DriveWorks guides
DriveWorks guides, services, and free tools
Field notes on building, fixing, and integrating DriveWorks, written by Dave Dewey of Base 10 Consultants, a DriveWorks Authorized Services Partner. Everything here comes from real implementation work for manufacturers.
What is DriveWorks?
DriveWorks is design automation and sales configurator (CPQ) software for SOLIDWORKS, made by DriveWorks Ltd. You capture the dimensions, features, and properties of a SOLIDWORKS model, write rules that determine their values, and present a form to the user. Fill in the form, and DriveWorks generates the models, drawings, and documents for that variant: quotes, bills of materials, emails, and data for other business systems.
It comes in three products:
| Product | What it is | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| DriveWorksXpress | Entry-level design automation, included free in every seat of SOLIDWORKS | Proving that one model can be driven by rules |
| DriveWorks Solo | Design automation for one engineer, inside SOLIDWORKS | An engineer automating their own repeat designs, drawings, and documents |
| DriveWorks Pro | The full platform: shared groups, security, unattended generation, browser access, and integration | Sales configurators, CPQ, and connecting engineering to ERP and CRM |
DriveWorks Pro is a set of modules, not a single program. Administrator is where projects are built. User and Live are how people fill in forms, on the desktop and in a browser. Autopilot generates models and documents unattended on a server. The glossary defines the rest of the vocabulary, and the DriveWorks feature comparison lists exactly what each product includes.
Who writes this
I'm Dave Dewey. I've built with DriveWorks since 2015, founded Base 10 Consultants in 2021, and have spent more than 25 years in engineering for manufacturing companies. Base 10 has been a DriveWorks Authorized Services Partner since January 2024. These pages are the notes I wish I'd had: what the software does in practice, what breaks, and what to do about it.
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DriveWorks glossary
Plain-English definitions of DriveWorks terms: specification, group, Autopilot, Live, Integration Theme, Simple and Group Tables, captured models, CPQ, and more.
Base 10 Consultants is a DriveWorks Authorized Services Partner: CPQ configurators, design automation, and CAD-to-ERP integration for manufacturers.
Book a 30-minute callBase 10 Consultants is a DriveWorks Authorized Services Partner and an independent company. This page is not written, reviewed, or endorsed by DriveWorks Ltd. DriveWorks is a trademark of DriveWorks Ltd; SOLIDWORKS is a trademark of Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corp. Behavior described here can differ between versions, so check the DriveWorks documentation for the version you run.