Case Study: Highway1 achieves 16-week production-ready hardware development for start-ups with SolidWorks

Driving innovative hardware start-up development with SOLIDWORKS Solutions

Highway1, the hardware start‑up accelerator operated by PCH, needed to give cohort companies easy‑to‑use yet robust design and engineering tools to compress product development into its 16‑week program and move concepts to manufacturable products. To address that challenge, Highway1 made SolidWorks’ 3D development platform available to participating start‑ups, including SolidWorks Premium and SolidWorks Simulation Professional.

Using SolidWorks, Highway1 start‑ups rapidly iterated designs, collaborated on a common data platform, and produced production‑level outputs within the program timeframe. For example, Switchmate used SolidWorks (and 3D printing) to refine mechanisms, perform interference checks, produce production drawings and renderings and launch its product; Molekule used SolidWorks to turn PECO technology into an aesthetic, manufacturable purifier with industrial designers; and MOTI used SolidWorks surfacing and mold‑analysis tools to speed prototyping. SolidWorks therefore enabled faster development, improved teamwork and smoother handoffs to manufacturing.

Highway1

Ryan Vinyard

Former Engineering Lead