faster without needing a high-end graphics card (uses enhanced CPU-based rendering).
• Shaded Sketch Contours: Sketch contours now display with shaded fills, making it easier to visualize and select closed regions for extrude/cut operations.
• Intermediate Mate References in Smart Mates: Create mates faster with automatic detection of intermediate references during drag-and-drop assembly.

6. Productivity & Workflow

• Silent Installation (Administrators): Improved command-line installation with better logging and support for silent background updates.
• Search History & Filters: Windows Explorer integration now remembers recent searches and file filters within the SOLIDWORKS file open dialog.
• Hole Callout on Slot Patterns: Hole callout tool now works correctly for counterbored and countersunk slots in drawings.

3. The Drawings Revolution (for 2D Traditionalists)

SolidWorks 2022 is arguably the last version where drawings received significant love before the industry shift toward Model-Based Definition (MBD). Key drawing improvements include:

• A dynamic sectioning tool that creates interactive cross-sections of 3D parts/assemblies with live measurement, annotation, and section-profile export.

• Create simplified configurations that remove tiny features, remove fasteners or substitute them with simplified geometry.
• Use fixed components and limit number of flexible subassemblies where not required.

If you are on SolidWorks 2020 or earlier, the upgrade to SolidWorks 2022 is a massive leap. You will experience: solidworks 2022