Siemens 2014 Calendars are in. Get yours today!

Start off the new year by ordering your FREE Siemens 2014 Calendar from Ally PLM. This years calendar features projects from Siemens software users all over the world!

To reserve yours, click here.

Tracy Tijan
Ally PLM Solutions

Solid Edge ST5 - Maintenance Pack 10 - Now Available for Download

Solid Edge ST5 - Maintenance Pack 10 Announcement: 

The latest Maintenance Pack (MP10) for Solid Edge ST5 is now available for download.
You can download the Maintenance Pack here: https://download.industrysoftware.automation.siemens.com/solid_edge/ST5/SolidEdge/

A valid WebKey account is needed to access Maintenance Pack downloads.  To create a WebKey you need your Customer Sold-To ID and your WebKey Access Code, both found under Solid Edge Help, About.  You can create your WebKey account here: https://plmapps.industrysoftware.automation.siemens.com/webkey/

Installing Maintenance Packs is quick and easy. Some known security issues arise with installing any software on Windows 7 OS regarding User Access Control (UAC); these same issues exist when installing MPs.  Windows UAC should be turned off and after unbundling the download run the .exe as administrator by right mouse clicking on the file and selecting Run as Administrator from the quick menu. Most UAC security issues can be avoided by installing Solid Edge to a location on the client machine anywhere other than the default “Program Files” folder.  As long as the user has full write permission to a folder location such as C:\SolidEdge\ these issues should not arise.

Ally PLM encourages all of our customers to stay current with released Maintenance Packs.  Maintenance Packs deliver the most current updates and resolution of PRs to your software platform.  You can find detailed information regarding the PRs that a Maintenance Pack addresses in the “readme” .txt file found with the MP download.

The Ally PLM Technical Support Team is available to answer any questions and provide support for all of your needs; including Maintenance packs.  You can contact the Ally PLM Technical Support Team via email at technical.support@allyplm.com or via phone at (513) 984-0480 Option: 4

Matt Johnson
Ally PLM Solutions

Review of Migration from SolidWorks to Solid Edge ST6

CAD specialist Jeffrey Heimgartner recently reviewed Solid Edge ST6 and focused on its ability to mass-migrate from SolidWorks. ST6’s Bulk Data Migrator, which was expanded with the update, is designed to help make the transition from SolidWorks to Solid Edge seamless – or to make it possible for users of Solid Edge to work with clients who may still use SolidWorks or other MCAD systems.

ST6 boasts that the Bulk Data Migrator “simplifies migration of competitive data to speed adoption of a stable CAD platform while protecting intellectual property.” Heimgartner put these claims to the test and found a number benefits in the migration process. 

Getting Started Resource Library. ST6 has a SolidWorks Migration Wizard (and also wizards for other MCAD solutions) with an associated resource library that provides excellent technical support.

 Specific and fast transfer process. Before transfer begins, the wizard gives you an option to save changes made to the configuration file to be saved to the existing or a new file. As the migration runs, SolidWorks opens up and cycles through each part and saves them as a DXF file. Heimgartner found that the migration of 30+ files took under 10 minutes. 

 Customizable interface. ST6 has a customizable interface which can be modified to be very similar to SolidWorks, making for a much shorter learning curve. The Command Finder is also available, which allows former SolidWorks users to type in commands from SolidWorks to find the Solid Edge equivalent. 

These are just three of the time and cost savings benefits associated with Solid Edge ST6 and the transfer process from SolidWorks, or another MCAD solution. The ability to transfer CAD data from one system to another can be extremely costly and frustrating, but the Bulk Data Migrator in Solid Edge ST6 provides a cost-effective and user-friendly way to do so. Heimgartner concluded, “I think Solid Edge has done a good job of creating tools that give companies the ability to [re-use existing data].” For more information on Solid Edge ST6, visit Ally PLM's website. 

To read more of Jeffrey Heimgartner's review, click here. 

