What can Solidworks do that Solid Edge can't?

[mike miller]

What significant features does SWX have that SE doesn't? I already know most of the SE benefits and I like it so far.....for the most part. The main thing is- the migration will be painful and I want to know all the "ugly" before we jump in with both feet.

@matt and @bnemec, what are your takes on this? I know you have experience with both...

[mattpeneguy]

Crash?

[jcapriotti]

@mattpeneguy Not true, I've locked up edge several time messing with it trying to use Synctech on complex geometry. Didn't crash I guess but I had to kill it.

[mike miller]

@mattpeneguy Not true, I've locked up edge several time messing with it trying to use Synctech on complex geometry. Didn't crash I guess but I had to kill it.

I have also, but each time it was me trying to do something stupid.

[bnemec]

@mattpeneguy Not true, I've locked up edge several time messing with it trying to use Synctech on complex geometry. Didn't crash I guess but I had to kill it.

Solidworks does that too, it's called "user initiated shutdown" So hanging it better than crashing, then you can blame it on the use for killing the process.

Code: Select all

catch (Exception)
{
   while (1)
}

FIFY

Seriously though, we thought there was a lot but the list is dwindling as we use them.
In our opinion:
1)Configurations are implemented better in Solidworks, but if you're using PDM don't use them to put multiple part numbers in the same file.
2)It feels like SW has better simulation tools, maybe, we think.
3)Solidworks is excellent at blowing past GDI limit of 10k
4)Solidworks ability to leak memory blows Solid Edge out of the water, like an order of magnitude better at it. (but Solid Edge racks up Page Faults if you're worried about that)
5)I like that SW can pretty much use assembly constraints when doing insert part/insert partcopy into another part. In edge one had to do a bunch of move and rotate body.
6)Solidworks can figure out how to display an assembly without needing the stupid .cfg file.
7)Solidworks doesn't need a special file type for sheet metal. To be fair Solid Edge doesn't either, you can use .par, but they just like to keep the .psm because confusion is fun.
8)exploded views might be easier to maintain (update from revisions) than Solid Edge.
9)We are liking Virtual Components, solid edge has no way to add a solid to an assembly, Solidworks solution seems to be nice. A bit worried how bad it will hurt if/when this "feature" bites us though.

That's about all I can come up with right now.

edit: 10) Solidworks can prevent users from using ST.

[jcapriotti]

1)Configurations are implemented better in Solidworks, but if you're using PDM don't use them to put multiple part numbers in the same file.

This one I disagree on, most of our parts/assemblies have multiple part numbers per file. We use configurations everywhere.

[matt]

What significant features does SWX have that SE doesn't? I already know most of the SE benefits and I like it so far.....for the most part. The main thing is- the migration will be painful and I want to know all the "ugly" before we jump in with both feet.

@matt and @bnemec, what are your takes on this? I know you have experience with both...

This is tough because they keep playing feature leap frog. You could spend a lot of time researching this. Also, my use of the software is limited to a couple of areas, so there are niches where I've never clicked.

- Configurations is the big thing, but I'd say Edge has a more stable implementation.
- little things like deviation analysis
- feature tree tricks like flat tree and the dependency arrows (these are mostly to help sort out the deficiencies in history-based modeling)


I think Edge has a couple things works doesn't, too
- Synchronous
- sync sheet metal
- sync assemblies
- direct parametric solids
- design intent on the fly
- subd modeling
- convergent modeling
- generative design
- loft circle to line
- some options for replacing parts in assemblies
- better selection options +/- mode
- simple included file management tool
- design/construction bodies
- active/inactive bodies
- multi lump bodies
- primitives
- detached faces



This is a quick list without spending time in searching through details.

[Ry-guy]

@matt You forgot the ability to make change to mulitple parts at one time- using ST ability to select faces from multiple part files and move/maninulate together.

[matt]

@matt You forgot the ability to make change to mulitple parts at one time- using ST ability to select faces from multiple part files and move/maninulate together.

I should have mentioned it separately, but I was thinking of that as sync assemblies.

[mike miller]

@matt You forgot the ability to make change to mulitple parts at one time- using ST ability to select faces from multiple part files and move/maninulate together.

