What’s New in EPDM 2010

The 2010 version of Enterprise PDM (EPDM) was recently released by SolidWorks Corporation.  There have been a number of new features added to the product, as well as several stability enhancements.  The system requirements for EPDM 2010 can be found here.  There are so many new features in EPDM 2010 it is difficult to go into detail on all of them.  So let’s focus first on two brand new features and then list some major enhancements to existing features. 

The first new capability is EPDM Tasks.  These tasks can be executed on a client or server machine and include the highly requested features of PDF creation and batch printing/plotting.  The print/plot setup supports multiple printers and can include rules based on sheet size.  However, tasks are not limited to PDF creation.  Any file that can be created from the SolidWorks File -> Save As command can now be created automatically through a task. The tasks themselves can be kicked off through a workflow trigger, scheduled for a certain time, or triggered on demand by the user.

EPDM now ships with three pre-defined data set packages that make it easy to setup test environments or get new implementations up and running quickly with all the base requirements and hookups built in.  The new data sets include:

• A “default” package which is identical to the old setup
• An “empty” package with no data cards, variables, or any configurations, and
• The SolidWorks “Quickstart” package that has pre-defined cards, variables, and a workflow to get the system up and running as quickly as possible.

A great new enhancement to the existing functionality is the ability for the eDrawings viewer to recognize when the viewer data does not match the actual file.  A warning stamp is placed across the viewer pane to let the user know that the file needs to be opened so the image can be regenerated to reflect the changes.  Those of you trying to manage the SolidWorks Toolbox inside EPDM can now rejoice as it is fully supported inside the vault, even across replicated sites.  The copy-tree function now supports Serial Number generation in more detail, allowing the user to choose from a list of serial numbers, instead of a single serial number for the parts being copied with that function.  Inventor 2010, AutoCAD 2010, Solid Edge 22, and Pro/Engineer Wildfire 5.0 are all supported in this release.  Items in EPDM 2010 now have full BOM support as well as an API to allow programmatic manipulation of BOM information.   The Where Used list now supports an “All Versions” selection.  Hunting through each version of a Where Used screen is no longer necessary to find your referenced files.   Cold Stored Versions are now in a separate fly-out from the “Get Version” menu.

For EPDM administration, there are a few new features to help with system setup and management.  First, all the Admin tools have been consolidated to the Admin tree.  All functions are now available off a tree instead of each launching into a separate window as was the case for tools like the Data Card editor.  There is also a single place to go for importing and exporting all the information from one vault to another.   Active Directory Groups can now be imported into EPDM, however the permissions are still set inside the EPDM Administrative Tool.  The SMTP mail settings now include a “test” button to verify that the settings are going to work.  Setting up a test email loop in the workflow tool is no longer needed.  The Dispatch tool can now write variables to a file or folder during an Administrative Action.  Finally the user permission interface has been substantially re-worked to provide a single point for all rights management.

All these new features and enhancements can take some time to learn and implement into your EPDM system.  Be sure to read the new sections in the Administration Guide, as well as check out the new look and feel of the EPDM help files.  As always, please contact us if we can help you get started with these new features, or to see how these new capabilities might apply to your situation.

Tags: AutoCAD 2010, BOM, Enterprise PDM, EPDM, EPDM 2010, EPDM Tasks, Inventor 2010, PDF, PDM, Pro/Engineer Wildfire 5.0, Solid Edge 22, SolidWorks, SolidWorks Toolbox