Complete engineering design software for £5,330

Despite last year’s claim by the firm’s ceo John McEleney that, “we’ve no intention of entering the PDM software market and will remain focussed on our core 3D modelling software,” design software vendor Solidworks has just announced plans to integrate both Smarteam’s PDM and PDMWorks’ software into its product portfolio. At its Cambridge UK headquarters last month, Solidworks UK sales and marketing director Simon Booker said: “We’re using a three-pronged attack on the PDM market: Solidworks Explorer for simple CAD file management; PDM Works for workgroup data management; and Smarteam for enterprise-wide PDM.” The name PDM Works is a little misleading though. A better name might be “CAD Manager,” as the software appears to be little more than this. But if it’s multi-site, multi-discipline, multi-CAD format and multi-document PDM you’re after, then Smarteam’s software can handle all this. The good news for engineering customers is that Solidworks is bundling the PDM Works software with its complete Solidworks Office suite – all for just £5,330 (PDM Works is £550 to buy separately). On the financial health side, Solidworks has performed pretty well over the last year. Booker comments: “Global revenues are up to $58.6m and our user base has grown to 200,000, with 60,000 new seats added in the last year alone.” And according to Booker, the firm’s new Manufacturing Network is also critical to the company’s future. “It’s an online directory of Solidworks users who are constantly in touch with each other. Users can locate UK toolmakers, for example, that use Solidworks software. You get all the associativity that way. It saves time and errors in CAD translation.” Looking ahead, Solidworks is set to release its Solidworks Office 2003 software in November this year. Booker says it has added more than 250 enhancements and 20 online tutorials (with help for Autocad users too). Specific enhancements include: part modelling performance, sheet metal, surfaces, sketch and large assembly productivity improvements. There’s also 3D Content Central, a new online resource that gives suppliers’ engineers access to millions of Solidworks component models. Users can access and download these standard parts from leading manufacturers from a single log in. And if you’re already a Solidworks user, you can simply drag-and-drop drawings and 3D models straight from the website into your own software. All you need is a standard browser and a plug-in.