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Manufacturing · head to head

SKF Enlight Centre vs SolidWorks

SKF Enlight Centre logo

SKF Enlight Centre

Manufacturing

Asset-based machine health monitoring platform from SKF, tying wireless sensors, route collection and remote diagnostics together

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
SolidWorks logo

SolidWorks

Manufacturing

Parametric desktop 3D CAD from Dassault Systemes, now sold as named-user subscription on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform

From
$2820/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: SKF Enlight Centre no pricing is published for the software, the sensors, the gateways or the remote diagnostic services, so the total cost of a deployment only emerges after a site survey and a quotation.; SolidWorks the desktop application is Windows only, so Mac and Linux users need a virtual machine, a Windows workstation or the separate cloud xDesign product at 2,580 USD a year.
  • They diverge on capability: SKF Enlight Centre covers Asset-based interface, SolidWorks covers 3D solid modeling.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which SKF Enlight Centre and SolidWorks actually diverge.

Attributes where SKF Enlight Centre and SolidWorks differ
AttributeSKF Enlight CentreSolidWorks
Starting priceOn request$2820/year
Pricing modelquotePer user per year
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWindows
FoundedUnknown1993

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Manufacturing).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in SKF Enlight Centre

  • Asset-based interface
  • Enlight Collect IMx-1
  • Enlight ProCollect
  • Remote diagnostic services
  • Marine deployment
  • Root cause tooling
  • Dashboards
  • Hazardous area sensing

Only in SolidWorks

  • 3D solid modeling
  • Assembly design
  • Technical drawings
  • Simulation
  • Rendering
  • PDM systems
  • ERP systems
  • CAM software

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

SKF Enlight Centre

  • A shipowner monitoring auxiliary engines, purifiers and pumps across a fleet without a vibration analyst on each vesselnot SolidWorks
  • A plant already standardised on SKF bearings that wants failure-mode diagnosis from the bearing manufacturernot SolidWorks
  • An operator replacing paper-based handheld routes with ProCollect while keeping the same measurement pointsnot SolidWorks
  • A site in a hazardous classified area needing certified wireless sensing rather than manual data collectionnot SolidWorks

SolidWorks

  • Product designnot SKF Enlight Centre
  • Engineering analysisnot SKF Enlight Centre
  • Manufacturing documentationnot SKF Enlight Centre
  • Prototypingnot SKF Enlight Centre
  • Quality controlnot SKF Enlight Centre

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

SKF Enlight Centre

  • No pricing is published for the software, the sensors, the gateways or the remote diagnostic services, so the total cost of a deployment only emerges after a site survey and a quotation.
  • The platform is built for SKF sensing hardware, so third-party sensors are poorly served and you are effectively committing to SKF for the life of the installation.
  • Remote diagnostic services are a separate ongoing contract, and without them the platform gives you data rather than verdicts, which most buyers of Enlight Centre do not have the staff to interpret.
  • SKF has run overlapping condition monitoring products including @ptitude Observer and Enlight AI, and the boundaries between them have shifted over time, which makes long-term product roadmap commitments hard to read.
  • Battery-powered wireless sensors on shipboard or high-vibration installations need periodic replacement, and that maintenance burden falls on crews who were the reason you automated collection in the first place.

SolidWorks

  • The desktop application is Windows only, so Mac and Linux users need a virtual machine, a Windows workstation or the separate cloud xDesign product at 2,580 USD a year.
  • Perpetual licences are no longer sold through the vendor online store and come only through resellers, and a perpetual licence still needs a paid annual service contract to get upgrades and support, so buying once and paying nothing again is not really on offer.
  • Named-user subscription is per person rather than floating, so an organisation where several engineers each use CAD occasionally pays full seats for part-time use unless it negotiates otherwise.
  • History-based parametric modelling breaks noisily: a change high in the feature tree can cascade rebuild errors through an assembly, which is a real productivity cost compared with direct modelling tools.
  • Large assemblies stress single-threaded desktop performance, and teams routinely resort to configurations, simplified representations and expensive workstations rather than the software scaling on its own.
  • The Maker licence watermarks its files so they can only be opened on other Maker licences, which means hobby work cannot be carried into a commercial seat later without exporting to neutral formats and losing the feature history.

