Leveraging SOLIDWORKS PDM with 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS

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You asked and we delivered. SOLIDWORKS PDM users have expressed interest in having the option to use SOLIDWORKS PDM to save their data when using 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS, and we’ve made that possible in the latest functional delivery (FD) update, R2024x FD03. You now have the flexibility to save locally to your SOLIDWORKS PDM database or another data management system. Of course you can still save on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, but I would encourage you to choose one system to save all your data, so you don’t have duplicate files, but you can always save to the platform when you are ready so you can get the most value out of your data and leverage the cloud-based collaboration and data management capabilities.

How it Works

  1. Install or upgrade to 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS R2024x FD03.

  1. Use the SOLIDWORKS Installation Manager to install the SOLIDWORKS PDM Client.

You can also install SOLIDWORKS PDM separately, following the guidelines outlined in the SOLIDWORKS PDM and the SOLIDWORKS Manage Installation Guide.

  1. Launch SOLIDWORKS Connected then go to Tools > Options > System Options> 3DEXPERIENCE Integration and select “SOLIDWORKS PDM or other data management installed separately.”
  2.  Click OK.

Note you will need to restart SOLIDWORKS to start saving to SOLIDWORKS PDM.

 

  1. After completing the setup of your SOLIDWORKS PDM client, log in to the SOLIDWORKS PDM vault. You can easily access and log in to the vault directly from your Windows taskbar.

 

  1. If you have a SOLIDWORKS PDM CAD Editor license, you can activate the SOLIDWORKS PDM add-in within SOLIDWORKS through the Add-Ins dialog box found under Tools > Add-Ins. This integration will enable PDM functionalities directly from the SOLIDWORKS Task Pane.

 

Once you have done these steps you are ready to start managing your data inside SOLIDWORKS Connected using SOLIDWORKS PDM. Note: when you launch the SOLIDWORKS Connected app in 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS in this mode, you will not see the MySession panel, and you won’t be able to save to the platform.

You will still have access to Share and Markup capabilities. To share files you can to File > Share. From there you can share files in 3DDrive, 3DSwym, and 3DEXPERIENCE Marketplace.

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When you are ready to start using the data management capabilities in the 3DEXPERIENCE platform you can simply enable the option “3DEXPERIENCE” from to Tools > Options > 3DEXPERIENCE Integration.

I would encourage you to save each project to one system or the other. For example, maybe you want to save your data for a new project to the platform, before moving other legacy data.

If you’ve got questions or would like to see a demo of this new option in action, contact your local reseller.

In the meantime, watch the video below.

To see what else is new in the R2024x FD03 update check out this blog post from my colleague Craig Therrien.

Salih Alani

Salih Alani

Salih Alani joined SOLIDWORKS in 2013. He held SOLIDWORKS technical support position focused on core SOLIDWORKS, DraftSight, licensing (Online Licensing), and Lead Technical Support of 3D CONTENTCENTRAL, Technical Support Account Manager for Enterprise Subscription Services (ESS) customer account and lead organizer for VAR Performance Tuning Workshop in Dassault Systèmes Waltham before he joined the SOLIDWORKS Product Management Team in 2020. He is now focused on 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS and SOLIDWORKS cloud roles along with collaboration on the 3DEPERIENCE Platform. Salih Alani is Graduate of the University of Technology, Iraq - Baghdad with BS in Mechanical Engineering, graduate of Northeastern University with a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering, specializing in mechanics and design.