Blog

Measuring Environmental Impact with SOLIDWORKS Sustainability - Overview

Eco-friendly and Sustainable products are buzz words we are frequently hearing on the internet, radio, and TV. The "Green Movement" as it is commonly referred to, is taking a look at our manufacturing processes (and other activities) to make sure that we do not use up or destroy life forms and resources when making our products. At the end of the day, we want to design products that will make our lives better, and ensure that we are saving the environment for future generations to come.

Companies all over the world are striving to meet green certifications. Dassault Systems is one of these companies that has been recognized for their efforts in meeting the green certification requirements.

But how does SOLIDWORKS help us measure how green our products are? SOLIDWORKS Sustainability.

SolidWorks

With SOLIDWORKS Sustainability, you'll have the built-in environmental intelligence to make more informed decisions about what materials to use. You'll also see how region-specific material sourcing, manufacturing, use, and disposal will affect your product's life cycle before manufacturing begins.

SOLIDWORKS offers 2 different levels of this product. Sustainability and Sustainability Xpress

Sustainability Xpress only works with part files containing solid bodies and is part of SOLIDWORKS Standard. The full Sustainability product handles parts and assembly files and is available in SOLIDWORKS Premium. The full version of this software adds in configuration support, advanced reporting options, and expanded environmental impacts.

Below, is a table that compares the different functions we get in each of the products:

Functionality	SOLIDWORKS SustainabilityXpress	SOLIDWORKS Sustainability
Integrated into the SOLIDWORKS software interface
Analyze parts
Select materials
Find similar materials
Display real-time feedback in Environmental Impact dashboard
Set and import baselines
Generate and send customizable reports
Display detailed comparison panes per environmental impact area
Define how long a part or assembly will last
Define how long a part or assembly will be used
Specify electricity and natural gas use, and scrap rate for manufacturing process
Analyze assemblies
Use the Assembly Visualization tool with Sustainability
Evaluate configurations
Input Use phase energy consumption values
Specify transportation methods and distances

To start using these products, they can easily be found under your Tools pull-down menu (there is no add-in for these products under Tools, Add-ins). You will find the Sustainability Xpress with the other Xpress tools (Tools, Xpress Tools, Sustainability Xpress). You will find the full program under the SOLIDWORKS Applications option of the Tools menu (Tools, SOLIDWORKS Applications, Sustainability)

By using Sustainability in your product designs, you will be able to look an entire life cycle assessment (LCA). This will show you how your choices in material, manufacturing methods, and manufacturing locations will impact the environment. All by applying some simple parameters into the Sustainability task pane.

SolidWorks

Sustainability will analyze the environmental impact factors base on your inputs, including the Carbon Footprint, Energy Consumption, Air Acidification, and Water Eutrophication (contamination of the water ecosystem).

So if you are interested in showing how green your products are, or if you just want to save a tree, check out the SOLIDWORKS Sustainability products. Please continue to follow this series as we will continue take a deep dive into this product and explain how it all works.

We hope this series gives you some good insight to the new SOLIDWORKS Sustainability product. Please check back to the CATI Blog as the Dedicated Support Team will continue posting new series of articles every month that go further into the details of many of the SOLIDWORKS tools. All of these articles will be stored in the category of Daily Dose…of SOLIDWORKS Support and links to each article with their release date are listed below: