SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional

Manage all types of product development files using affordable, easy-to-implement SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional product data management solution. The robust file management solution provides the centralized file vaulting capabilities needed to manage and control electronic intellectual property and product design data. With little user overhead and a short learning curve, the system delivers a low total cost of ownership. The intuitive user interface, built right into Windows^® Explorer, is extremely easy to use because there’s no need to learn a separate interface.

File management capabilities include:

Centralized storage with automated vault replication

With SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional, you can create and maintain a single data location and vault that can be accessed by users worldwide to store and retrieve files. In addition to preserving a secure backup of product design data, secure file vaulting enables you to eliminate multiple “silos” of information, duplicate files, and unsynchronized revisions. Through vault replication, you can maintain the convenience of local file access directly from your workstation and only use the network to check-in or check-out files, as needed.

File Reference Management

Managing file references—the links between parts, assemblies, and drawings—is just as important as managing files for preserving the integrity of product development data. The SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional system manages all file references and automatically updates them whenever you move a file to a different folder or rename it, eliminating broken references or the time required to locate and fix lost references manually.

Focus on innovative product development by managing design revisions more effectively with SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional software. Track changes, maintain a complete revision history of a design’s evolution, and avoid the errors of manual approaches. SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional revision management tools include:

Revision Control

• Ensure the revision process stays organized by electronically configuring your revision management scheme.

• Match your current process, or establish a new method

• Apply company-defined standards for revision properties to files, automatically and systematically using unique combinations of numbers, letters, or special characters to drive title block and bill of materials (BOM) information

• Control file access by revision level so that users can’t access out-of-date revisions or release them to manufacturing

Automated File Versioning

• Easy-to-use tools enable management of disk space and user access while ensuring important files aren’t overwritten or deleted.

• Automatically creates a completely new version each time a document is checked into the vault

• Control user access to previous versions or permit users to load previous versions on-demand while working in SOLIDWORKS

• Schedule automatic archiving of old versions to free up disk space and limit access

• Apply unique version comments to files to explain specific changes made in each version

Electronic Approvals

• Take advantage of electronic approvals to update revisions even when the approval comes from someone who doesn’t have or use SOLIDWORKS.

• Update SolidWorks files without opening them in SOLIDWORKS or even having SOLIDWORKS installed on your computer

• Execute document approvals and update title blocks by non-CAD users, like managers and project leaders

Efficiently and accurately maintain bill of materials (BOM) information with the BOM management solutions in SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional software. Traditional maintenance of BOM information using standard spreadsheet tools is inefficient and error-prone with no direct link to the CAD data. The SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional system offers a range of tools for making BOM information management more efficient, enabling you to export BOM data in multiple ways to use in downstream applications and systems, and giving non-CAD users access to BOM data.

BOM Editing, Comparing, and Routing

Create individual BOM objects from existing CAD file structures that automatically update in parallel with the evolution of the CAD model, eliminating the frequent manual updates required when using spreadsheets. This provides the flexibility for your organization to utilize BOM data in the most productive way.

• Edit synchronized, versioned BOM objects

• Compare BOM objects to previous versions or the source CAD structure

• Route BOM objects through workflows for approvals

BOM Export to ERP/MRP Systems

Connect your CAD data with your ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) or MRP (Manufacturing Resource Planning) systems, enabling you to easily update BOM information in other businesses enterprise systems

Customized BOM Templates

Use customizable templates to display BOM information in multiple formats, to format BOM information to meet the needs of a particular user or group.

Drive collaboration throughout your organization, whether it’s in just one place or around the world. SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional provides the tools and capabilities that your enterprise needs to keep people connected, up to date, and working on the same set of data, regardless of their location. This global connectivity supports the distributed collaboration that is essential for compressing engineering cycles and accelerating time-to-market.

Organizations with multiple locations—either domestically or internationally—can use SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional to manage distributed collaboration through:

Centralized Storage with Automated Vault Replication

Create and maintain a single data location and vault that can be accessed by users worldwide to store and retrieve files. In addition to preserving a secure backup of product design data, secure file vaulting eliminates multiple “silos” of information, duplicate files, and unsynchronized revisions. Maintain the convenience of local access to files directly from your workstation, and only use the network to check-in or check-out files as needed. Vault replication provides users access to files that are stored on local servers so they can be accessed via a local area network (LAN) instead of over a wide area network (WAN).

