With Santa and his design team fully adopting SOLIDWORKS Manage for their advanced product data management needs, we decided to showcase one last Manage feature. This feature makes life easier at the North Pole. In this post, we will look at how to creating and assigning tasks in SOLIDWORKS Manage. Tasks are a building block to the SOLIDWORKS Manage system. They can be created automatically when we create project templates or start a new process, but what if we […]
Turkey, Stuffing, and… SOLIDWORKS PDM?
It’s Thanksgiving in the United States and I’m excited to sit down, watch the parade and some football, and eat my fill of delicious, home-cooked food. While everyone is off with their families and friends, I thought today would be a great time to write about 5 features in SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional that I’m thankful for. Each of these features covers a key need in the SOLIDWORKS community and each of them needs to be spotlighted. So, without further ado, […]
Comparing SOLIDWORKS PDM and SOLIDWORKS Manage
SOLIDWORKS PDM has been on the market for a number of years now; its capabilities and functionalities are well known throughout the globe. But what about SOLIDWORKS Manage? Do you know what it is, what it does, or how it can help bridge some functionality gaps in existing systems? Let’s briefly compare SOLIDWORKS PDM and SOLIDWORKS Manage. Today, SOLIDWORKS PDM is a powerful data management solution for most of our customers. However, if you are looking for added capability such […]
SOLIDWORKS 2020 What’s New – Warning Users When Transitioning Files – #SW2020
Do you use SOLIDWORKS PDM workflows to submit files for approval? Are you kept up at night by the thought of sending a file through the workflow transition without first selecting the team member who must approve the file? Fear no more! New functionality in SOLIDWORKS PDM 2020 now displays a warning if you try to transition a file through a workflow transition without selecting a recipient. SOLIDWORKS workflows can be used to notify team members when a file changes […]
SOLIDWORKS 2020 What’s New – Defining Child Reference State Conditions – #SW2020
When using SOLIDWORKS PDM it is important to release components in the appropriate order. PDM users learn that releasing a parent file before its children will result in the parent file referencing an earlier version of its children. In other words, the result can be a discrepancy between the “as built” and “latest” version of a parent assemblies’ references. In PDM 2020 the transition of a parent file can be prevented unless its immediate children meet conditions. It is now […]
SOLIDWORKS 2020 What’s New – You’ll get 2020 vision into your vault with the new PDM Searches
PDM Pro and Standard got a significant search feature boost in the 2020 release. The ability to search across multiple variables at once in edit boxes “AND”, “OR” and “NOT” Operators Quick search from within Windows Explorer – you don’t have to use search cards anymore The ability to search across multiple variables at once When editing a search card, there is a new property for Edit boxes: “Multi-variable”. When you check that option the variable drop list changes to […]
SOLIDWORKS 2020 What’s New – Quick Search and Re-Ordering Search Columns
One of the best parts of the SolidWorks PDM interface is its integration into Windows Explorer. Users who are familiar with the Windows interface can intuitively browse the PDM vault without need for extensive training on specific systems and interfaces. However, the search functionality has always been one area where the comparison has not been totally apples to apples. Search Cards in PDM are robust and detailed, but for users less familiar with data cards and variables they can seem […]
SOLIDWORKS 2020 What’s New – Logging out of PDM from Windows Explorer – #SW2020
How familiar is this scenario? You are going about your workday, using SOLIDWORKS PDM to help you with your productivity. Suddenly, you get a frantic call from a co-worker: “I need to get into PDM ASAP, but there aren’t any available licenses! I need you to log out so I can get in!” Now, to do that, you have to first remember where that log off menu is located. Once you do, you have to move your mouse all the […]
Serial Number Flexibility with PDMSave
The Problem Serial numbers are a very useful tool in PDM. They allow me to sequentially number my parts as I create them, making it easier to keep track of them and ensure they have been numbered correctly. However, I can run into problems if I have multiple projects on my plate. If I want to use different SOLIDWORKS PDM serial numbers to name everything, I run out of options. This is because I can only use one serial number […]
Smarter PDM Data Cards with PigeonHole 1900
I’m always looking for ways that make my job easier. Whether that is through design automation, with something like DriveWorks, or using PDM to track my revisions for me, I’m all about making things easier on myself. One tool that I can’t believe we don’t talk more about is PigeonHole. How many times have I gone through and tried to create a “smart data card”? How many times have I wanted to make my data cards filter my future selections […]
