Best Civil Engineering Software for OpenBOM

SOLIDWORKS is a world-leading 3D design, CAD, and product development platform that has defined innovation for engineers and creators for over three decades. Built by Dassault Systèmes, it delivers a unified environment for design, simulation, documentation, and manufacturing—all with the goal of helping users bring ideas to life faster. The 2026 version marks a major leap forward with AI-powered automation, including selective loading for large assemblies, fastener recognition, and AURA AI, an intelligent design companion that boosts productivity. Deep integration with the 3DEXPERIENCE cloud ecosystem allows teams to collaborate securely, access designs anywhere, and connect real-time data from concept to production. With powerful simulation tools, electrical design integration, and streamlined workflows, SOLIDWORKS reduces manual effort and design iteration time dramatically. Its intuitive interface and broad compatibility make it ideal for both professionals and students. Trusted by innovators like Future Motion, Toyota, and Vermeer, SOLIDWORKS continues to shape the future of design and engineering. Whether you’re creating consumer products, vehicles, or complex machinery, it provides everything you need to go from idea to reality.

Kenesto is a cloud-based storage system used to manage engineering, design, construction documents. Less expensive than enterprise PDM software, Kenesto offers automatic file locking, versioning and vaulting, 2D/3D viewing and web-based design review tools that are not available in consumer-grade cloud storage solutions like Dropbox and Google Drive. The solution acts like a mounted disk in customer's office, but with a single source of truth in cloud. File locking prevents users overwriting each other's data. All files are kept in perpetuity. Windows Explorer's familiar user interface allows files and folders to be arranged in the same manner as a C Drive. Kenesto supports workflows and tasks. SolidWorks plugin is free. All files are encrypted and stored in secure AWS S3 storage.