Solid Works For Mac

Written by: Kevin Keefe

SOLIDWORKS is built as a linear application. This means that as it processes the data in the tree, it does so from the top down. It’s building a model, so that makes logical sense that you would build an object that way. As a result, SOLIDWORKS is often only drawing on one core of your machine at any time. Some programs will exclusively run with Mac, while some others will only run with Windows. Most of the 3D design programs are running on both Windows and Mac, but there are some exceptions. For example, neither 3Ds Max or the famous 3D modeling software SolidWorks is available for Mac users. So, what is the best 3D modeling software to use with.

Published in: SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD, Articles

There is one question that we probably get 1-2 times per day in the CADimensions offices, which is, “Is there a SOLIDWORKS for Mac?”

We would like to start with a disclaimer. There are obviously arguments to be made for both sides of this debate which is nothing that we intend to settle here. The whole “Mac vs PC” conversation is bigger than us and we don’t intend to offer any opinion on the matter.

So, why can’t you get a SOLIDWORKS for Mac operating system? This is a totally fair question for somebody who is just doing research into things like “what is CAD?” because while Macs are just so common today. When SOLIDWORKS was being developed, that wasn’t always the case, and to tell this story properly, we have to jump into the Wayback Machine and step into the year1995.

CAD Machines

In the early days of the computer age, platforms like Windows were being brought in to replace machines that ran primarily in business environments. These companies may have used IBM mainframe computers since the late 50s and by the time we hit 1995, PCs that run on Windows dominate the space for business computing. This is where Bill Gates cashes in.

We all know some part of the Genesis story behind the development of Windows and Macintosh. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were rivals, peers, was it poor foresight to not make the SOLIDWORKS platform Mac compatible?

Not So Easy

There is a mythological lore that surrounds Steve Jobs and a lot of that has to do with pop culture and his portrayal in movies or books but all of that insight into the beginning of Apple does tell us a lot about their go-to-market strategy. Apple wanted to be the machine for your home, your personal computer. The position was to let IBM and Dell and HP fight over the business machines, Apple is going to be the machine on your lap in your living room.

Built With Windows In Mind

SOLIDWORKS was built during the 90s when IBM compatible computers running Windows were simply more prevalent in the business world. Windows had many advantages to developers who were looking to build software simply because it was open-source. Being open-source meant you could customize, change, boost, and really experiment with what a computer but also software is capable of doing.

As a result of that tandem evolution of PC and Software, SOLIDWORKS incorporates many tools and commands that were designed to interface specifically with a Windows operating system in mind. Things that are common actions like “right-click” in SOLIDWORKS would need to be accounted for in a different way. Keystrokes that are incredible, timesaving shortcuts would all need to be re-written to respond with a Mac keyboard.

Why Not Start Now?

We would be lying if we didn’t own up to thinking this to ourselves at least a few times. Hey, why not just make a SOLIDWORKS for Mac? Macs today are synonymous with being powerful machines, especially when it comes to graphics, rendering, and working with programs that require a lot of capability. As we are CADimensions and not SOLIDWORKS we can’t comment on any official position they may take on this. We assume it would probably be cool, but too darn expensive!

We wouldn’t hold our breath waiting for a SOLIDWORKS for Mac.

What Do I Need To Run SOLIDWORKS?

So you already invested in a Mac but you need to run SOLIDWORKS, what are your options?

Well, you’re going to need to invest in a PC, and CADimensions is a re-seller for Boxx, a line of PCs built to run SOLIDWORKS. Read more about Boxx.

No matter what brand PC you end up with, we do have some suggestions based on our experiences. A lot of this is what guides our decisions when buying the computers that our engineers work from. Of course, you can always see what SOLIDWORKS recommends as their base system requirements here.

Spring For A Good Graphics Card

SOLIDWORKS is a visual program that let’s engineer build incredible things in 3D space. In order to render those graphics, you need a card capable of some pretty heavy lifting sometimes. We often recommend the Nvidia Quadro series, and you don’t have to go top of the line. Nvidia has a great product and their mid-range cards work for a majority of everyday SOLIDWORKS applications.

