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SOLIDWORKS AI Now Writes Macros: What CAD Managers Should Check Before Running Them | SolidWorks | Register and Certify IP of CAD design

2026-10-20 14:34 News
On 14 October 2026, Dassault Systèmes published a round-up of the SOLIDWORKS AI features that are available now in SOLIDWORKS Design. Two of them deserve a closer look from CAD managers: LEO, the AI virtual companion, can now write SOLIDWORKS macros from a plain-language request, and it can convert imported STEP or IGES geometry into editable, feature-based SOLIDWORKS parts.
Both features save real time. Macros automate the boring jobs that eat into every engineer's week, and rebuilding imported geometry by hand can take hours. But both also touch the things a design team cares about most: the files themselves, the data that leaves the company, and the question of who owns a design.
A macro is code. It runs with the same rights as the person who starts it, so it can rename, save, export or overwrite any file that person can reach. Turning a supplier's STEP file into a native SOLIDWORKS part raises a different question: are you allowed to do that with someone else's geometry? Here is what Dassault says the features do, what it has not said, and a short set of rules to put in place before your team starts using them.
TL;DR: AI-written macros are code, so treat them like code

SOLIDWORKS Design users can now ask LEO to write a VBA macro for tasks such as renaming files, exporting deliverables, applying company standards or updating model properties. LEO opens the macro in the editor for review, and the user can run it straight away. LEO can also rebuild imported STEP or IGES geometry as editable SOLIDWORKS features. Before rolling this out: test macros on copies, have someone who can read VBA approve shared macros, keep approved macros in one controlled place, check supplier contracts before converting their geometry, and keep dated proof of your own designs.

What did Dassault announce about SOLIDWORKS AI on 14 October?

The SOLIDWORKS blog post of 14 October 2026 summarises the AI enhancements delivered in SOLIDWORKS Design this year. It applies to SOLIDWORKS Design Standard, Professional, Premium and Ultimate, with or without Cloud Services, and states that the capabilities are available now. The list includes:
  • Natural language macro generation: describe an automation and LEO writes the macro, then opens it in the editor for review.
  • BREP-to-parametric conversion: LEO converts imported STEP or IGES geometry into native, editable SOLIDWORKS features, and now recognises circular patterns and contextual draft.
  • Performance help: LEO finds assembly bottlenecks, creates SpeedPak configurations and converts modelled threads to cosmetic threads.
  • Documentation: step-by-step assembly instructions exported to PDF, and automated drawing generation with control over dimensioning and tolerancing.
  • Checks: change impact analysis before you modify a model, reviews against company release checklists, and sketch error repair.
  • PLM insights: answers about a file's configurations, open tasks and change history without leaving SOLIDWORKS.
Macro generation first arrived with the R2026x FD03 update. Dassault's FD03 overview from August 2026 described its goal plainly: making custom workflow automation accessible to users without SOLIDWORKS API or programming experience. That is exactly why it needs rules. The people most likely to use it are the people least able to check what the code does.
If you missed the bigger picture of LEO, including Blue Tokens and the 3DEXPERIENCE connection it needs, read our article on LEO's move towards long-running AI agents.

How does LEO's macro generation work?

According to Dassault's product page, you describe the task in plain language and LEO writes a custom VBA macro inside SOLIDWORKS. It then opens the macro in the SOLIDWORKS editor. From there, you can review the code, run it, or keep refining it in conversation with LEO until it does what you want.
Dassault's own examples are telling: renaming files, exporting deliverables, applying company standards and updating model properties. These are some of the most common macro jobs in any SOLIDWORKS team, and our guide to SOLIDWORKS automation with macros and scripts shows how much time they can save. They are also the jobs where a small mistake spreads fast, because a macro repeats the same action on every file it touches.
Dassault stresses that the user stays in control. That is true, but only if the user actually reads the code. A macro that looks right in a demo can behave differently on a real folder with thousands of files, read-only documents, or references across projects.

