Alternatives to PTC solutions?

[jhyder79]

I am trying to get a contract engineering business off the ground and we need something to manage our CAD data. We only have a handful of clients so money is still a little tight for us (we can barely afford Pro/E licenses). At the moment we are using some Perl scripts and Subversion as a poor man's data management system. It is a little clunky, but it works by running the Perl scripts on a directory that you would like to check in. The scripts purge all the older data and renames everything back to a .1 extension. We then check the files into Subversion where we can keep multiple revisions of a CAD model.

At some point we need to move away from this and get a more robust solution that won't break the bank. We also need a solution that will run on Linux or Solaris since this is what our two severs are currently running. Right now, I know that all PTC, Siemens, and MatrixOne solutions are out of our price range and Aras Intovator runs on Windows only. Does anyone know of a cheaper solution that will just do CAD data management without all the extra bells and whistles?

 

[swertel]

You could try M-Files or Design Data Manager (DDM). See if either of those fit your feature requirements and price point.

I have come across a few "free" PDM solutions, but they are not mature enough to put into any sort of production environment.


Edited by: swertel

 

[jhyder79]

Unfortunately, both of those appear to be Windows only solutions. No offense, but I'm not about to put critical data on a Windows server after all the problems I have had with Windows based servers in the past 12 years.

 

[kbrault]

Hello jhder79,


We use Subversion for data management. We uselinux servers too although there is a Windows version of the server app.


Been very happy with it. Simple, quick to learn. Only provides collaboration (file locking) and file history. It can provide a simple release mechanism.


Kevin

 

[red-arete]

Does Pro/E still run on Linux, I thought that was ending?
you can't have DDM by the way, there is a conflict of interests between PTC & CSI, you can have 'co-create data manager' but this is a PTC product & the root of the conflict.
Another one is 'Contact' 'workspaces' a German company.
No idea if these run on Linux but I will ask when I speak to them next Aug.

I am in the middle of this as a little project to replace Ilink to allow two companies to upgrade to WF5 without shelling out

 

[tracehae]

Take a look at Checkout 5.0. It does only run under Windows but that is only for the clients. It can use any server that can be attached as a drive from Windows. It only uses the server for file storage and does not run as a process. It manages the data very effectively and is really easy to use and setup. The site is www.hcs-cehckout.com and you can try it out for 60 days free.

 

[red-arete]

Check out looks very interesting. I've got two questions here that make a CAD database as good as intralink:


Can you do a 'where used' search against a part?


Can you duplicate an assembly and all its parts and drawings in one go?


I am useing Matrix1 at the moment and I don't like it, I am finding it very difficult to understand, difficult to keep trak of my WIP and it has been heavily supplimented by map keys written by some great guys in the tech support here. It's going to be replaced soon by Windchill.


DDM, by the way, the 'gentalmans agreement' means that it should not be sold to PTC's clients who have an existing maintenance agreement.


My worry with 'Co-Create DM' is that it will get axed too to be replaced by Windchill.


Ian.

 

[tracehae]

Hi red-arete,


Checkout 5.0 can do a "where used" against a part.


As for duplicating an assembly and all its parts and drawings in one go, yes. Every time you checkout a drawing you will get a copy of the original with all the associated assemblies and parts and then can rename them to whatevery you want. Then you simply check it back in as a new drawing.

 

[wamarler]

I know Siemens makes Team Center, and doesn't Solidworks have their own data management system as well? I'm afraid I have no information on their specific solutions, but they're names you can Google.

You could try this: http://www.netideasinc.com/ . It used to be called "PLM On Demand" and was a Windchill server/service hosted by PTC that they sold off. Works great for smaller entities who can't afford the manhours (and manhours and manhours) required to install/upkeep/maintain/optimize a Windchill server, but still want to use it.

I have no idea how much it costs, but you may find it reasonable. The overall problem of effective data management is so complex though, I doubt any of the free solutions will give you enough.

 

[bianto]

Has any body else used the Checkout 5.0 data management system? So far I only read 2 people use this and sent only moderate comment on this program.


I opened the site www.hcs-checkout.com and found the one off fee of about $1500,- , no managemnet fee, maybe there is update fee later on. But the point is, can you rely on this? What is the catch? If PTC sells it's Product Point for much more $$ and still can do the similar job....

 

[looslib]

NetIdeas is NOT the PTC PLM On-Demand! PLM-On-Demand was originally hosted by IBM. I see on the NetIdeas website that they now host PLM-On-Demand for PTC.


NetIdeas was started by Windchill engineers from Lockheed-Martin out of the old RCA defense business in south New Jersey. They use a dual redundant data ceneter and communication lines. They are not as cheap as you may think, but certainly cheaper than trying to do it yourself.


http://www.netideasinc.com/