CAD Atomic Blog

Solid Edge has had the command Insert Part Copy for a long time.  Insert Part Copy functions by allowing you to insert the geometric body of an existing Part, Sheet Metal or Assembly file into another Part or Sheet Metal file.  The geometric body can be optionally inserted associatively as an Ordered feature, or non-associatively in Synchronous mode and supports several options such as making the body a construction, scaling, or mirroring the inserted body. A similar command was made available in ST5 and later versions called Insert Assembly Copy .  Insert Assembly Copy functions by allowing you to insert an existing Assembly file into another Assembly file.  Unlike Insert Part Copy which inserts a body, Insert Assembly Copy inserts the actual assembly structure under an Assembly Copy node in Pathfinder.  The resulting Assembly Copy is associative to the original such that any changes or additions to the original will be reflected in the copy. ...

Solid Edge ST5 introduced a new “Slot” feature to make creating slots much more efficient than past methods.  You may have overlooked this feature in ST5 and future versions due to its nested button location on the ribbon, so I thought I would reintroduce this useful feature. Prior to the new Slot feature, one would have to use the Cutout command and then create a sketch of the slot’s profile by hand or by using the Symmetric Offset sketch command.  If the slot needed to be counter bored for a head of a fastener, then additional sketching and features were needed.  The new Slot command simplifies this process greatly. The Slot command is located under the Hole fly-out menu.  It is available as both an Ordered and Synchronous feature. Invoking the command produces the Slot Command Bar that contains the typical command steps and option button that we are familiar with from other features (Ordered shown). The Option button produces the sta...

Often when placing dimensions on drawings, the projection lines of some dimensions will cross the projection lines of other dimensions as shown below. Solid Edge provides a function to automatically create breaks in one extension line where it crosses another. This function is called "Add Projection Line Break". It is accessible from the Shortcut Menu when you have a dimension highlighted. The result is shown below. If you wish to remove the projection line break, highlight the dimension, invoke the shortcut menu, and select "Remove Projection Line Break".

Whenever a new version of Solid Edge is released, there is always a multitude of new/enhanced features and I’m usually asked by someone what my favorite one is.  You cannot imagine how hard that is to answer when your looking at hundreds of potential favorites in a given release.  Usually though, I find that it is the simple little things that seem to be my favorite. In ST7, I would have to say my favorite new feature is the Quick View Cube. This control sits in the lower right corner of the graphics area and will turn translucent when not in focus of the mouse, however when the mouse is in close proximity it will solidify and the individual control points will become visible.  The Quick View Cubes purpose is to give the user quick access and transitional control to common orthographic and isometric views with a single click of the mouse.  Now this doesn’t sound like a big deal, but I have watched many a user rotate a model with either a 3D Connexion device ...

If you are not familiar with the Solid Edge Replace Part command, it is an Assembly based command used to do what the name implies… replace a part or sub-assembly with another part or sub-assembly. In past releases of Solid Edge, the Replace Part command was a solo act that had the ability of replacing a single part or sub-assembly occurrence or all occurrences of that selection with a user specified replacement part or sub-assembly that already existed. With the release of Solid Edge ST5 and subsequent releases, the Replace Part command was actually expanded into 4 different Replace Part commands, each with their own specific capabilities. Replace Part Replace Part is similar to the previous Replace Part command in that it is used to replace a part with one that has already been created, however it was expanded to allow not only the selection of a single occurrence or all occurrences of the selection, but also allows a user to select different parts and/or specified num...

Solid Edge ST7 introduced a new feature called 3D Sketch, but 3D sketching in Solid Edge isn’t exactly new… Solid Edge has had a couple of add on packages for several years called XpresRoute and Harness which both have a 3D sketch tool included, but it could only be used for those modules. Also, all of the 3D environments in Solid Edge have had the Keypoint Curve and Curve by Table features which are also a form of 3D sketch but work by defining points to run a curve or sketch elements between, and of course you could always create a couple of intersecting 2D sketches and generating the 3D intersection curve between them but occasionally you would run into situations where a sketch would have to double back on itself causing issues with the intersection curve generation. So what is new about the ST7 3D sketch? ST7 3D Sketch is a new environment that creates a “3D Sketches” node in Pathfinder and each 3D Sketch created becomes a feature underneath it.  It contains some of ...

