Ken Grundey's Blog

Solid Edge University 2013… One more day to save!

2013-06-06T15:08:00.001-05:00

The Early Bird Discount #2 expires tomorrow 6/7. It allows you to save $50 on one admission and $100 on three admissions (buy 2 get the 3rd FREE!!!).

http://www.solidedgeu.com/

Now if you are dragging your feet or your boss is dragging his and and the decision has not yet been made, don’t worry… As far as conference fees and content go, Solid Edge University is still a bargain at the regular price of $550 considering there are 2 days of content spread over 9 tracks with 3 of those tracks being HANDS ON EXPERIENCES! Let me repeat: 3 TRACKS OF HANDS ON EXPERIENCES! If you have ever priced getting training from a VAR, it is many times the admission price of Solid Edge University and does not cover the breadth of topics and/or the niche areas of Solid Edge that will be covered by the Solid Edge University’s Hands on Experiences. Add to that the additional 6 tracks of content covered by experts including Solid Edge product planners, application engineers, and customers, and you have a “no brainer” of a bargain.
If you can’t make it for some reason or another, I understand. Times are still tough for some industries and money for non-essential travel is in short supply, but what you spend on attending just this event will return many times that in gained productivity especially if shared with other users when you return (you typically get the presentations if you attend).

I hope to see you there, and if you can’t make it rest assured we will still have a good and productive time without you, but know that we will miss you a lot.

New Public Solid Edge Community Site

2013-06-04T13:41:00.001-05:00

Within the last few weeks, Siemens PLM opened a new ‘Community” site for several products including Solid Edge.

Unlike their previous discussion groups which for the most part where closed to everyone except customers who were current on their annual maintenance, the Community site is open to all. Anyone can read the site, and by registering, you can also post to the site.

Check out the Solid Edge Community here: http://community.plm.automation.siemens.com/t5/Solid-Edge/ct-p/solid-edge

Solid Edge ST6 First Look…

2013-06-04T12:37:00.001-05:00

As you may know, Solid Edge University 2013 is coming up in about 3 weeks (http://www.solidedgeu.com/) and that the official announcement about Solid Edge ST6 will come on day 1 of that event (June 25th). Dan Staples, director Solid Edge Development will provide the Solid Edge ST6 keynote.
Well, I have a couple of early treats for you about ST6 that I can share! Please keep in mind that these are no more than a tiny teaser of ST6, and as a BETA tester I can assure you there is so much more…
There has been this rumor going around that ST6 would put some focus on surfacing. Well, here are two new tools that should convince you it’s more than just a rumor…

Reflective Plane - The typical use case of symmetric molded parts is to model one half and mirror the body of the second half when complete… But how do you know what the whole part looks like prior to being finished with the part? The answer is the Reflective Plane. It allows display of the second half of the part with out the display overhead of a geometric mirror and it allows inspection of surface quality using the surface analysis tools like zebra shading.
Ruled Surface – This command allows creation of a ruled surface some direction and angle from an existing surface edge. There are a number of options for creating this surface in relation to the existing geometry.

Here is a video showing both in action:

The other area of focus has to do with the drafting process and making prints easier to create and make presentable...

Arrange Dimensions - Typical use cases are when using the ‘Retrieve Dimension” command to pull 3D model dimensions into the 2D drawing as well as when updating a 3D model with an existing dimensioned drawing. In these use cases, dimensions do not always come in or update neatly. The answer to this problem is the Arrange Dimensions command that allows the user to automatically arrange dimensions to the standards defined by your template.

Here is a video showing it in action:

I hope this small taste of ST6 has done nothing more than to grow your anticipation to a frenzy as you wait for the ST6 full announcement and subsequent release. I think that ST6 will be an exciting release and will provide a ton of new tools and productivity enhancement that both existing users as well as new and potential new users will find irreplaceable, and it will help you Design Better with Solid Edge!

Two More Weeks to Get a Deal

2013-05-25T22:33:00.001-05:00

You have 2 more weeks to get the early bird discount #2 of $500 for 1 admission or $1000 for 3 admissions for Solid Edge University 2013... After that the regular price of $550 and $1100 respectively kicks in. Either way you will get your moneys worth.and then some with 9 tracks of sessions. Details can be found here: http://www.solidedgeu.com

Design Better. Solid Edge University.

The Not So Early Bird Still Gets a Worm…

2013-04-02T13:38:00.000-05:00

The Solid Edge University 2013 early bird #1 discount price has expired, but there is still plenty of time to get in on the second tier early bird discount (till June 7th) that still saves you $50 off of the regular individual price of $550. Sign up 3 people together and you can save $650 of the regular single price with the 3 for 2 deal. Check it out here: http://solidedgeu.com/registration-fees-and-travel
Hope to see you at Solid Edge University 2013 so we can all Design Better!

