Product Data Management Software ensures design accuracy.
Press Release Summary:
PDMWorks(TM) provides automated revision control, captures history of design activities, and allows users to search for, revise, and vault product design information. It offers support for SolidWorks configurations, custom file property manipulation, and lifecycle status labels. SMARTEAM® integrates with CAD environments to provide tools designers need to manage, exchange, and collaborate on product information throughout enterprise and supply chain.
Original Press Release:
Solidworks Data Management Products Provide New Version Control, Automated Workflow Features
Upgrades to PDMWorks and SMARTEAM give users a broader set of tools for making design processes faster and more accurate
CONCORD, Mass., Oct. 7, 2002 -SolidWorks Corporation today made it easier for companies to manage the high volumes of design data they generate with new enhancements to its product data management (PDM) software. New features in PDMWorks(tm) and SMARTEAM(r) provide workgroups and enterprises a host of benefits that will help manufacturing organizations ensure design accuracy, reduce design time, and bring products to market quickly.
PDMWorks is SolidWorks' PDM solution for engineering workgroups, while SMARTEAM supports the broad data management needs spanning an entire enterprise. These products are fully integrated with SolidWorks(r) 2003, SolidWorks Corporation's three-dimensional computer-aided design (3D CAD) software, allowing companies to streamline the design process and reduce costly production errors.
PDMWorks keeps order in the workgroup
PDMWorks provides automated revision control and captures a history of design activities, allowing people to work better as a team in a secure environment. Maintaining design information in this manner reduces errors resulting from duplicate data in multiple locations or accidentally overwriting data. PDMWorks allows team members to search for, revise, and vault (store in a secure location) product design information so it will not be accidentally lost or overwritten.
DST Output, a subsidiary of information processing and computer software services provider DST Systems, Inc., uses PDMWorks to vault and access thousands of designs for the customized machines it develops to package and mail out bills for its telephone and cable television customers. "Before PDMWorks, we had to save designs in a common network folder and only one person could work on a design at a time to prevent accidental overwrites of design data," said Brad Johnson, mechanical designer at DST Output. "With PDMWorks, two people can work on the same assembly at the same time without creating separate versions that could lead to a production error. It also allows us to reuse parts that we've already developed, which saves a lot of time."
Among the new features in this latest version of PDMWorks are:
o Support for SolidWorks configurations provides users with detailed information and drill-down capability for parts and assemblies having multiple configurations.
o Support for custom file property manipulation lets users specify a set of properties associated to documents in PDMWorks that they can easily update and search through (such as the surface finish, cost, or type of material used). Users can easily search for documents based on these properties and determine which attributes to display in reports such as the bill of materials (BOM).
o Support of lifecycle status labels allows an organization to specify the different "states" of its product development process and control various aspects of a document based on its current "state." Users can create any set of lifecycle terms such as "In Work," "Pending," and "Released" for status labels.
o SolidWorks Toolbox compatibility gives administrators increased control over standard parts libraries such as SolidWorks Toolbox. Administrators can now specify whether or not to vault standard hardware libraries.
SMARTEAM spans the enterprise
SMARTEAM is the only PDM software that integrates with all of the widely used CAD environments. Fully integrated with SolidWorks software, SMARTEAM provides the tools designers need to better manage, exchange, and collaborate on product information in a secure environment throughout the enterprise and across the supply chain. Enterprises with designers and engineers geographically distributed can use SMARTEAM to share product information remotely and collaborate on product designs simultaneously without overwriting data.
Invacare Corporation, with more than 5,500 worldwide associates, is the world leader in the manufacture and distribution of medical products in the home. It uses SMARTEAM for a variety of data management applications, most notably procuring parts from global suppliers and complying with specific FDA regulations. "SMARTEAM allows us to dramatically reduce production time because instead of sending paper drawings overnight to global suppliers, we can post design information via SMARTEAM to a Web site (MYSMARTEAM) that a procurement firm can access and share with parts makers," said Kevin Carpenter, CAD systems specialist at Invacare. "SMARTEAM will also allow us to provide the Food and Drug Administration [FDA with a complete electronic audit trail of every design change during product development for a product under review. That replaces a ton of paper and helps us meet FDA regulations for electronic document control."
SMARTEAM key features include:
o Multi-CAD integration: SMARTEAM enables enterprise users to seamlessly integrate designs from SolidWorks, CATIA(r), AutoCAD(r), Pro/E(r), and others into their CAD environments.
o Multi-location: SMARTEAM allows users at different locations to collaborate and share product information.
o Workflow capabilities: New change management and workflow automation solutions built into SMARTEAM automatically drive information throughout the workgroup, enterprise, and supply chain to keep all parties in the design process up to date in a secure environment.
o SMARTEAM Bill of Materials (BOM): SMARTEAM's BOM tracks the development of parts and assemblies continuations and enables users to create, edit, view, and compare BOM data.
o SolidWorks integration:
o enables organizations to easily access, search, and manage 3D content (standard parts);
o allows users to easily customize SMARTEAM commands and shortcuts within SolidWorks;
o enables organizations to save time by leveraging existing data to create new projects and designs in SolidWorks.
"Data and process management challenges occur every day. Throughout a company's design and manufacturing process, a significant amount of critical data is generated," said Dave Corcoran, executive vice president of research and development at SolidWorks. "With their combination of security and file management, PDMWorks and SMARTEAM are the foundation of efficient design collaboration."
Availability
PDMWorks is available in SolidWorks Office Professional or as a standalone product. SMARTEAM is available as a standalone product. Both are available immediately from SolidWorks and its resellers.
About SolidWorks Corporation
SolidWorks Corporation, a Dassault Systèmes S.A. (Nasdaq: DASTY, Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA) company, develops and markets mechanical design software solutions. Founded in 1993, SolidWorks' mission is to unleash the power of 3D for everyone in product development. In seven years of shipping product, SolidWorks has shipped more than 200,000 total seats of software worldwide. SolidWorks has offices around the globe and sells, distributes, and supports its products through a worldwide network of resellers. For the latest news, information, or a live online demonstration, visit the company's Web site (www.solidworks.com) or call 1-800-693-9000 (outside of North America, call +1-978-371-5000).
