Solid Edge unveiled their improvements in the upcoming ST7 software release as well as initiatives that the company has been working towards. They have continued to show clear focus on their customer’s needs and included 1300 user requests that spanned the entire scope of the Solid Edge product.
The Solid Edge team’s presentation of ST7 was themed in four parts:
Accelerate your 3D modeling
Part to Sheet Metal:
Wrap sheet metal parts around solid part faces with corner treatments (this has some really good potential)
Blank Body:
Amazing analysis and flat patterning tool to deal with difficult stamped features. This performs a meshed surface body analysis along with the material properties of the shape to accurately deconstruct the component into a flat sheet model.
3D Measure:
- Multiple measurements from single command
- Easy to read graphical measurements
- Built-in automatic note-pad
Standards based holes:
- Specify bolt size and fit for correct size of hole
- Widespread international standards support
Draft:
- Drafting had some really nice improvements.
- Dynamic drawing view display for all view types
- Associative Annotations (this is great)
- Parts List component highlights and thumbnail views
- Streamlined individual part or sub-assembly view creation
- Automatic coordinate dimensioning and jogging
Duplicate Component:
New patterning method that allows automatic intelligent orientation based on existing similar locations in model.
Peer Locate:
- Design in-context at any level
- Inter-part links without write access to upper level assembly
3D Sketch:
- Available in Part, Assembly, and Sheet Metal environments
- Faster Design of 3D-swept components
Photo-realistic rendering:
(via embedded Keyshot functionality; license required)
All Solid Edge face styles and view transferred
Additional enhancements include:
- New Start-up screen with easy access to common tasks
- Enhanced tooltips with embedded videos
- Parts catalog
- Fixed length curve holds length of swept components while they remain flexible (doesn’t sound like much but delivers a really cool functionality for standardized tubes and the like)
- Enhanced frame design with up 2X faster workflows
- An Insert component button (Good)
- Pattern of a Pattern recognition
- Materials table was completely overhauled and rebuilt
- Quick Shape Primitives
- One-button update in assemblies
- Improved sketch feedback
- Pattern components along a curve
- Enhanced Face relate
- Simplified Assemblies honored
- Simulation enhancements
And more….
Streamline Your Design Management
Streamlined design management in Solid Edge SP (Microsoft Sharepoint management)
More on this to come in the near future.
Power Up With New Apps
Enjoy Amazing User Experience
My Thoughts
These enhancements were all requested by users to meet the needs that they experience in production. This was the second time I was involved in the discussions relating to what features people desired and how they were being implemented in the software. We literally sat down and said, “this is what we want”. Solid Edge’s lead developer asked how they wanted that to work, took notes, and we all voted on the top items. It’s really cool to see the developments happen as quickly as they do at Solid Edge.
Microsoft Surface & Keyshot Engine Rendering Images courtesy of Siemens PLM Software
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