The Early Bird Gets the Worm…

2013-03-28T11:02:00.001-05:00

Solid Edge University 2013’s (http://www.solidedgeu.com/) first Early Bird Discount is about to expire on 3/29/2013. If you are planning on going, this is your chance to save $100. Details: http://www.solidedgeu.com/registration-fees-and-travel
If you are having trouble convincing someone that the benefits of attending SEU far outweigh the costs, check out the following page: http://www.solidedgeu.com/benefits-of-attending The main event that covers Solid Edge is complemented by a pre-event that covers customization using Solid Edge’s programming API and two post-events covering FEMAP and the SharePoint based data management solutions: http://www.solidedgeu.com/event-details A partial list of events have been posted that give a taste of some of the sessions that will be available, but this isn’t all so please check back for more later: http://www.solidedgeu.com/courses If you would have something to share and would like FREE admission to the conference, think about presenting. No body has ever gotten booed or covered in rotten tomatoes, so you have nothing to fear and everything to gain be presenting…: http://www.solidedgeu.com/call-for-presenters There will also be a product showcase of item designed in Solid Edge. It would be great to have too many to fit in the showcase area so lets all see if we can get a product to the show and overflow the place! http://www.solidedgeu.com/product-showcase See you at #SEU13 so we can all #DesignBetter with #SolidEdge

Solid Edge ST6

2013-03-08T13:40:00.000-06:00

Solid Edge ST6 is not publicly available yet, but will be in the next few months. No doubt the big announcement will be made at Solid Edge University 2013 at the end of June (http://www.solidedgeu.com/).

While it is still under the cover of secrecy, I thought we might have some fun and see how creative you are with trying to guess what might be in ST6 when it releases. Submit a comment as to your best guess, but be respectful or your comment won’t see the light of day.

I’m sure that when ST6 releases, whatever is in it will help us all Design Better!

Solid Edge… FOR FREE!!!

2013-03-07T17:27:00.000-06:00

Solid Edge ST5 has a couple of offers that allow you to use it for free.

If you are a commercial user, there is a 45 day trial (http://www.plm.automation.siemens.com/en_us/products/velocity/solidedge/free-solid-edge.shtml) that gives you full featured access in a time limited fashion and it’s intended purpose is for evaluation towards a purchase. If this is something you are interested in, don’t hesitate to talk to a reseller and if you are a current SolidWorks user, there are some trade-in deals at this time that seem pretty good (https://www.plm.automation.siemens.com/en_us/campaigns/solid-edge-promo/index.cfm?)

If you are a student, there is a student version (https://www.plm.automation.siemens.com/en_us/about_us/goplm/arc/se-academic/solid-edge-student.cfm?) that gives you full featured access with one exception… All files saved in this version are marked as being authored in a student version and cannot be opened in a commercial version and the drawings have a water mark that marks them as such too.

Whatever you choose to do, there are learning tools built into Solid Edge. Just look under Help and check out the Tutorials and the Self Paced Training.

You can also talk to a reseller about classroom training too if you wish and some provide free webinars you can attend over lunch such as AllyPLM’s Lunch Byte series (http://allyplm.com/solidedgetutorials/). There are also other online resources for training such as those published by Solid Mastermind (http://www.solidmastermind.com/) and of course, don’t forget to take advantage of the Solid Edge discussion groups hosted by Siemens PLM (https://bbs.industrysoftware.automation.siemens.com/vbulletin/forum.php).

So if you haven’t already, go get yourself some Solid Edge. It’s free and you just may Design Better!

Solid Edge University 2013

2013-03-07T15:14:00.001-06:00

I’m sure you have all heard the phrase “Jack of all trades, master of none”. I think of this phrase when some entity tries to serve too many purposes that it really doesn’t focus too well on any of them.

This happened a few years ago with UGS in regards to the Solid Edge annual international user group meeting. Due to what I imagine was a concern with costs and economy of scale, someone decided that the independent Solid Edge Summit should be wrapped into the annual PLM World event with all the other UGS products. What happened is we lost that Solid Edge only focus and it became watered down and generalized. Needless to say, it was giant flop, and in just a few years Solid Edge had lost most of it’s annual conference attendees.

Under the new management of Karsten Newbury, he and his team decided in 2011 to hold a Solid Edge only international event and it was a big success! Because it was such a hit, it was repeated in 2012… And it was an even bigger success! So again for 2013, there will be another Solid Edge international user event…

Solid Edge University 2013 (http://www.solidedgeu.com/)… It will be held in Cincinnati June 24th-27th, however the 24th will cover the Solid Edge Application Programming Interface, the 25th-26th will cover Solid Edge usage and I’m sure a preview of ST6, and the 27th will cover your choice of FEMAP topics or Insight XT configuration topics. While the schedule isn’t firmed up yet, based on the content of the 2012 event you can expect hands on computer training as well as lots of interesting and beneficial presentations from users, product managers and resellers covering a wide variety of topics… All pertaining to Solid Edge! And don’t forget the peer to peer discussions that can happen during breakfast, lunch, break, and evening social times with fellow users made up of us old salty dogs as well as newbies, and the Solid Edge staff.