Choose Clock Speed Over Cores

The more cores the better right? It depends on what you’re doing. SOLIDWORKS is built as a linear application. This means that as it processes the data in the tree, it does so from the top down. It’s building a model, so that makes logical sense that you would build an object that way. As a result, SOLIDWORKS is often only drawing on one core of your machine at any time. In contrast, if you’re using a program like Visualize, for example, to render out a high definition image. This process will use multiple cores for concurrent processing of the image from all angles because it can.

What really helps boost performance and should be something you consider carefully is the clock speed. The clock speed is the best indicator of what kind of user experience you will have working with SOLIDWORKS. The faster clock speed means information is being processed faster. The end result is a better user experience.

Clock speed and cores are getting better every year, these are just a few things to keep an eye out for.

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More resources are available here.

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This is a fairly long-standing issue we come up against on the Innova Systems technical support desk, and also while talking to prospective customers about SOLIDWORKS. The simple answer is that SOLIDWORKS do not develop an Apple Mac version of the software, so we can’t install SOLIDWORKS natively.

We used to recommend the Bootcamp route, which involves installation of Bootcamp and then Microsoft Windows on the partition Bootcamp creates. The issue here is that if you need to access the Apple Mac Operating System (OS), you would need to shut down windows and boot up the Apple Mac OS, because they cannot be running simultaneously. This allows the full use of the hardware (RAM and graphics card) you have in your Apple Mac for Windows.

The alternative solution that we used to steer people away from is Parallels, a virtual machine software that allows you to run another OS inside the Mac OS (inside a window). The reason for not recommending this is that you are sharing the resource of the machine with two operating systems, thus not necessarily having the required resource to run a demanding program like SOLIDWORKS.

There were also historic problems with not being able to use the graphics card properly which would result in exceptionally slow performance when selecting things. This is due to most Macs not having certified graphics cards for SOLIDWORKS and parallels using a virtual graphics card driver or the default Windows driver. The virtual or generic drivers don’t offer the level of performance needed to run SOLIDWORKS correctly.

Innova Systems Technical Director, Ed Hawkins, explains

We have now installed and configured this on over 20 users’ Apple Mac computers and I have to say the response from these people has been amazing.

I have a mid 2014 MacBook Pro, which I’ve been using as a test bed. The specs are listed below:

You will note that this machine has Intel Iris Graphics (specific to the Mac) and not a certified graphics card for SOLIDWORKS.

So, I installed the latest version of Parallels (version 10) and a fresh copy of Windows 10 into the virtual environment and then set about making SOLIDWORKS work!

It’s pretty easy to get Windows installed, as Parallels guides you through that process very nicely. You can specify how much of the machine’s resource to give to the Windows OS – which is where a high spec Mac will stand you in better stead. It is always a good rule of thumb to assign half the available RAM to the Windows OS, so in my set up, I assigned 4GB of RAM.

The difficult bit is making the “Use Software OpenGL” button inside SOLIDWORKS become accessible. When you first install SOLIDWORKS, this button is ticked and greyed out, so we can’t turn it off. In our opinion, SOLIDWORKS is unusable at this point, as selecting geometry and navigating the software is too slow to be productive.

With a bit of effort, and some registry modifications, I was able to untick the OpenGL box, allowing us to use the graphics card to a much higher potential. The difference in performance was huge, and it allowed me to select and navigate the software much, much faster. One limitation that frustrated me early on was the lack of RealView Graphics (Accurate reflections and appearances), so I set about solving this problem too. I’m happy to report that RealView works perfectly on a properly specced Mac Book Pro!

Of course, this isn’t necessarily a new solution – Parallels has been around for some time, and installing Windows on a Mac for as long. The difference with our solution is that we can make SOLIDWORKS behave as well as a normal windows PC. No more slow selecting or poor rotational speed.

Above is a screenshot of the working set up, albeit in Window mode, not full screen. I have this running at a resolution of 2560 x 1600 in full screen mode and it is functioning very well. Please note: the specification of my Mac, and the resource I can assign to Windows is far from ideal. It would be recommended for people who are creating fairly simple parts with up to 100 features, and assemblies containing up to 500 components. Any more than that, and I think it would struggle.

In summary, the Parallels solution is now recommended by Innova Systems. We are confident of this working well in a production environment, but the spec of the Mac is key to the success. Along with our modifications to the registry in Windows, of course.

Video: See SOLIDWORKS running on Apple Mac

How Much Is Solidworks For Mac

Video: How to run SOLIDWORKS on Apple Mac Computers

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