Hey now! Stop being so positive. I want to hear the negative about SE.

I'd rather know it now by asking than learn it later by accident.

[DaveG]

The last time I worked on animations in SE was 2018 & it was a bit cumbersome, I don't think animations have improved since then (but happy to be corrected). Probably over 10 years since I worked on animations in SW, but they appear to have improved it, it appears to be more user friendly & have more functionality.

It's not a deal breaker for me, I'm very happy with SE. It more than makes up for it with other functionality such as sync & hybrid modelling. For FEA you inherit the NX Nastran Solver, which was able to mesh models for me that SW couldn't.

[Jim Steinmeyer]

Solidworks does that too, it's called "user initiated shutdown" So hanging it better than crashing, then you can blame it on the use for killing the process.

Code: Select all

catch (Exception)
{
   while (1)
}

FIFY


4)Solidworks ability to leak memory blows Solid Edge out of the water, like an order of magnitude better at it. (but Solid Edge racks up Page Faults if you're worried about that)

edit: 10) Solidworks can prevent users from using ST.

Ben, Can you explain this for me?

[bnemec]

Ben, Can you explain this for me?

Um, the first one was in response to
jcapriotti wrote: ↑2021 Jul 09, 11:57 am
@mattpeneguy ... Didn't crash I guess but I had to kill it.
When dealing with SW support and CXPA logs the most common response is that the user closed Solidworks, so technically it wasn't a crash. Even though SW was hung or the "Solidworks is Busy..." window came up with no indication if or when it would return. So instead of letting the program crash and close, it's better to let it hang so the reported issue is not a crash and can be blamed on the user closing Solidworks.

4) memory leak. Just using and watching users run the two systems over the past year and a half on the same models the only conclusion I can come to is that SW has serious memory leak issues above and beyond Solid Edge. So I'm saying it's much better at taking system memory and forgetting where it put it.

10) Solid Edge has a miraculous functionality call Synchronous Technology and unless every user has a complete understanding of how to use it there is a good possibility that there will be strange changes to parts that were not part of the expected revision. Solidworks solves this problem by not having ST.

[mike miller]

Um, the first one was in response to
jcapriotti wrote: ↑2021 Jul 09, 11:57 am
@mattpeneguy ... Didn't crash I guess but I had to kill it.
When dealing with SW support and CXPA logs the most common response is that the user closed Solidworks, so technically it wasn't a crash. Even though SW was hung or the "Solidworks is Busy..." window came up with no indication if or when it would return. So instead of letting the program crash and close, it's better to let it hang so the reported issue is not a crash and can be blamed on the user closing Solidworks.

4) memory leak. Just using and watching users run the two systems over the past year and a half on the same models the only conclusion I can come to is that SW has serious memory leak issues above and beyond Solid Edge. So I'm saying it's much better at taking system memory and forgetting where it put it.

10) Solid Edge has a miraculous functionality call Synchronous Technology and unless every user has a complete understanding of how to use it there is a good possibility that there will be strange changes to parts that were not part of the expected revision. Solidworks solves this problem by not having ST.

@bnemec, I'm struggling most with SE drawings right now. What is your off-the-cuff impression of SWX vs. SE in that area?

Specifically:
-hole callouts
-ordinate dimension alignment
-sheet metal flattened views (seems cumbersome in SE so far; is it?)
-Smart dimension (does SE not work as well as SWX or is it just me?)

[bnemec]

@bnemec, I'm struggling most with SE drawings right now. What is your off-the-cuff impression of SWX vs. SE in that area?

Specifically:
-hole callouts
-ordinate dimension alignment
-sheet metal flattened views (seems cumbersome in SE so far; is it?)
-Smart dimension (does SE not work as well as SWX or is it just me?)

Many people here are struggling with SW drawings.

-hole callouts: I would guess it depends a lot on what you're doing hand how the holes table is set up if that is what you're using. 50% of our parts are sheet metal so just a extrude cut. If it needed counterbore or threads that was done in the model and the annotation would reference that. I thought it was simple.

-ordinate dimension alignment: almost never used it.