Be aware that the first level Early Bird discount is in effect through March 29th, and until then, if you get 3 folks from your company to attend you can save $150 each on general admission (buy two get one free) for a per person rate of only $300… Not bad for being fed breakfast, lunch, a dinner, and copious amounts of Solid Edge wisdom!

A must see event for anyone using or thinking of using Solid Edge. I am planning on being there again this year and I hope to see you there too, so get registered and Design Better!

PDM, CAD Integration and Insight XT

2012-06-22T17:44:00.001-05:00

PDM is known as a necessary evil in most engineering worlds. Why it’s labeled “evil”, I’ll explain in a bit. It’s necessary because of 2 reasons:

Engineering and related disciplines create a huge amount of data and that data is related to parts which are related to a product structure and that may also be related to tooling and equipment. PDM excels at storing all this data securely and managing the relationships between it and the changes that happen to it.
The use of 3D compound document design systems pretty much require PDM after a couple years of use with more than a half dozen authors. Compound document design systems build assemblies from parts and subassemblies that are all independent files. When you open an assembly, the design system actually must find and open each and every component file that makes up that assembly, so on an assembly comprised of 350 unique components, your opening 350 files. Couple this with cross assembly use of components, multiple revisions of each, the explosion of data in a couple years use by the average company and multiple users trying to open and edit it, and you got a mess. Most PDM systems also excels at managing these compound document links, revision configuration, and multiple user access.

Now lets talk about why it’s labeled as “evil”. There are a multitude of reasons why it can be called evil, but it really comes down to this… It is typically hard to use. What? I thought it was supposed to do stuff for me and manage stuff and make my life easier. Well it does in some ways but doesn’t in other ways. Let me explain. While it can manage all your CAD files and control access, there is a very wide definition of the word “integration” when it comes to the authoring tools (CAD).

System integration is defined as bringing together two or more different systems and making them appear as one. What typically happens with PDM systems is that the above definition gets replaced with “we can manage your CAD links”. Separate commands are used to do the PDM stuff (find, open, save) and the CAD commands remain disconnected from the PDM system. Now, I’ve heard that CAD connectors are really a loss leader type of application. You got to have it to get the business, but you can’t sell it for what it actually costs to develop and still make a profit. This being said, it’s clear as to why many PDM companies don’t put much effort into proper integration. The net result of this is that the typical CAD user now has to jump through more hoops to get his job done and it’s much more complex because you end up doing a lot of things twice (find the file in PDM, download it to the local workspace or cache, find it again with the CAD system, perform the action you wanted in the beginning (create a drawing). This isn’t a joke or an exaggeration. Most PDM systems are like this EXCEPT if your using one developed by the same company that makes your CAD system.

Now I’m going to switch gears and talk about something new called Insight XT from Siemens PLM. Insight XT is a new product that was introduced at the Solid Edge ST5 launch during the Solid Edge University 2012 event on June 12th. It is one of 4 PDM/PLM solutions that Siemens PLM offers which can manage Solid Edge data. They are: Insight, Insight XT, Teamcenter Express, and Teamcenter. The two Teamcenter products are very similar if not the same underneath and support multi-CAD. What makes them different is that Teamcenter Express is made to be easily deployable using only a Microsoft technology stack with preconfigured “best practice” templates and typical “PDM” functionality while Teamcenter has many more options making it a full fledged PLM system and thus requires much more configuration. Both use the Solid Edge Embedded Client to integrate with Solid Edge. Insight has been around for a decade and is based on SharePoint from Microsoft. It is not what I would consider a full fledged PDM system, but is a very good CAD data manager for Solid Edge. Insight XT is completely new and is also based on SharePoint. It does offer all the things you would expect from a PDM system except multi-CAD support. Where Insight XT really shines is in it’s integration with Solid Edge… It is seamless and thus a “true” integration.

To turn on Insight XT, Solid Edge uses a toggle option

Once it has been turned on you will be able to identify it by the words “Insight XT” on the background page and the application’s Window header. Now, all commands in Solid Edge that browse, search, open or save data are Insight XT aware. No duplication of commands and no additional non-value added steps in the process.

Open shows the form below. It defaults to the storage sites set up on the Insight XT server by default and only allows navigation into an between those sites. Search also only searches those locations. Note the revision rule combo box which is how PDM systems configure the revisions you open, and the Open as read-only option.

Insight XT’s primary object is an Item which holds any number of Item Revisions which each hold the Data Sets as shown below. Notice the Revision filter on top. To open a Solid Edge file, simply select the correct Item Revision or the Data Set.

Solid Edge attempts to Check-out any file that you specify it to open unless you set the Open as read-only option. If the file is checked-out by others or is release or otherwise in a status that you do not have edit privileges, it does not perform a check-out but does show you the Read-only assistant dialog where you can optionally make a copy or create a revision depending on the circumstances as to why it is read-only.

