A Marketing Idea For PTC

[call_steve]

Cash for Clunkers ran out of money in a week! PTC needs to use this marketing idea. "Cash for Solid Works." Turn in your Solid Works CD's, for a substantial savings on Pro/Engineer! I bet the budget for this one, would run out in a week, as well!

 

[Mindripper]

Most CAD vendors do offer a discount for users switching fromanother CAD system to theirs: ask your local SolidWorks VAR or a Pro/E salesperson, or an AutoDesk Inventor salesperson. I have heard that the SW and Inventor sales people have been doing big business on these discounts in recent years on this as more users abandon Pro/E for Windows-based CAD systems.

 

[design-engine]

and solidworks is the clunker.

 

[Mindripper]

No, most of these discounts in this area (the Silicon Valley, widely considered the epicenter of technological development on this planet) have been for companies replacing Pro/E with SolidWorks or Autodesk Inventor. I haven't heard of any company anywhere on the planet converting from SW (or any other 3D CAD software package) to Pro/E, but I have heard of many companies in this area that have abandoned Pro/E to adopt the more modern Windows-based 3D CAD packages such as SolidWorks, Autodesk Inventor and Solid Edge. This includes companies ranging in sizefrom small (a few dozen employees) to big (thousands of employees) - including my current employer's largest competitor. I don't think these companies would be abandoning any software package to adopt a 'clunker'. Myself, I have about ten years of experience with both Pro/E and SolidWorks (I have been running 3D CAD software for 24 years), and I don't think either package is a 'clunker'. And I have also heardusers speak ofAutodesk Inventor and Solid Edge in high regard.


Don't ask me to explain this or justify it: these are the simple facts as I know them. I also know that both SolidWorks and Autodesk Inventor no longer consider Pro/Engineer to be a viable competitor in this geographical region.

 

[design-engine]

ouch.... I love solid works. I prefer power point. As for inventor... I hate inventors. They never have any money so the word inventor gives me a bad feeling.

 

[tobbo]

I haven't heard of any company anywhere on the planet converting from SW (or any other 3D CAD software package) to Pro/E


I can name a few companies in sweden that has converted from sw (or other softwares) to Pro/E. ( And I bet if you lookat the rest of europe you can find a lot of companies...)


"Don't askME to explain this or justify it: these are the simple facts as I know them"





Btw, Bart , i didnt know the word "clunker" until now so i googled it andfound this : http://ktar.net/blogs/crummey/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/clu nker.jpg so i guess you mean thatSW"Is old and rusty, easy to make fun of, but still kind of charming....." right?


//Tobias
Edited by: tobbo

 

[dr_gallup]

Isn't Silicon Valley the new rust belt?

 

[design-engine]

Tobias,

In the united states this past month the US government made an offer to spur the economy 'cash for clunkers'. the idea was to get the poor performers off the street and clean the air and at the same time kick the automakers some sales. I made the slight comparison to the car clunker to solidworks being the clunker yes with your meaning of old, easy to make fun of and charming.

OLD: can you convert a cut to a solid in SW2009 yet? IS there an intent manager? Does SW still purchase their kernel from Unigraphics?

EASY TO MAKE FUN OF: Most solidworks users are on the ignorant side. They tend to not have the experience of using (or agruing) their software.

CHARMING: seams like everyone likes the interface and grades all the functionality of the software on how it looks. Like your girlfriend who receives a shiny pendent on valentines day.

Ive been to Silicon Vally to teach Pro/ENGINEER classes... Ive seen better engineers at a Lawnmower company in Atlanta.
Edited by: design-engine

 

[dgs]

Don't ask me to explain this or justify it ...

Wouldn't think of it, why would we need facts?

Since you won't be bothered for facts about SW growth, here's one. Contrary to what you've said, it seems that SW sales are down:

Dassault Systems reported falling revenues for Q2 ...

Mainstream 3D software revenue
(that's code for "SolidWorks") was down 10%.

 

[Mindripper]

Sorry dr_gallup, no 'rust belt' here: the Ford plant was shut down decades ago, then converted into a shopping mall. FMC closed up shop a while back too. And the entire fruit canning industry packed up (pun intended) and headed out of town years ago. While GM has recently backed out of the remaining auto plant here, it's beginning to look like it will be converted producing hybrids and electric cars. As one industry fades here, another quickly steps in to fill the void. Although pretty much every industry (including the CAD software industry) has been hitby the worst recession in 80 years, the Silicon Valley has done (not so) surprisingly well. How are PTC sales doing? How's the economy in Ohio? How about Chicago? Not too good it seems, based on what I see on the news every night.


As for the age of Pro/E vs. SolidWorks: it's common knowledge that Pro/E is at least a decade older than SW, and that SW was started by former Pro/E folks. Most Pro/E users know that PTC has made few improvements in Pro/E for years now, while SW continues to implement innovative improvements in their products - and PTC makes efforts to mimic those improvements (such as the ease of converting a cut to a solid). Yeah, it's easy, design-engine: you might try it some time.


I'm glad to hear you have been here to teach classes, design-engine: PTC shut down their training facility here years ago. Which was okay with me: the trainer in my classtherewas terrible. Rand offered a much better training program and instructors. Yeah, they shut down their facility here too. There are now three different VARs offering SW training in the area - maybe more, I'm not sure.

 

[dgs]

Mindripper,if you're not getting paid for this SW PR, that's a shame.

