Solution Reviews

A couple weeks ago, you watched Dr. Andrew Thomas talk about Energist’s transition to using Synchronous Technology in Solid Edge. As you’ll see below in my interview with Aaron Solet, there are both positives and negatives to learning how to use this new technology.

A few weeks ago, I published a post that focused on the form, fit and function aspect of the product record. In it, I differentiated between artifacts that defined a product’s form and fit like 3D models, diagrams and schematics and artifacts that defined or predicted a product’s function like simulations, analyses and tests. I think this is a pretty good representation of products composed of mechanical, electrical and software components.

As an engineer, you very possibly may have found yourself in the following situation. You’ve prepped for a engineering status meetings. You aggregated your information on slides or maybe a document. As you start to begin to deliver your status, one of the manager singles out one of your calculations and calls it into question. Does it include the latest design changes? Did it come from a paper calculation or an FEA analysis? Has it been validated in the test lab?

This series of posts focuses on the perspectives on executives, managers and staff personnel in the engineering organization. This post specifically features Aaron Solet, a Mechanical Design Engineer from Lanco. It includes video excerpts from an interview I conducted with Andrew at the Siemens PLM Analyst Event in Boston, MA. When it comes to selecting …

Design Engineer Aaron Solet on Lanco’s Selection of Solid Edge for CAD Read More »

Last week, we heard from Dr. Thomas Andrew from Energist on selecting Solid Edge as their CAD and CAE for mechanical design. And as interesting as that interview is, it’s not the end of the story. A couple years after they started using Solid Edge, Siemens PLM introduced Synchronous Technology (wikipedia entry). While there’s always some excite around new technologies and the value they can deliver with their use, there’s also some trepidation around the learning curve and procedural changes to day to day work. During my interview with Dr. Thomas, I asked him how and why they made the transition.

Everyone likes to have a second opinion, right? I see it at many places like LinkedIn where people ask about the use of different software systems and applications. “Have you used system x?” one might ask. “Have you used application c” another might ask. Now of course, I have my own perspectives on engineering software systems and applications that I publish here at this blog. But an overall goal of mine is also to provide a platform to those in the engineering community to be heard. That’s why I conduct video interviews.

When I attended the PTC/User conference and heard this announcement earlier this year, I thought it was an interesting concept. I knew it brought more social computing capabilities into product development. I heard a lot about the vision of what it would eventually become. But at that point, I had no idea exactly what capabilities it would offer. Since I was in Boston last week, I made it a point to drop by PTC and talk it over with Christian Barr, a product marketing manager for Windchill SocialLink.

Siemens PLM’s HD strategy provides stakeholders a way to visually access and navigate information in Teamcenter, Siemens’s PLM offering. For stakeholders that are not heavy PLM users and tend to avoid textual navigation of the system, this new framework provides an easier and faster way to get to information yourself. However, to utilize these capabilities, you will need to familiarize yourself with the attributes used in the PLM system and be somewhat technically savvy.

Traveling to Dallas TX for PLM Connections in 2011 was great in terms of getting product updates. Here are some my quick thoughts, including those on my new company Lifecycle Insights, as well as my takeaways from the event as recorded by Dora Smith from Siemens PLM.