Collaborate and Manage Your Drawings with 3DEXPERIENCE DraftSight

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Just for fun, compared to the rolls and boxes of drawings (for a preliminary design of an airport terminal shown in Figures 1 and 2), how does the volume of printouts from your projects compare? Please feel free to leave your comments in the comment area below.

Figure 1. Drawing printouts of an airport terminal preliminary design.

Figure 2. Boxes of drawing printouts ready for shipping.

 

The small portion of the preliminary drawings shown (the efforts of five architects over two months) already looks overwhelming, doesn’t it? As you know, 2D drawings are still the default standard communication vehicle in many industries around the globe.

How do designers collaborate and manage drawings for similarly large projects? Some common questions that I’m sure you are familiar with include:

  • How does the team track the massive amount of data?
  • Where can I quickly find the one drawing I need in this ocean of drawings?
  • How can I tell if a set of drawings is ready for signatures, a building permit application, electric wiring, HVAC, inspection, etc.?
  • How can I share the drawings quickly and securely?

These challenges are beyond drafting. As you know, DraftSight is very good at drafting and has been trusted by millions of users worldwide. However, to further serve its users and respond to the needs beyond drafting, DraftSight has introduced a new role called 3DEXPERIENCE® DraftSight, shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3. Checking in and checking out a drawing in 3DEXPERIENCE DraftSight.

 

As you can see, 3DEXPERIENCE DraftSight looks very similar to DraftSight with the addition of a new task pane that interacts directly with the 3DEXPERIENCE platform inside the application. In the task pane you can search for keywords, quickly locate a drawing on the platform, check files in and out to avoid conflicting edits, save a new drawing revision, replace a local version with a platform revision, and set a drawing maturity stage so your team can learn the latest status and determine the corresponding actions.

Once a drawing is checked in to the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, you can securely share it with others. For example, from a browser you can control whether a recipient can view or edit the drawing. You can even decide whether a recipient can share it with others, as shown in Figure 4. In addition, the drawing can also be shared as a link that your collaborators can access directly, as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 4. Sharing a drawing with community members in a browser.

 

Figure 5. Sharing a drawing as a link in a browser.

 

Looking back, DraftSight has come a long way. Ten years ago, DraftSight embarked on a mission to empower users with professional and affordable 2D communications. It has gained the trust of millions of users.

Looking forward, now the world is more interconnected, online, complex, and collaborative. With the trust and guidance of millions of users, DraftSight is going further to serve the imperative needs for online collaboration and data management.

How have your projects grown in complexity? How about the demands of virtually collaborating with internal and external members? What can DraftSight do to help with your challenges? Please leave your comments and visit the product page for more details of 3DEXPERIENCE DraftSight.

Oboe Wu

Product portfolio manager of SOLIDWORKS MBD, passionate about smart manufacturing opportunities, Keen listener to customer challenges, Sharp problem solver with 20 years of experiences in engineering, Sleepless father trying best to take care of a baby daughter.

@oboewu