SolidWorks Corporation unveils 64-bit editions of its CAD and analysis software

SolidWorks 2006 x64 Edition and COSMOS 2006 x64 Edition, released here at SolidWorks World 2006, leverage the performance and scalability of the Microsoft Windows® XP Professional x64 Edition operating system, giving customers a full 8 terabytes of memory. For the first time, customers who design heavy equipment, packing plant machinery, and other large devices can display, modify, and analyze an assembly of virtually any size with any number of components. With 64-bit functionality, SolidWorks and COSMOS software can now access hundreds of times more memory than was possible on Microsoft’s previous, 32-bit operating system. Engineers no longer have to break up large assemblies into “chunks” because of memory limits in Windows.

“SolidWorks and COSMOS are now unmitigated industrial-strength applications,” said Thad Perkins, director of mechanical engineering at Paper Converting Machine Co. of Green Bay, Wisc., a world leader in the manufacture of tissue converting equipment, packaging machinery, printing presses, and other specialized machinery. “SolidWorks and COSMOS software have always maximized the power of the desktop, but now the desktop is getting more robust with bigger operating systems and more powerful processors. Our new ability to manage an entire 45,000-part assembly will improve efficiency, productivity, communication with our customer base, and, most importantly, the quality of our products.”

The SolidWorks 2006 x64 Edition and COSMOS 2006 x64 Edition support the Intel Xeon® EM64T and AMD Opteron® processors, and are among the first applications to take full advantage of the power of Microsoft’s 64-bit operating system. SolidWorks Corporation will continue to support SolidWorks and

COSMOS versions that run on the 64-bit operating system in a 32-bit mode. SolidWorks and COSMOS software will also continue to offer full compatibility among all SolidWorks and COSMOS files, regardless of the operating system on which they were created.

“The 64-bit computing era has arrived, and it’s important to provide this power to our customers just as it was important a decade ago to bring 3D mechanical design to the desktop,” said Chris Garcia, SolidWorks Corporation’s vice president of R&D. “Design engineers have eagerly awaited this functionality, and we’re confident they will experience a dramatic difference in large-assembly handling from the start.”