Siemens PLM Connection 2012: Solid Edge for iPad, Insight XT for SMBs

On Monday, as they got ready to meet with editors and reporters, Bill McClure, Siemens PLM Software's director of Velocity Series, and Karsten Newbury, Siemens PLM Software's senior VP and general manager of mainstream engineering software, packed an iPad. The device was loaded with a pre-release copy of Solid Edge Viewer for iPad, a free app that's set to appear in Apple app store in June.

The mobile app's debut will coincide with the release of Solid Edge with Synchronous Technology 5 (ST 5). It's strictly a viewer that allows those who do not have Solid Edge software to receive and inspect 3D design files created in the software. The app will also display manufacturing information, such as dimensions, materials, and suppliers. You'll be able to select and isolate subcomponents to hide or display. The demo version doesn't have a structure viewer or annotation tools, but such enhancements could be a natural progression of the app's future.

Also in the future of Solid Edge is a new version of Insight, dubbed Solid Edge Insight XT (stands for extended technology). Insight, which debut in 2001, serves as a product data management (PDM) platform for tracking, storing, sharing, and managing Solid Edge files. Insight XT, deployable on Microsoft SharePoint, will include, among other things, support for Office documents, displaying multiple revisions and their statuses (released, still in edit, and so on), and a relationship browser (a diagram showing relationships among subassemblies). No official pricing is available yet, but Insight XT is aimed at small and midsize businesses, according to McClure.

The official launch of Solid Edge with ST5 will take place at Solid Edge University, a user event in Nashville, TN (June 11-13).