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SolidWorks Sustainability |
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Conduct life cycle assessment (LCA) on parts or assemblies directly within the
design window. Search for comparable materials and see in real time how they
affect environmental impact. Create detailed reports that explain a design’s
sustainability.
These are just some of the functional benefits that SolidWorks Sustainability
brings to sustainable design. You will have one integrated system that lets you
design for the environment while creating great products and still meeting
deadlines.
The SolidWorks Sustainability product line includes SolidWorks Sustainability
and SolidWorks SustainabilityXpress . SolidWorks Sustainability provides a
complete dashboard of LCA information so you can determine the environmental
impact of assemblies. SolidWorks SustainabilityXpress, which comes with
SolidWorks 2010, allows you to see detailed LCA information on individual parts. |
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Why SolidWorks Sustainability?
Worldwide awareness of environmental issues has never been more acute. Consumers
are increasingly considering the environmental impact of products they buy.
They’re not just looking at recyclability. They want to know about materials
used and how the product was made. Manufacturers, in turn, are trying to respond
to that growing demand.
What it means to you
As an engineer or product designer, you have the power to dramatically alter how
we interact with our environment. The question is how. Many designers don’t know
about the life cycle assessment (LCA) process or how it could guide them to more
sustainable designs. Others may think the process is too complex and
time-consuming, or is someone else’s responsibility. Learning about designing
for the environment now will put you ahead of the curve. 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.
What it means to your company
As a manufacturer, you have no choice but to address market changes. SolidWorks
Sustainability is a tool that can help you stay profitable as consumers
increasingly choose sustainably designed products. Using LCA information early
in your design process will save your company time and money by avoiding
surprising sustainability assessments and costly redesigns later. As a matter of
global corporate citizenship, sustainable design means making decisions to
ensure future environmental stability. |
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Sustainable Design |
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Sustainable design, like quality, time to market, and cost, will soon dictate
how engineers approach most every product they develop. Choosing products based
on their carbon footprint will be equally as important as design validation. To
stay ahead of the curve, you and your company need to understand sustainable
design and how to implement it now. |
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Life Cycle Assessment
LCA is the detailed analysis that gives you the
information you need to make the most environmentally friendly decisions
throughout product design. The analysis looks at a product’s entire life, which
encompasses ore extraction, material production, manufacturing, product use,
end-of-life disposal, and all of the transportation that occurs between these
stages. |
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Environmental Impact Factors
Acid rain. Water pollution. Global warming. Dying animals, plants, and fish. The
list goes on. Accurately gauging our impact on the environment has only really
come into focus in the past couple of decades. Sustainable design looks at how
your product’s development, from cradle to grave, will affect four crucial
environmental factors: air acidification; carbon footprint; total energy
consumed; and water eutrophication. Measuring these impacts will help you better
design for the environment. |
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Air Acidification – Burning fuels creates sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxides, and
other acidic air emissions. This causes an increase in the acidity of rainwater,
which in turn acidifies lakes and soil. These acids can make the land and water
toxic for plants and aquatic life. Acid rain can also slowly dissolve man-made
building materials such as concrete. This impact is typically measured in units
of kg sulfur dioxide equivalent (SO2). |
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Carbon Footprint – Carbon dioxide and other gasses resulting from burning fossil
fuels accumulate in the atmosphere, which in turn increases the earth’s average
temperature. Also known as Global Warming Potential (GWP), carbon footprint is
measured in units of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). Scientists, politicians,
and others blame global warming for problems like loss of glaciers, extinction
of species, and more extreme weather, among others. |
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Total Energy Consumed – This is a measure of the non-renewable energy sources
associated with the part’s lifecycle in units of megajoules (MJ). This impact
includes not only the electricity or fuels used during the product’s lifecycle,
but also the upstream energy required to obtain and process these fuels, and the
embodied energy of materials that would be released if burned. Total energy
consumed represents the net calorific value of primary energy demand from
non-renewable resources (e.g. petroleum, natural gas, etc.). Efficiencies in
energy conversion (e.g. power, heat, steam, etc.) are also factors. |
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Water Eutrophication - Eutrophication occurs when an overabundance of nutrients
are added to a water ecosystem. Nitrogen and phosphorous from wastewater and
agricultural fertilizers cause an overabundance of algae to bloom, which then
