Comparison / SolidWorks alternative

solidSF vs SolidWorks

Your SolidWorks parts, anywhere. Bryan beside you. No Windows lock-in.

SolidWorks is the default for mechanical CAD in industry. It is also a Windows-only desktop application that locks your work in proprietary files, ships no native AI, and keeps PDM as a separate server product. solidSF brings your SolidWorks parts across as editable feature trees, keeps geometry in its server-side Rust kernel, and gives you Bryan to draw parts, grow lattices, generate drawings, and design fluid manifolds from a browser on Mac, Linux, Windows, ChromeOS, or iPad.

Open app No Windows required, no Parallels, no installer. Watch the server-side kernel and Bryan build a part.

Anywhere

Mac, Linux, Windows, ChromeOS, iPad — SolidWorks is Windows-only

Feature-tree migration

SolidWorks parts come across as editable parametric history

Bryan

55 typed CAD tools that build — SolidWorks has none

Where SolidWorks holds you back

Windows-only, for decades. SolidWorks does not run on Mac or Linux, and the iPad apps are viewers. Teams on Apple Silicon, Linux workstations, or ChromeOS are pushed into Parallels, Boot Camp, virtual desktops, or a "the CAD person has a Windows tower" arrangement. solidSF runs in a browser on all of those platforms with no installer and no virtualization. Prefer a native app? We also release local desktop builds for Windows, macOS, and Linux — so Windows is fully supported, you are simply no longer required to be locked to it.

Your work is locked in proprietary files. .sldprt, .sldasm, and .slddrw are closed binary formats, and newer SolidWorks releases cannot save back to older ones — so a single upgrade can force your whole supply chain to upgrade in lockstep. solidSF reconstructs SolidWorks parts as editable feature trees and reads and writes neutral formats (STEP, STL, OBJ, PLY, 3MF, SVG).

No native AI. SolidWorks has essentially no agent that builds geometry; assistant features on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform are nascent. Bryan calls 55 typed CAD tools and actually builds — sketches, extrudes, holes, fillets, patterns, drawing views, and CAM setups.

PDM and modern suites are bolt-ons. SolidWorks PDM is a separate Windows-server product, and generative, text-to-3D, and fluid simulation are not part of the core product. In solidSF, Vault and the suites below are part of one workspace.

What solidSF actually is

Here is the product, feature by feature. Every capability below is available from the browser workspace and reachable through Bryan, while geometry stays on the server.

Bryan

Describe it, get an editable part

Ask for a mounting bracket with a bolt pattern and Bryan builds the sketches, extrudes, holes, and fillets as a live feature tree you can keep editing — not a static mesh.

Artistic 3D from text

Concept forms from a prompt

Generate organic and artistic geometry from a text prompt on the SDF surface, then combine it with exact B-rep features in the same model.

Generative + lattice

SDF lattices and infill

SDF primitives, booleans, shell, offset, and lattice infill for lightweighting and internal structures — part of the workspace, not an add-in.

Fluid manifold suite

Integrated CFD workbench

Lay out coolant channels, manifolds, and airflow paths and run flow cases with live residuals next to the model — in the same tab.

CAM + drawings + PDM

One workspace, no handoff

Facing, pocketing, contouring, drilling, and adaptive paths with Haas/Fanuc/GRBL posts; drawings with 20 annotation types; Vault with revisions, locks, and where-used built in.

Bryan for teams

Vaults and access, handled

Bryan helps teams manage their vaults, users, and interactions — provisioning access and keeping projects, revisions, and where-used organized, without a separate PDM server to run.

The through-line is Bryan. Because solidSF owns and hosts its Rust kernel, Bryan operates real server-side geometry through typed tools instead of suggesting from the outside. Generate a part, lighten it with a lattice, route a cooling manifold, build the drawing, and stage it in Vault — all from a browser, on whatever machine your team actually uses.