What can go wrong with AI-written macros?

None of the risks below are specific to AI. They apply to any macro. AI simply makes it much easier for more people to create and run macros, which means more chances for these mistakes:
  • Broken references: a rename macro that changes file names outside SOLIDWORKS-aware tools can break the links between parts, assemblies and drawings.
  • Wrong scope: a macro asked to process "all files" may also process released files, shared library parts or another project's folder.
  • Data leaving the company: an export macro writes STEP, PDF or DXF copies somewhere. If that folder syncs to a personal cloud drive or a shared supplier space, your design goes with it. Our article on neutral CAD file formats and their security risks explains why exports are the usual route for leaks.
  • Silent metadata changes: a property macro can overwrite author, revision or part number fields across hundreds of files. Those fields often feed BOMs, PDM workflows and, later, evidence about who designed what.
  • Macros that spread: a macro that works gets copied to colleagues, emailed and stored on desktops. Nobody remembers who wrote it or what it was checked against.
These are the same issues we covered in our guide to SOLIDWORKS API security: anything that drives SOLIDWORKS through its API acts with the rights of the logged-in user. Outside AI tools that do this, such as the community projects described in our article on SOLIDWORKS MCP servers, raise the same questions.

What has Dassault not said about AI-written macros?

We found no public Dassault documentation on several points that matter to CAD managers:
  • whether AI-generated macros are signed, sandboxed or limited in what they can do;
  • whether there is an admin setting to turn macro generation on or off for some users only;
  • whether prompts and generated code are logged, and where such logs would be kept.
Until those answers are published, assume an AI-written macro is like any other macro: it can do whatever the user can do. If you need certainty for a regulated or defence project, ask your reseller or Dassault in writing.

Which macro tasks need which level of control?

Not every macro needs the same review. The table below uses Dassault's own example tasks and suggests a sensible level of control for each.
Task (Dassault's example)What it touchesMain riskSuggested control
Renaming filesFile names and referencesBroken assemblies and drawingsRename only through PDM or SOLIDWORKS-aware tools; test on a copy
Exporting deliverablesNew STEP, PDF and DXF copiesDesign data leaving the companyFixed, approved output folder; no sync to personal cloud
Applying company standardsTemplates, layers, drafting settingsMass changes to released drawingsRun only on work-in-progress files
Updating model propertiesAuthor, revision, part numberWrong metadata in BOMs and recordsPeer review; keep a before-and-after export
Any macro shared with the teamEveryone's filesUnknown code spreadingCentral macro library with a named owner
Keep a dated record of every design version, whatever touched it.

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Can you rebuild a supplier's STEP file as a native SOLIDWORKS part?

Technically, yes. Dassault describes BREP-to-parametric conversion as a way to turn imported STEP or IGES geometry into fully editable, feature-based SOLIDWORKS parts, and it names supplier and legacy geometry as typical use cases. The result is a cleaner feature tree that captures design intent better than a dumb solid.
Legally and commercially, it depends. A supplier usually sends a STEP file so that you can check fit, place the part in your assembly or make a drawing. Rebuilding it as an editable model makes it much easier to change, re-use or send to another manufacturer. Many supply agreements and NDAs limit exactly that. Before converting someone else's geometry, check:
  • what the supply agreement, NDA or licence says about modifying the supplier's data;
  • who will own the converted model and any changes you make to it;
  • whether the converted file needs a clear label, so nobody mistakes it for your own design later.
The same logic works the other way round. Your customers can now convert the STEP files you send them into editable models with a prompt. Our guides on sharing CAD files with suppliers and why NDAs alone are not enough for CAD files explain how to limit what you send and how to prove what was yours.

What should SOLIDWORKS teams do now?

