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(continued...) A number of utilities have been grouped into Solid Edge Accessories.
These include the viewer that now includes the option to view file properties, show and hide parts and measure linear distances, Revision Manager, Find Files and Where Used tools.
Custom reports can also be generated listing parts and sub-assemblies contained in an assembly.
Since a recent Dataquest survey concluded that 52% of industrial machinery design is carried out in 2D, it is understandable that Unigraphics Solutions have included tools to bring in 2D data in DWG, DXF, DGN or IGES formats.
3D IGES translation tools have been combined into a single wizard to offer improved control.
Interoperability between Unigraphics and Solid Edge is improved.
V9 can open Unigraphics assembly files using their existing directory structure while Solid Edge can save a Unigraphics bookmark file that generates a simplified definition of the assembly structure that can be read by Unigraphics 17.
Competition in the desktop modelling market shows no sign of waning.
Enhancements in Version 9 focus largely on assembly performance for machine builders including weld tools and assistance for 2D users ready to migrate to 3D.
Solid Edge is certainly a professional level modeller.
Interoperability with Unigraphics may be a significant factor for some adopters, but for most differentiation between the leading modellers is unlikely to be on features or capabilities so much as personal preference for the look, feel and interface paradigm.
Solid Edge costs £4,995 plus £495 for the Feature Recognizer for importing foreign data and £1,000 for the XpresRoute module.