When Siemens PLM acquired Mentor, most observers saw a number of interesting implications. Both companies offered high-end enterprise solutions for big companies. Integrating those offerings promised some real value. What few realized, however, is the same point held true for their solutions in the SMB space.
In this post, we’ll be looking at some of the updates to the Solid Edge offering delved into at the 2018 Solid Edge University event in Boston. Let’s get underway.
Electronic and Electrical Design
John Miller, the SVP of the entire Mainstream business, opened the user group meeting by discussing the changing content in today’s products.
The boundaries between #engineering disciplines is disappearing. The solutions that we provide need to support that reality. We’ve invested in our tools to do that.
John Miller, @SiemensPLM SVP Mainstream #Engineering #SolidEdgeU
— Chad Jackson (@ChadKJackson) August 30, 2018
In almost every one of the industries we serve, there has been a surge in electronics. We need to support that in our customers of every size.
John Miller, @SiemensPLM SVP Mainstream #Engineering #SolidEdgeU
— Chad Jackson (@ChadKJackson) August 30, 2018
I have to concur with John’s point. I see a lot of companies making the transition from designing and developing traditional mechanical products to smart, connected ones. For big companies, that often means building out entirely new organizations and hiring lots of electrical and software engineers. But smaller companies don’t have that luxury, if you can call it that. Their existing engineers must expand their capacity, learn how to cobble together electronics and patch together simpler software. That’s in support of John’s point. Engineering in these companies is expanding to encompass mechanical, electrical, software, and systems.
These companies therefore need new tools. And tools that are closely integrated with the existing tools those engineers use are advantageous. That’s where the new Solid Edge Electrical offering comes into play.
The technology solutions that smaller companies need are the same ones that larger ones need. That includes tools to support a range of #engineering domains.
Jeff Walker and Craig Ruchti #SolidEdgeU
— Chad Jackson (@ChadKJackson) August 30, 2018
The integration between #SolidEdge PCB Design and #SolidEdge Mechanical allows for quick and easy bi-directional updates, allowing for mechanical checks like interference or thermal analyses.
Jeff Walker and Craig Ruchti #SolidEdgeU
— Chad Jackson (@ChadKJackson) August 30, 2018
#SolidEdge PCB Design provides schematic and layout functionality that can also work in connected mode, populating assemblies and propagating changes after initial design with #SolidEdge mechanical design.
Jeff Walker and Craig Ruchti #SolidEdgeU
— Chad Jackson (@ChadKJackson) August 30, 2018
#SolidEdge Electrical offers connected mode to propagate changes to #SolidEdge mechanical, enabling controlled associativity. Also enables interactive highlighting, where selecting a wire in the schematic causes the 3D cable highlights.
Jeff Walker and Craig Ruchti #SolidEdgeU
— Chad Jackson (@ChadKJackson) August 30, 2018
#SolidEdge Wiring Design supports the verification of designs electrically, which offers #ECAD schematic capabilities, and analysis. #SolidEdge Harness Design supports the development of foam boards.
Jeff Walker and Craig Ruchti #SolidEdgeU
— Chad Jackson (@ChadKJackson) August 30, 2018
A seamless connection between these offerings is valuable and extremely impactful. It essentially means that an engineer (or two engineers) can synchronize their changes between Solid Edge and Solid Edge Electrical.
For those of you who might not know, these products were formerly known as VeSys and PADS. They were both Mentor products that have moved over into the Mainstream group. But they’ve also been integrated tightly with the rest of the Solid Edge offering.
Modeling Flexibility is Key
Another front where Solid Edge has progressed is 3D modeling, although not quite in the traditional way.
Today’s engineers are now dealing with a broader array of design definitions, including mesh geometry. That might come from formats prepared for 3D printing. It might come as an output from Generative Design. It might come from 3D scanning and reverse engineering. All of these definitions rely on mesh geometry.
#SolidEdge now provides more controls for the mesh model for #3DPrinting. Also includes tighter integration to other pre-processors. It also now provides a direct connection to a network of #3Dprinting suppliers.
Jeff Walker and Craig Ruchti #SolidEdgeU
— Chad Jackson (@ChadKJackson) August 30, 2018
#GenerativeDesign is no longer just applicable to #3DPrinting manufacturing approaches. It is increasingly applicable to traditional product approaches like machining and molding.
Jeff Walker and Craig Ruchti #SolidEdgeU
— Chad Jackson (@ChadKJackson) August 30, 2018
Reverse #engineering is another process that is now more fully supported. Provides the ability to add, remove, and manipulate geometry produced from scanned data.
Jeff Walker and Craig Ruchti #SolidEdgeU
— Chad Jackson (@ChadKJackson) August 30, 2018
The key here is that Solid Edge offers a single set of modeling capabilities to support all of these scenarios. You have parametric modeling, where you can build out geometry using features and parameters. You have direct modeling, which allows you to manipulate existing geometry, regardless of how it was originally built. You have mesh modeling, which allows you to manipulate the underlying points. All are valid scenarios. Solid Edge offers a nice suite of modeling tools to deal with them all.
#SolidEdge synchronous technology, now married with convergent modeling, provides a broad array of tools to create and manipulate design geometry from a number of sources such as #GenerativeDesign, Scanned Data, reused models, and clean sheets. Kudos @SiemensPLM. #SolidEdgeU pic.twitter.com/gNSqyIgqhI
— Chad Jackson (@ChadKJackson) August 30, 2018
Sharing and Collaborating through the Cloud
A new capability being rolled out is cloud data management of Solid Edge data. This supports many of the traditional use cases where the cloud is so applicable. You can securely share intellectual property with suppliers and allow them to collaborate on it.
#SolidEdge Portal allows you to upload data to the #cloud, share it with others via invitation, view and interrogate 3D models, and then collaboratively mark it up with others. Supports many #CAD formats and documents.
Jeff Walker and Craig Ruchti #SolidEdgeU
— Chad Jackson (@ChadKJackson) August 30, 2018
Supporting a Broader Range of Simulation
Last, but not least, Solid Edge now offers a broader range of simulation capabilities. This includes transient thermal analysis, which is highly applicable to electronics cooling. It also includes fluid dynamics.
#SolidEdge #simulation capabilities now supports transient thermal analyses, which provides insight into more real world scenarios. Also provides fluid dynamics analysis capabilities as well.
Jeff Walker and Craig Ruchti #SolidEdgeU
— Chad Jackson (@ChadKJackson) August 30, 2018