QUESTION: You have a group of users using Solid Edge, you ask them to all use the same settings for consistency, but there are so many that it's tedious to keep track of and not everybody agrees with all the setting choices so some don't comply... What's an administrator or team leader to do? ANSWER:  Use the Solid Edge Administrator tool! The Solid Edge Administrator tool allows someone to create an Options.xml file that will control various setting such as User Templates, Hole Table information, data management settings, etc...  There is actually a long list of items it controls.  You can set defaults that the user can override if desired or you can lock the settings preventing the override. Once and Options.xml file is created and located on a network share, have every user reference it in their File Location options, and all setting controlled by the Options.xml will be automatically set. The Solid Edge Administrator tool is not m...

I just want to draw attention to some activity that has been occurring over the past few months with regards to Siemens PLM's Solid Edge. A few months ago a new site was launched by Siemens PLM and was touted as a Community site.  As part of this, there is a subarea that is the Solid Edge Community site.  The site has a Q&A section, Discussion section, Knowledge Base, BLOG, and recently a whole subarea for developers who write custom code using the Solid Edge API. Of special note is the Solid Edge BLOG .  There has been a flurry of "how to" articles written by Matt Lombard.  You may recognize the name as he was an avid Solid Works user as well as the author of the popular SolidWorks Bible series.  Matt has now taken a position with Siemens PLM working for the Solid Edge group and has been authoring material on specific facets of Solid Edge that come with the unique perspective of a new user who previously used SolidWorks.  Ofte...

Solid Edge ST7 is not due for release until July 2014, but it appears it is actively being worked on by SE Development as witnessed by a recent post from Dan Staples on the GTAC Solid Edge discussion group where he revealed a new enhancement by accident.  Whoops!  No worries, it was a simply a setting switch so he really didn't let much of the cat out of the bag (tip of a whisker?). The good news is that we have several more months till launch so he has plenty of time to reveal more about ST7, and knowing Dan, he might let a few teasers out just to keep things interesting. BETA should commence in early spring, and the official launch will occur at Solid Edge University 2014 in May.  No doubt Synchronous Technology based modeling will continue to be a focus, but it's anyone guess as to what the other areas of focus are...

The date and location for Solid Edge University 2014 has been announced recently and it will be in Atlanta, Georgia on May 12-14, 2014.  The following site link doesn't have any additional information about the up coming event, but it does contain information on last years event as well as has links to all the presentations.  It is definitely worth a look, and if you like what you see, then I would encourage you to attend the 2014 event because there is no doubt that it will be more of the same if not just "more".  Include with that the Solid Edge ST7 launch and it is definitely a must attend event! http://solidedgeu.com/

The Early Bird Discount #2 expires tomorrow 6/7.  It allows you to save $50 on one admission and $100 on three admissions (buy 2 get the 3rd FREE!!!). http://www.solidedgeu.com/ Now if you are dragging your feet or your boss is dragging his and and the decision has not yet been made, don’t worry… As far as conference fees and content go, Solid Edge University is still a bargain at the regular price of $550 considering there are 2 days of content spread over 9 tracks with 3 of those tracks being HANDS ON EXPERIENCES!  Let me repeat:  3 TRACKS OF HANDS ON EXPERIENCES!  If you have ever priced getting training from a VAR, it is many times the admission price of Solid Edge University and does not cover the breadth of topics and/or the niche areas of Solid Edge that will be covered by the Solid Edge University’s Hands on Experiences.  Add to that the additional 6 tracks of content covered by experts including Solid Edge product planners, application engineers, ...

Within the last few weeks, Siemens PLM opened a new ‘Community” site for several products including Solid Edge. Unlike their previous discussion groups which for the most part where closed to everyone except customers who were current on their annual maintenance, the Community site is open to all.  Anyone can read the site, and by registering, you can also post to the site. Check out the Solid Edge Community here: http://community.plm.automation.siemens.com/t5/Solid-Edge/ct-p/solid-edge

As you may know, Solid Edge University 2013 is coming up in about 3 weeks ( http://www.solidedgeu.com/ ) and that the official announcement about Solid Edge ST6 will come on day 1 of that event (June 25th).  Dan Staples, director Solid Edge Development will provide the Solid Edge ST6 keynote. Well, I have a couple of early treats for you about ST6 that I can share!  Please keep in mind that these are no more than a tiny teaser of ST6, and as a BETA tester I can assure you there is so much more… There has been this rumor going around that ST6 would put some focus on surfacing.  Well, here are two new tools that should convince you it’s more than just a rumor… Reflective Plane  - The typical use case of symmetric molded parts is to model one half and mirror the body of the second half when complete… But how do you know what the whole part looks like prior to being finished with the part?  The answer is the Reflective Plane. It allows display of the second half...

