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SolidCraft and SOLIDWORKS MCP Servers: What AI Agents in CAD Mean for Your Design Data | SolidWorks | Register and Certify IP of CAD design

2026-10-18 14:37 News
On 17 October 2026, Hackaday reported on SolidCraft, a new open-source parametric CAD application that was built from the start to be driven by AI agents. It comes with a built-in Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, so an AI assistant can create, measure, export and save CAD models without a person clicking anything. The project was created on 7 October and shipped versions 0.14 and 0.15 on 16 and 17 October.
SolidCraft is not a SOLIDWORKS competitor yet. Its own documentation calls it early but usable for simple parts. What makes it news for SOLIDWORKS users is the idea behind it: CAD software where every action is a command that an AI agent can call. The same idea is already reaching SOLIDWORKS through a different door. Several community projects on GitHub now offer MCP servers that let AI assistants drive a live SOLIDWORKS session on Windows.
None of those SOLIDWORKS servers comes from Dassault Systèmes, and we found no official Dassault MCP server as of 18 October 2026. That matters for CAD managers, because a tool that can drive SOLIDWORKS can also open, change, export and send your design files. Here is what was released, how MCP servers for CAD work, and what to check before anyone on your team connects an AI assistant to SOLIDWORKS.
TL;DR: AI agents now have a standard way into CAD

SolidCraft is a new open-source CAD app, written in Rust under the MIT or Apache 2.0 licence, with a built-in MCP server that limits which folders the agent can reach. For SOLIDWORKS, community MCP servers already exist, one with 134 tools including macros and export, all working through the SOLIDWORKS COM API on your workstation. They are unofficial and, as far as we know, unaudited. For your team: treat every MCP server as a plugin with full access to your files, approve it before installation, limit it to copies of the files it needs, and keep dated proof of what your engineers designed.

What is SolidCraft and what was released?

According to the Hackaday report, SolidCraft offers sketches, constraints, solid modelling and a parametric feature timeline, so changing an early value such as a wall thickness rebuilds everything that depends on it. It runs as a desktop app, as a web app in the browser, as a command-line tool without a screen, and as an MCP server for AI agents.
The key points from the project's public repository:
  • Age and pace: the repository was created on 7 October 2026. Version 0.14.0 followed on 16 October and 0.15.0 on 17 October, with nightly builds since. It had about 4,800 stars on GitHub on 18 October.
  • Licence: MIT or Apache 2.0, at the user's choice. The project says it follows clean-room contribution rules and is not affiliated with Autodesk.
  • Features: constrained sketches, extrude, revolve, sweep, loft, fillets, shell, draft, holes, threads, patterns, parameters and configurations, assemblies with joints, and sheet metal with flat patterns.
  • Files: export to STEP AP242, IGES, 3MF, STL and OBJ, and import of STEP files. That makes it possible to move parts between SolidCraft and SOLIDWORKS through neutral formats.
  • Status: "early but usable for simple parts". The team says 75 of 76 public reference parts match their expected volume, area, centre of mass and bounding box. Its installers are not code-signed yet.
There is also a link to a story we covered this week. The same team has started solidcore, a Rust port of the B-rep kernel that Nvidia released as open source in USD BRep. Read our article on Nvidia's open-source B-rep kernel for the background. By its own account, solidcore is about a third ported and not usable end to end yet, so SolidCraft does not run on it today.

What is an MCP server, and why does it matter for CAD?

The Model Context Protocol is an open standard for connecting AI assistants to other software. Anthropic introduced it in November 2024 and handed it to the Agentic AI Foundation, part of the Linux Foundation, in December 2025. Many AI assistants and coding tools now support it.
An MCP server is a small program that sits between the AI assistant and an application. It tells the assistant which tools exist, such as "create sketch", "measure" or "export", and runs them when the assistant asks. For CAD, that means an AI model can do real modelling work instead of only giving advice. It also means the AI model decides when to call those tools, based on what it reads in prompts, files and tool results.
SolidCraft's MCP server has tools to list and run commands, run batches, inspect a design, measure it, change parameters, take screenshots, export, undo and redo, and open, create and save designs. One design choice stands out: tool calls can reach files only in the open design's folder, SolidCraft's recovery folder and folders the user explicitly allows. It refuses the home folder itself and hidden folders. That is the kind of limit every CAD MCP server should have.