Bridget Hatfield

Ally PLM Solutions

Solid Edge file extension changes to .tmp file due to network connectivity

Here is a complex network issue, and the steps taken in order to troubleshoot:

11)      User opens Solid Edge file (status available from a network location)

22)      After working on the file ( in this case user creates a flat pattern on the draft file and gets this error “The drawing view couldn’t be created possibly due to geometry errors in the model”)

33)      First recommendation is to go back to the part/asm model and run geometry inspector on the model

44)      Also the file extension in this test case changed from .dft to .tmp

55)      Save/Save as option greyed out. File status changed to read only

66)      We had to exit out of Solid Edge

77)      Browse to the .tmp file location and change the extension from .tmp to .dft

Here are the screen shots that were used to troubleshoot this issue: 

Navjot Gill
Applications Engineer
Ally PLM Solutions Inc

Automotive fixture design cycle cut nearly in half

Melling Tool designs better with Solid Edge. Manufacturer of tooling for oil pump and other power train components uses synchronous technology to cut design time from four to two weeks when compared with traditional history-based design.

Learn how  http://www.plm.automation.siemens.com/en_us/about_us/success/case_study.cfm?Component=116023&ComponentTemplate=1481

Free trial

http://www.plm.automation.siemens.com/en_us/products/velocity/solidedge/monthly-subscriptions/free-trial.shtml

Solid Edge ST6 - Maintenance Pack 3 Announcement

ST6 Maintenance Packs can be downloaded from:

https://download.industrysoftware.au...olid_edge/ST6/


After downloading the Maintenance Pack to your machine, unbundle the zip file and then
dbl click on exe to install the Maintenance Pack.

To initiate your subscription, navigate to: http://support.industrysoftware.auto...al/email.shtml for the web interface.

Or send an e-mail message (message and subject line should be blank) to: sfbmail-subscribe.plm@siemens.com

This Maintenance Pack addresses the following PRs:

PR 6952126: Replace all on alternate components from automation fails to replace all
PR 2226134: Req. for sample code to Control the mesh & contour display through SE API
PR 6959176: Stack corruption when calling AddSimplifyEnclose with more than one component
PR 2227984: In test case for PR#2171379 fixed in ST4, the error occurs in ST6
PR 6938187: Publish to GrabCAD - error uploading FOA
PR 6938983: Server busy error when saving from the GrabCAD upload dialog
PR 6935212: Added GetMatrix API to Sketch and Profile
PR 6940547: Crash on calling OrderedGeometry API present on Sketch Profile in Part Document
PR 6941052: a crash when calling CopySurfacePtr->GetName() API

Assembly
PR 2224165: Defensive fixes for crashes reported by customer
PR 6952137: Replace Part command resulting in incorrect display/locate/highlight while in-place active in a subassembly
PR 6953362: Wireframe shows through in XpresRoute ONLY from frame creation
PR 6958580: some bad property data was causing assemblies to be perpetually out-of-date
PR 1956935: Simplified Assembly Model initializing as ordered rather than synchronous
PR 2225795: SE not allowing changing material of Part if part file is modified outside.
PR 6953840: Update Links is not updating.
PR 6936068: Solid Edge crashes when highlighting in a section view
PR 1960814: Added compatibility for NX 9.0 and SE ST6
PR 2228413: Solid Works bulk migration not working
Note: SolidWorks Data Migration users require a separate maintenance pack to take advantage of features
provided by ST 6 MP3. The SolidWorks Data Migration tool can be downloaded from:

https://download.industrysoftware.au...on/SolidWorks/

Draft
PR 1957933: Selecting callout saved setting after smart select results in crash
PR 6950656: Changing a dimension view Values/Formulas/Names is delayed at ASM level
PR 6948493: Incorrect export of Mechanical Symbols from Draft Callouts
PR 1957529: Etch constructions were not shown in a drawing view with assembly features turned off
PR 6937501: Fill not appearing on OLE cut and paste
PR 6954350: crash when smartmouse hovers over bspline
PR 6957060: Shading does not update correctly in ST6, MP2

Part/Profile/Sheet Metal
PR 1956410: Loft Command Extent Options cause Abort in ST6 MP1
PR 6952014: Error creating a 2nd body while IPA; eventually leads to SE crash
PR 6952582: Invalid memory access
PR 1955449: pattern of parts on synchronous holes is wrong
PR 1958269: Paste is very slow
PR 1959828: crash when editing a line
PR 6954491: Mesh dialog is clipped off right side at larger display settings

