Data Management Services
SOLIDWORKS PDM
Computer Aided Technology is a world leader in SOLIDWORKS PDM services. We have implemented SOLIDWORKS PDM at hundreds of companies for thousands of people. We can bring that expertise to work on your implementation. CATI offers implementation services, migration services, and customization services.
Any implementation process begins with discovery.
We will spend time with your team to understand your objectives and build a plan to meet your needs. When we agree to the plan, it will have clear time-lines and costs, so you feel as comfortable as possible with your plan and our team.
Implementation
Earn the best return on your PDM Professional and Standard investment. For clients looking for rapid justification, Computer Aided Technology can implement using one of our three standard offerings. Using proven processes with clear milestones and deliverables, CATI will deploy a solution that meets your needs and takes advantage of our best practice implementation templates.
INITIATE — Implemented in 1-3 days
For companies just getting started with PDM Standard or Professional. The package includes installation and set up of the basic CATI template vault, and includes some minor configuration changes to meet your needs
INTEGRATE — Implemented in 2-4 weeks
For companies that want to configure their own PDM system, but want to start with the basics. The package includes installation and set up of the basic CATI template vault with some minor configuration changes.
INNOVATE — Implemented in 8-10 weeks
For companies that want a completely custom PDM Professional environment. CATI will start with a blank slate and bring our expertise to the table to develop a system to meet your needs. The package includes installation and configuration of the PDM vault, administration training and mentoring of your administrator during the configuration process to make sure your company can grow the environment after we launch the system.
Custom Applications
Customization Services to optimize your SOLIDWORKS PDM productivity.
If you require a more complex implementation, Computer Aided Technology can help define your implementation requirements, build a plan, manage timelines, and project deliverables throughout to ensure project success. Our development team specializes in extending the standard functionality available in SOLIDWORKS and SOLIDWORKS PDM products. Whether you are looking to automate a multi-step process in SOLIDWORKS or trigger workflow updates in SOLIDWORKS PDM, our team of certified developers can provide solutions. Here are some examples of some of the custom applications built for our customers:
SOLIDWORKS PDM
- Automatically link documents in PDM
- Automatically export PDM and SOLIDWORKS BOM information to external databases (ERP)
- Automatically update variables in PDM
- Advanced Notification tools
- Copy Template Values to new template
- Part Number generators
- Suite of applications to perform bulk operations like file add, check in, move, change state, etc.
- Bulk update of data card values
SOLIDWORKS
- Automatically convert SOLIDWORKS files to PDF
- Automatically convert SOLIDWORKS files to DXF
- Design Standard Checker
- Automate Drawing Format replacement
- Automate Drawing view updates
- Scan a directory for files with broken references
- Scan a directory for files with custom property issues
- Automatically update SOLIDWORKS properties from database or MS Excel source
Migration Services
Migrate files from your existing sources into a SOLIDWORKS PDM environment.
When deploying or expanding a SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional or Standard environment, Computer Aided Technology can migrate files from your existing sources into the SOLIDWORKS PDM environment.
Starting with a comprehensive analysis, the CATI technical team can develop a strategy for migrating your data into your new PDM system. Whether your data exists on multiple network drives or in an existing system, CATI can help.
Experience
Over the past 10 years, CATI has migrated billions of files from source PDM systems into SOLIDWORKS PDM.
The Analysis
Complete drive scan analysis – scan the files located across directories to determine the following:
- File type counts
- Duplicate Counts
- Invalid Characters in filenames
- Broken SOLIDWORKS links
- Incomplete Custom and Configuration Specific properties
The Migration
During the migration, Computer Aided Technology uses a proprietary set of tools to migrate the data and perform thousands of operations update and clean your data as it is loaded into PDM. Below are just some examples:
- Automatically copy the files from your source
- Reorganize your source files into new PDM structure
- Automatically populate data cards with values from external sources (i.e. ERP)
- Automatically fix broken SOLIDWORKS references
- Automatically rebuild SOLIDWORKS parts, assemblies, and drawings
- Automatically check in
- Automatically set revisions
- Automatically set workflow states
Add-On Services
SOLIDWORKS PDM services to help add capability to your existing implementation.
If you are looking to grow or upgrade your existing SOLIDWORKS PDM implementation, CATI offers a large menu of solutions to help you get the most out of your PDM investment. We can completely take the risk out of upgrading with our PDM and SOLIDWORKS upgrade solutions. One of our experts can help by providing support on the day of the upgrade or taking on all the upgrade tasks, including:
- PDM Test Server Setup
- PDM and SOLIDWORKS Test Client Setup
- Admin image configuration to help automate client installations
- Production Server upgrades
- MS SQL Upgrades
- What’s new training for users
New Workflows
At CATI, we feel the greatest value of SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional is in the workflow. CATI can help your company launch new PDM Professional workflows, like Engineering Change, New Product Release, and others. We will start with a process workshop to gather requirements followed by PDM configuration of the new workflows, data cards, templates, and reports. We can even help with process documentation and user training.
SOLIDWORKS PDM Workgroup Transition
With the end-of-life announcement of SOLIDWORKS PDM Workgroup, many customers are looking to make the switch to SOLIDWORKS PDM Standard or Professional. CATI can help you decide which solution is best and help your company make the transition, including installation, migration, administration training, and user training. Use our experts to ease the transition.
Corporate Growth
If you recently acquired a company or looking to expand PDM to another business unit, CATI can support your efforts by adding new users, groups, workflows, data cards, and other items to enable your current team to work together with the new teams.