SolidWorks PDM Solution for Workgroups or the Enterprise

Adept is a SolidWorks Product Data Management (PDM) Gold Product for workgroups and the enterprise. Adept PDM for SolidWorks helps streamline engineering change processes, improve document control, and reduce overall time to market. Adept delivers unparalleled integration with SolidWorks for companies with a single or multi-CAD environment. Adept addresses the unique requirements of SolidWorks users in the following ways:

Find and Re-Use Existing Design Data – Adept’s full text and structured metadata searching allows CAD users to quickly find and re-use existing design data. Adept allows SolidWorks users to quickly and easily copy and rename complete designs, including all related files. Learn more

Property Linking – Summary, custom, and configuration specific properties are automatically extracted into Adept, eliminating manual data entry and ensuring this information can be leveraged when searching for files or generating reports. Because this link is bi-directional, authorized users can update one or many SolidWorks properties from within Adept in single document or batch document mode, without opening the files or having SolidWorks installed on their workstation. Learn more

File Relationship Management – Adept manages and tracks complex relationships between SolidWorks assemblies, assembly configurations, parts, part configurations, derived or split parts, common parts (Toolbox), in-context parts and drawings. As SolidWorks files are checked out, revised, routed, copied, moved, or renamed, Adept ensures all file relationships remain intact. Adept displays these file relationships in a tree structure so users can see “where-used” and “composed of” information easily and quickly determine the impact of any changes to a design. Learn more

Application Integration – Many of Adept’s features and capabilities are accessible to users from within SolidWork, helping SolidWorks users be more efficient while ensuring effective document management. Adept’s Gold Certified integrations ensures proper version control and enables secure, collaborative design.

The Adept Task Pane
An Adept Task Pane inside the SolidWorks application gives users the ability to Search, Sign In/Sign Out, Open, Insert and Replace Components, and see status information about parts, assemblies, drawings – without ever leaving SolidWorks.

Users can perform all of these tasks from the SolidWorks Task Pane:

• Search by metadata or browse through an Explorer-like tree structure to find files using any combination of metadata fields tracked in Adept
• Access files in an Adept work area
• Check the status of files (In/Out/On Hold)
• Drag and drop files from any Search Results listing into SolidWorks’ graphics window
• Open or insert a file with options for copy out, sign out, or read-only access
• Select a specific configuration for the selected file
• View and edit the selected file’s associated Adept data fields via the Adept Library Card
• View thumbnail and parent-child relationships (references) for the selected file

The Adept Relationship Tree
In addition to the integrated task pane, there is an Adept relationship tree inside of SolidWorks that mimics the SolidWorks FeatureManager design tree. In this relationship tree, different icons are displayed next to the file name that show the current status of that file in Adept. When you hover over a file name, a tooltip displays information about that file, for example, file name, Adept status, Library or owner. Users can also sign out a file by checking the box next to the file name and selecting the Sign Out button .

Advanced Version Control - Version control is of critical importance, preventing CAD users from working on an incorrect version, and preventing the wrong version from making it to the shop floor, purchasing, or a building contractor. Adept’s version control capabilities go deeper for CAD users when file relationships are used. When files with “parent/ child” relationships are revised, Adept ensures related files are linked to the correct version of the revised file. You can configure Adept so that a parent file will always reference the latest version of a child, or so that it will remain fixed on the original version when appropriate. Learn more

In some CAD environments, it is important to track not only “major” versions, but also “minor” versions. Minor versions are a series of edits that may occur by multiple users prior to the file’s final approval. By tracking minor versions, you have the flexibility of prototyping multiple versions of a design prior to checking one in to replace the original file.

Bill of Material Automation - Adept allows users to automate the creation of an Excel-based Bill of Material from within Adept. Users have several configuration options, can output in either indented or flat formats, and can save settings for future use. SolidWorks users benefit from Adept's ability to track quantities of parts and assemblies. In calculating quantities, Adept considers the Bill of Material status assigned within the CAD application (e.g.: suppressed, excluded from BOM, BOM structure of Reference, etc.). SolidWorks users can also choose to output configuration specific information. Learn more

Visualization – Each license of Adept includes and is tightly integrated with Oracle’s AutoVue enterprise visualization software, the premier solution for viewing, markup, compare and collaboration. Adept provides native support for viewing of SolidWorks 2D and 3D files, and also provides support for other 3D CAD parts and assemblies, 2D CAD drawings, scanned and raster documents, office documents, and EDA PCB/IC layouts and schematics. Learn more

A summary of Adept PDM for SolidWorks

• Easy, automated part, assembly, drawing version control
• Built-in relationship management for parts, assemblies, drawings, and configurations as they are revised, copied, moved or renamed
• Bi-directional property linking of summary, custom and configuration specific properties with Adept to ensure accurate information and eliminate manual data entry
• Seamless integration inside SolidWorks to help designers be more efficient while ensuring proper version control and enabling secure, collaborative design
• Ability to automate the creation of bills of material
• Built-in enterprise visualization software enables view, print and markup of native SolidWorks 2D and 3D files along with up to 450 additional formats