Translation guide for SolidWorks, Fusion and Onshape users
Where each familiar concept lives in Solid Vibes: feature tree, equations, mates, configurations, rollback, drawings, and the places the model is deliberately different.
You already know how to model. This page maps what you know onto Solid Vibes, so you can stop translating in your head. Turn on the Pro terms toggle in settings and the interface itself will use words like "mates", "BOM" and "feature tree".
The geometry underneath is a true parametric B-rep, evaluated by OpenCascade, so the fundamentals will feel familiar: sketches, extrudes, fillets, booleans, patterns, exact curved surfaces, STEP in and out.
Concepts
| Concept | SolidWorks | Fusion | Onshape | Solid Vibes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A single manufactured body | Part | Component or body | Part | Piece |
| A part or an assembly, without choosing | Part file or assembly file | Design | Part Studio or Assembly | Thing (one piece behaves like a part, many like an assembly) |
| Feature history | FeatureManager design tree | Timeline | Feature list | Recipe |
| Named variables | Equations, global variables | User parameters | Variables | Parameters, with formulas and slider ranges |
| Rules that stay true | Sketch relations, equations | Sketch constraints, parameters | Sketch constraints, variables | Design intent chips (checks and formula-built rules) |
| Standard hardware | Toolbox, Design Library | Insert McMaster-Carr component | Standard content | Bought pieces |
| Joining pieces | Mates | Joints | Mates | Connections: Bolted, Hinged, Snapped, Sliding, Glued, Geared, Press-fit |
| Bill of materials | BOM | Parts list | BOM | Make list (with how each piece is made, material, time, cost) |
| Design variants | Configurations, design tables | Configurations | Configurations | Configurations with a design table (rows = configurations, paste from Excel, CSV import/export), plus alternatives and Try versions for exploring |
| Revision control | PDM, Vault | Team hub versions | Versions and branches | Versions (saved by you and automatically), alternatives and releases. With Pro terms: commits, branches, tags |
| Roll back | Rollback bar | Timeline marker | Rollback bar | Build replay and the time-travel slider |
| Review a change | Compare tools | Compare versions | Compare versions | Compare in 3D (red and green; Diff with Pro terms) plus a list of the numbers that changed, and review requests on Team |
Sketching
| You know | SolidWorks | Fusion | Onshape | Solid Vibes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start a sketch | Sketch on a plane or face | Create Sketch | Sketch | Sketch with constraints (rail → Sketch, or ⌘K), on a face or Top / Front / Right |
| Edit a sketch | Edit Sketch | Edit Sketch | Double-click the sketch | Edit sketch on the Recipe step |
| Relations / constraints | Add Relation | Constraints | Constraints | Constraint bar for the selection (horizontal, vertical, coincident, parallel, perpendicular, tangent, equal, concentric, symmetric, midpoint, on curve, collinear, fix, smooth G2) |
| Inferred relations | Automatic relations | Inferred constraints | Inferencing | Inference while drawing, with glyphs; ⌘ / Ctrl draws without |
| Smart Dimension | Smart Dimension | Sketch Dimension | Dimension | Smart Dimension (D): numbers, formulas, name = value |
| Driven dimension | Driven dimension | Driven dimension | Driven dimension | Reference dimension (in parentheses) |
| Fully Define Sketch | Fully Define Sketch | — | — | Fully define (wand) or "fully define this sketch" |
| Status colours | Blue / black / red | Blue / black | Blue / black / red | Blue = free, black = fully defined, red = over-defined |
| Construction geometry | For construction | Construction (X) | Construction (Q) | Construction (X) |
| Trim / Extend | Trim Entities / Extend | Trim / Extend | Trim / Extend | Trim (T) / Extend (E) |
| Offset Entities | Offset | Offset | Offset | Offset (O) — parallel, joined at corners, dimensioned |
| Mirror Entities | Mirror | Mirror | Mirror | Mirror (M) — symmetric constraints |
| Sketch patterns | Linear / circular sketch pattern | Rectangular / circular pattern | Linear / circular pattern | Linear and circular pattern |
| Sketch fillet / chamfer | Sketch Fillet / Chamfer | Fillet | Fillet | Fillet corner (F) / chamfer corner, virtual sharp kept |
| Spline | Spline | Control point spline | Spline | Spline (S) on control points; smooth (G2) joins |
| Convert entities / project | Convert Entities | Project | Use | Not available yet |
| 3D sketch, helix | 3D Sketch, Helix and Spiral | 3D sketch, Coil | 3D fit spline, Helix | 3D paths: lines or a spline through 3D points, helices — sweep paths (agent or script view) |
See Sketching with constraints and Smart Dimension for the details.