Automatic Notifications

Configure the SolidWorks PDM Professional system to automatically notify users when documents have progressed through various states or stages in the electronic workflow you establish. Users can configure their own automatic notifications to be triggered by events, such as when a file is checked in or added to a certain location. Users can be alerted automatically when a file remains in a workflow state longer than a specified time, which helps avoid potential project delays.

Automated Neutral File Creation

• Automatically create many types of neutral file formats from SolidWorks files, including:

• SolidWorks eDrawings® files and PDFs for redlining and quoting

• Common 2D and 3D formats for CNC machining

• SOLIDWORKS Composer files for supporting technical publications

Create neutral files either on demand or automatically via workflow actions. Link neutral files to source files, as well as copy attribute information from the source file, retaining important information like part numbers and material specifications.

The SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional system helps companies in regulated fields (like medical device development) comply with government regulatory requirements or industry standards for controlled development processes and product documentation by increasing operational efficiency, ensuring regulations are met,and generating the information needed to demonstrate compliance.

SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional takes just weeks to implement—not the months needed by other systems—to improve both processes and documentation performance. Its high user acceptance and low total cost of ownership enable compliance efforts to be improved quickly and affordably, providing a rapid return on your investment.

Regulatory Examples

SOLIDWORKS EPDM can bolster compliance with the following regulatory requirements:

• United States FDA (Food and Drug Administration) 21 CFR Part 11

  • Manage all FDA-related documents electronically

  • Get quick access to standard operating procedure (SOP) information using the system’s Advanced Searching tools

  • Access and produce document audit trail and history information, and quickly respond to on-demand compliance and reporting requests

  • Adhere to and enforce double electronic signature security requirements

  • Establish a framework that enables you to maintain and control file versions and revisions

• European Union RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances)

  • Track material usage in electronic products

  • Access material usage information quickly

• ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations)

  • Create and maintain a secure data environment

  • Provide granular file access control for users and groups

• Quality Management Systems (ISO 9001, TS 16949, ANSI, ISO 14000)

  • Access to standard operating procedure (SOP) information quickly using the system’s Advanced Searching tools

  • Access and produce document audit trail and history information

  • Establish and maintain consistent business processes using the system’s Electronic Workflow

Save time, control costs, and improve quality through design reuse, using SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional to create a framework for quickly locating and reusing or repurposing existing design data. Instead of spending time trying to find prior designs on shared drives or local workstations—or recreating designs when you can’t find them—you can use SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional tools to locate them quickly. Features include:

Advanced Searching

• Fast, robust search capabilities put the design files at your fingertips.

• Access search tools directly from Windows^® Explorer or any File Open dialog

• Save favorite searches and share them with other users

• Configure search inputs to customize both the search information your company uses and the presentation of results

• Assign search inputs by user or group, enabling different departments to customize their search preferences

• Utilize content search to find text in drawing notes, specification sheets, and even in other formats like Microsoft^® Office and Adobe^® programs

Integrated File Preview

• Convenient preview tools enable quick sorting of existing designs.

• Preview hundreds of file types inside Windows Explorer

• Take advantage of dynamic 3D viewing capabilities based on SOLIDWORKS eDrawings^®

• Connect to third-party viewers and document comparison tools to expand viewing capabilities and compare file versions

File Structure Copy and Rename

• File structure and naming manipulation capabilities enable easier reuse of design data.

• Repurpose existing CAD model structures to account for new “same as, but different” scenarios that utilize existing designs

• Reuse and copy files with new names and/or part numbers

• Assign new part numbers automatically to copied files

• Add drawings to your file structure—even those of lower level components—to avoid the tedious tasks of locating all related drawings and replacing references manually

Significantly reduce the time needed to complete your design approval and engineering change order (ECO) processes with the automated electronic workflow system in SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional software. Automatically expedite the flow of information instead of managing engineering changes through manual or paper-based methods—often so time-consuming that they require full-time staff to coordinate. SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional engineering change management solutions include:

Electronic Workflow and File Routing

Graphically represent the product development process through an easy-to-use flow chart interface. Save time, reduce costs, and tighten security by using an electronic workflow, which eliminates paper-based change packets and delivery requirements.

• Automate file routing to make development and engineering change processes more efficient

• Send email notifications automatically when files change status—from “Design” to “Pending Approval,” for example—to keep everyone up to date

• Establish automatic triggers to launch other processes, including:

  • Bill of material (BOM) export to ERP systems

  • Printing

  • Neutral file creation

  • Custom applications

Electronic Approvals

• Engineering change approvals become completely electronic with SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional.

