While full MBD came later, made significant strides. The DimXpert tool was overhauled to allow "chains" and "baseline" dimensioning inside the 3D view. You could now present a fully toleranced 3D PDF to a machine shop—no 2D drawing required. For ISO and ANSI compliance, this was a game-changer.
Practical trick: Create a simplified configuration (Insert → Configurations → Add Configuration) with suppressed small components for analysis and motion studies. solidworks 2015
Feature modeling also saw notable enhancements. became possible, giving users more control over edge rounding. The cut extrude feature was extended to support open profile sketches when cutting to a specific dimension—a change that allowed designers to create cuts without first closing the sketch profile, saving significant time. Reference planes could now be created normal to the current view orientation, which made it easier to place planes exactly where they were needed. While full MBD came later, made significant strides
The core intent of the 2015 release was to reduce the "friction" between a designer's idea and the final 3D model. It moved away from being just a modeling tool and toward an integrated ecosystem where data management (PDM), simulation, and electrical design worked in tighter unison. Key Technical Pillars For ISO and ANSI compliance, this was a game-changer
On the other hand, a vocal segment of the user base found On the SOLIDWORKS forums, many users expressed frustration with what they saw as "horrid" graphics, poor performance when viewing sections, and "crazy changes to the workflow". Many opted to stick with 2014 for stability.
Beyond geometric modeling, the platform functioned as an integrated Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) tool through built-in simulation packages. This allowed engineers to validate design performance digitally before creating costly physical prototypes.