Introduction to Solid Edge and Synchronous Technology
Interview with Dan Staples on the progress of history and
progress of Synchronous Technology, Solid Edge, and its role among
Siemens PLM products
By
Ralph Grabowski, Jan 30, 2012
 Solid
Edge was once called "the best MCAD program you won't buy1," and
so CADdigest is putting together a series of articles and reviews
about Solid Edge. To start, Ralph Grabowski
interviewed Dan Staples, director of Solid Edge product development
at Siemens PLM Software. He is better known as the "father of
Synchronous Technology," and has been with the software since its
birth on Jupiter Island. That was where Intergraph in the early
1990s formulated its plans to start developing object-oriented CAD
software.
(The results of the planning meetings were
SmartSketch [a.k.a. Imagineer] for general 2D drafting, SmartPlant
for 3D plant design, and Solid Edge for 3D MCAD design. Later,
Intergraph decided to concentrate on plant design, and so sold Solid
Edge to UGS. At UGS, Solid Edge became the mid-range CAD system
competing against SolidWorks first, and Inventor later. UGS was
subsequently purchased by Siemens AG, and renamed Siemens PLM
Software. NX is the high-end system that competes against CATIA and
Pro/Engineer.)
We asked Mr. Staples to begin by giving us an
overview of Synchronous Technology, the company's combination of
direct and parametric modeling.
State of Synchronous Technology
He said that they looked at history-based and
history-free modeling, and noted that there were good and bad points
in both. Synchronous Technology (ST) was designed to take the best
of both. On the one hand, it has feature-based and dimension-driven
modeling from history-based design systems, and the other hand it
has direct, intuitive, snappy editing from direct modeling.
Siemens PLM Software launched synchronous technology
in 2008 for Solid Edge and NX. it was brand new technology that no
one had ever done before. But it needed time to reach into every
area of design. "It was a progression that took time in building up
functions from that initial release," he told us. "For instance, ST
didn't do sheet metal until its second release; history makes very
little sense in editing sheet metal tabs and flanges. Using ST is
much more productive and intuitive than doing sheet metal in a
history-based system."
For the first two releases of ST, users had to
choose whether new models were history-based or synchronous. (It’s
not correct to equate history-based modeling with parametric.
Synchronous is in fact parametric, using driven dimension,
equations, and so on.) ST3 integrated history-based (called
“ordered” in Solid Edge) with Synchronous; users could now mix the
two, and store the result in the same file.
ST4 was released last summer, and by localizing
operations it improved performance. ST is fast because no history
tree has to be recomputed; it uses live rules to determine what is
co-planar, concentric, and so on.
ST5 is due to be shown at
Solid Edge University in
Nashville, Tennesse, this coming June, and then released in July. It
optimizes more specific geometric cases, along with other
enhancements that we can’t reveal until later.
Beyond ST5, there are still some areas Siemens PLM
Software would like to tackle. Swoopy industrial design and some
really complex models are some of the design areas that still need
to use a mix of ordered and synchronous. The company now updates the
software annually, each June or July.
Mr. Staples summed up: "Synchronous technology keeps
you from having to strategize for CAD; simply design."
Q&A Q: Synchronous
Technology is developed by Siemens PLM Software. Is it used in Solid
Edge and NX equally?
A: There is a core group of synchronous technology developers for
both CAD programs. However, we choose different ways of implementing
the details. There is some overlap in ST functions between the two,
but no overlap in many areas.
Q: Do Solid Edge and NX have separate customer
bases? Or do you use Solid Edge to feed customers to the more
expensive NX?
A: It's largely two separate customer bases, with some overlap --
like SolidWorks and CATIA. Prospects tend to self-qualify by being
interested in one or the other, and usually not both.
Q: Do you find this true for CAD in general? Or
does Siemens PLM Software help push customers in a particular
direction?
A: People sort of understand brands innately, as along as the CAD
vendor has some sort of voice in the market. For instance, when you
think aerospace, the first CAD systems you think of are NX or CATIA.
In the same way, we hope customers think of Solid Edge when they
think of machinery design. Most of our customers are still in
machinery design, with some in consumer products design.
Q: Does Solid Edge have a third-party developer
program?
A: It has always had one, but we didn't promote it until recently.
Last summer, we made Mark Burhop manager of the Solid Edge
ecosystem. Solid Edge has an open API [application programming
interface]. Developers can join at no cost, and they get Solid Edge
seats free for development. A couple of years ago, we counted over
250 developers, and new applications for our program in 2011 were up
over 40%.
Q: Is most of the development in-house or
third-party? By in-house, I mean corporations customizing Solid Edge
for their own purposes; by third-party, those who sell their
add-ons.
A: The 250 are third parties. I can't tell who might use it
in-house, because every customer can do that due to the open API.
Q: Two trends in CAD right now are the cloud and
portable devices. What is Siemens PLM Software doing in these areas?
A: I am not speaking about NX or Teamcenter, just about Solid Edge.
The benefits of the cloud to end users -- such as lower
administration costs -- are interesting, and we want to focus on
benefits. We have not seen a huge demand from users, but will
continue to watch this and deliver what our users want.
As for mobile, I am not certain where modeling
technology will be five years from now. For now, viewing has largely
gone to mobile devices, but I can't see 24/7 modeling on a 7"
screen.
[Director of public relations for Americas Branco
Liu stepped in to note that Teamcenter Mobility is available for
iPad devices.]
Q: A major change for you was the
reduced-function, low-cost version of Solid Edge for Local Motors
members. Do you have plans to expand the offering to beyond Local
Motors?
A: I have nothing to announce.
Q: Is Solid Edge as capable as anything else in
the market?
A: In specific markets, yes. But we don’t target production
auto body design, for example. But to make a machine that makes
stuff, yes, it doesn’t get any better than Solid Edge.
Q: In this case, does Synchronous Technology give
users an advantage over competitors?
A: Synchronous technology gives huge advantages in speed and
productivity for the markets it addresses. Our traditional strengths
in drafting and sheet metal remain important advantages.
Q: How well does Siemens PLM Software support
your Solid Edge division? Is it better now?
A: I think it is going great. Four years ago, I would not
have given you the same answer. For instance, I grew my development
staff by 15% last year, something that came with the support of
Siemens PLM Software to run Solid Edge like a business.
Q: How many seats does Solid Edge have?
A: As a business unit, we are not allowed to share seat
numbers or revenue numbers.
Q: Who is your biggest competitor?
A: SolidWorks has the largest market share. They have a large
marketing budget and have done a good job in that category, and so
they are more well-known. However, when we compete with them
head-to-head, we can win on functionality, ease of use, and quality.
As we continue to expand our install base and spread the word about
the power of synchronous technology, we are confident we will
continue to take market share from our competitors.
1Solid
Edge-- the Best MCAD Program You Won't Buy - Roopinder Tara, CAD
Insider, June 2, 2006
For More Information
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Ralph Grabowski is the owner of upFront.eZine Publishing
and hosts the WorldCAD Access blog. He has written over 100
books and several hundred magazine articles about CAD. He
has served as technical editor for Cadalyst magazine, and
has been a columnist for CADENCE and AutoCAD World. Ralph
holds a civil engineering degree from the University of
British Columbia. He was awarded "Best CAD/AEC/PLM Editor"
by Strategic Research in 2005, and received the CAD
Society's "Community Award" in 2002. Complete
bio on upFront.eZine |
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