xDesign: Beyond Browser-Based 3D CAD
Recently I was attending a SOLIDWORKS User Group Summit and people asked me “So xDesign is CAD on the cloud?” This question always makes me smile because SOLIDWORKS xDesign is beyond being just a browser-based online 3D CAD. Yes, you do get innovative 3D CAD capabilities, yes, everything runs in the browser, yes, on any device, yes, you can start using it right away (without installing any software), yes, you are always running the latest version, yes, you never need to install software updates… but your SOLIDWORKS xDesign is way beyond being just cloud 3D CAD.
The first thing to understand is that SOLIDWORKS xDesign is built as a part of Dassault Systemes’ 3DEXPERIENCE Platform. When you purchase SOLIDWORKS xDesign, you do not purchase a single application, you actually get the SOLIDWORKS xDesign Role that combines many different applications seamlessly working together and enabling our users to take advantage of, and complete many different activities during the product development process.
Data Management
All data – SOLIDWORKS xDesign models are automatically stored and managed online. Yes – unlike a traditional CAD system, SOLIDWORKS xDesign includes Data Management capabilities. This a transparent data management, where your everyday tasks of working with SOLIDWORKS xDesign actually incorporate data management capabilities. There is no extra hardware to purchase, no extra software to install – it is embedded inside SOLIDWORKS xDesign with the same user experience and it is immediately available to all the users. As a result, you are always running the latest version of software which forever eliminates the need for data migration at upgrade. Those of you that have a data management system on premise fully understand the time, productivity and financial saving of this.
Any user from anywhere in the world at any time and from any device will always access the latest version of xDesign models – no need to look into different folders for “latest” copies of the files made by other users, etc. And the work they do is transparent and immediately available for everyone else. You can easily create different versions of the models, branch your designs and manage maturity of the product through different phases of the lifecycle.
Search and you will find
Being online, all of the data created is automatically indexed for fast searching and navigation. In addition to the automatic tags created, you can also use your own words to create multiple tags for even faster searching. When searching you will see only results you have access to, ensuring data security and enforcing access rules you have put in place.
If you prefer a more visual way of finding what you are looking for, you can navigate product structures while at the same time exploring dynamic 3D view in order to make the right selection.
Review and Markup on the fly
We all—my managers as well as my customers—often want to review the progress and provide the feedback in order to drive the project in right direction. Without using CAD, any user can quickly view any xDesign models in a full 3D visualization mode – explore assemblies with automatic, dynamic explode capabilities, measure critical components and dimensions, create 3D mark-ups on the fly and share any comments back with the other members of the team. Again – users can view only data they have access to enforcing your security.
Collaboration- become extroverted
SOLIDWORKS xDesign is made for collaboration – collaboration with your customers, your partners, your teams – anybody involved in your product development – from initial design to the profit. Yes, that includes your executive, finance, marketing, legal, procurement and other teams as well as customers, partners and suppliers. With unlimited number of secure communities, you can collaborate with anybody on any specific topic ensuring timely and transparent information sharing and communication. This ad-hoc collaboration is chronologically saved and provides history and traceability of decisions made.
SOLIDWORKS xDesign is made for Innovation!
We all remember that moment when we had that great idea! Now with SOLIDWORKS xDesign being accessible through any browser, you can capture those ideas immediately regardless of what time it is or where you are. All ideas are immediately visible to other users for review, feedback and for giving you thumbs up for recognition. Your and other ideas are managed through the different phases of ideation process ensuring that all good ideas become IP included in your products or processes.
Don’t forget To Do
None of us is perfect – with all the complex products we make, feedback coming from customers and management, new ideas being proposed by the team – it is possible to miss and forget to do few critical things. Capturing to-do lists in Excel is disconnected from the real work that needs to be done – create models, documents, etc. With different people creating their own to-do lists, forgetting where they put them, forgetting to remove completed items, it is impossible to combine all information and get a clear view of the project and understand the uncompleted tasks.
With SOLIDWORKS xDesign you can easily create a task on the go. You can keep it simple with just few words to remind you of what needs to be done, or more detailed containing a dynamic link to the specific xDesign model related to the work to be done. Tasks can be assign to yourself or to anybody else on the team ensuring collaboration and transparency. Tasks are managed through different phases of the task lifecycle capturing the completion progress easily accessible by you, your team or management. This way everybody can clearly see what they need to do, what are completed or outstanding tasks. The manager can access the real time status of all the tasks at any time having the clear understanding of the project.
So Yes – SOLIDWORKS xDesign is way beyond browser based online 3DCAD!
Want to join us? Sign up for the SOLDWORKS xDesign Lighthouse at: https://www.solidworks.com/how-to-buy/join-xdesign-lighthouse-program or just click on the banner below.