-sheet metal flattened views: we're finding the mix of how SW adds the flat config automagically and PDM is a PITA. Often the user does not have the part file checked out when doing the drawing, so you can imagine the headaches there. "It was there when I saved it...." I don't recall flattened views being a pain in SE, something specific?

-smart dimensions I think SW dimensioning is cumbersome, must be just different and needs getting used to.

In general the drawing side of SW gets more complaints than the modeling side in our transition.

[bnemec]

Sometimes we forget about the peripheral aspects of CAD. Just had IT guys stop buy, a user in the tool room apparently needs to >view< models. (whether he really does or not I have to find out), but his computer cannot run Solid Edge. Probably just needs a GPU installed, but it's not a workstation as he's not a CAD user, he looks at emails and work orders in our "ERP" system. Solidworks has eDrawings to view models. Solid Edge took away the Viewer back around ST9 and SE app is just run as a free viewer. Problem is SE as a free viewer is not even close to lightweight and depending on PDM or other stuff it may or may not need to get/download and open all the file references. At least eDrawings can open a model without getting all the references and doesn't pull a license.

The other down side of how SE decided to do this is that CAD users don't have a viewer, so we wind up using more licenses from the server. It's not super simple to switch SE back and forth between viewer and CAD system so even if the designer/engineer/supervisor just wants to view the file they are pulling a license.

[matt]

...
The other down side of how SE decided to do this is that CAD users don't have a viewer, so we wind up using more licenses from the server. It's not super simple to switch SE back and forth between viewer and CAD system so even if the designer/engineer/supervisor just wants to view the file they are pulling a license.

As I understand it, the SE viewer is just SE with everything turned off. I installed it a couple weeks ago, and it was a 3+ gb download.

However, if you go here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/solid ... verviewtab

It says there's a PC based viewer for 20 mb.

And can't you use eDrawings as a Solid Edge viewer?

[bnemec]

As I understand it, the SE viewer is just SE with everything turned off. I installed it a couple weeks ago, and it was a 3+ gb download.

However, if you go here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/solid ... verviewtab

It says there's a PC based viewer for 20 mb.

image.png

And can't you use eDrawings as a Solid Edge viewer?

image.png

you say use eDrawings to view SE models? The compatability war rages on, eD2019 cannot read SE 2019 files

image.png (3.14 KiB) Viewed 8164 times

[Tom G]

Can SE export good quality 3D PDF files?
Thanks.

[matt]

you say use eDrawings to view SE models? The compatability war rages on, eD2019 cannot read SE 2019 files
image.png

Can't we teach these kids to get a long?

image.png (103.28 KiB) Viewed 8150 times

[Ry-guy]

@bnemec, I'm struggling most with SE drawings right now. What is your off-the-cuff impression of SWX vs. SE in that area?

Specifically:
-hole callouts
-ordinate dimension alignment
-sheet metal flattened views (seems cumbersome in SE so far; is it?)
-Smart dimension (does SE not work as well as SWX or is it just me?)

Well, to be honest there shouldn't be a thing in SW drafting that Solid Edge cannot do. To defend that position you need to understand that Solid Edge can take and convert a SolidWorks drawing into a Solid Edge drawing- object by object. This is done by Solid Edge using the SW API toolset to do the conversion for the Solid Edge Drawings. To my knowledge this "translation" is the only one in the industry that does actual drawing conversions from system to system (out of the box tools).

SE flat pattern generation should be industry leading. It might be a bit cumbersome to some but if you don't have the ability to setup the parameters of the flat the way your organizations "require" them- what good is flat pattern anyway? What I am trying to say is the more control you have of the output the more the system is going to appear cumbersome.

Smart Dimensions...well, those are only on sketches...Solid Edge allows you to control your faces with smart dimensions..not sure you have the ability to compare. But if you are referring to defining a sketch dimension you might want to learn the key board shortcuts too!

Hole callouts..not sure about this one. I mean Solid Edge and NX are leading the industry in moving away from having to create 2D drawings and dimension things like holes using PMI. But hey, I understand we still need to communicate with 2D drawings. Try using feature callouts see if that works for you. Let us know!