Can AI agents already drive SOLIDWORKS through MCP?

Yes, through community projects. We looked at two public examples on GitHub, both under the MIT licence and both for Windows:
  • A Python server with 134 tools for modelling, sketching, drawings, analysis, export, templates and macros. It supports SOLIDWORKS 2019 to 2026, works through the COM API and VBA, and needs SOLIDWORKS to be open in live mode. It was updated as recently as 17 October 2026.
  • A single-executable server with a tray app that holds one shared SOLIDWORKS session. It lists SOLIDWORKS 2024 as certified, 2025 as targeted and 2026 as experimental, and it blocks what it calls high-risk mutation workflows on 2026 and unsupported versions.
These are useful experiments, and their authors are open about their limits. But they share three facts that matter for security. First, the SOLIDWORKS COM API gives a program the same power as the user: it can open any file the user can open, save it anywhere and run macros. Second, the server usually runs with the engineer's own Windows rights, so it can reach PDM working folders, network shares and exports. Third, none of them is supported by Dassault, so no vendor answers for their behaviour.
Before you allow one, read our guides on how SolidWorks plugins access your CAD files, SolidWorks API security and plugin security best practices. An MCP server is a plugin in everything but name.

How do SolidCraft, community MCP servers and Dassault's own AI compare?

QuestionSolidCraft MCP serverCommunity SOLIDWORKS MCP serversDassault AI companions (LEO)
Who supports it?Open-source project, early stageIndividual developers, unofficialDassault Systèmes
How does it reach the CAD model?SolidCraft's own command registrySOLIDWORKS COM API on your PCBuilt into SOLIDWORKS, via the 3DEXPERIENCE platform
Which files can it reach?Only the design's folder and folders you allowUsually everything the Windows user can reachYour session data is processed on Dassault's platform
Which AI model does the work?Whatever assistant you connectWhatever assistant you connectDassault's own models
Training on your data?Depends on your AI provider's termsDepends on your AI provider's termsDassault says its models are never trained on customer data
What to do firstTest on non-sensitive partsSecurity review before any installSet token budgets and rules for sensitive designs
The last column is based on what Dassault said about SOLIDWORKS 2027 on 7 October, which we covered in our article on SOLIDWORKS 2027 and your design data. The first two columns depend on a choice the vendor does not control: which AI assistant your engineer connects, and what that provider does with the data it sees.
Keep dated proof of every design, whoever or whatever helped model it.

BORIS for SOLIDWORKS registers your CAD files with a blockchain timestamp, so you have a certificate of ownership for each version that matters.

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What are the risks of connecting an AI assistant to your CAD files?

MCP itself is not unsafe. The risk comes from combining three things: an AI model that acts on what it reads, a tool that can change and export files, and design data that is valuable. Here are the risks we would put on any CAD manager's list:
  • Data leaving the building: when an assistant inspects a model, measures it or takes a screenshot, that information goes to the AI model. If the model runs in the cloud, parts of your design go there too. Check the provider's terms on storage and training.
  • Instructions hidden in files: AI agents can be misled by text in the content they read, such as a note in a supplier's file or a property field. An agent with export rights could be pushed to send data where it should not go.
  • Too much access: a server that runs with the engineer's rights can reach far more than the one part being modelled, including the PDM vault cache and shared drives.
  • Unsigned and fast-moving software: SolidCraft's installers are not code-signed yet, and community servers change often. Only install versions you have reviewed, from the original repository.
  • Unclear authorship: if an agent builds a part from a short prompt, it is harder to show which design decisions a person made. That matters for copyright, contracts and disputes.
Ransomware groups already list CAD drawings as loot, as we reported in our article on ransomware and CAD drawings. An over-privileged automation tool on an engineering workstation is one more door to watch. Our guides to role-based access control for CAD and the SOLIDWORKS PDM security guide show how to narrow that door.

What should SOLIDWORKS teams do now?

