Keep the Workflow Flowing with SOLIDWORKS on the Platform

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By now you all know that Dassault Systèmes is encouraging you to get on board with the cloud-based 3DEXPERIENCE platform, so you can get the most out of your SOLIDWORKS data and enhance your workflow with purpose-built tools.

We offer two flavors on the cloud so you can do just that, including “SOLIDWORKS with the Platform” available in 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS and Collaborative Designer for SOLIDWORKS in the 3DEXPERIENCE Works portfolio and “SOLIDWORKS on the Platform” available in the fully browser-based solutions in the SOLIDWORKS Cloud Offer.

The offer includes 3D Creator for parametric modeling, 3D Sculptor for subdivision modeling, Manufacturing Definition Creator for defining your models in both 3D and 2D, and more! Since these solutions run on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform you also benefit from built-in data management and collaboration capabilities with the apps like Collaborative Tasks, Collaborative Lifecycle, Compare, and the Bookmark Editor.

The beauty of it is you are working from one convenient location- your design environment- and all of the apps are at your fingertips.

Let’s have a look at some of the key data management and collaboration capabilities and benefits of having a cloud-connected or fully browser-based solution.

Collaboration- teamwork makes the dream work.

Let’s say the shop floor has noticed a potential design issue in the released design and Debbie, one of the designers, has been assigned a task by Ed, the lead engineer, to check that and possibly make a new revision. He creates a task using the Collaborative Tasks app for Debbie with the problem description and the CAD model on what needs to be changed. Debbie will instantly get a pop-up notification of the task Ed created, while she is working on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform from her web browser. The notification will include the description, and include the CAD model as an attachment, and any comment history related to the task. She can get a complete idea about what the deliverables are, the expected timeline, and other dependencies of the task from the assigned task using the Collaborative Task app.

She can then drag and drop the task from the “To Do” column to the “In Work” column of the Collaborative Tasks app. She can simply drag the attached 3D CAD model from the opened task and drop it into her ongoing design session, which in this case is the xDesign app in 3D Creator. After saving and closing what she was already working on, she can now address the changes that need to be made per the newly assigned task. If any Physical Component is locked, she can easily send a request to unlock the component from the design session (without leaving it) to whoever locked it, and the appropriate person will receive a notification on their platform. In this case, it will be received by Ed who previously would have locked the assembly to avoid any unwanted changes.

 

Once Ed unlocks it, Debbie can make her changes, and choose whether to update the current revision or create a new one by communicating with Ed using SWYM communications from within the design session. The changed design (in the form of a new revision) can then be saved to a shared Bookmark to organize the data. After doing that, Debbie drags and drops the assigned task from “In Work” to the “Completed” column in the Collaborative Tasks app.

Ed will receive a notification indicating that Debbie has finished her task assigned by him. Ed can now check the revised design from the shared Bookmark in the Bookmark Editor app. He can review the change and compare it to the original design using the Compare app, and then release the design by updating the maturity using the Collaborative Lifecycle app if he is satisfied.

 

One of the main benefits is that all the stakeholders can communicate and collaborate almost instantly without leaving the context of their design environment, communicating from within their workspace so they can all continue to work and address the notifications so everyone’s workflow can keep moving, and project deadlines can be met.

Are you ready to expand your toolset and design, and collaborate like a champ? Get with your local reseller to see what options are best for you. And check out the SOLIDWORKS Cloud Offer https://www.solidworks.com/how-to-buy/solidworks-cloud-offer and 3DEXPERIENCE Works https://www.solidworks.com/3dexperience-works websites for more information.

Soumitra Vadnerkar

Soumitra Vadnerkar

Soumitra is a new member in SOLIDWORKS Product Management team. He manages SOLIDWORKS Inspection and SOLIDWORKS Cloud roles. He has Masters and Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and has been a CAD enthusiast since he started his academics. Soumitra has 5 years of work experience in sheet metal, rubber, and plastic industries. His expertise lies mostly in stamping and injection-blow molding tool design but currently he is also improving his new skills in Product Design using SOLIDWORKS Cloud applications. Besides work, Soumitra likes to keep himself busy learning about new technologies in computer hardware and AI.