Insight
PR 6840744: Where Used does not find DFT file
PR 6880776: Insight: FOP members are not listed as linked files in the LCA process.
PR 1933721: "Free Text" search problem with option "Search for results in subfolders"

Solid Edge SP, Server, Standalone Client, Solid Edge Client
PR 6906056: Leftover transaction- LHS column values are incorrect after retrieving the data
PR 6866436: WF on Project, ECO, and ECR fail if traverse on and link that does not exist
PR 6868521: ECO reports Review, Approve, and Released columns not populated
PR 6907884: Checked out part is released on executing non traverse workflow.
PR 6950567: Quick Links > Select part numbering, select other link, error message displayed
PR 1951059: On server with South African locale format COTS workflows are not installed
PR 6940204: Add 2 SESP Unacceptably slow during dry run
PR 6942477: Send email in Else branch causes error in workflow
PR 6943605: Add 2 SESP fails by writing invalid GUIDs, causing numerous other failures in SE
PR 6951800: "Improve SE Draft Handling in 'Open In Viewer' Cmd" to be back ported in ST6 MP
PR 6957972: Performance issues when Property Synchronize preferences = FALSE
PR 6958580: The geometric version for some files has somehow been overwritten
PR 6948224: Unable to import the new file if file is under the related document node
PR 1952968: Slow memory growth/leak on multiple open close operations
PR 2228315: Unable to view data with special user account
PR 6932685: Can't access objects created by a login that was removed from site collection
PR 6957334: Rev.Title and Rev.Desc values not updated in Revise action
PR 6957919: First Cart created is placed outside the host username folder
PR 6959718: SE SP-EC: Where Used do not work after Revise action
PR 6963498: SESP Structure Editor: Revise action on part sets Revise action on its assembly
PR 6963529: Checked out part: WF of partial enforce rule, Rev Status remains In Progress

Solid Edge Embedded Client
PR 6935232: Perform Restart- File menus are accessible & busy cursor is not shown to user
PR 6905419: While working on leftover transaction, user cannot edit the retrieved data
PR 6909705: Wrong Item ID is assigned to added draft file for divide part
PR 6933633: User is unable to work on leftover files for this workflow
PR 6936838: Required mapped property is not shown in RHS for fresh .psm import
PR 1957613: Revision field button naming rules does not display valid naming rules
PR 6874493: Opening a large assembly is not honoring File Open settings
PR 6954019: SEEC CPD does not show Smart Codes when preference is true
PR 6955816: LHS and RHS are not correctly locked together
PR 1955168: Not able to Revise Item Revisions with MS Office Datasets
PR 1957254: Problem with building Structures in Solid Edge
PR 6934016: 'New' TC action is set for suspended files while re-importing to TC
PR 6939465: Some mapped properties are not synchronized correctly during ATT
PR 6955907: Structure displayed incorrectly
PR 6955945: DFT files that reference multi 3D files do not pass Doc # to Item ID correctly
PR 6938073: SESE crash changing Regions Rule in current opened assembly
PR 1959260: Save As of an existing Part or Assembly is not possible in German SEST6MP2
PR 6937604: Saving SE asm with NX driven reference destroys the BOM
PR 6937684: Search in Tc Parts Library then D and D does not invoke MultiCAD
PR 6938043: Exiting- Save As-Some mapped properties values are not updated after import
PR 6957439: AtTi crashes while expanding the unmanaged BOM of the Motorcycle demo
PR 6958135: Add to Teamcenter Interactive aborts with shortcut command

Matt Johnson

Application Engineer

Ally PLM Solutions Inc.

GM Toolkit Installation Help

Are you looking for help with installing and/or upgrading "GM-GPDL Supplier Toolkit and Customization Suite"?

