eDrawings Soon To Be Available For Solid Edge
[ Back ]   [ More News ]   [ Home ]
eDrawings Soon To Be Available For Solid Edge

eDrawings Soon To Be Available For Solid Edge

Geometric Software Solutions, a leader in product lifecycle management (PLM) services and technologies, has announced that it will extend the support of eDrawings to Solid Edge software. This announcement is made in concert with Geometric joining the Solid Edge Voyager Partner program. eDrawings for Solid Edge will be available through Geometric's worldwide reseller channel spanning 25 countries, and via the company's web site at www.geometricsoftware.com. The product is planned for launch in the first quarter of 2005. Currently, eDrawings communication software supports AutoCAD, CATIA V5, UG 17, 18 and NX, Autodesk Inventor, Pro/ENGINEER, Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire, and SolidWorks software.

eDrawings is the first email-enabled communication tool that enables the sharing of 2D and 3D CAD data. Unlike CAD files, eDrawings files are compact and easy to email. Typically, an eDrawings file is 95% smaller than the original CAD file. Unlike other formats such as PDF and TIF, eDrawings is highly interactive, allowing recipients to work on their designs in 3D.

With the eDrawings Professional version, users can: "eDrawings is rapidly becoming the standard for 3D communication and collaboration," said Pramod Rao, business head for visualization and collaboration products with Geometric. "To date, eDrawings supports all major CAD platforms and the product's recent availability for Solid Edge further demonstrates eDrawings' leadership in the 3D communication and viewing market. Solid Edge users can now reap the benefit from eDrawings' easy to use 3D communication capabilities."

"We are pleased that Geometric has recognized Solid Edge as among the elite products in the CAD industry," said Mark Davies, manager of the Solid Edge Voyager Program. "eDrawings will nicely complement Solid Edge's already strong series of collaborative solutions for designers and will help to further expedite communication throughout organizations and their supply chain. By extending their support for eDrawings to Solid Edge and joining the Solid Edge Voyager Program, Geometric offers the Solid Edge community another solution to address communication issues."

Geometric provides product lifecycle management (PLM) services and technologies to the global mechanical design, manufacturing, and industrial markets. Partnerships with major PLM vendors include Dassault Systemes, UGS, and MatrixOne. Geometric offers services based on SolidWorks, CATIA, ENOVIA, DELMIA, eMatrix, Teamcenter, Windchill, NX, and other leading CAD/CAM/CAE/PDM software platforms.

As far as I know, eDrawings was the first email-enabled communication tool for sharing 2D and 3D product design data. And, unlike file formats such as PDF and TIF, eDrawings lets recipients view 3D design data.

eDrawings is a unique product design communication/collaboration tool for sharing accurate representations of both 2D drawings and 3D models. The data format of eDrawings files is highly compressed for transmission via email. When viewed with the eDrawings Viewer, these files provide tools, such as the3D Pointer, Virtual Folding, Animated Drawing Views, etc., that help recipients understand and navigate the data they receive. eDrawings files are created through the eDrawings Publisher add-in, which works as a plug-in to several CAD products mentioned above. Once created, an eDrawings file can be sent to anyone via email. The viewer can be embedded directly in an eDrawings file, so these files can be viewed by anyone using the Windows operating system. Nothing additional is required, although you will need a supported CAD application in order to publish eDrawings files directly inside these applications.

eDrawings Professional is an extension of the eDrawings Viewer that includes markup and measure capabilities, as well as the ability to publish eDrawings files as review-enabled. Publishing a review-enabled eDrawings file is analogous to embedding a markup pen in a document. Recipients are able to view, markup, and measure eDrawings files using the free eDrawings Viewer. eDrawings Professional also includes advanced viewing capabilities such as dynamic component translation and dynamic cross section views.

A nice convenience feature of eDrawings is the fact that you don't have to install the eDrawings Viewer to markup a review-enabled eDrawings file. If a review-enabled eDrawings file is sent in either executable (.exe), masked executable (.ex) or HTML (.htm) format, the recipient isn't required to install eDrawings Viewer to mark up the file. Also, you can prevent an eDrawings file recipient from using the measure feature and protect your design data by disabling the measure capability when you create an eDrawings file.

Although eDrawings Professional is an add-on for the PLM products mentioned above, now about to include Solid Edge, it comes standard and embedded in SolidWorks Office and Office Professional. I've actually had quite a bit of experience the past few years with both the free eDrawings Viewer and eDrawings Professional, and can say that they both work well and as advertised.


Jeffrey Rowe is the editor and publisher of MCADCafé and MCAD Weekly Review. He can be reached here or 408.850.9230.


This Week

 Top Stories Product and Company News Related MCAD News Corporate Moves Upcoming Events