These steps take an afternoon and cover most of the risk:
  1. Decide who may generate macros. Start with a small group that can read VBA. Our guide to SolidWorks licence management and security helps you see who has which licence.
  2. Test on copies. Run every new macro on a copy of a small folder first, and compare the result before touching real projects.
  3. Review before sharing. A second person who can read VBA approves any macro that will be used by more than one engineer.
  4. Keep one macro library. Store approved macros in one controlled location, with the prompt, the reviewer and the date.
  5. Use PDM states as gates. Let macros work only on work-in-progress files. The SOLIDWORKS PDM security guide explains permissions per state.
  6. Lock down export folders. Make sure export macros write only to approved folders that do not sync to personal cloud storage.
  7. Check contracts before converting supplier geometry. Ask procurement or legal which suppliers allow it.
  8. Record what changed. Keep before-and-after records of bulk changes, as described in our article on CAD file audit trails.

How does BORIS for SOLIDWORKS help?

When macros rename files, update properties and export copies in bulk, file metadata becomes a weak record of who designed what and when. It can be changed by a single line of code.
BORIS for SOLIDWORKS, the add-in by CADChain, registers your CAD files with a blockchain timestamp from inside SOLIDWORKS and gives you a certificate of ownership for each registered version. Register key versions before a bulk macro run and after it, and you have independent, dated proof of both states. When you convert a supplier's geometry, registering your own design versions separately also makes it easier to show which work was yours. See how to prove authorship of CAD designs and the BORIS plugin installation guide for SolidWorks.

How does this fit the bigger picture for CAD users?

Across our network this week, the common thread is control over who and what can reach your design data:
AI in CAD is moving fast this month. An AI agent passed the CSWP, as we reported in our article on the AI agent that passed the CSWP, and Dassault is showing long-running agents. Macro generation is the most practical of these changes, because it is available today.

Conclusion

LEO's macro generation and BREP-to-parametric conversion are useful tools that are already in SOLIDWORKS Design. They remove hours of repetitive work. They also put code and other people's geometry into the hands of users who may never have written a macro or read a supply agreement.
The fix is not to ban them. It is to treat AI-written macros like any other code, check contracts before converting supplier files, and keep your own dated record of what your team designed.
Prove what your team designed, before a macro or an AI touches it.

BORIS for SOLIDWORKS adds blockchain timestamps and certificates of ownership to your CAD files, right inside SOLIDWORKS.

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FAQ: AI-written macros and BREP conversion in SOLIDWORKS

Can SOLIDWORKS AI write macros?

Yes. LEO, the AI virtual companion in SOLIDWORKS Design, writes a VBA macro from a plain-language request and opens it in the SOLIDWORKS editor, where you can review, run or refine it. Dassault listed it among the AI features available now in its 14 October 2026 blog post.

Which SOLIDWORKS versions have AI macro generation?

Dassault says the 2026 AI enhancements apply to SOLIDWORKS Design Standard, Professional, Premium and Ultimate, with or without Cloud Services. Macro generation arrived with the R2026x FD03 update. LEO needs a connection to the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.

Are AI-generated macros safe to run?

A macro runs with the rights of the user who starts it, whether a person or an AI wrote it. Test new macros on copies, have someone who can read VBA review shared macros, and keep approved macros in one controlled place.

Does Dassault sandbox or log AI-written macros?

We found no public Dassault documentation on signing, sandboxing or logging of AI-generated macros. Ask your reseller or Dassault in writing if you need that for a regulated project.

What is BREP-to-parametric conversion in SOLIDWORKS?

It is a LEO skill that converts imported STEP or IGES geometry into native, editable SOLIDWORKS features. Dassault says it now also recognises circular patterns and contextual draft.

Can I convert a supplier's STEP file into an editable model?

The software can do it, but your contract may not allow it. Check the supply agreement, NDA or licence for limits on modifying the supplier's data, and agree who owns the converted model.

How can I prove which version of a design was mine?

Keep your own dated records. BORIS for SOLIDWORKS registers CAD files with a blockchain timestamp and gives you a certificate of ownership for each registered version, independent of file metadata.