Please contact Ally PLM Solutions technical support by email at: support@allyplm.com

Navjot Singh Gill

Application Engineer

Ally PLM Solutions

Tech support number: 513-984-0480 Ex:4

The car of the future is very light, and entirely designed using Solid Edge

Edison 2 designs better with Solid Edge. Sustainable car inventor uses Solid Edge to win $5 million X Prize on the road to production cars. Changes to existing CAD models are made in minutes using Solid Edge’s synchronous technology. Without it, the same changes would take days.  Learn how (Read the story and watch the video)

Try Solid Edge for Free

Elevator maker uses multiple Siemens PLM Software solutions to develop products

Shanghai Edunburgh Elevator Company Ltd (Edunburgh Elevator) takes on manufacturing, sales, research and development, and installation and maintenance of elevators, escalators and car parking equipment.  Recently, Edunburgh faced a variety of product development issues in areas like engineering change management, design analysis, R&D, and collaboration.  In order to deliver quick and accurate quotes in a highly competitive market, Edunburgh sought after 3D computer-aided design software and simulation technology.  In order to fulfill their customer requirements, these technologies would look to exponentially improve their product development processes.

Edunburgh Elevator chose product lifecycle management specialist Siemens PLM Software to address their issues. Solid Edge and FEMAP with NX Nastran were chosen by Mao Zhongwei of Edunburgh Elevator.  Elevators feature sheet metal processing and partial assembly with complex product configurations, product design efficiency factors and a high degree of customization that impact R&D on new products.


Chief engineer of R&D at Edunburgh Elevator Mao Zhongwei is quoted: “For many years, our company has applied 2D CAD software for product design.  Engineers normally start the product design process after receiving customer orders and confirming requirements. Our older designers are generally accustomed to using 2D CAD. While it is possible to handle a small quantity of orders using 2D software to draft product drawings, the downside of using 2D software becomes increasingly apparent as the workload grows. To make even the smallest alteration to a design, such as changing a dimension from 2 to 3 millimeters, sometimes we had to go back to the very beginning for redrafting. Plus, when designing a new part, the impact of a change on a design could not be readily understood. Designers would have to build a physical prototype first and then change the design based on the prototype. Then they would make another physical prototype for verification. This repetitious process led to a long design cycle."

Zhongwei went on to say that "Without a uniform 3D design platform, it was common for engineers to have difficulty communicating with each other, especially because they used diverse design platforms. As a result, our prior process sometimes seriously delayed order delivery.  The unique capabilities of synchronous modeling helped us cut two months off the new product R&D cycle, from 1 year to about 10 months, this significant improvement in product development efficiency has given our engineers greater freedom to explore innovative design ideas and improve product quality, and we are seeing the results. The use of Femap with NX Nastran clearly improves design verification. Compared with our prior approach, when design verification was conducted using physical prototypes, we can now evaluate a virtual assembly and immediately conduct program evaluation and design optimization. This has reduced costs and material waste by 18 percent.”

Information director at Edunburgh Elevator, Wang Ke states: “The R&D challenges we faced continued to grow, making it apparent to management that 2D CAD software could no longer meet our design requirements, nor could 2D serve to effectively facilitate engineering innovation. We urgently needed to upgrade to a common 3D design platform to bring about a meaningful and compelling product development process transformation. Considering our needs and Siemens PLM Software’s reputation for outstanding design, engineering and manufacturing software, we chose Solid Edge with its powerful synchronous technology capabilities and Femap with NX Nastran for early and effective simulation and analysis."

Ke also mentioned "Solid Edge is easy to operate and provides exceptional design functionality, especially synchronous technology, which makes it easy to edit design models created using other 3D software systems. Such re-use of previous design models, after simply changing certain parametric information, greatly simplifies our design work and notably boosts productivity.  The use of Solid Edge has helped optimize our product design and manufacturing business processes,” says Ke. “Our employees are delivering faster, better results, enabled by smarter decision-making. We have a very positive atmosphere inside the company regarding our technological solutions and business strengths. We are now working with Shark Networking on delivering a quick configuration capability for complex products. We plan to further improve our customer responsiveness, and with this enhancement, we envision a new round of rapid growth.”

Tax Breaks on Software Upgrades and Interest Free Financing

As a business looking to invest in new software and technology upgrades, you might need to make the upgrade sooner rather than later.  Section 179 tax code may allow you to receive deductions on software and technology upgrades.

REGISTER NOW for our webinar on Friday, November 22nd at 10AM EST to learn more.

According to Fox Business, Section 179 may allow a business to expense purchases of their capital assets, creating rules that effectively write off technology upgrades to their filings.  The tax rule can allow software to be written off immediately, which can save you major funds, instead of taking long-term depreciation expenses over time.

