3DEXPERIENCE and SolidWorks: What to Check Before You Decide

If your team designs in SOLIDWORKS® 3D CAD, you can have every file version-tracked, every assembly reference holding when parts move, and everyone outside CAD looking at the current model in a browser, before the end of this week. Nobody has to buy a server or learn a second application to get there.

I have worked in SolidWorks for more than 30 years and set up CAD document management for engineering teams across five countries. This page is what I walk teams through before they decide anything, in the order it actually matters.

You stay in SolidWorks, and the file admin happens underneath

You check a file out, model, and check it back in, all from the task pane. There is one add-in and one web dashboard. That is the whole surface your engineers ever see, so nobody spends their first week learning where things live.

• Check-in and check-out directly in SolidWorks, with a visible lock so everyone knows who is editing what
• A Same Version indicator, so you can tell at a glance whether the file open on your screen is the current one
• Assembly references that hold when files are moved, renamed or imported, with a Missing References page for anything left to resolve
• Get Latest on a single part or on a whole multi-select, before you start work
• Favorite Folders, Locate Active Document, and search by file name, description or custom property

Your files sit in a local cache folder on your own machine, so SolidWorks opens them at local speed. Check-in and check-out are the steps that talk to the cloud.

What changes day to day

• Knowing you have the latest. On a shared drive you ask someone, or you open it and hope. In Sibe the add-in tells you, and Get Latest pulls it.
• Two people, one file. On a shared drive the last save wins. In Sibe check-out locks the file, and everyone sees who has it.
• Moving or renaming a part. On a shared drive assembly references break. In Sibe references update.
• Getting back to last week. On a shared drive you get whatever is in the file name. In Sibe you open or restore any earlier version.
• Releasing a design. On a shared drive it is a "Released" folder, by convention. In Sibe it is In Progress, review, Released, with released files locked.
• Sharing with production. On a shared drive you email a STEP export. In Sibe you send a free Visitor Link to the current model.

Nobody on your team has to run a server

You install the add-in, sign in with Google or Microsoft 365, and start. There is no SQL database to stand up, no archive server to configure, no VPN for the engineer working from home, and no administrator role to hire for or hand to whoever is least busy.

This is usually the first thing to settle, because it decides who carries the thing for the next five years. If the answer is "nobody full time", it has to be true on day 400, not just on day one.

You can get back to any version, including last Tuesday's

Every check-in writes a version you can open and restore, with the author and the description they typed. You can view an older version directly in SolidWorks before you decide to bring it back, so you are not restoring blind.

Versions and revisions are two different things, and the difference decides how much of a bad afternoon you can undo:

• A version is every check-in. It is the working history: who saved what, when, and why.
• A revision is the formal step that says this is the design production builds from.

You need both. Revisions alone tell you Rev B replaced Rev A, but not which of the forty saves in between broke the mate. In Sibe a revision is created when a file goes through the release workflow, with named approvers and observers, and the released file locks. Bulk Release takes a set of files through it in one pass, and you can send a released file back to In Progress when something has to change.

When you book a demo, ask to see this on a real assembly rather than on a slide. Ask me, and ask everyone else on your list.

People without SolidWorks open the current model in a browser

You send a free Visitor Link, and production, purchasing, a supplier or a client opens the 3D model or the 2D drawing in any browser. No account, no CAD license, no seat, no role to assign. A QR code on the workstation does the same job on the shop floor.

Reviewers who need to do more than look take a Contributor seat, which lets them comment, mark up, download and sign off inside a release. Nordair Systems, a German cleanroom manufacturer, cut client presentation setup from 30 minutes to sending a link, and supplier questions per project from 10 to 15 down to under 2. Read how.

What it costs, for a real team

The prices are published, so you can work out what your team costs before you talk to anyone. A team of 10 engineers and 5 reviewers, on the Core plan billed annually:

• 10 Editor seats for the engineers who check files in and out, at $50 each: $500 a month
• 5 Contributor seats for the reviewers who mark up and approve, at $15 each: $75 a month
• Visitor Links for suppliers, clients and the shop floor: free, and there is no cap
• Servers, VPN, database, administrator: none, so nothing to add

Total: $575 a month. Month-to-month prices, the Scale plan and the $5 Viewer seat are on the pricing page. The number you budget is the number on the page.

You are live in under 20 minutes, and your files stay yours

You install the add-in, check in your first assembly, and invite a teammate. That is the setup. The guided first-time setup in the add-in walks you through importing your existing assemblies, and you can start with one active project and leave the rest of the shared drive where it is.

• Download a ZIP backup of the whole workspace, on demand or on a schedule, so a full copy of your SolidWorks files always sits where you want it
• Runs on Google Cloud with a 99.9% uptime commitment, and EU Data Residency is available as an add-on
• Sign-in through Google or Microsoft 365 / Entra ID, so people leaving the company is an HR step, not a CAD step

See data security for the detail.

What you will still need another tool for

You get CAD document management and the collaboration around it, end to end, and nothing you then have to switch off. I would rather tell you where the line sits now than on a call three weeks in:

• ERP and MRP. Sibe builds a bill of materials from your assembly and exports it as CSV or XLSX on the Scale plan. Your ERP still runs purchasing, stock and scheduling.
• Requirements and quality systems. Requirements traceability, CAPA and audit programs live in dedicated tools. Sibe holds the CAD documents, the versions and the approvals behind them.
• Contracts with specific data controls. If your customers put rules on where CAD data may sit and who may open it, ITAR and similar, talk to us before you start a trial rather than after.
• Other CAD. The add-in is SolidWorks only. Other formats can be viewed and shared, but the check-in workflow is for SolidWorks files.
• Design work itself. No simulation, no CAM, no authoring. You model in SolidWorks, exactly as you do now.
• Cloud, by design. There is no server to buy, patch or back up, and your engineers reach the same files from any site. If your policy says CAD data has to live on hardware you own, that is a different shape of product.

