SolidWorks Enterprise PDM 2009 - What's New (1/3)

As many of you know, SolidWorks just released SP0.0 of SolidWorks Enterprise PDM.  There are quite a few changes in the new version so I will have to make this a multiple post blog.

The first and most recognizable difference in the new version is the SolidWorks integration.  I have included a few screenshots:

The biggest change in the integration was made to the Enterprise Task pane.  For those unfamiliar with SolidWorks, the task pane is a window along the right side of the SolidWorks session that can be opened and closed (see screenshot).  Enterprise 2009 adds a toolbar along the top with configurable columns in the pane.  In this pane, users can perform virtually every PDM function, including Check-In, Check-Out, Searching, Lifecycle release, property edits, and reporting.  The new functions come with new icons and new “flags” to highlight the current status of your SolidWorks file.  The interface is much more robust, yet also seems to be faster than the previous version.  With all this new information at your fingertips, it does add to the size of the task pane, you can auto-hide it or detach it from SolidWorks and drop it on a second monitor.  This next screenshot shows the “status” icons of the files in session.  If you have a file that is out of date (someone else just changed it), or have a file that you have changed but not saved, the icons will show you the way.

There are also some new features related to BOM, Workflow, Notifications, and weldments, all of which I will share in later posts, so stay tuned…  Contact InFlow Technology for more details.