  1. Make a list of approved servers. Treat every MCP server like any other add-in: a security review, a named owner and a fixed version. Unlisted servers stay off company machines.
  2. Use a sandbox. Run the server under a separate Windows account that can reach only a test folder with copies of the files it needs. Our guide to integrating third-party security tools with SolidWorks covers the basics.
  3. Keep agents away from the live vault. No agent should check files in or out of SOLIDWORKS PDM until you have tested it on copies.
  4. Check the AI provider's terms. Find out where prompts, screenshots and model data are processed, whether they are stored, and whether they can be used for training. Our article on SolidWorks cloud security lists the right questions.
  5. Log and review. Keep the log of every tool call, and review exports and macro runs. Some community servers already log tool calls to a local database.
  6. Record human decisions. Save the specification, the prompts that matter and the review notes with the design, so you can show who decided what. See how to prove authorship of CAD designs.
  7. Register the versions that matter. A dated, independent record of each key design version is strong evidence when authorship is questioned. See why blockchain timestamping proves "first in time".

Should SOLIDWORKS users care about open-source CAD?

For most SOLIDWORKS teams, SolidCraft will not replace anything this year. Its roadmap lists 2D drawing sheets and annotations as deferred, it has no reseller network, and its developers call it early. But it shows two shifts worth watching. CAD tools are being designed for AI agents first, and open-source geometry kernels are becoming available to anyone, including AI developers who want exact geometry.
Both shifts make design data more mobile. A part can move from SOLIDWORKS to a neutral STEP file, into an open-source tool and through an AI model in minutes. The more easily geometry moves, the more it matters to keep a clear record of where it came from. Our earlier review of open-source CAD security tools and our guide to trade secret protection for CAD files explain how to keep control when files travel.

How does BORIS for SOLIDWORKS help prove authorship?

When AI agents do more of the modelling, the question "who designed this, and when?" gets harder to answer from the file alone. File metadata can be changed, and PDM histories live inside systems that can be migrated or lost.
BORIS for SOLIDWORKS, the add-in by CADChain, works inside SOLIDWORKS and registers your CAD files with a blockchain timestamp, giving you a certificate of ownership for each registered version. That record does not depend on an AI vendor, an MCP server or a cloud platform, and it works alongside PDM. To get started, see the BORIS plugin installation guide for SolidWorks.

How does this fit the bigger picture for CAD users?

Across our network this week, the same question keeps coming up: who gets access to design data, and on what terms?

Conclusion

SolidCraft is a small, young project, but it makes a clear point: the next CAD tools will expect AI agents as users. For SOLIDWORKS, that future is already here in unofficial form, through community MCP servers that drive the COM API with the engineer's full rights.
That is not a reason to ban AI agents. It is a reason to manage them like any other powerful plugin: approve them, sandbox them, log them and keep a dated record of what your people designed. Teams that set those rules now will be able to use AI agents with confidence when official tools arrive.
Prove what your team designed, before anyone asks.

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

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FAQ: MCP servers, SolidCraft and SOLIDWORKS

What is SolidCraft?

An open-source parametric 3D CAD application written in Rust, released under the MIT or Apache 2.0 licence. It runs on Windows, macOS, Linux and in the browser, and has a built-in MCP server so AI agents can model with it. Its developers describe it as early but usable for simple parts.

What is a SOLIDWORKS MCP server?

A program that connects an AI assistant to SOLIDWORKS through the Model Context Protocol. The assistant calls tools such as create sketch, extrude or export, and the server carries them out in SOLIDWORKS, usually through the COM API on a Windows workstation.

Is there an official MCP server from Dassault Systèmes?

We found none as of 18 October 2026. The SOLIDWORKS MCP servers we found are community projects. Dassault's own AI companions, such as LEO, are built into SOLIDWORKS and connect through the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.

Is it safe to connect an AI assistant to SOLIDWORKS?

It can be, with rules. Review the server and the AI provider's data terms, run the server under a separate account with access to copies only, keep it away from the live PDM vault, and log every tool call.

Can SolidCraft open SOLIDWORKS files?

Not native SOLIDWORKS files. It imports and exports STEP files and exports IGES, 3MF, STL and OBJ, so parts can move between the two through neutral formats.

Does SolidCraft use Nvidia's open-source CAD kernel?

Not yet. The same team is porting Nvidia's SMLib kernel from USD BRep to Rust in a project called solidcore, which it says is about a third done and not usable end to end.

How can I prove I designed a part?

Keep PDM history, specifications and review notes, and add an independent record. BORIS for SOLIDWORKS registers CAD files with a blockchain timestamp and gives you a certificate of ownership for each registered version.