AI and CAD in 2025: Concrete Tools for Mechanical Engineering

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into computer-aided design (CAD) software is transforming engineering practices. In 2025, solutions like PTC Creo, Onshape, Fusion 360, and SOLIDWORKS offer advanced features that optimize design, simulation, and manufacturing.

PTC Creo 12: Generative Design and Advanced Simulation

Version 12 of PTC Creo introduces significant improvements:

• AI-driven generative design: integrates thermal physics to optimize designs based on thermal, mechanical, and weight constraints.

• Real-time simulation: automatic creation of contact surfaces for Ansys simulations, speeding up design iterations.

• Wiring harness design: enhanced tools for electrical harness creation, meeting growing electrification needs.

• Integration with Windchill PLM: links Creo models with material data to better manage sustainability and carbon footprint.

Onshape: AI and Cloud-Based Collaboration

Onshape, PTC’s cloud-native solution, offers innovative features:

• AI Advisor: an intelligent assistant that provides contextual advice based on best practices and Onshape documentation.

• Sketch Constraint Manager: helps identify and resolve conflicts in sketch constraints more easily.

• CAM Studio: integrated computer-aided manufacturing module supporting 2.5-axis and basic 3-axis milling.

• Render Studio: improved visual realism with volumetric effects and persistent rendering settings.

Fusion 360 (Autodesk): Generative Design and Automation

Fusion 360 leverages AI to enhance design and manufacturing:

• Generative design: automatically generates multiple design alternatives based on defined constraints, optimizing material usage and part performance.

• Simulation Extension: combines generative design with advanced simulation tools to assess performance, manufacturability, and thermal constraints.

• AutoConstrain: automatically applies constraints to sketches, speeding up the modeling process.

SOLIDWORKS 2025 (Dassault Systèmes): AI Assistant and Assembly Suggestions

SOLIDWORKS 2025 introduces AI-powered features to improve design efficiency:

• AURA: an AI assistant that offers contextual suggestions, executes commands, and learns from user habits to boost productivity.

• Generative Assembly Suggestions: automatically suggests how to assemble components based on interference and constraint analysis.

• Feature recognition: converts photos of existing components into editable 3D models, simplifying reverse engineering.

• Design Assistant: automates repetitive tasks such as constraint creation, entity selection, and component insertion.

MecAgent: The Future of AI-Assisted CAD

MecAgent is an emerging solution that integrates with major CAD platforms like SolidWorks, CATIA, Inventor, Fusion 360, and Creo. This intelligent copilot offers advanced capabilities to automate and enhance the mechanical design process:

• Contextual part generation: automatically creates parametric parts based on the surrounding assembly context, ensuring coherent integration into complex structures.

• Standards compliance checking: automatically analyzes models to ensure compliance with industrial standards, flagging potential design issues.

• Real-time cost estimation: dynamically calculates manufacturing costs based on geometry, materials, and processes, delivering instant feedback during the design phase.

• Intelligent CAD file search: quickly retrieves parts or assemblies using keywords or sketches—even in poorly organized file systems.

By integrating these features, MecAgent aims to reduce development cycles and improve design quality, allowing engineers to focus on higher-value tasks.

These developments illustrate the growing convergence of AI and CAD, equipping mechanical engineers with powerful tools to boost productivity, quality, and sustainability. However, adopting these technologies also requires new skills and careful integration into existing workflows.