When saving a new file or closing an existing file that you had check-out and modified, Solid Edge displays the Common Properties Dialog as shown below. This dialog allows you to edit meta data properties and, if a new file, select the Insight XT storage location and assign an Item ID (either auto-generated based on rules an admin has set, or if allowed, typed in). Note the columns marked with an asterisk, those are “required” properties and you are not allowed to check-in a file unless they are filled out either using an admin set list of values or if allowed, a typed in value.

Once an Insight XT managed file is opened in SE, it is business as usual with one exception. Assembly Pathfinder shows the check-out status of the components as well as their current status symbol (In Work, Released, Obsolete, etc…) as shown below.

Something typical of most PDM systems is the presence of a local cache or working folder. Insight XT is no different, but the beauty of Insight XT is that it is managed automatically for you. Based on the revision rule that you select when opening files, it will insure that existing cached files are kept up to date so you are never working with stale data unless of course that is your deliberate choice. Insight XT does provide a utility called Cache Assistant that allows you to review the files in your cache and manage them by either using a shortcut menu on selected items or en mass using the buttons along the top. You can do such things as synchronize your cache with what is on the server, check-in any checked-out files or download files to your cache which is really helpful if you work over a slow link and want to pre-populate your cache over night so it’s there and fast in the morning.

The net result of this is that you get a full fledged PDM system for Solid Edge that provides the value added features you need without the non-value added baggage that you don’t all in one easily deployable and configurable package. This in turn makes it intuitive to use and thus easy to train people on which removes yet another roadblock that other PDM systems have in their way.

Insight XT has a another side to it that is outside of the Solid Edge environment and that is the SharePoint site with the Insight XT web parts as shown below. I’m not going to get into detail on this part of it, but it has a clean UI and some pretty cool tools. It supports ECR and ECO workflows with several that come by default and has an interesting Shopping Cart utility that allows collecting multiple objects to process as one. The crown jewel however is the Structure Browser which allows navigating assembly trees and CAD references but also ECR and ECO objects as well as a bunch of other items. If I have time, I may cover this in more detail in the future if no one beats me to it.

Thanks for reading.

Design Better!

Technorati Tags: Solid Edge,Insight,PDM,PLM,CAD,Siemens,ST5

Solid Edge ST4 “Student Edition”… FREE!

2011-09-02T15:06:00.001-05:00

A few days ago Siemens PLM introduced a student edition of Solid Edge ST4 for free (http://www.plm.automation.siemens.com/en_us/products/velocity/forms/solid-edge-student.cfm).

The student edition is the full commercial version with only 2 restrictions:

Any file saved in the student edition cannot be opened in the commercial editions.
All drawings will have a printing watermark across them stating that it is in a student edition.

After you install it, there are quite a few learning aides that can be found under the Help menu and there is also a student forum available as well (instructions when you sign up for a copy).

Happy Edgeing!

Solid Edge ST4 Launch Event (aka “The Solid Edge Summit”)

2011-06-16T21:32:00.001-05:00

Six years ago, the last Solid Edge Summit was held in Cincinnati Ohio. It was a wildly successful event. The following year, someone made the decision to roll Solid Edge into the PLM World event and dissolve the Summit. Needless to say it was a very bad decision as the attendance dwindled over the next 5 years to essentially a handful of individuals which most likely happened due to a variety of reasons such as the poorly handled transition, higher cost for less value, a weakening economy, and a loss of the Solid Edge identity and community at an event that appeared to cater to NX/Teamcenter.

This year, the Solid Edge Summit was back! Disguised as a Solid Edge ST4 Launch Event, it was essentially a 2 day user conference (June 15-16) held in Huntsville, Alabama which happens to be home of the Solid Edge Development office. Needless to say, we as users have gotten to meet many of the development, certification, support, planning, marketing and the management team. The agenda included a half day comprised of a business update, keynote presentation, and ST4 Introduction, followed by a day and a half of a 3 track agenda of presentations, hands on training and round table discussions. The night before the event there was a welcome reception, and at the end of the first day, we all let our hair down at a social event held in a local arcade/bowling alley/bar & grill.

Besides the obvious training opportunity, one of the biggest advantages of going to these types of events is the building of “community”. At the Solid Edge ST4 Launch Event, that community was building fast. Everywhere you looked, you would see Solid Edge folks. Sit down at breakfast or lunch, and you were sitting with Solid Edge folks. At the social events, you were talking with Solid Edge folks. A lot of folks knew each other from the newsgroup or phone calls/e-mails, but there is something about meeting folks face to face that cannot be duplicated any other way.

Everybody was very positive about this event and I’m certain they are already looking forward to next years event as much as I am. For those who were not able to attend this event, I sure hope you can make the next one.