 

[SW]

There I was reading a topic entiled "A Marketing Idea for PTC", and my speakers start throwing out what appeared to be an attempt at humour. After a bit of scrolling and a SeldomWorks "3dudes gone 3d" flash video was revealed. Adblock soon saw to that.

I did enjoy the irony though.

Sam

 

[anand_m_s]

Hello all,


The case study attached herewith gives the details of an instance wherein a company has changed its CAD platform from Solidworks to Pro Engineer. Infact, I had a direct role in this transition during 2006-07.


2009-08-16_215857_1469_Danaher_Motion_CS.zip


Regards,


Anand
Edited by: anand_m_s

 

[Kevin De Smet]

CHARMING: seams like everyone likes the interface and grades all the functionality of the software on how it looks. Like your girlfriend who receives a shiny pendent on valentines day.

Though you are right, software shouldn't be judged primarily on how it looks. But on the other side, that's all commercial software really is. It's a user interface for a modeling kernel, so one would expect developers like PTC to at least get that right.

Now PTC also develops their kernel internally, sure, so that does change matters somewhat. But in Solidworks' case this yields true - and I guess that's why they have an interface now that is enjoyable to work in.

 

[design-engine]

interesting point!Wildfire has made tremendous strides with respect to interface... I like much of wildfire interface and how the UI works over other kernels.

I once asked on this forum what percentage one yields towards the UI verses Kernel and did not get an answer.

Can I assume from your post Kevin that you put 50 percent on both?

My percentages:

kernel functionality 50 percent
Interface 20 percent
graphic design of the packaging 2 percent
Help 1 percent
overall user experience with respect to workflow 5 percent
cost 2 percent
ease of upgrading 5 percent
ease of working with development 5
does that add up to 100?





Edited by: design-engine

 

[tobbo]

Ithink it

 

[dgs]

... about the interface, i personally dont have any problem with Pro/E.s interface...

I personally have a lot of problems with Pro|E'sinterface. Actually, more with the workfow. It used to ("back in the day" of the RH menus) have a pretty straightforward, predictable work flow. Though I like most of the improvements in the overall interface with WF, the work flow has gone to pot. Dialog boxes too small to display the info, fields with 20-30 characters but only 8 characters long, a middle mouse button that sometimes cancels, sometimes continues, sometimes creates new, sometimes does nothing, sometimes follows the highlighted command, sometimes executes a different command, similar functions (create dim and measure, for example) that behave in completely different ways, etc. I'm constantly stopped to think about how this command works vs. similar situations in the software. Oh, right, here I go over and click OK vs. MMB everywhere else.

So, to Bart's point, it's all about the work flow for me. That's what the UI is designed for, to help me utilize the power built into the Pro|E kernel. Though the WF UI has brought functional improvements (cut to solid to surface and back), it has been detrimental to the work flow in my view.

... I guess that's why [Solidworks has] an interface now that is enjoyable to work in.

I'm glad you enjoy it, I find it just as annoying, frankly more so, than Pro|E's. Actually, much of my annoyance isn't the UI, it's the kernel. No matter how diligently I build in my design intent, I find that as I change the model it falls apart regularly. Enjoyable? No, not at all.

does that add up to 100?

Nope, you're missing 10%. Add it to work flow, that's what's important.

 

[design-engine]

kernel functionality 50 percent
Interface 20 percent
graphic design of the packaging 2 percent
Help 1 percent
cost 2 percent
overall user experience with respect to workflow 15 percent
ease of upgrading 5 percent
ease of working with development 5

It was late

I suppose SW developers would have to submit request for kernel updates while PTC developers got direct access to that functionality. In that PTC wins over. I found it very easy to have a direct access to development of interface and software. You can get involved simply by singing up for the technical committees (if you manager will send you to user groups). Its fun, respectful and enlightening.
Edited by: design-engine

 

[Kevin De Smet]

( btw,I would probably look at http://www.koenigsegg.com
,a swedish supercar...its a beauty, to bad they use Catia tho.. they
use to have SOLIDWORKS but changed to CATIA during the
developement..... how about that , mindripper)

Well to be fair they use CATIA with ICEMSurf integrated into it, that's like a whole other ballpark!

kernel functionality 50 percent

Interface 20 percent

graphic design of the packaging 2 percent

Help 1 percent

cost 2 percent

overall user experience with respect to workflow 15 percent

ease of upgrading 5 percent

ease of working with development 5

Hmmmm. Interesting to think about, for me it would be:

Kernel: 50 percent

Interface: 15 percent

Help: 15 percent

Cost: 20 percent



I appear to put less value on the interface, haha, maybe that's because
I've been playing around in Alias and you've got to give up your
high-heeled expectations in terms of interface to enjoy Alias

I suppose SW developers would have to submit request for kernel updates while PTC developers got direct access to that functionality. In that PTC wins over.

Not necessarily true, PTC can do whatever they want but only at the expense of possibly losing industry compatibility. Parasolid is cross-compatible with many other applications and is an industry standard modeling kernel. Also, it's not just the kernel, constraint solvers and so on are also often licensed from third-parties.

 

[mgnt8]

I haven't heard of any company anywhere on the planet converting from SW (or any other 3D CAD software package) to Pro/E, but I have heard of many companies in this area that have abandoned Pro/E

It looks like PTC is pushing SW, SE, & Inventor users to switch to CoCreate [url]http://www.ptc.com/appserver/wcms/events/online.jsp?&im_ dbkey=97782&icg_dbkey=142[/url]

I tried to get a hold of the CoCreate trial edition awhile back, but they disabled any and all complex surfacing so it wouldn't do me any good as far as evaluating it.