What is DriveWorks? Modules, integrations and alternatives
DriveWorks is design automation and sales configurator software that works with SOLIDWORKS. It lets manufacturers capture design rules so that custom variants of a product, with models, drawings and quotes, are generated automatically from a form. It is used mainly by engineer-to-order and configure-to-order companies.
Also known as: DriveWorks Solo, DriveWorks Pro, DriveWorks Xpress, DriveWorks Autopilot
DriveWorks automates the repetitive part of custom design. Engineers define the rules that govern how a SOLIDWORKS model or assembly changes in response to inputs such as dimensions or options. A user then fills in a form, and the system generates the model, drawings, bills of material and often a quote, without an engineer redrawing each variant.
It is mostly used by manufacturers whose products are tailored per order but built from a common design family, such as machinery, enclosures, doors, furniture, stairs and structural items. Because it is tied to SOLIDWORKS, companies that already design in that CAD package can reuse their existing models rather than rebuilding them in a separate configurator.
In a stack, DriveWorks sits between sales or customer input and the CAD, PDM and ERP systems. Outputs such as drawings and bills of material can be stored in PDM and passed to the ERP, while a web-based front end can let sales staff or customers submit specifications. It differs from pure price-list CPQ because the geometry itself is generated.
Modules and capabilities
Design automation
Captures rules that drive SOLIDWORKS parts, assemblies and drawings from user inputs.
Sales configurator
Presents web forms for sales users or customers to specify a product and see results.
Document and drawing generation
Produces drawings, quotes and other documents from templates.
Bill of material output
Generates structured BOM data from the configured design.
Rules and project builder
Tools for engineers to build forms, rules and calculations without writing a full application.
Automation and batch generation
Runs model generation automatically in the background for web and batch use.
Integrations and data access
SOLIDWORKS
Core integration: rules drive SOLIDWORKS models, assemblies and drawings.
PDM
Generated files can be stored in SOLIDWORKS PDM or similar document management systems.
ERP and CRM
Configuration data, quotes and bills of material can be passed to ERP and CRM, typically through custom integration or scripting.
Data sources
Rules can look up data from spreadsheets and databases, such as price lists or material tables.
Web front end
Web-based forms allow sales staff, dealers or customers to submit specifications.
Strengths
- Reuses existing SOLIDWORKS models instead of recreating them in another tool
- Generates real CAD outputs, not only a price and option list
- Engineers can build and maintain rule sets without full software development
- Reduces repeated design effort on variants of a standard product family
- Suits both internal engineering automation and external web configurators
Limitations
- Tied to SOLIDWORKS, so it does not suit companies using other CAD systems
- Model structure must be clean and rule-ready; poorly built models make automation hard
- Pricing, approval and CRM features are lighter than dedicated CPQ suites
- Integration with ERP typically requires custom work
Where AI helps DriveWorks users
- - Extracting design rules from engineering standards and legacy spreadsheets into draft rule sets
- - Checking generated models and bills of material against ERP item masters for mismatches
- - Interpreting free-text customer specifications into form inputs for review
- - Summarizing differences between a generated variant and its nearest standard design
Evaluating DriveWorks? Check these
- Confirm your product family has stable, definable design rules before investing
- Audit your SOLIDWORKS models for robustness and consistent feature structure
- Decide whether the main goal is engineering productivity or a customer-facing configurator
- Plan how generated files and bills of material will move into PDM and ERP
- Start with one product family to measure rule-building effort before scaling
- Check which edition covers web deployment, batch generation and integration needs
Common alternatives: Tacton CPQ, Epicor CPQ, Salesforce CPQ, Autodesk Inventor iLogic, Configit, Custom-built configurator.
Frequently asked questions
What is DriveWorks?
DriveWorks is software for automating SOLIDWORKS-based design and creating sales configurators. Engineers define rules, and users enter specifications in forms, after which models, drawings, bills of material and quotes are generated automatically for custom variants of a product.
Is DriveWorks a CPQ tool?
It overlaps with CPQ because it can collect specifications and produce quotes, but its core strength is generating CAD geometry and drawings. Dedicated CPQ products typically offer richer pricing, approval workflows and CRM integration, so some companies combine the two.
Do I need SOLIDWORKS to use DriveWorks?
DriveWorks is built around SOLIDWORKS, so it is most useful for companies that already design in it. If you use a different CAD system, other configurators or CAD-specific automation tools such as iLogic for Inventor may be a closer fit.
What kinds of products suit DriveWorks?
Products that vary by dimensions and options within a design family, such as machinery, enclosures, doors, structural items and furniture. The key condition is that the design logic can be described as rules, so truly novel one-off engineering is not a good candidate.
How does DriveWorks connect to an ERP?
Usually through custom integration, since generated bills of material and quotes are exported as structured data and loaded into the ERP by scripts or middleware. The scope of that integration is an important item to estimate during project planning.
Running DriveWorks?
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