Of Clouds and the PS3

2011-05-14T11:37:00.001-05:00

No doubt you’ve heard of the cloud. It’s this nebulous new “old” thing that excites people both positively and negatively. In the realm of CAD, it has been the subject of much controversy. A few folks have mentioned that if CAD looked to the advances in gaming over the past few years, a cloud based CAD system could work really well. Others point out you are increasing your failure risk as you are involving a whole host of new dependencies to make it work. Technical feasibility is one thing, practicality is totally another.

I’d like to point out a recent example based on gaming and the cloud that really exemplifies the risk of this potential new frontier in CAD… The PlayStation Network! The PlayStation Network (PSN) is a cloud ran by Sony that allows PlayStation gaming consoles to connect to online gaming, stores, and other services. On April 20th, Sony pulled the plug on the PSN due to a security breach by some hackers. The hackers also made off with tons of personal account information. Sony has not restored service as of May 14th as I’m writing this. What’s better yet, evidence suggests that the hackers rented time on Amazon’s cloud servers to perform the breach. I’m pretty patient on such things, after all I’m not paying for access to the PSN, but I do pay for Netflix on-line video streaming through my PS3 that is no longer working and I also have a couple hundred dollars in games of which are useless with out the PSN.

I guess the moral of this story is this: While CAD on the cloud may be technically feasible and can provide some tangible benefits, is it practical for you to go without your CAD system for a month or better when they system is down due to a breach or other unforeseen issue? Is the gaming industry a shining example?

My answer, and I’m guessing yours as well is: “HELL NO!”.

Solid Edge ST4 Global Launch Event

2011-04-08T09:42:00.001-05:00

For those who may not have heard, Siemens PLM is hosting an Solid Edge specific user conference June 15th-16th in Huntsville, Alabama. (https://www.seeuthere.com/rsvp/invitation/invitation.asp?id=/m1312dbb-43068LPQEN9MJ)

The event will not only show what’s new with ST4 and how to use it, but will also feature productivity sessions to help you get more done faster with current functionality. The other key aspect of this event is it is in the Solid Edge Development office’s backyard (not literally, it’s in a local hotels convention center), so you won’t be learning from an Application Engineer who took a training class and is trying to pass on information second hand. You will be learning directly from the Product Managers who wrote the specs for the software… from the horses mouth so to speak :) The agenda shows the typical morning keynote and large group welcome and introduction items the first half of day one, but the second half of day one and all of day two are comprised of three tracks of items with one of them being “hands on” sessions, so there will definitely be something for everyone throughout. https://www.seeuthere.com/ui/18/182678/TheSolidEdgeST4GlobalLaunchEventGuide022711.pdf

Aside from the structured agenda, the evening before the conference and the evening of the first day, there will be plenty of time to meet fellow users and Siemens staff and discuss whatever you like. You will also have time at breakfast & lunch to do the same, but we all know how breakfast is for most of us who are dependent on caffeine :)

I Hope to see you all there! Conference cost is $250 through April 22nd, and $350 thereafter.

Ken

Solid Edge ST3 Revealed!

2010-10-13T11:35:00.001-05:00

So Solid Edge ST3 has been revealed today. Between all the “professional” bloggers out there, it has been dissected quite a bit, so I’m not going to attempt it. Instead, here is a list of links at which you can find out information:

Official Siemen's site on ST3 - http://www.plm.automation.siemens.com/en_us/products/velocity/solidedge/solidedge-st3/index.shtml

Post one of Deelip's 11 part Post - http://www.deelip.com/?p=3618

Matt Lombard's post on ST3 - http://www.dezignstuff.com/blog/?p=4035

Jon Sutcliffe's post on ST3 - http://www.synchronoustechnology.net/blog/679/solid-edge-st3-bares-all/

Al Dean's post on DEVELOP3D - http://develop3d.com/reviews/solid-edge-st3

Kathleen Maher on ST3 - http://gfxspeak.com/2010/10/14/solid-edge-st3-arrives/

I’ll add more as I find them.

Solid Edge ST3 Impending Announcement on October 13th

2010-09-24T10:57:00.003-05:00

Siemens PLM will formally announce Solid Edge ST3 on October 13th. There are a number of events being held across North America starting on that day and through the month of December in a variety of cities. 2 of them are Siemens PLM hosted “National” events which the agenda shows will have a little more content in them, and the rest are Partner hosted events. If interested in attending one of these events, you can sign up on the Register link at the following page: http://am.siemensplmevents.com/?elqPURLPage=4232
Now seeing that we have around 2-1/2 weeks before the formal announcement and there has been much speculation about what’s new with ST3 in regards to Synchronous Technology, I thought it would be interesting to invite your comments about what you think is new with Synchronous Technology in ST3. Ground rules are that you must be polite and on topic. This BLOG is mine and is not bound by your right to free speech, therefore comments are moderated and I reserve the right to reject any comments I perceive to violate the ground rules.
Now let the speculation begin!