Engineering News-Record reports that a new change to the rule may take effect next year, changing the way Section 179 will help.  You may be able to currently deduct the full price of software up to $500,000 from gross income with a $2 million limit, but this aspect of the tax code expires on December 31, 2013.

ENR reports that deductions may look to drop significantly, as low as $25,000 next year.  With this news, now would be the best time for you to invest in your business.  Future tax incentives are unlikely, and according to a news source, from January - June 2013, the value of 14 different types of equipment increased by a collective average of 1.6%.

If you finance a piece of qualifying software with Marlin Equipment Finance, you may be able to deduct the Full Amount of the software (up to $500,000) without paying the full amount this year.  The amount you save in taxes has the potential to be greater than what you pay in the first year of a finance agreement.

Register for the short webinar overview on November 22nd, and learn more about Section 179 and 0% financing.

Stu Sable
Marlin Equipment Finance
856-505-4280
ssable@marlinfinance.com


*Equipment and business industry piece brought to you by Marlin Equipment Finance, leaders in equipment financing. Marlin is a nationwide provider of equipment financing solutions supporting equipment suppliers and manufacturers in the security, food services, healthcare, information technology, office technology and telecommunications sectors.
**Before making any decisions, be sure to consult with your CPA or other qualified advisor.

Achieving Speedy Compliance with Aviation Industry Regulations

Aero Technics Design Ltd. designs better with Solid Edge. Interior aircraft design company creates layouts for aircraft reconfigurations within a single day. One of many keys to success was the ability to enhance design speed and accuracy using simplified parts and assemblies.

For these reasons, the choice of Computer Aided Design (CAD) software used by Aero Technics Design Ltd projects is an extremely important decision. Simon Jeffery, engineering director and head of design at Aero Technics Design Ltd, has worked within the industry for 25 years. When he was involved in setting up the company in April 2004, his design and aviation experience led him to believe that the best software for the job was the Solid Edge® solution from Siemens PLM Software.

“Given the high profile nature of projects that we are involved in, we needed design software that we could truly rely on. It needed to provide our designers with the design functionality and flexibility to handle the broad range of projects we are commissioned to provide, together with the accuracy and ease of use to allow them to work to deadlines with the utmost confidence. This is essentially a 3D task and Solid Edge’s varied features means that we can very quickly assess and adjust the gaps between the elements in the layout. We can view the main elements in 3D but can keep less important areas as 2D cut outs so we can work rapidly. In most cases with Solid Edge we can create the initial suggested layout in line with EASA requirements within a day." says engineering director Simon Jeffrey.  

 "My experience told me that Solid Edge would provide all these things, it may be that the customer has rethought aspects of the layout or wants to add additional elements such as class dividers. Solid Edge gives us the flexibility to make these sorts of changes very rapidly and smoothly. Working with demanding aviation industry customers, we need to ensure the highest levels of speed and accuracy for the projects we work on,” says Jeffery. “Solid Edge, with its 3D design power and versatile features, gives our designers the tools they need to meet customers’ requirements. They can work quickly and effectively knowing they can rely on the software’s accuracy to ensure their designs will comply with EASA regulations.”

Free Trial of Solid Edge

Read the complete case study here

iPad Mini with Retina Display for Solid Edge and NX Training in 2013

Get an iPad Mini with Retina Display with Solid Edge and NX CADTraining for the rest of 2013!

Get an iPad mini with Retina Display with the Ally PLM training sessions below.

Reserve your seat today for one of the following eligible courses in November and December. Training is available at Ally PLM in Cincinnati, OH or Online!  

Solid Edge Training Courses

Solid Edge Fundamentals 

Solid Edge With Synchronous Technology Update 

NX Training Courses

Essentials for NX Designers 

Solid Edge University 2014 - Save The Date

Siemens PLM Software recently announced that Atlanta, Georgia will be the location of Solid Edge University 2014.  From May 12-14th, the Solid Edge user community will once again gather with planners, developers and support engineers to learn more about Solid Edge's capabilities.

