DriveWorksXpress limitations: what it cannot do

DriveWorksXpress drives the dimensions, features, and custom properties of a SOLIDWORKS model from a simple form, and creates one drawing for each part and assembly. That is all it does. It cannot control file names or locations, use tables in rules, produce quotes or BOMs, replace components, or be used by anyone outside SOLIDWORKS. It is free in every seat of SOLIDWORKS, and it is the right place to prove an idea, not to run a product line.

What DriveWorksXpress does

According to the DriveWorks feature comparison, Xpress includes:

Driving dimensions, features, and custom properties
One drawing for each part and assembly
Immediate generation of the models and drawings
An automatic form designer with basic controls: text box, numeric text box, drop down, spin button, check box
Static validation messages
A report on whether model generation succeeded

It is activated from inside SOLIDWORKS, under Tools > Xpress Products, and costs nothing.

What it cannot do

Everything below is absent from Xpress and present in DriveWorks Solo, Pro, or both.

In the model

Drive materials, colors, or textures
Drive advanced feature properties: Hole Wizard, sheet metal, weldments
Control the number of instances of a component, or replace one component with another
Set the names and folders of the new files
Save extra formats such as STEP, STL, PDF, or DXF
Drive more than one set of models from a project

In the drawing

Create more than one drawing per part or assembly
Rescale, rename, or delete sheets; reposition or delete views
Control annotations, notes, or dimension positions

This is usually the first wall people hit. A model that changes size by a factor of three needs its views rescaled and moved, and Xpress cannot do it.

In the form and rules

More than one form, or navigation between forms
Controls that hide, disable, or change their options by rule
Validation that depends on other answers
Tables. There is no lookup data in Xpress, so every part number or size chart has to be written into a rule
Named, reusable variables
The full rules builder, with function wizards and rule breakdown

Beyond CAD

No quote, BOM, or any other document
No preview while specifying
No users, no sharing, no browser access, no unattended generation, no connection to a database or ERP. Those are DriveWorks Pro features.

Seven signs you have outgrown it

The same lookup is typed into several rules as nested IFs, because there is nowhere to put a table.
You fix the drawing by hand after every run. Views overlap or run off the sheet.
You rename and move the generated files yourself so they match your part numbering.
You want an option, not a dimension. Left-hand or right-hand, with or without a guard, a different motor: that is component replacement and instance control.
The form has grown past one screen and people are unsure which fields apply to which variant.
Someone asks for the quote or the BOM from the same answers.
Someone else wants to run it. A colleague without your knowledge of the model, or sales.

The first six are solved by DriveWorks Solo. The seventh, when "someone else" is outside engineering, is where DriveWorks Pro starts. DriveWorks Solo vs Pro covers that choice.

What carries over when you move up

A DriveWorksXpress project can be imported into Solo or Pro. In Pro, the New Project wizard has an "Import DriveWorksXpress Project" option: you browse to the Xpress database, pick one or more projects, and a new project is created with the same name. If the original model files have moved, the import adds a reference and you relocate them afterwards in Data Management.

So nothing is lost by starting in Xpress. The captured dimensions and the rules come with you. More importantly, so does what you learned: which inputs really drive the design, and which parts of the model fight being driven.

How to use Xpress well

Treat it as a pilot with a short life.

Pick one model that is asked for often and varies by a handful of dimensions. The guide to choosing a first DriveWorks project applies even at this size.
Clean the model first. Name the dimensions and features you will drive. Remove the equations that the rules will replace. Moving off in-model logic is the point; see DriveWorks vs SOLIDWORKS equations.
Show it to people. The value of an Xpress pilot is that the rest of the company sees a model build itself from a form. That conversation is what funds the next step.
Stop when you hit the list above. Working around a missing table with longer rules is effort you will throw away after upgrading.

Common questions

Is DriveWorksXpress really free?

Yes. DriveWorksXpress is entry-level design automation included in every seat of SOLIDWORKS. It is activated from inside SOLIDWORKS and has no time limit.

What are the limitations of DriveWorksXpress?

It drives only dimensions, features, and custom properties, and creates one drawing per part or assembly. It has no tables, no control of file names or locations, no component replacement, no control of drawing views, no documents such as quotes or BOMs, one automatically laid-out form, and no sharing or browser access.

Can DriveWorksXpress create drawings?

Yes, one drawing for each part and assembly. It cannot create several drawings for one model, or rescale and reposition views, so drawings of models that change size a lot usually need tidying by hand.

Can DriveWorksXpress use an Excel table or a database?

No. Xpress has no tabular data. DriveWorks Solo adds tables stored in the project, including data pasted from Excel. Live database connections need DriveWorks Pro.

Can I upgrade a DriveWorksXpress project to Solo or Pro?

Yes. Both DriveWorks Solo and DriveWorks Pro can import DriveWorksXpress projects, keeping the captured model information and the rules.

What is the difference between DriveWorksXpress and DriveWorks Solo?

Solo adds a full form designer, tables in rules, control of file names and locations, component replacement, materials and colors, multiple drawings with view and annotation control, extra file formats, quote and BOM documents, and on-demand preview.