[Imics13]

Sometimes we forget about the peripheral aspects of CAD. Just had IT guys stop buy, a user in the tool room apparently needs to >view< models. (whether he really does or not I have to find out), but his computer cannot run Solid Edge. Probably just needs a GPU installed, but it's not a workstation as he's not a CAD user, he looks at emails and work orders in our "ERP" system. Solidworks has eDrawings to view models. Solid Edge took away the Viewer back around ST9 and SE app is just run as a free viewer. Problem is SE as a free viewer is not even close to lightweight and depending on PDM or other stuff it may or may not need to get/download and open all the file references. At least eDrawings can open a model without getting all the references and doesn't pull a license.

The other down side of how SE decided to do this is that CAD users don't have a viewer, so we wind up using more licenses from the server. It's not super simple to switch SE back and forth between viewer and CAD system so even if the designer/engineer/supervisor just wants to view the file they are pulling a license.

Guys,

Siemens and Solid Edge has a great solution for this, its name is JT2GO what handles SE files.

Here is my video, but sorry for hungarian language:


I think this is solved!

BR,

[Imics13]

Can SE export good quality 3D PDF files?
Thanks.

Hi,

Yes, Solid Edge provides two ways to create 3D Pdf.

1. Save as 3D PDF it can contain colors, PMI...
2. Solid Edge Model Based Definitions

The 1st is popular because it's free.

BR,

[Jaylin Hochstetler]

Guys,

Siemens and Solid Edge has a great solution for this, its name is JT2GO what handles SE files.

Here is my video, but sorry for hungarian language:


I think this is solved!

BR,

I installed JT2Go on my machine. I am quite impressed! It is quite a bit more advanced than E-drawings! Attached are docs specifying the system requirements and the included features.

[Imics13]

I installed JT2Go on my machine. I am quite impressed! It is quite a bit more advanced than E-drawings! Attached are docs specifying the system requirements and the included features.

Hi,

I'm happy, that you are impressed! Siemens Solid Edge has dozens of good solutions but we don't promote them. Yes, this is our mistake. We just use a stable software...

BR,

[Imics13]

@bnemec, I'm struggling most with SE drawings right now. What is your off-the-cuff impression of SWX vs. SE in that area?

Specifically:
-hole callouts
-ordinate dimension alignment
-sheet metal flattened views (seems cumbersome in SE so far; is it?)
-Smart dimension (does SE not work as well as SWX or is it just me?)

Hi @mike miller,

I've recorded a video about Smart Dim, I hope this helps to undestand how it works:



Shift, A, L, T, D shortcuts are your friend, but they have icons.

Have a nive weekend!

BR,

[Ry-guy]

I installed JT2Go on my machine. I am quite impressed! It is quite a bit more advanced than E-drawings! Attached are docs specifying the system requirements and the included features.

I am trying to remember if JT2GO will show PMI information too- if your JT exported is setup to include PMI information. Anyone???

[Imics13]

Hi @Ry-guy,

Yes, it works. Select your imported jt model, RMB on it and Show PMI...

BR,

[mattpeneguy]

Hi,

I'm happy, that you are impressed! Siemens Solid Edge has dozens of good solutions but we don't promote them. Yes, this is our mistake. We just use a stable software...

BR,

Have you considered creating a cloud platform to promote these solutions? Here's an example: https://r1132100503382-eu1-3dswym.3dexp ... dgY7-jbZPg

[RichGergely]

One thing Solidworks can do that Solid Edge can't is increase the likely compatibility with customers due to the user base. What weight you put on that depends on your sector.

In my case I do Tool Design & Plastic Product Design.
Tool design really doesn't matter what software you use with clients.
Plastic product design the chances of the client requiring Solidworks models is quite high. I have never been asked if I can supply Solid Edge models.

[jcapriotti]

Not so much it can't do but so far my findings after playing around with SE some. I find the SWX property manager superior, most all options are available where as in SE I have to hunt for it and open another dialogue. The downside in SWX it seems to slow down the GUI in comparison.

[HerrTick]

What can Solidworks do that Solid Edge can't?

Provide steady employment.

[bnemec]

Provide steady employment.

As in fixing and reworking models and drawings?

[jcapriotti]

As in fixing and reworking models and drawings?

Hey, job security right?