Solid Edge University is enjoyable, but it is also an integral part of improving businesses, both large and small.  Some justification for traveling to Atlanta for #SEU14 include:

• You will improve the rate of innovation in your development process, as Solid Edge University provides exposure to new technologies allowing more innovation.
• When you participate in hands-on training sessions on existing and advanced new features inside Solid Edge, it will make you more productive in completing designing projects quicker and with fewer resources.
• They will allow you to provide input on the new product features to improve product quality and reduce manufacturing issues to continue to focus on you as the users' specific needs.  
• You get to network with hundreds of other Solid Edge users from near and far to expand and enhance your partnerships with various customers and suppliers.

Scott Christensen, of Summit Tool Design, says: “I attended the very first National Solid Edge User Group meeting in Chicago in 1997 and also several others in the years that have followed. Even presenting several Hands-On sessions for a couple of years. Every time I attend, I learn and share ways to improve productivity with Solid Edge. A trip to the user group also offers the opportunity to talk directly to the software planners and developers and present workflow problems and make enhancement requests. I’m a small business owner. Time away from the office means lost hours and revenue. The time and dollars invested to meet and learn from the Solid Edge community is easily justified.”

Rick Mason, Director at Masco Design Services states: " I have been earning my living using Solid Edge for 16 years, during which time I have attended several Summit conferences, Beta testing sessions etc. in the US. There is simply nothing like getting together with other dedicated Solid Edge users and meeting with planners, developers and support engineers 'up close & personal' to show them what you are doing with their software, learning how to use it better and putting your point across with regard to improvements which will help you do your job better.  The quality of work I produce today is the best I have ever achieved, largely due to the improvements in Solid Edge that I and other Users have helped to instigate, test & refine. If we sit on our butts and just complain that: a) we don't understand properly how the software works, or b) something is buggy & doesn't work right, or c) the features we really need are missing ... not much will ever improve. If Siemens are willing to host an event to help improve our knowledge & skills and also gather feedback about how we use their product & what needs improving – just try to keep me away!"




Tim Larsen
Marketing Manager
Ally PLM Solutions Inc

NX 9.0 License Manager - Supported Platforms

FlexNet Publisher Version 11.10.1

Windows 32 bit and 64 bit

Windows Server 2008, including SP2and R2

Windows 7-Enterprise, Ultimate

Mac OS  x64 64bit

Mac OS X 10.6, 10.7

Linux x64 64bit

RedHat Enterprise Linux 5, 6

SUSE Linux Enterprise 10, 11

Free NX CAD Trial

Buy Solid Edge, get a second seat free with trade in

Buy one (1) seat of Solid Edge® Classic software or higher, get an additional equivalent or less seat of
Solid Edge for trade-in of one (1) seat of SolidWorks®, Autodesk® Product Design Suite, or Autodesk®
Inventor® software.



• Customer is required to complete and sign the certificate of discontinuance, provided by their
sales agent.
• Only licenses for SolidWorks Standard, SolidWorks Professional and SolidWorks Premium,
Autodesk product design suite, Autodesk Inventor, Autodesk Inventor Professional are eligible for
trade in respectively for Solid Edge Classic and Solid Edge Premium.
• Maximum 5 seats allowed
• Available for purchase only from an authorized Solid Edge reseller
• Solid Edge or competitive monthly subscriptions do not qualify

How To Find NX 8.5 and NX 9.0 Help Documents

If you are having problems locating the NX 8.5 and NX 9.0 Help Documentations, I have provided a solution.

Here is the workflow:

1. Make sure you are currently on Java 7 update 45. If you are not sure about which java version you are on, please visit: www.java.com to find which java update is installed on your machine.  

2. Download the patch from our FTP site: 

https://allyplm.egnyte.com

3. Extract the content of the folder: js,search, xps_tdocext_local ,indel.html

4. Delete the folders/files listed in step 3 from this location C:\Program Files\Siemens\NX 9.0\UGDOC\html_files\nx_help

5. Copy the extracted files mentioned in step 3 in this location C:\Program Files\Siemens\NX 9.0\UGDOC\html_files\nx_help

This workflow has been tested on NX 8.5 and NX 9.0

Navjot Gill
Application Engineer
Ally PLM Solutions Inc

Siemens PLM Community Welcomes Solid Edge Developer Community

Solid Edge has the capabilities to allow for anyone using a rich set of integration tools to automate a simple task. Solid Edge can even fully-embed and integrate a CAM system inside the CAD software!  Siemens PLM Community with Solid Edge Community has been well established, and now, Solid Edge has a developer community!

