Using Enterprise PDM with SolidWorks can make life a lot easier!

Before working for Javelin I was a Mechanical Designer creating mobile equipment, and assembly machinery using SolidWorks 3D CAD software. I loved working with SolidWorks but did not have the luxury of being able to use SolidWorks Enterprise PDM software for file management. On more than one occasion I spent countless hours populating data over and over again, reattaching links to files that had been moved, and producing shop floor drawings of projects that I worked on in weeks past!

To show you SolidWorks Enterprise PDM can make life a lot easier when designing with SolidWorks I have created a Guide which describes 12 file management issues and how using SolidWorks Enterprise PDM can solve them. I’m sure that some if not all of my file management issues will be familiar to you!

Click here to download the SolidWorks File Management Guide

Here is an excerpt from the PDM Guide…

#10: From Data Entry Clerk to Print Jockey, what happened to Mechanical Designer?

Once my design was complete and I had started on the next project, my supervisor would always tap me on the shoulder and say “Project XYZ was approved, please create PDFs for the shop floor.” PDFs? There were hundreds of drawings! I then spent the rest of that day producing PDFs instead of designing. I always hoped they were the correct version!?

Once a file is approved by management or a supervisor SolidWorks Enterprise PDM’s powerful workflow functionality takes over and automates many tasks that would generally take precious design time away from the designer. For instance, adding a revision, an approval name, and date to all drawing titleblocks. Exporting a BOM for ERP consumption, and producing drawing PDFs for production floor personnel.

SolidWorks Enterprise PDM Workflow

Do you have file management frustrations? Add a comment below and let us know, maybe we can help?