Siemens releases Solid Edge ST3
Siemens PLM Software, a business unit of the Siemens Industry Automation Division and a provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) software and services, has announced Solid Edge software ST3.
With this latest release, Solid Edge delivers new functionality – enabled by synchronous technology – that significantly accelerates product design, streamlines revisions, and makes importing and reusing third-party CAD data easier.
The new release also includes a variety of enhancements related to simulation, design data management, and more than a thousand customer-driven improvements.
“We believe Solid Edge ST3 marks a major milestone in advancing the technology while still catering to customers’ specific needs,” Dr Ken Versprille, PLM Research Director, CPDA, said.
“Synchronous technology has the capacity to perform a wide variety of design tasks in a fraction of the time it takes with a traditional approach.
“This could provide engineers with more time for creativity and innovation, resulting in better product designs produced faster.”
Siemens PLM Software has extended the availability of synchronous technology by making it pervasive throughout the product.
In addition to support for part modelling and sheet metal design delivered in earlier versions, synchronous-based models can now be used directly with all assembly applications – such as piping, frames, wiring, and assembly features.
Also delivered is a first-ever synchronous-based part-to-part associativity that lets users establish and alter design intent before, during or after the assembly design process.
Solid Edge ST3 also provides a capability to work with both synchronous and non-synchronous (ordered) features in the same integrated design environment.
Users can leverage synchronous features for accelerated design and flexible edits while adding ordered features for designing process-type parts, such as cast or machined parts.
Ordered features in existing models can be selectively moved to the synchronous environment, providing designers with maximum flexibility and ease of use.
As more companies move from other 3D systems to Solid Edge to take advantage of synchronous technology, the new capability to merge 2D drawings with existing 3D models further expands opportunities for productivity.
Manufacturing dimensions on 2D drawings can now be automatically transferred to the corresponding imported 3D model.
The resulting “as-manufactured” 3D dimensions can be immediately edited, modifying the imported 3D model using synchronous technology.
Building on its integrated simulation application, Solid Edge ST3 includes new torque and bearing loads, user defined constraints and new ways to connect assemblies such as bolt and sheet metal edge connectors.
Faster results can be achieved with model simplification tools and better visualisation capabilities that allow you to see inside the model.
Refinements can be made using synchronous technology or ordered methods.
Solid Edge allows design validation of parts and assemblies earlier in the product development process for quicker time to market and reduced physical prototyping costs.
Delivering thousands of customer-driven improvements, Solid Edge ST3 provides even stronger business value throughout the product development process.
New functionality was added in a wide variety of areas, including sheet metal, piping and frame design, assembly management, and drafting.
Advances in sheet metal include new closed corner types, etching of part numbers and other geometry, and manufacturing-only features, such as tabs added for production or transportation purposes.
Solid Edge offers the ability to embed all manufacturing dimensions and annotations, including item numbers, in the assembly, and even carry part colors through as line styles in the drawing.
New multi-cultural drawings allow mixing of character sets from multiple languages on a single drawing or even in a single annotation.
The streamlined user interface includes a fully customisable radial menu, drastically reducing mouse travel.
Transparent feature and part management dialogues and reduced-size command interaction dialogs provide maximum graphics workspace area.