depletes the water of oxygen and results in the death of both plant and animal
life. This impact is typically measured in either kg phosphate equivalent (PO4)
or kg nitrogen (N) equivalent. |
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Product Matrix |
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To find the right SolidWorks Sustainability product for you, just match our
features to your sustainable design needs. |
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Functionality |
SolidWorks SustainabilityXpress |
SolidWorks Sustainability |
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Integrated into SolidWorks Interface |
x |
x |
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LCA of Parts |
x |
x |
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Find Similar Material |
x |
x |
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Impact Factor Dashboard with Key Categories |
x |
x |
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Establish Baseline |
x |
x |
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Customizable Reports |
x |
x |
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Detailed Report for Parts |
x |
x |
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Baseline Comparison Report |
x |
x |
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LCA of Assemblies |
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x |
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SolidWorks Configuration Support |
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x |
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"Use Phase" Energy |
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x |
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Specify Transportation Type |
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x |
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Report Includes BOM with Best/Worst Components |
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x |
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Assembly Visualization Support |
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x |
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Feature |
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Like all SolidWorks products, SolidWorks Sustainability makes a complex process
easy to understand and use. Life cycle assessment becomes another fast, yet
critical step in product development, giving you the information you need to
make environmentally friendly engineering decisions. Sustainable design is now
SolidWorks simple!
Here is a list of key features for both SolidWorks Sustainability and SolidWorks
SustainabilityXpress that will help you design for the environment:
Intuitive LCA Tool – Conduct comprehensive LCA analyses of parts and assemblies
quickly and easily.
Environmental Impact Dashboard – See in real time your product’s air, carbon,
energy, and water impacts.
Baseline Measurement – Capture the environmental impact of an existing product
as your baseline, and then monitor in real time how your new design compares.
Find Similar Material – Quickly search the material database for alternative
materials based on their mechanical properties.
Customizable Reports – Create impressive reports that document the improvements
you have made to the environmental impact of your products.
Integrated SolidWorks User Interface – Work productively with a smart, familiar
interface that lets you see environmental impacts and make changes directly in
the product model. |
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Product FAQs |
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Got questions about LCA, SolidWorks Sustainability, and how they can help you design for the environment? Check out some of the most frequently asked below.
What is SolidWorks Sustainability?
SolidWorks Sustainability allows users to measure the environmental impact of the products they design in SolidWorks. The SolidWorks Sustainability products are fully integrated into SolidWorks, and provide real-time feedback on the environmental impacts of Carbon Footprint, Total Energy Consumed, Effect on Water, and Effect on Air.
Why did DS SolidWorks develop/decide to offer this product?
We see SolidWorks Sustainability as a timely product. Many countries around the world have made environmental concerns a growing priority, and both individuals and companies are making more buying decisions based on the eco-friendliness of products. As this market need grows, SolidWorks Sustainability enables our customers to build environmentally responsible products that better compete in a variety of markets.
What is Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)?
This is a method to quantitatively assess the environmental impact of a product throughout its entire lifecycle, from the procurement of the raw materials through the production, distribution, use, disposal, and recycling of that product. To learn more, visit our LCA page.
What metrics does SolidWorks Sustainability use to report environmental impacts?
- Air Acidification – Burning fuels creates sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxides, and other acidic air emissions. This causes an increase in the acidity of rainwater, which in turn acidifies lakes and soil. These acids can make the land and water toxic for plants and aquatic life. Acid rain can also slowly dissolve manmade building materials such as concrete. This impact is typically measured in units of kg sulfur dioxide equivalent (SO2).
- Carbon Footprint – Carbon dioxide and other gasses resulting from burning fossil fuels accumulate in the atmosphere, which in turn increases the earth’s average temperature. Also known as Global Warming Potential (GWP), carbon footprint is measured in units of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). Scientists, politicians, and others blame global warming for problems like loss of glaciers, extinction of species, and more extreme weather, among others.
