The SolidWorks Bible: What Can You Learn From This Book?

The SolidWorks Bible was created as a practical desk reference for anyone responsible for setting up, using, and maintaining SolidWorks and Workgroup PDM—whether for their own workflow or for a wider engineering team. It is especially useful for full-time engineers and designers who also act as CAD administrators, dedicated CAD managers, and self-taught users who need a structured way to master the software. IT professionals who must deploy or support SolidWorks, but are not CAD experts themselves, also benefit from the book’s detailed coverage of installation, file management, and data organization.

Unlike a purely academic textbook, the SolidWorks Bible is grounded in the author Matt Lombard’s day-to-day consulting and engineering experience. Lombard is a mechanical engineer and long-time SolidWorks consultant, known in the community for his technical blog and conference sessions. The 2013 edition published by Wiley is a substantial 1,296-page guide that takes users from first launch through advanced modeling, assemblies, and drawings.

SolidWorks itself is one of the most widely used professional 3D CAD systems in mechanical design and product development, based on parametric, feature-based solid modeling. Millions of engineers and thousands of companies rely on it to design parts, assemblies, and production-ready documentation. Because of that reach, a comprehensive reference like the SolidWorks Bible can be valuable whether you are learning CAD from scratch or standardizing workflows across a team.

The book doesn’t just explain how SolidWorks should work in theory—it addresses the realities of day-to-day design work: dealing with file references, managing design intent over time, troubleshooting broken models, and organizing data in Workgroup PDM and other file management structures.

Why Consider the SolidWorks Bible?

The SolidWorks Bible – what can you learn from this book? Before looking at the detailed content, it helps to understand why this title stands out among SolidWorks books.

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  SolidWorks is one of the leading 3D CAD programs for mechanical design, and earlier editions of the SolidWorks Bible series have sold more than 33,000 copies, indicating strong adoption among both students and professionals.
  
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  The book covers essential fundamentals such as part modeling, assembly modeling, and 2D drawing techniques, giving beginners a solid foundation in how SolidWorks works and why it behaves the way it does.
  
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  It goes beyond basic tutorials to address advanced and often under-documented topics, including best practices, search criteria, Pack-and-Go, and robust file management concepts that are frequently requested by experienced users.
  
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  A companion website provides before-and-after example files, sample parts, assemblies, drawing files, and video tutorials with the author’s voice-over, allowing you to follow along directly in SolidWorks.
  

For context, the 2013 edition is written for SolidWorks 2013, but the core modeling concepts—sketching, features, design intent, parametric relationships, and assemblies—remain relevant in current versions. Newer tools and interface changes are not covered, but the underlying workflows are still applicable to modern releases.

Who Is the SolidWorks Bible For?

This book is particularly useful if you are:

• A new SolidWorks user who wants a structured path from basic sketches and parts to assemblies and detailed drawings, instead of piecing together random tutorials.
• An intermediate or advanced user who already “gets around” in SolidWorks but wants to strengthen best practices, configurations, large assemblies, and advanced features like surfaces, sheet metal, and weldments.
• A CAD administrator or power user responsible for templates, libraries, file structure, and PDM workflows—especially if you are dealing with legacy Workgroup PDM vaults or migrating to newer PDM solutions.
• IT and support staff who need a deeper understanding of how SolidWorks stores and links data so that installations, backups, and migrations are handled safely.

The SolidWorks Bible – What Can You Learn From This Book?

Below is what you can learn from this book, organized around its five main parts.

1. Introducing SolidWorks Basics (Part I)

Part I of the book (Introducing SolidWorks Basics) walks you through getting started: how to install and launch SolidWorks, what the different document types (parts, assemblies, drawings) are, and how to navigate the interface. You learn the idea of feature-based, parametric modeling—building 3D parts from 2D sketches using features such as extrudes, revolves, cuts, fillets, and holes.

SolidWorks uses a history-based, parametric approach where parts are defined by features organized in the FeatureManager design tree. Changing sketch dimensions or feature parameters updates the entire model, propagating your design intent throughout. The book explains how to:

• Create and constrain sketches that drive 3D features.
• Build simple parts and their associated drawings in a single workflow.
• Use basic visualization tools to inspect model quality and catch design issues early.

You also get an introduction to parametric drawings: generating 2D drawings directly from 3D parts and assemblies so that dimensions and annotations remain linked to the model. This is aligned with how SolidWorks and other modern parametric CAD systems are intended to be used in production environments.

2. Building Intelligence into Your Parts (Part II)

Part II (Building Intelligence into Your Parts) focuses on making parts smarter, more robust, and easier to modify over time. Chapters cover advanced sketching, primary and secondary features, patterning and mirroring, equations, configurations, and troubleshooting techniques.

In SolidWorks, “intelligent” parts capture design intent through parameters, constraints, and relationships—rather than just static geometry. Parametric modeling allows you to define models by variables and equations so that entire families of parts can be updated by modifying a few parameters. The book shows how to:

• Use fully defined sketches, geometric relations, and dimensions to control geometry.
• Employ equations and design tables to relate dimensions and drive configurations (for example, multiple sizes of the same component).
• Apply patterning and mirroring effectively so that repeating geometry is managed cleanly.
• Diagnose and repair broken features using SolidWorks evaluation and troubleshooting tools.

