For all those users of CAD and PLM systems looking for a way to better manage project resources, schedules and processes, a collaborative effort between SolidWorks and Clarizen promises a solution.
Clarizen, which offers a hosted project management software platform, is working with SolidWorks to build integration between their respective products to address the process collaborative end of the design process, according to Clarizen CEO Avinoam Nowogrodski. While most PLM and CAD systems have collaborative capabilities for managing design content and the bill of materials, they lack tools for understanding the status of where you are in the course of a project vs. where you want to be. Many PLM and CAD users work with Microsoft Project, but that is a separate system with a separate interface, Nowogrodski contends, and it’s also limited to managing and tracking project plans, not executing projects.
In contrast, the integration between SolidWorks and Clarizen allows design engineers to easily attach a CAD drawing to their project tasks for collaboration with their team member, customer or supplier to create new project tasks or update the status of their tasks directly from within their SolidWorks system. As a result, engineers can facilitate the execution of their projects and can ensure that nothing gets overlooked as they work on multiple projects simultaneously.
Clarizen opted to align its product with SolidWorks because they both appeal to engineers in mid-size and smaller companies. Also, some of the other CAD companies, including PTC and Siemens PLM Software now offer project management modules as part of their broader PLM suites.
Almost every automaker has had to 'pick a side' when it comes to alternative fuel options and ways to divest from a reliance on gasoline. Fiat is looking to back compressed natural gas or liquid propane as an interim solution.
Plastic may not be the most beloved of materials to the more environmentally minded, but Plasti 2012 aimed to mold a different opinion of the material in people's minds.
The rare earth element market has become steadily more rational, and new sources coming online will continue to reduce costs. Still, it is unlikely that prices will drop to their former lows.
Against a backdrop of mounting product complexity and a need to keep a lid on development costs, companies are recognizing a need to make simulation a more integral part of the design process. In response, vendors in the CAD world are building out CAE functionality as part of their CAD suites while simulation vendors are building tighter integrations to leading CAD tools. Keith Meintjes, Ph.D., Practice Manager, Simulation and Analysis at CIMdata, Inc., joins Design News CAD Editor Beth Stackpole in this radio program to explore the new face of integrated CAD and CAE, how companies are benefitting from this tighter partnership between platforms, and how integrating CAE earlier in the development cycle pays off in optimized product designs.
To save this item to your list of favorite Design News content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
8 