Technorati Tags: Solid Edge,ST3,CAD,Siemens,PLM

Solid Edge ST3 – Post 4 of 4

2010-09-08T11:37:00.001-05:00

As promised, this is the last in a series of posts about what has been publicly released about Solid Edge ST3. It’s been a while between posts, and if you scour the web you may have found this information already, but I thought I would post it anyways as ST3 media activity has slowed a bit and it has not yet been released (tentatively October from what I’ve seen posted).

Drafting is one of those areas where there is still such a big dependence. It’s the final piece of the product development assembly line and is highly utilized by downstream departments. With ST3, there were a large number of enhancements in this area but unfortunately I can only share a very select few of the user requested enhancements.

Parts List’s have been enhanced and one of the enhancements (there’s others) is an option to create a fully exploded and indented list.
Unicode character support has been added so you can now mix & match languages in a single draft file as well as use the extended range of special characters.
The Draft environment including Solid Edge 2D Drafting (Free 2D) now supports drawing view scaled measuring and sports a new measurement tool called Smart Measure which works like the Smart Dimension but does not actually place a persistent dimension.
Callouts now support tolerances, limits, and dual dimensioning.
A new print utility that lets you nest and print multiple drawing sheets from multiple files at once.

So that pretty much sums up what I can reveal about ST3 at this time. What has been revealed is just the tip of the iceberg of the user requested enhancements and doesn’t even touch on new features, or the “Bridge”. Those that have seen the BETA agree this is going to be a monumental release, but your going to have to wait until the launch in October to see it. I can certainly say that I really hate having to work on the old version (ST2) and can’t wait till I can get ST3 into production.

Solid Edge ST3 – Post 3 of 4

2010-08-02T14:48:00.005-05:00

As Promised, here is my 3^rd post on Solid Edge ST3’s customer driven enhancements. This time, the topic is Piping, Framing, and Weld enhancements.
Let’s start with Frames. Frames are made up of 3 items for each frame member: The sketch defining the path, the cross section defining the shape, and the resulting member as a solid model. With ST3, some work was done with the cross sections to add additional attachment points which are used to attach the cross sections to the paths. In addition to the prior default of the geometry Range Box showing the 8 points defining the rectangular extents boundary around the shape and the center point, you can now define the cross section’s path attachment point by using key points (end/mid/center/etc.) on the cross section’s defining sketch (including reference elements) or the cross section’s area centroid.

In addition to the new locating methods, cross sections are now associative to the members that they have defined (so changes to the cross section in the library updates the solid model in the Frame assembly) and also support specifying Wurzelmaß standard hole locations (DIN Standard). If you don’t know what Wurzelmaß means, you’re not alone. It’s German, and it’s literal translation is “Back Pitch” in English. It has been explained that it is the allowable location on flanges where holes may be placed.

Piping has a few enhancements specific to it as well. Pipe fittings can now be graphically rotated.

Pipe gradients are now supported for drainage situations. Fittings will tolerate a specified deviation from the standard fitting angle to allow for the specified gradient.

In prior releases, pipe fittings were required to be added to the Standard Parts library to be used. That requirement has been lefted and now pipe fittings can now be placed directly from disk or managed environments (Insight/Teamcenter).
Both environments have benefitted from the new ability to pattern Pipe or Frame components.

Parts Lists now support “per item” and “cumulative” mass for pipe/frame components and the mass calculation accounts for removed material in mitres and assembly features. Mitre cut angle can also be included in the parts list as well.

In Welding, a new algorithm has been introduced that produces weld beads that support many more geometric conditions, exactly matches input faces to eliminate interference, and also transition smoothly around sharp corners.

As I stated before, this is just a subset of user requested enhancements. There is a lot more that I cannot publish yet, not to mention we haven’t touched on new features or the “Bridge”. Stay tuned, more to come soon.

Solid Edge ST3 - Part 2 of 4 - Part, Sheet Metal, and Assembly

2010-07-22T11:56:00.004-05:00

As promised, I'm back with some additional information about the upcoming release of Solid Edge ST3 (later this year). This post will hit on some of the customer driven enhancements in the Part, Sheet Metal, and Assembly design environments. As a reminder, this is in no way a complete list of enhancements in these areas.

New to ST3 Sheet Metal is the Etch feature. It allows text or other sketch elements to be created on sheet metal faces which will then be transformed with the model when flattened. When the Flat Pattern is saved to DXF, text is translated to a "stick" font engraving ready!

New Closed Corner types have been added to Sheet Metal such as U & V shaped, Square and Mitred.

Tabs and PMI can now be added to the flattened Sheet Metal model and they will not display in the folded model. This flattened model can then be saved to JT.

Interpart relations are now shown in Part & Sheet Metal Pathfinder allowing easier navigation and investigation. The listed items can include: Context Assembly, Included Edges, Feature Keypoints, Interpart Copies, Linked Variables, and Reference Planes. It is even available if the part is opened outside of the context of the assembly.