• Apply electronic signatures, with the option of a secondary password challenge to meet regulatory requirements

• Track the complete history of an approval as well as all the steps that preceded it

• Eliminate the guesswork about where files are in the approval process

• Remove paper from your process

Engineering Change Documents

• Engineering change documentation becomes completely electronic with SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional.

• Create electronic engineering change requests or orders, and quickly and easily associate all affected files

• Add data automatically to documents like Microsoft^® Word and Excel^® files directly from system attributes

• Accelerate data entry and maintain consistency using standardized forms with customized inputs

• Notify other departments electronically (such as Purchasing or Manufacturing) when changes are underway

Securely control access to sensitive or proprietary product information using the easy-to-implement SOLIDWORKSPDM Professional system. With secure file vaulting, user access is tightly managed—even within distributed computing environments—and security risks that arise from using shared network drives are eliminated.

The benefits of secure file vaulting extend beyond individual file security and user access control, including:

• Workflow tracking

• File routing

• Data storage

• Replication

• Data backup

With SOLIDWORKS EPDM, data is kept secure, up to date, and accessible. The system eliminates duplicate work and delays, while saving time and development costs.

Secure Data Access

Easily establish and assign individual and/or group user rights, such as:

• Read-only

• Read-write

• Change authorizations

• Release approvals

Only users with active SOLIDWORKS EPDM usernames and passwords can log into the system. Manage user rights within the vault structure, development workflow, or product lifecycle based on group or geographic location.

Implementing an Active Directory connection allows vault access to be managed through the same username and password used to access Windows®, creating a single set of password requirements, access rights, and expirations.

Electronic Workflow and File Routing

Graphically represent the product development process through an easy-to-use flow chart interface in SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional. Using an electronic workflow eliminates paper-based change packets and delivery requirements, which saves time, reduces costs, and tightens security.

• Automate file routing to make development and engineering change processes more efficient

• Send email notifications automatically when files change status—from “Design” to “Pending Approval,” for example—to keep everyone up to date

• Establish automatic triggers to launch other processes, including:

  • Bill of material (BOM) export to ERP systems

  • Printing

  • Neutral file creation

  • Custom applications

Centralized Storage with Automated Vault Replication

SOLIDWORKS EPDM enables the creation and maintenance of a single data location and vault that can be accessed by users worldwide to store and retrieve files. In addition to preserving a secure backup of product design data, secure file vaulting eliminates multiple “silos” of information, duplicate files, and unsynchronized revisions. Maintain the convenience of local access to files directly from your workstation, and use the network only to check-in or check-out files as needed. Vault replication provides users access to files that are stored on local servers so they can be accessed via a local area network (LAN) instead of over a wide area network (WAN).

Easily connect the design data needs of your entire enterprise, whether for just a few users in a single location or hundreds of contributors working in multiple locations around the world. SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional provides one convenient, vaulted location where colleagues can store and retrieve data. Efficient file storage and retrieval enables millions of files to be managed.

Centralized storage with automated vault replication

Create and maintain a single data location and vault that can be accessed by users worldwide to store and retrieve files. In addition to preserving secure backup of product design data, secure file vaulting enables you to eliminate multiple “silos” of information, duplicate files, and unsynchronized revisions. Maintain the convenience of local access to files directly from your workstation, and only use the network to check-in or check-out files as needed. Vault replication provides users access to files that are stored on local servers so they can be accessed via a local area network (LAN) instead of over a wide area network (WAN).

Flexible Licensing

SOLIDWORKS EPDM flexible licensing options enable you to affordably tailor your configuration to your specific enterprise. Multiple license types ensure that you only pay for the capabilities needed for each user. The concurrent license offering enables users to pull from a pool of licenses no matter where they are geographically located. Third-party collaborators can also access licenses, either through a thick client or via the web. You can easily create multiple vaults that share the same license pool to accommodate multiple business units with different processes and data structures or to support test environments.

Multi-Language Support

SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional multi-language support can drive enterprises that are truly global in scope. The system supports 13 languages so users from all over the world can work in their native language and a single vault can house data in many different languages.

Customization

SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional software includes tools that enable you to configure and customize many aspects of your PDM system to match the specific needs of organizations of all sizes. You can easily configure file attribute display forms, user input forms, and search criteria forms to suit different geographies and languages. You can even connect your SolidWorks EPDM system to other business enterprise systems, such as ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) or MRP (Manufacturing Resource Planning) applications. You can integrate SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional with ERP/MRP systems by using the comprehensive SOLIDWORKS Application Programming Interface (API) or the Data Import and Export function.