Jason Newell and Mark Burhop will head the latest community page from Siemens PLM.  Jason Newell's efforts to expand and grow the Solid Edge developer community has been ongoing for eight years now.  He launched his site in 2005, but never really got the opportunity to bring it to the level he wanted.  Jason is extremely pleased to have teamed up with Siemens and Mark Burhop to bring the latest in Solid Edge community interactions.

Jason Newell will be the primary contributor of making this community extremely beneficial for all Solid Edge users and developers.  The Solid Edge Developer community page will include:

- Useful content
- Online documentation
- SEU Developer day events
- Knowledge Base articles
- Q & A

The Solid Edge Developer Forum is now live, along with the Solid Edge Developer Blog, Solid Edge Developer Community, Solid Edge Developer Knowledge Base and Solid Edge Q & A.

Make sure to visit these pages soon and make a contribution to the Siemens PLM Community today!

Tim Larsen
Marketing Manager
Ally PLM Solutions Inc

Indiana State University Receives $9.7M Software Grant for PLM from Siemens

Indiana State University has recently received a grant from Siemens Product Lifecycle Management Software division for $9.7 million recently.  The grant will help ISU students to work together to manufacture and oversee products the way that international companies do with various partners all over the world. 

Indiana State obtained the grant from the globes most widely used digital lifecycle management software company, Siemens PLM, for the Teamcenter portfolio.  Alister McLeod, ISU's assistant professor of applied engineering technology management, wanted to get the grant to use for various courses in the College of Technology like simulated manufacturing company classes.  The students in this class use Siemens software to design, create and send to market their products, emulating what international businesses do with both suppliers and partners worldwide.  Siemens software technology will be utilized in teaching business and engineering students alike about supply chain logistics and product development around the world.  

Siemens portfolio is used by a wide array of business professionals, and students at ISU will gain knowledge about the interdependency that it entails to create a product for the customer.  Different levels like supply chain logistics, business management and manufacturing all play integral roles, and this grant will assist in continuing the education process to students from all different fields.  

“The grant from Siemens PLM Software will allow our students to familiarize themselves with some of the same design and supply chain technology they will use as professionals working with colleagues in businesses around the world,” President Daniel J. Bradley said. “This will provide the sort of hands-on experiential learning that our students and employers expect, and make our graduates ready to contribute from the moment they hit the ground.”

“Siemens PLM Software is pleased to provide this software to Indiana State University so students can leverage the same technology used by leading multi-national manufacturing companies.  It allows them to gain the technical experience needed in a highly competitive job market that requires deep knowledge of advanced manufacturing technologies and processes," said Bill Boswell, senior director, partner strategy for Siemens PLM Software.  

Alister McLeod wants to develop a specific course that will use the new software's multitude of capabilities to instruct the College of Technology scholars all about the business side of product development.  He said. “many companies create products using parts designed by companies that are located around the world, requires all of that information to be properly maintained and updated in a central location.  If students end up working for a large corporation, and they’re working on a multifaceted product, they will have some exposure to a lot of the software systems that the company may use.” 

“This software that Siemens has is part of a larger package of software that companies use to build really complicated products.  The advanced manufacturing program needs something like this to tie the disparate aspects of manufacturing development together,” McLeod said. “If you’re going to think about manufacturing, you also have to think about it from the perspective of a business, and how the business interacts with the outside world. This software platform will act as a skeletal frame for this business concept that I have had for some time now.”

Robert English, interim dean of the College of Technology says: "The College of Technology is investing more in automation programs, which fits a growing need for many different kinds of businesses.  The state of Indiana is strongly dependent on jobs in automation fields for its workforce. Automated processes and procedures are becoming more vital for businesses to be successful in the marketplace, we are investing strongly in areas that will prepare our students ...to fulfill employers’ needs while helping develop new opportunities for companies to be successful.”