Features
| Operation | In Solid Vibes |
|---|---|
| Boss-extrude, cut-extrude, extrude join/cut/new body | Extrude with operation new, add, cut or intersect; normal, reverse or symmetric; optional taper |
| Revolve, sweep, loft | Revolve, Sweep, Loft (ruled or smooth) |
| Primitives | Box, cylinder, cone, sphere, torus |
| Shell | Shell with open faces and inward or outward thickness |
| Fillet, chamfer | Fillet, Chamfer on edge selectors (distance and angle for chamfer) |
| Draft | Draft with pull direction and optional neutral plane |
| Hole Wizard, Hole | Hole: simple, counterbore, countersink, tapped, heat-set, clearance, with thread specs |
| Linear and circular pattern, curve-driven pattern | Pattern: linear (two directions), circular, along a path |
| Mirror | Mirror, with or without keeping the original |
| Combine, boolean | Boolean: union, cut, intersect, with named tool bodies |
| Rib | Rib from an open sketch path |
| Move/copy body, scale | Transform: translate, rotate, scale |
| Move face, press/pull, direct editing | Offset faces (push/pull handles drag faces and update parameters) |
| Split body | Split with an optional dovetail, pin or tongue joint |
| Library features, design library | Smart features: boss, vent slots, snap hook, lid lip, text emboss and engrave, spur gear, hinge knuckle, standoff, USB-C cutout, cable hole, keyhole mount, countersunk mount holes, splayed legs, vessel |
| Insert part, import body | Import of STEP, STL, 3MF, OBJ as a body |
| FeatureScript, API macros, add-ins | Custom features in TypeScript (writing one), the REST API and SDK (quickstart), and editor plugins |
Documentation and output
| Need | In Solid Vibes |
|---|---|
| 2D drawing | Drawings maker: ISO or ANSI, GD&T frames, hatching, notes, title block, revisions, multi-sheet |
| Exploded view and assembly instructions | Generated from the Things tree |
| Rendering | Render Studio (path-traced in the browser) |
| DFM checks | Manufacturability check with heatmap, issues list and Fix |
| Simulation | Quick simulation: linear static, stress heatmap, safety factor; Pro mode for fixtures, loads, mesh and export |
| Export | STEP, STL, 3MF, OBJ, GLB, DXF, DWG, PDF, PNG (by plan) |
How it differs on purpose
No part-or-assembly decision. A Thing grows as needed. Splitting a piece out is an edit, not a migration.
Dimensions and formulas drive the geometry. Constrained sketches are solved by the kernel on every build, with dimensions that can be parameter formulas — change a parameter and the sketch re-solves. Quick shape-based sketches (a rectangle of width w) still work as before and open in sketch mode when you need constraints. See Sketching with constraints and How parametric intent maps to the Recipe.
Selections are semantic. There are no stored face or edge indices, so upstream edits rarely break downstream features. See Selectors and topological naming.
Everything has a sentence. Every step has a readable description. Agent-written steps can carry a short "why" note.
The agent is a co-pilot, not a replacement. You can build a Recipe entirely by hand, or ask for the next five steps. Either way you get the same, inspectable steps. The agent never deletes history; it suppresses.
Z is up, units are millimetres. The print bed is the XY plane at Z = 0.
History is git-like. Versions (commits, with Pro terms) are immutable content-addressed snapshots, so alternatives (branches) are cheap and safe. Use this alternative is the merge, Restore the revert. See Versions and alternatives.
What to check before you switch a project
- Sheet metal. Base flange, edge flange, hem, jog, sketched bend, corner reliefs and cuts across bends, with a K-factor / bend-table flat pattern and a flat DXF (see Sheet metal basics). Forming tools, lofted bends and springback are not modelled.
- Simulation. Quick linear static analysis of one piece is built in (see Will it hold? Simulation explained); nonlinear, contact, fatigue, modal and thermal studies are not.
- Real-time co-editing and review requests. Both come with the Team plan (see Working together in real time and Review requests).
- Feature coverage you depend on. If you rely on a niche feature (advanced surfacing, weldments, mold tools), check that it exists before moving a production project.
A first hour for a pro
- Import a part from your current CAD as STEP and ask the agent to describe it.
- Open the Parameters panel and the Recipe, and add a rule or two with "always".
- Try script view on a simple piece.
- Learn ⌘K.
- Redo one real project from your backlog. Time it.
Try it
I come from SolidWorks. Show me this piece's Recipe the way I would read a feature tree, and tell me which steps are the equivalent of boss-extrude, cut-extrude, hole wizard and fillet.
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