Feature comparison

Capability	solidSF	SolidWorks
Mac	Full browser workspace	Requires Parallels / VM
Linux	Full browser workspace	Not supported
iPad	Full browser workspace	Viewer only
.sldprt feature-tree migration	Editable parametric replay	Native
.sldasm / .slddrw	Import (mates expanding)	Native
Native AI	Bryan: 55 tools that build	None / nascent assistant
Generate a part from text	Yes	No
Artistic / text-to-3D	Yes (SDF)	No
Generative lattice / SDF	Yes	Add-in only
In-browser CFD / manifold suite	Yes	Separate (Flow Simulation)
CAM included	Yes	Separate (SW CAM / HSM)
PDM / Vault	Built in	Separate Windows-server product
Kernel	In-house Rust B-rep	Parasolid (licensed)
Install required	No	Yes (Windows installer)
Native desktop app (optional)	Yes (Windows, macOS, Linux)	Windows only (required)

Migrating from SolidWorks

The migration path is deliberate, and we are honest about what comes across cleanly today versus what is still expanding.

Choose a pilot project. Pick one active project small enough to move in a day — ten to fifty parts and a few drawings, not a five-thousand-part assembly.
Bring your parts across. SolidWorks parts reconstruct into editable feature trees. Most features replay cleanly; some fillet and chamfer edge references, and assembly mates, are still being expanded and may fall back to a healed STEP import for now.
Review and edit one part. Walk its feature tree, make a sketch edit, confirm downstream features regenerate, add a fillet, and run a drawing view.
Stage it in Vault. Map your existing release states into solidSF revisions and locks, add your team, and run a check-in on a non-critical part.
Expand by project, not by mandate. Route the next new project through solidSF and keep SolidWorks alive for legacy work, retiring it project by project as each one closes.

When SolidWorks is still the right call

SolidWorks has spent three decades building a deep ecosystem. If your workflow depends on a large library of custom add-ins — tube routing, electrical-harness tools, specialized molding plugins, or integrated Simulia and Abaqus interfaces — those may not have a direct solidSF equivalent today. If your customer audits your process against SolidWorks templates or mandates SolidWorks deliverables in a specific revision, keep SolidWorks for those touchpoints. A deeply customized, regulated SolidWorks installation should be migrated deliberately, project by project, not ripped out overnight. solidSF is the move for new teams, new projects, contractors who deliver across platforms, and established teams tired of being locked to Windows.

FAQ

Can I really open my SolidWorks parts on a Mac?

Yes. solidSF runs in a browser on macOS — Intel or Apple Silicon — with no Parallels, Boot Camp, or installer, and reconstructs SolidWorks parts into editable feature trees. The same workspace runs on Linux, Windows, ChromeOS, and iPad, and we also ship native local desktop apps for Windows, macOS, and Linux when you want one.

How complete is the feature-tree migration?

Parts come across as editable parametric history, and most common features replay cleanly. We are honest about the current gaps: some fillet and chamfer edge-reference resolution and assembly mate extraction are still being expanded, and affected sections can fall back to a healed STEP import while the rest of the tree stays editable.

Does SolidWorks run on Linux?

No. SolidWorks is Windows-only. solidSF runs in a browser on Linux, macOS, Windows, ChromeOS, and iPad with no install.

Can Bryan build geometry?

Yes. Bryan calls 55 typed CAD and drawing tools to create sketches, features, drawing views, and CAM setups, and builds an editable part from a text description. SolidWorks has no comparable native agent.

Are generative design and CFD included?

Yes. Generative lattice and SDF modeling are part of the core workspace, and an integrated server-side CFD workbench handles coolant channels, manifolds, and airflow. In the SolidWorks world these are separate products or add-ins.

Is PDM included, or is it a separate product?

Vault is built into solidSF — private projects, revisions, locks, where-used, audit history, and shared libraries — with Bryan helping teams manage vaults, users, and interactions. SolidWorks PDM is a separate Windows-server product.

See it for yourself

The shortest real evaluation: open the workspace on the machine you actually use, bring a part across, and ask Bryan to add a feature.

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