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