Interpart relations are also shown in Assembly Pathfinder showing a clear indication of whether the link is Driving the selected component or the selected component is driving something else. Also new is the ability to Freeze or Thaw Interpart links. Freeze will allow you to inactivate links for instance on release files to prevent updates and Thaw will allow you to reactivate them later so they will update when performing a revision.

Display Configurations have received an overhaul and there are several new capabilities:

Configuration Manager which provides a "spreadsheet" like view of all configurations and components. and allows you to modify each configuration as well as identify new components since the configuration was last modified.

Snapshot which allows a quick capture of the current display state which can be retrieved quickly later.

Copy Current Display which will allow you to copy the current display state of selected components to an existing configuration
New Drop List which will allow multiple configurations to be selected and applied together and it also allows selection of Zones to be applied as well.

Now the last item I'm going to mention is not something I can not show you in a BLOG post, so your going to have to wait to see it in a Siemens PLM demonstration of Solid Edge ST3 or when the software ships to you, but it is quite important and quite remarkable so I feel I need to mention it... It is a 3D graphics performance improvement of up to 10X. That's right, 10X! Now Solid Edge was pretty fast before, but depending on the display settings used frame rates could drop on larger models. Now expect those models to fly on the screen.

Now as I stated at the beginning, this is just a few of the customer driven enhancements in Solid Edge ST3. There is still much more than what I've covered. Stay tuned because in another couple of weeks I'll post some more about ST3.

Solid Edge Productivity Summit Tour

2010-07-13T12:57:00.000-05:00

Well, things in the Solid Edge world are certainly active these days, and Siemens PLM is being very serious about increasing user oppurtunities. The first big evidence of this is that the folks at Siemens PLM responsible for the Solid Edge product are hosting 17 regional events around North America for users to attend for FREE!

The current agenda posted on Siemens site (http://img.en25.com/Web/Siemens/Solid%20Edge%20Productivity%20Summit%20agenda_6188a.pdf) looks like this:

Solid Edge Productivity Summit Preliminary Agenda – Times and sessions subject to change by location

8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Check in and registration
Solid Edge Vision and Direction
Solid Edge Customer Success Presentation
Modeling in Solid Edge with synchronous technology
Patterning in Solid Edge
Networking Lunch
Synchronous Sheet Metal Modeling
Best Practices in Solid Edge Drafting
Regional Tips and Tricks in Solid Edge
Synchronous Assembly Modeling
Using Both Traditional &and Synchronous
Tips and Tricks in Solid Edge

Sign-up here:
http://am.siemensplmevents.com/?elqPURLPage=3363

Locations and Dates are:

Orlando, FL - July 27, 2010
Kansas City, MO - July 28, 2010
Clearwater, FL - July 29, 2010
Atlanta, GA - August 10, 2010
Houston, TX - August 11, 2010
Dallas, TX - August 12, 2010
Cleveland, OH - August 12, 2010
Montreal, QC - August 17, 2010
Toronto, ON - August 18, 2010
Huntsville, AL - August 18, 2010
Indianapolis, IN - August 24, 2010
Cincinnati, OH - August 25, 2010
Boston, MA - August 26, 2010
Philadelphia, PA - August 31, 2010
Phoenix, AZ - September 8, 2010
Cypress, CA - September 9, 2010
Seattle, WA - September 10, 2010

Ken

Solid Edge ST3 - Part 1 of 4

2010-07-07T13:34:00.001-05:00

The Siemens PLM Connection event is over. Given the change of date and venue due to the flooding of the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, it was a great success.

There were many excellent presentations and "hands-on" training sessions for Solid Edge (including mine) , and even though a formal announcement of the upcoming ST3 is some time away, we got a sneak peak of several new customer driven enhancements as well as some hint of:

A "bridge" to help existing users better adopt Synchronous Technology
Simulation enhancements
PDM enhancements
1000's of customer enhancements from modeling to the user interface

Over the next few weeks, I'd like to cover some of the items presented around the customer driven enhancements, but please keep in mind there are still a whole lot of items that will not be presented until the official Solid Edge ST3 launch later in the year.

For this post, I would like to cover the User Interface enhancements.

You now have full control of the Command Ribbon layout. You can add new tabs and groups, as well as move, add, or remove commands from any tab. The customizations can be performed for all environments from a single environment, and customizations can be saved as a Theme.

A new customizable Radial Menu is available in all environments which will hold 16 commands right where you need them and accessible with the right mouse button.

Command Bar has been replaced with a horizontal on-screen "Smart Step" ribbon bar where it's easily seen and no longer competes with viewing the Pathfinder...

and both Pathfinder and the Live Rules pane can now be transparently displayed on the graphics screen which means Edgebar can now easily be left hidden most of the time.

There is still a whole lot more that I have not touched on, and this is just in the area of UI enhancements. I will be following up in the following weeks with additional customer driven enhancements in other areas.

