SOLIDWORKS® PCB (formerly PCBWorks) is a PCB (printed circuit board)
design tool that is integrated with the SOLIDWORKS 3D design software. It is installed
by SOLIDWORKS Installation Manager as part of the Individual installation.
An electrical engineer using SOLIDWORKS PCB can make changes to a printed
circuit board and push those changes to a shared repository. A mechanical engineer using
the SOLIDWORKS software can pull the changed circuit board from the repository, analyze
the modifications, make additional changes, and push the design back to the repository,
where it can then be accessed again by the electrical engineer.
To enable this collaboration, you must install SOLIDWORKS PCB Services,
which manages the repository on a shared server. It is installed by SOLIDWORKS
Installation Manager as part of a Server
installation and does not require a separate license. It includes Microsoft Internet
Information Services and a database that stores data used to synchronize the work of the
electrical and mechanical designers.
In network environments, SOLIDWORKS PCB Services is typically installed
on a share server that is not running the SOLIDWORKS software. It can also be installed
with other SOLIDWORKS PCB components on a single machine. SOLIDWORKS PCB Services must
be running at all times, and have uninterrupted, bidirectional communication through
firewalls and virus scanners with clients running SOLIDWORKS PCB and the SOLIDWORKS
software, and with any clients running Altium Designer that are going to be integrated
with the SOLIDWORKS software.
It is recommended that you install
SOLIDWORKS PCB Services before installing SOLIDWORKS PCB.
In addition, you must enable another component called SOLIDWORKS PCB
add-in on machines running the SOLIDWORKS software. You can enable the add-in from
.
Electrical engineers who have licensed Altium Designer can also exchange
designs with SOLIDWORKS 3D design software users through the repository. To do this
exchange, users need to install the SOLIDWORKS PCB Connector. This software is installed
from the Altium Designer client.