For most teams building products in SolidWorks, none of that is what breaks the week. Overwritten files, broken references and the wrong revision reaching the shop floor are, and that is the list above this one.

Nine questions to take into any demo

You will get a straighter answer from every vendor on your list, including me, if you arrive with these written down. If your answer to any one of them is no, put Sibe on the list.

• Who will run it? Name the person, and how many hours a week they can give it.
• Where do your engineers work? One office, several sites, or from home.
• Who outside CAD needs to see designs? Production, purchasing, suppliers and clients, and whether each of them needs a paid seat.
• How do you get back to last Tuesday's version? Ask to see it done on a real assembly, not on a slide.
• What happens when a part gets moved or renamed? Ask them to do it live and then open the parent assembly.
• What does "released" mean in your team? Who signs off, and how production knows a drawing is current.
• What happens when the internet drops? Whether your engineers keep working, and what happens to their edits when they reconnect.
• How do you get your data out? Ask what a full export looks like, in what format, and how long it takes.
• When do you need it working? This month, or after a planned rollout.

Bring your answers to a free 20-minute demo and I will tell you straight whether Sibe fits your team.

Teams already working this way

CeiliX: 10 engineers, from OneDrive

CeiliX builds intralogistics automation and robots in Germany. Its 10-person SolidWorks team kept assemblies in OneDrive, marked revisions with Rev A and Rev B in file names, and sent production manual STEP exports. The team now checks files in and out directly in SolidWorks, releases through a workflow, and shares models with production and sales through browser links and QR codes.

"We had a lot of assemblies and parts laying around, organized not so well in OneDrive. Revisions meant copying the file and putting Rev A or Rev B in the filename." Robin Heitz, Head of Robot Development, CeiliX

Read the CeiliX case study

Cremmjoy: a 2,000-part assembly, from a SharePoint drive

Cremmjoy builds soft serve and slush machines in Louisiana. Four SolidWorks users, growing to five, worked on an assembly of about 2,000 parts stored on a SharePoint shared drive, with no version control, no file locking and no release control. Setup took under 20 minutes. Every check-in now creates a tracked version, check-out shows who has a file, and released files lock.

"Previous file management relied on a shared drive without any PDM system, but with so many parts we needed better control." Jason Hugenroth, Founder and CEO, Cremmjoy

Read the Cremmjoy case study

Nordair Systems: 18 custom properties per part, reaching people outside CAD

Nordair builds modular cleanrooms in Germany with a distributed engineering team. Their SolidWorks files carry article numbers, materials, ESD classifications and modification history, and the people who needed that data did not have SolidWorks open. Suppliers now get access to the one assembly they are quoting, with no license to open it.

"Our SolidWorks files carry structured product data that people outside the CAD team regularly need to access. Bridging that gap was essential for our global growth." Dean Pascasio, CAD Engineering Lead, Nordair Systems

Read the Nordair case study

Start with one project, not a migration

You do not have to move everything at once. Take one active project, check its assemblies in, and leave the rest where it is until your team is ready.

1. Start a free 14-day trial, no credit card
2. Install the Sibe add-in for SolidWorks and sign in
3. Follow the guided setup in the add-in to check in your first assembly
4. Invite a teammate, check out a part, and send a Visitor Link to someone in production

Frequently asked questions

Do we need a server, a VPN or IT support?

No. Sibe runs in the cloud. Each engineer installs the add-in, signs in, and checks files in directly in SolidWorks.

What happens to our existing folders?

You copy your SolidWorks files into the local cache folder and check them in. Sibe mirrors your folder structure in the local cache, similar though not identical, and the guided setup in the add-in walks you through your first assembly.

Will moving or renaming a part break our assemblies?

Sibe updates assembly references when files are moved, renamed or imported. Anything it cannot resolve shows on the Missing References page with suggested fixes.

Does it slow SolidWorks down on big assemblies?

You work on files in your local cache folder, so SolidWorks opens them from your own machine. Check-in and check-out are the steps that talk to the cloud.

Can people without SolidWorks review designs?

Yes. Free Visitor Links open 3D models and 2D drawings in any browser, with no Sibe account and no CAD license.

Who needs a paid seat?

Engineers who check files in and out need an Editor seat. Reviewers who comment, mark up and approve releases take a Contributor seat, and read-only users a Viewer seat, both in the web dashboard. Anyone outside the company opens models through a free Visitor Link.

Where is our data stored, and how do we get it out?

Sibe runs on Google Cloud with a 99.9% uptime commitment, and EU Data Residency is available as an add-on. You can download a ZIP backup of the whole workspace on demand or on a schedule. See data security for the details.

What happens when the internet drops?

You keep working. Your files sit in a local cache folder on your machine, and you check them in when you reconnect.

What happens in the 20-minute demo

• You tell me how your team works today: sites, reviewers, and how your files are organized
• I check in an assembly directly in SolidWorks and show you version history, a restore, check-out locks and a release
• You open a Visitor Link on your phone, the way your production team would
• You leave with a seat count and a monthly cost for your team

If Sibe is not the right fit, I will say so. Prefer to try it yourself first? Start a 14-day free trial, no credit card.

Book a free 20-minute demo · Try Free

No servers, no VPNs, no admin hassles.

SOLIDWORKS is a registered trademark of Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation. Sibe is an independent product and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Dassault Systèmes. 3DEXPERIENCE is a registered trademark of Dassault Systèmes.