April showers, Tulip Time, and CAD

2010-04-13T09:42:00.001-05:00

So, it's a busy time of year for me, and I'm guessing many others too. Spring has sprung. April has been warm and coupled with an excellent supply of water, my grass needs seriously mowed. Taxes are coming due (April 15th). We are also marching towards Tulip Time (May 4-8) in my town where we have a 3 day (5 this year due to 75th anniversary) festival all about Dutch heritage and Tulips (http://www.pella.org/aspx/traveltourism/plan/extra.aspx?cid=0&sid=5&n1id=10&n2id=70#Tulip_Time). Not sure if the tulips will make it till then, as some of them are just starting to bloom.

In addition to all this, my CAD plate is also quite full between PLM World board meetings, projects at work, the upcoming Siemens PLM Connections event May 23-28 (http://event.plmworld.org/), and the inevitable Solid Edge ST3 BETA. No rest for the weary. Check back soon as I will post updates.

Ken

PLM and Sharepoint

2010-03-23T17:23:00.000-05:00

So you have all these PDM/PLM suppliers out there who have systems that vault data, manage workflows, manage revisions and control access to product data. Some of these systems have existed in one form or another for decades. All of it home grown because nothing existed that could be used as a framework to build upon.

Now decades later, we have Sharepoint. It is everywhere. It vaults data, manages workflows, manages revisions and controls access. What is missing? Not much. With Sharepoint 2010 soon to be released, the framework is there. All that needs to be done is create some webparts and templates, and a pretty finctional PDM system could be had. Some have already headed down this path. Solid Edge released Insight on Sharepoint 2001 and continues down this path supporting Sharepoint 2003 and 2007. PTC recently released Product Point based on Sharepoint.

I predict others will be following fast. How can they not? The functionality and userbase is there. And think about this: A new model where the applications interface to the PDM system, not the otherway around :)

Care to comment?

Viva Las Vegas!

2010-01-25T10:47:00.004-06:00

I just got back from Las Vegas. Aside from the terrible air travel problems which resulted from freezing rain in Iowa when I left, to dense fog in Chicago on my return, it was a good trip. It was one of those "kill 2 birds with one stone" trips where I was able to accomplish a couple goals. The main reason for traveling to Las Vegas was to attend a PLM World board meeting. It was held at the Rio where our 2011 and 2012 Connection events will be held. It also coincided with the International Builders Show held at the convention center of which Pella is an exhibitor.

I spent one day walking the builders show, seeing an amazing variety of products. One thing that really sparked my interest was an architectural CAD software product that could interface with a engineered structural wood software product resulting in plumbing and HVAC penetrations being pre-cut in the engineered wood products at the factory. Now the cool thing about this is, the cuts are made efficiently and intelligently. What this means is you no longer have to worry about a plumber or HVAC installer destroying the structural integrity of a beam or set of joist, nor are you paying them to spend a large amount of time to use a bayonett or hole saw to cut the penetrations by hand.

The following day and a half was spent with the PLM World folks discussing issues relating to our user group and the upcoming Connection event in Nashville on May 24-27. A great group of individuals, mostly volunteers like me, who care about providing all users oppurtunities to "connect" with one another and share information and ideas, not only at the annual conferences, but also with local/regional user groups and electronically as well.

I would definetly encourage all users of Siemens PLM software to check out the following 2 links. One is the PLM World main site and the other is specifically about the May event coming up. Be sure to sign up as a PLM World Citizen which will give you access to the forums and other stuff and it will give us a way to contact you to ask your opinions about things as well as inform you about upcoming events. If you're already a Citizen and it's been a while since you initially signed up and you've had e-mail changes, check your profile and make sure your contact information is up to date.

Oh, and I also had a great time in the evenings :) There is a lot to do in Vegas, and the Rio was a fun hotel to stay at. I'd love to tell you more, but as they say: "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!"

Hope to see you in Nashville this May as well as in Vegas the next couple of years!

Ken

Solid Edge ST2 MP2 Released

2010-01-12T12:27:00.008-06:00

Siemens PLM just released MP2 for Solid Edge ST2 on Friday January 8th. This patch includes many updates as well as fixes for user reported issues. It can be found here (webkey acct needed): http://ftp.ugs.com/solid_edge/ST2/

For those unfamiliar with what Maintenance Patches (MP) are, they are software updates that vendors of most applications deliver on a regular basis or "as needed" to resolve issues with the application or enhance the application. They are typically installed on top of a major version of an application, and are generally version specific.

In the case of Solid Edge ST2, you would need to run the MP for that particular version once ST2 has already been installed. MPs are typically "all inclusive" meaning that installing the latest MP includes the content of all earlier MPs (MP2 included MP1 updates as well as MP2 updates). If running Solid Edge along with Insight Server or Embedded Client, you will need to also install the same version of MP for these items as well (All must have MP2, not a mix of MP1 and MP2).
I hope you find this information usefull.

Ken