Indiana's workforce depends on job growth in automation fields.  SIMCO (simulated manufacturing company) class is one of many classes at ISU that students create and market creations in a business setting to get prepared for post-graduation plans.  The $9.7 million software grant from Siemens PLM Software will provide education to the students in the SIMCO class and others.  

Siemens PLM software products also include Solid Edge, NX and FEMAP.  

Tim Larsen
Ally PLM Solutions Inc
Marketing Manager

Solid Edge ST6 - Maintenance Pack 2 - Now Available For Download

Solid Edge ST6 - Maintenance Pack 2 Announcement:  

The latest Solid Edge ST6 Maintenance Pack (MP2) is now available for download.
You can download the Maintenance Pack at: https://download.industrysoftware.automation.siemens.com/solid_edge/ST6/SolidEdge/
Then choose service/maintenance pack and either 64/32 bit.  

A valid WebKey account is needed to access Maintenance Pack downloads.  To create a WebKey you need your Customer Sold-To ID and your WebKey Access Code, both found under Solid Edge Help, About.  You can create your WebKey account here:https://plmapps.industrysoftware.automation.siemens.com/webkey/

Installing Maintenance Packs is quick and easy. Some known security issues arise with installing any software on Windows 7 OS regarding User Access Control (UAC); these same issues exist when installing MPs.  Windows UAC should be turned off and after unbundling the download run the .exe as administrator by right mouse clicking on the file and selecting Run as Administrator from the quick menu. Most UAC security issues can be avoided by installing Solid Edge to a location on the client machine anywhere other than the default “Program Files” folder.  As long as the user has full write permission to a folder location such as C:\SolidEdge\ these issues should not arise.

Ally PLM encourages all of our customers to stay current with released Maintenance Packs.  Maintenance Packs deliver the most current updates and resolution of PRs to your software platform.  You can find detailed information regarding the PRs that a Maintenance Pack addresses in the “readme” .txt file found with the MP download.

The Ally PLM Technical Support Team is available to answer any questions and provide support for all of your needs; including Maintenance packs.  You can contact the Ally PLM Technical Support Team via email at technical.support@allyplm.com or via phone at (513) 984-0480 Option: 4

Matt Johnson

Application Engineer

Ally PLM Solutions

Installing NX 9 - Changes and Prerequisites

Earlier this month, NX 9 was released.  It is available for download at https://download.industrysoftware.automation.siemens.com/download.php.  You will need your WebKey and password to access the Siemens FTP site.

Prerequisites:

1.      You will need at least SPLM License Server version 6.1.1.  This version is provided in the download/media of the NX 9 installation.  The download of the NX 9 installation would be the zip file from Siemens FTP site.  Media would be the installation DVD.  You can also download the latest version of SPLM License Server, version 6.3.0 from the Siemens ftp site at the link:  https://download.industrysoftware.automation.siemens.com/siemens_plm_licensing/Installs/

2.      The SPLM License server install requires that Java 1.5+ is installed on the system.

3.      NX 9 License file.  You can verify the version of the license file by editing the license file in notepad or an editor.  The header will contain “version:  9”

4.      64 bit Operating System.

Minimum Certified Operating Systems

Windows XP and Vista

Windows XP support from Microsoft is ending and Vista was rarely deployed so these two versions of Windows are not supported by NX 9.  Siemens PLM Software has not performed testing on these versions and cannot resolve any issues related to NX 9 running on these operating systems.  If NX 9 is deployed on these versions of Windows, any issues will have to be replicated on Windows 7 before filing an incident report.

Changes involving the client (where the NX product is installed) machine’s environment variables.

With the NX 9.0 version you are able to run all versions from NX 5.0 to NX 9.0.  For clients with NX 8.5 down to NX 5.0 you will still use the old environment variable.

UGS_LICENSE_SERVER = 28000@<HostName>

Starting with NX 9, there is a new environment variable used on the client to point to the license server. 

SPLM_LICENSE_SERVER = 28000@<HostName>

As stated earlier, older versions will run by using the old environment variable (UGS_LICENSE_SERVER) and NX 9 and versions moving forward will use the new variable (SPLM_LICENSE_SERVER).  Both of these environment variables can exist on one client if you are running multiple versions.

Brandon Carter
Applications Engineer
Ally PLM Solutions Inc