Pricing, plan by plan

SKF Enlight Centre

On request
  • SKF Enlight Centre$undefined/year
    • Software subscription quoted per site or per vessel
    • Enlight Collect IMx-1 sensors and gateways purchased separately
    • SKF remote diagnostic services contracted per asset or per fleet

SolidWorks

$2820/year
  • 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS Standard$2820/year
    • 235 USD per month billed annually, or 846 USD per quarter
    • Per named user, excluding local tax
    • Part and assembly modelling and 2D drawings
  • 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS Professional$3456/year
    • 288 USD per month billed annually, or 1,038 USD per quarter
    • Everything in Standard
    • Intelligent CAD libraries of standard fasteners
  • 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS Premium$4716/year
    • 393 USD per month billed annually, or 1,416 USD per quarter
    • Everything in Professional
    • Linear static analysis for parts and assemblies
  • SOLIDWORKS xDesign$2580/year
    • 810 USD per quarter
    • Browser-based cloud modelling, no local install
    • Runs on Mac, Chromebook and tablets as well as Windows

Which should you pick?

Choose SKF Enlight Centre if

  • You need asset-based interface.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want enlight collect imx-1.
SKF Enlight Centre review

Choose SolidWorks if

  • You need 3d solid modeling.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want assembly design.
SolidWorks review

Questions people ask

Is SKF Enlight Centre or SolidWorks better?
Neither clearly leads. SKF Enlight Centre starts at On request and SolidWorks at $2820/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, SKF Enlight Centre or SolidWorks?
SKF Enlight Centre starts at On request and SolidWorks at $2820/year.
Does SKF Enlight Centre or SolidWorks run on more platforms?
SKF Enlight Centre runs on Web, iOS, Android. SolidWorks runs on Windows.
What is SKF Enlight Centre best used for?
SKF Enlight Centre is most often used for a shipowner monitoring auxiliary engines, purifiers and pumps across a fleet without a vibration analyst on each vessel, a plant already standardised on skf bearings that wants failure-mode diagnosis from the bearing manufacturer, an operator replacing paper-based handheld routes with procollect while keeping the same measurement points, a site in a hazardous classified area needing certified wireless sensing rather than manual data collection. Of those, a shipowner monitoring auxiliary engines, purifiers and pumps across a fleet without a vibration analyst on each vessel and a plant already standardised on skf bearings that wants failure-mode diagnosis from the bearing manufacturer are not what SolidWorks is typically brought in for.
What can SKF Enlight Centre do that SolidWorks cannot?
SKF Enlight Centre covers Asset-based interface, Enlight Collect IMx-1, Enlight ProCollect, Remote diagnostic services. SolidWorks covers 3D solid modeling, Assembly design, Technical drawings, Simulation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

SKF Enlight Centre: Is Enlight Centre a single product or a family?

SKF Enlight is a family. Enlight Centre is the web software; Enlight Collect IMx-1 is the wireless sensing hardware and Enlight AI is a separate analytics product.

SolidWorks: Can you still buy a SOLIDWORKS perpetual licence?

Not from the vendor online store, which sells only term subscriptions. Perpetual licences remain available through resellers, but they still require a paid annual subscription service contract for upgrades and support.

SKF Enlight Centre: Can I use non-SKF sensors?

Not meaningfully. The platform is designed around SKF sensing hardware and SKF service delivery.

SolidWorks: How much does SOLIDWORKS cost per year?

The 3DS store lists Standard at 2,820 USD, Professional at 3,456 USD and Premium at 4,716 USD per named user per year, excluding local tax. Quarterly terms are 846, 1,038 and 1,416 USD.

SKF Enlight Centre: Does SKF analyse the data for me?

Only under a remote diagnostic services contract with an SKF Rotating Equipment Performance Centre, priced separately.

SolidWorks: What is the difference between desktop SOLIDWORKS and the 3DEXPERIENCE cloud tiers?

The desktop application still does the modelling and installs locally on Windows. The 3DEXPERIENCE platform adds cloud storage, versioning, mark-up and shared review around it. SOLIDWORKS xDesign is the separate browser-native modeller at 2,580 USD a year, and it runs on Mac and Chromebook.

SKF Enlight Centre: Is it suitable for ships?

Yes, marine is one of its primary segments and it is designed for intermittent satellite connectivity.

SolidWorks: Is there a cheap version for hobbyists?

Yes. 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS for Makers is 48 USD a year or 15 USD a month, limited to personal use with project sales under 2,000 USD a year, and its files are watermarked for Maker licences only.

SolidWorks: Does SOLIDWORKS run on a Mac?

Not natively. Use the browser-based xDesign, or run the desktop application in a Windows virtual machine.

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