- Total Energy Consumed – This is a measure of the non-renewable energy sources associated with the part’s lifecycle in units of megajoules (MJ). This impact includes not only the electricity or fuels used during the product’s lifecycle, but also the upstream energy required to obtain and process these fuels, and the embodied energy of materials that would be released if burned. Total energy consumed represents the net calorific value of primary energy demand from non-renewable resources (e.g. petroleum, natural gas, etc.). Efficiencies in energy conversion (e.g. power, heat, steam, etc.) are also factors.
- Water Eutrophication - Eutrophication occurs when an overabundance of nutrients are added to a water ecosystem. Nitrogen and phosphorous from wastewater and agricultural fertilizers causes an overabundance of algae to bloom, which then depletes the water of oxygen and results in the death of both plant and animal life. This impact is typically measured in either kg phosphate equivalent (PO4) or kg nitrogen (N) equivalent.
Where does the data for the product come from?
The data used by SolidWorks Sustainability is provided by PE International of Stuttgart, Germany. They have provided software and consulting services in sustainable design and LCA for almost 20 years. PE International’s database and its GaBi software are used within SolidWorks Sustainability. To learn more about PE International, visit their website.
How accurate are the results from this product?
The values in SolidWorks Sustainability are useful to within +/- 20% and should be used as an estimate. The more accurate way of using the product is to track the relative changes from one version of a design to the next. It is this relative change between versions that provides an accurate indicator of environmental improvement.
Is the accuracy of SolidWorks SustainabilityXpress and the full version of the SolidWorks Sustainability product the same?
Yes.
Who should use this product?
Almost any SolidWorks user can use this product, but customers who are interested in sustainable design will benefit most. All SolidWorks users can benefit from the Find Similar Material tool.
How can I get SolidWorks Sustainability?
SolidWorks SustainabilityXpress will be included in every seat of SolidWorks 2010 at no additional charge or is available to SolidWorks 2009 users through the SolidWorks Labs website. The full version of SolidWorks Sustainability is available for purchase through your local reseller.
How will the SolidWorks Sustainability products be supported?
Like all SolidWorks products, resellers will provide direct support to customers. To learn more about customer support, visit our product support page.
How does SolidWorks Sustainability compare to SustainabilityXpress?
Each product's key offerings are below. A full product feature matrix can be found here.
SolidWorks SustainabilityXpress
SolidWorks Sustainability
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Same capabilities as SolidWorks SustainabilityXpress plus…
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LCA of assemblies
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Support for Configurations
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Expanded reporting capabilities for assemblies
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User inputs for energy consumption and transportation methods
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Support for the new Assembly Visualization functionality
Will SolidWorks Sustainability products be included with SolidWorks?
SolidWorks SustainabilityXpress will be included in every seat of SolidWorks 2010 at no additional charge. The full version of SolidWorks Sustainability will not be included with SolidWorks; it is available for purchase.
When will SolidWorks Sustainability products be available?
SolidWorks Sustainability
- will be available for sale as a Beta product when SolidWorks 2010 SP0 is released. Users will be able to use the Beta once they purchase and will automatically get the final released product when it is available.
- will be formally released with SP1 in November.
SolidWorks SustainabilityXpress
- is currently available as a free add-on product to SolidWorks 2009 and SolidWorks Education Edition 2009-2010 through the SolidWorks Labs website.
- will be included with every version of SolidWorks 2010 at SP0.
Why is the full SolidWorks Sustainability product being sold as a Beta at SolidWorks SP0?
Due to the added complexity of having an Xpress (and Labs) version of the product, we increased our normal development time. We want to use the additional time to ensure we deliver a quality product. Customers who buy the product as Beta will receive full support and automatically get the full production product at SP1.
How much does it cost?
SolidWorks SustainabilityXpress is a free product. For pricing on the full SolidWorks Sustainability product, please contact your local reseller.
Is network licensing available?
Yes.
Which languages will be available?
SolidWorks Sustainability will be available in 14 languages: English, Chinese Traditional, Chinese Simplified, Czech, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish.
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