Siemens PLM Software Announces Solid Edge ST3

The latest version upgrades synchronous technology to further improve design, validation, and collaboration.

Siemens PLM Software today announced the new ST3 version of its Solid Edge 2D/3D CAD system. Solid Edge ST3 uses what the company calls synchronous technology to deliver new functionality that accelerates product design, streamlines revisions, and simplifies importing and reusing third-party CAD data. The new release also includes enhancements related to simulation, design data management, and more than 1,000 customer-requested improvements.

Siemens’ synchronous technology is designed to help users perform a wide variety of CAD tasks in a fraction of the time it takes with a traditional approach. It promises significant time savings and lets users shift focus to the actual design tasks instead of thinking about how to use the software.

In addition to supporting the part modeling and sheet-metal design delivered in earlier versions, synchronous-based models now can be used directly with all assembly applications such as piping, frames, wiring, and assembly features. The software also provides 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 can work with both synchronous and nonsynchronous features in the same integrated design environment. That is, 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 moved selectively to the synchronous environment, providing designers with maximum flexibility and ease of use.

The integrated design approach lets users preserve existing ordered designs but selectively move features to synchronous features when edits are needed outside the creation method.


Solid Edge ST3 also lets users merge 2D drawings with existing 3D models. Manufacturing dimensions on 2D drawings now can be automatically transferred to a corresponding, imported 3D model. The resulting as-manufactured 3D dimensions can be edited immediately to modify the imported 3D model using synchronous technology.

New methods in Solid Edge ST3 take manufacturing dimensions from 2D drawings and migrate them to 3D driving dimensions on imported 3D models. This image shows newly added manufacturing dimensions such as distance between holes and overall height across multiple features.
 

Building on its integrated simulation application, Solid Edge ST3 includes new simulations for torque and bearing loads, user-defined constraints, and assembly connections such as bolt and sheet-metal edge connectors. Users can achieve faster results with model simplification tools and better visualization capabilities that display the inside of the model. Models can be refined using synchronous technology or ordered methods. Solid Edge ST3 allows design validation of parts and assemblies earlier in the product development process for shorter times to market and reduced physical prototyping costs.

With enhanced load and constraint simulations such as torque and bearing loads, bolt connectors, welds, and custom constraints, designers can analyze more realistic scenarios. Model simplification can be used to remove insignificant features such as grooves and small holes.


Solid Edge ST3 with the Insight data management solution takes advantage of Microsoft SharePoint 2010 to further expand its scalable data-management strategy. Using the latest SharePoint platform extends collaboration to a wider range of CAD and non-CAD users by expanding capabilities for project management, business analytics, and social media. In addition, a stand-alone bill of materials (BOM) editor delivered with the embedded client in Solid Edge lets CAD and non-CAD users create product structures that can be opened in Solid Edge, Teamcenter software, or Teamcenter Express software.

Solid Edge ST3 addresses thousands of customer-driven improvements by adding new functionality in areas such as sheet metal, piping, and frame design; assembly management; and drafting. Advances in sheet-metal design 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.

A customer-requested enhancement provides new closed corners options for U, V, square, and mitered corners.


For drawing creation, Solid Edge ST3 adds the ability to embed all manufacturing dimensions and annotations, including item numbers, in the assembly and even carry part colors throughout as line styles in the drawing. New multicultural drawings allow the mixing of character sets from multiple languages on a single drawing or even in a single annotation. The streamlined user interface includes a fully customizable radial menu, which drastically reduces mouse travel. Transparent feature and part-management dialogs and reduced-size command interaction dialogs provide maximum graphics workspace area.

Pricing and Availability

Solid Edge ST3 is available today. Prices for the base software and all add-on applications remain consistent with prices of previous versions. Contact a Siemens Solution Partner for PLM for more information.