solidworks pdm

It's a valid question and one that Nick posed when talking about SOLIDWORKS PDM 2023. But Jeff's back for another episode because who else would be the guest for a SOLIDWORKS PDM 2023 discussion? Find out which enhancement neither of us originally included in our top 5 enhancements but is probably the best one of the entire bunch!

Be sure to check out Nick's What's New in SOLIDWORKS 2023 blog that he referenced throughout the show.

Happy Holidays!

Does CADCAST have a 5-Timer club like SNL? If it does, we've got our first member of the club! Jeff Sweeney joins the podcast once again to go through his top enhancements for the latest release of SOLIDWORKS PDM. He starts off by telling me about my biggest omission for my what's new list and then we talk about some other enhancements that we think will have a huge benefit to PDM users.

No, I don't have any news to share with all of you, but I do have some information! People always want to talk about how they can prepare for a SOLIDWORKS PDM implementation. When should they have their servers ready? What should they be doing with their data? All good questions, so I dove into those topics and more last week on my Innovation3D presentation about preparing for your SOLIDWORKS PDM Implementation.

Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast and follow me on Twitter: @NSweeney_InFlow

There are 2 main steps for getting started with SOLIDWORKS PDM. The first is installing and configuring the tool, server side. The second is getting users set up and to buy into the new solution. We're going to talk through that second point. Let's talk through setting up your users, what the installation process is like, and what you can do to get them onboarded faster.

Get in touch with the show and follow me on Twitter: @NSweeney_InFlow

Why? It's a question even a little kid can ask. Well with PDM, every engineer is like a little kid again. "Why do I need a license?" "Why are we using these big workflows?" You get the idea. This week, I tackle 3 common questions I've been getting a lot lately. Today, let's talk about templates, updating assemblies, and workflows.

New servers and getting everything ready for an upgrade is a big deal. Some people get so nervous about it that it almost seems like rocket surgery! This week, I brought Ryan Dally (The Professor) back into the podcast to talk about PDM servers. We talk about Archive servers, Database servers, and go into every detail you could ask for. Let's dig into server recommendations, moving servers, and even what to do if you want to get better connections for remote locations!

Check out the Server Requirements page on SOLIDWORKS to check that you're up to spec!

Don't forget to subscribe to InPOD and be sure to follow me on Twitter: @NSweeney_InFlow

The holiday season is still in full swing, so I've been thinking about fresh baked cookies all week. But have you ever thought about how many cookies everyone that opens the cookie jar is eating? I wondered the same thing and then wondered how many files people are downloading from my PDM Vault and then what they're doing with them (the holidays are lots of fun in my family). Well for the 4th time this year, Jeff Sweeney is joining InPOD to talk with my about file security. We talk about everything from no security, all the way to the full security of Curtain e-locker. And finally, we talk about the solution right in the middle of those 2 - CacheMeter.

Don't forget to subscribe to InPOD and follow me on Twitter - @NSweeney_InFlow

There's a really cool book out there called "Every Tool's a Hammer" by Adam Savage. While the book isn't necessarily about using a screwdriver as a hammer, I think it is an interesting idea. We want to use tools in a way that's effective and can get the job done, even if that means the wrench next to us is a hammer sometimes. Today, let's do an InFlow review of every tool I've talked about so far. We'll do a quick pros and cons list of SOLIDWORKS PDM, Manage, 3DEXPERIENCE, DriveWorks, and CATIA. 

No system lives in a silo. I've spent time on previous episodes mentioning different ways we can talk with other systems with SOLIDWORKS PDM. This week, I wanted to take a shallow dive into how we would do this using other tools. I talk about DriveWorks and the different integration and Powerpacks that are available. After that, stick around to hear how the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform uses iPaas to send data to and pull data from the platform. This data can live virtually anywhere, which is part of what makes iPaas so cool!

Follow and get in touch with me on Twitter: @NSweeney_InFlow

It's been a while since I took a deep dive into a SOLIDWORKS PDM topic, so I figured I would jump back in with an upgrade discussion. This is probably the topic I cover the most. This week, I'm going to go through why you might upgrade, what that means for your servers, and some of the key points to consider when looking to upgrade.

Follow and get in touch with me on Twitter: @NSweeney_InFlow

Did you know InPOD has a drinking game? Me neither! This week, Jeff Sweeney joins the podcast once again, this time to talk about working with different data sets. We take a look at using the BOM Export in both PDM Standard and Professional, as well as working with XMLs, homemade tools, and even writing a little code. And he gives some insight as to how you can participate in his favorite drinking game!

Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review, as well as tune in each week!

This week, I want to talk about some of my favorite features in SOLIDWORKS PDM. I've been covering them the last few weeks on the InFlow Blog and they are Delete vs Destroy, Branch and Merge, Copy Tree and Move Tree, and Versions vs Revisions.

I'm going to talk about these features from a high level and give you a use case for each one. Now my favorite things will be some of your favorite things in SOLIDWORKS PDM!

Data management is a big topic with the podcast. No matter how you want to manage your data, InFlow Technology has a solution that can fit what you need. But what are those solutions? SOLIDWORKS has so many options, can we just talk about data management from a high level? Well this week, Kurt Lundstedt of Dassault Systemes joins the podcast and we do just that. First, we talk about the start of SOLIDWORKS data management. Later, we talk about the evolution and expansion of data management. And finally, we talk about a survey SOLIDWORKS ran in 2015 about why customers don't have PDM. You don't want to miss it!

Selecting your PDM administrator is a really important part of getting started with SOLIDWORKS PDM. This week, Justin Webster joins the podcast to talk about the different traits and things he's learned throughout years of training administrators. We talk about different options you have and what makes a good admin. Don't forget to like, rate, and subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Last week, I published a blog about PDM Standard that has received great feedback. So this week on the podcast, I wanted to go through some of what I mentioned in the post about how you can save money (and time) with PDM Standard - a free tool. I've gone through PDM Standard vs PDM Professional in the past. And this week, I asked Mike King from the InFlow Solutions team to join us and we go through what we love about PDM Standard, where we see it getting the most use, and why you should look at implementing the tool today.

Don't forget to subscribe and follow us wherever you get your podcasts!

Check out my blog post here: https://www.inflow-tech.com/blog/2020/06/save-money-with-pdm-standard/

Our tools don't exist in silos. There are file creation tools, document management systems, customer relations tools - I could go on and on. Two of the very popular tools that we support at InFlow Technology are SOLIDWORKS PDM and DriveWorks. In this week's episode, we take a dive into the integration between those two tools. We talk about what's new in DriveWorks 18 as far as PDM integration goes. Take advantage of the tools you own and integrate them so they will work together, instead of separately.

It's important to understand how SOLIDWORKS PDM allows you to access your files. Whether that's using the thick client or via another method, understanding the tools at your disposal can be immensely helpful. In this episode, you'll hear about the different licenses in PDM and how you can gain access to your files. We wrap up the episode by talking about getting more out of your PDM system with Web2, some of the benefits of the tool, and what to look for when you're setting it up in your system.

Today, we talk with Jeff Sweeney about his experiences in SOLIDWORKS PDM and his journey to becoming a well-known figure in the PDM space. We start out talking about his first version of SOLIDWORKS and his introduction into the VAR world. Later, we talk about what he sees from his chair as we're doing implementations. And finally, we get into some tragically humorous stories he's heard during his years of supporting SOLIDWORKS and PDM.