You have 2 more weeks to get the early bird discount #2 of $500 for 1 admission or $1000 for 3 admissions for Solid Edge University 2013... After that the regular price of $550 and $1100 respectively kicks in.  Either way you will get your moneys worth.and then some with 9 tracks of sessions.  Details can be found here:  http://www.solidedgeu.com Design Better.  Solid Edge University.

The Solid Edge University 2013 early bird #1 discount price has expired, but there is still plenty of time to get in on the second tier early bird discount (till June 7th) that still saves you $50 off of the regular individual price of $550.  Sign up 3 people together and you can save $650 of the regular single price with the 3 for 2 deal. Check it out here: http://solidedgeu.com/registration-fees-and-travel Hope to see you at Solid Edge University 2013 so we can all Design Better!

Solid Edge University 2013’s ( http://www.solidedgeu.com/ ) first Early Bird Discount is about to expire on 3/29/2013.  If you are planning on going, this is your chance to save $100.  Details:  http://www.solidedgeu.com/registration-fees-and-travel If you are having trouble convincing someone that the benefits of attending SEU far outweigh the costs, check out the following page: http://www.solidedgeu.com/benefits-of-attending The main event that covers Solid Edge is complemented by a pre-event that covers customization using Solid Edge’s programming API and two post-events covering FEMAP and the SharePoint based data management solutions: http://www.solidedgeu.com/event-details A partial list of events have been posted that give a taste of some of the sessions that will be available, but this isn’t all so please check back for more later: http://www.solidedgeu.com/courses If you would have something to share and would like FREE admission to the conference, think abo...

Solid Edge ST6 is not publicly available yet, but will be in the next few months.  No doubt the big announcement will be made at Solid Edge University 2013 at the end of June ( http://www.solidedgeu.com/ ). While it is still under the cover of secrecy, I thought we might have some fun and see how creative you are with trying to guess what might be in ST6 when it releases.  Submit a comment as to your best guess, but be respectful or your comment won’t see the light of day. I’m sure that when ST6 releases, whatever is in it will help us all Design Better!

Solid Edge ST5 has a couple of offers that allow you to use it for free. If you are a commercial user, there is a 45 day trial ( http://www.plm.automation.siemens.com/en_us/products/velocity/solidedge/free-solid-edge.shtml ) that gives you full featured access in a time limited fashion and it’s intended purpose is for evaluation towards a purchase.  If this is something you are interested in, don’t hesitate to talk to a reseller and if you are a current SolidWorks user, there are some trade-in deals at this time that seem pretty good ( https://www.plm.automation.siemens.com/en_us/campaigns/solid-edge-promo/index.cfm? ) If you are a student, there is a student version ( https://www.plm.automation.siemens.com/en_us/about_us/goplm/arc/se-academic/solid-edge-student.cfm? ) that gives you full featured access with one exception… All files saved in this version are marked as being authored in a student version and cannot be opened in a commercial version and the drawings have a water m...

I’m sure you have all heard the phrase “Jack of all trades, master of none”.  I think of this phrase when some entity tries to serve too many purposes that it really doesn’t focus too well on any of them. This happened a few years ago with UGS in regards to the Solid Edge annual international user group meeting.  Due to what I imagine was a concern with costs and economy of scale, someone decided that the independent Solid Edge Summit should be wrapped into the annual PLM World event with all the other UGS products.  What happened is we lost that Solid Edge only focus and it became watered down and generalized. Needless to say, it was giant flop, and in just a few years Solid Edge had lost most of it’s annual conference attendees. Under the new management of Karsten Newbury, he and his team decided in 2011 to hold a Solid Edge only international event and it was a big success! Because it was such a hit, it was repeated in 2012… And it was an even bigger success!  S...

PDM is known as a necessary evil in most engineering worlds.  Why it’s labeled “evil”, I’ll explain in a bit.  It’s necessary because of 2 reasons: Engineering and related disciplines create a huge amount of data and that data is related to parts which are related to a product structure and that may also be related to tooling and equipment.  PDM excels at storing all this data securely and managing the relationships between it and the changes that happen to it. The use of 3D compound document design systems pretty much require PDM after a couple years of use with more than a half dozen authors.  Compound document design systems build assemblies from parts and subassemblies that are all independent files.  When you open an assembly, the design system actually must find and open each and every component file that makes up that assembly, so on an assembly comprised of 350 unique components, your opening 350 files.  Couple this with cross assembly use of com...