This is also where the user interface is explored in more detail. The graphics window, FeatureManager, PropertyManager, CommandManager, and toolbars are explained so you can choose the most efficient way to access commands and manage your models instead of fighting the interface.

3. Working with Assemblies (Part III)

Part III (Working with Assemblies) is dedicated to assembly design—arguably where many users spend most of their time. Chapters in this section cover building efficient assemblies, advanced mates, component patterns, assembly sketches and layouts, assembly tools, hole and library features, configurations, display states, in-context modeling, and troubleshooting.

In SolidWorks, assemblies let you bring individual parts together, define how they move or remain fixed relative to each other, and analyze their interactions (clearances, interferences, motion, weight, and more). The book helps you:

• Create mates that accurately capture real-world mechanical relationships (sliders, hinges, fasteners, etc.).
• Use assembly patterns and mirroring to replicate hardware or repeated subassemblies efficiently.
• Leverage layout sketches and in-context modeling so that parts “know” how they fit into larger systems.
• Apply tools for interference detection, collision checking, and mass properties to validate designs.

One chapter is devoted to Large Scale Design—strategies for working with big plant layouts, structures, and complex equipment assemblies, including performance techniques and file management practices that are also relevant for BIM-adjacent workflows and sharing data with other 3D and BIM tools via formats like IFC.

4. Creating Drawings (Part IV)

Part IV (Creating Drawings) covers how to create professional engineering drawings from your parts and assemblies. Topics include drawing automation basics, view creation, annotations and symbols, dimensioning and tolerancing, layers and line fonts, tables (BOMs, hole tables, revision tables), and assembly drawings.

Traditional 2D CAD workflows required manually drawing every line. In SolidWorks, the recommended approach is to model in 3D and then derive 2D views and dimensions from those models. This workflow ensures that drawings reflect the underlying design intent and update automatically when the model changes. The book shows how to:

• Insert orthographic, section, detail, and auxiliary views that are associative to the model.
• Pull dimensions and annotations directly from model sketches and features, reducing manual work and errors.
• Apply geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) and symbols in a way that matches manufacturing expectations.
• Use layers, line types, and color conventions to improve clarity and conform to company or industry standards.

Because drawings remain the primary communication tool for manufacturing and inspection in many industries, a solid grounding in drawing setup is essential even if you are comfortable in 3D.

5. Using Advanced and Specialized Techniques (Part V)

Part V (Using Advanced and Specialized Techniques) dives into more specialized modeling areas that differentiate power users from casual users. According to the table of contents, this section covers multi-body modeling, surface modeling, master model techniques, sheet metal, weldments, imported geometry and direct editing, plastic features, and mold tools.

These topics are particularly relevant if you design products that require manufacturing-ready geometry, tooling, or complex forms:

• Multi-body parts: Modeling multiple solid bodies in a single part file, then combining, splitting, or reusing them for weldments, complex machined parts, or master-model workflows.
• Surface modeling: Creating and editing complex freeform surfaces, which is essential in consumer products, automotive components, and ergonomic designs.
• Sheet metal & weldments: Tools for bent parts, flat patterns, structural members, and fabrication-friendly details, along with dedicated drawing practices for these disciplines.
• Imported geometry & direct editing: Working with models from other CAD systems and modifying them without full feature history, which is increasingly common in multi-CAD supply chains.
• Plastic & mold tools: Features and workflows tailored for injection-molded parts, including draft, parting lines, and core/cavity design.

This part of the book is aimed squarely at designers and engineers who want to push SolidWorks further and gain a competitive edge—exactly the audience often described as “power users” in industry training materials.

Appendices and Companion Resources

The appendices cover two important support topics: finding help and understanding what is available on the companion website. This includes guidance on:

• Built-in SolidWorks help and tutorials.
• Online communities, forums, and user groups where SolidWorks users share tips and best practices.
• How to access and use the downloadable files and video tutorials that accompany the book.

Taken together, the book plus website provide a complete learning environment: text explanations, step-by-step exercises, finished example models, and narrated videos.

Note on Workgroup PDM and Modern PDM Options

The introduction of the book references Workgroup PDM, which was SolidWorks’ bundled product data management system at the time. Since then, Workgroup PDM has been retired, and Dassault Systèmes now promotes SOLIDWORKS PDM Standard and PDM Professional as the primary PDM tools. While the specific Workgroup PDM interface and architecture are no longer current, the principles covered in the book—file references, revision control, vault organization, and search criteria—still apply when you work with modern PDM systems.

Conclusion

While learning SolidWorks from scattered videos and short tutorials can be useful, the SolidWorks Bible offers something different: a structured, comprehensive path from basics to advanced techniques, backed by a large companion library of example files and videos. The SolidWorks Bible – what can you learn from this book? In short:

• Beginners gain a rigorous foundation in parametric modeling, assemblies, and drawings.
• Intermediate and advanced users deepen their understanding of best practices, configurations, large assemblies, and specialized tools.
• CAD administrators and IT staff get practical insight into file management, Pack-and-Go strategies, and PDM-related workflows.

If you are serious about developing robust, professional SolidWorks skills—whether for your own career or to standardize practices across a team—the SolidWorks Bible remains a valuable reference to keep within arm’s reach of your workstation.