CAD REPORT
FEATURE
PLM is not Enough
Siemens continues to add useful features, plus SaaS-based subscription elements, to Solid Edge 2024. BY RALPH GRABOWSKI
Photo credit:Siemens Digital Industries Software
German manufacturer, Supfina, used Solid Edge 2024 to design one of its latest superfinishing machines, due in part to the CAD software’s 9x display performance improvement in handling large assemblies.
Turns out, for many MCAD vendors, PLM is not enough. For nearly 20 years now, they’ve known that by selling software that documents all stages of the lives of products – from conceptual design through to disassembly at end of life – they would make lot more money. Now, MCAD vendors are transmogrifying PLM into digital transformation, seemingly as a rebranding exercise to breathe new life into the aging concept. “It’s the integration of digital technologies into all aspects of your engineering business,” explained Siemens Digital Industries Software during its recent Solid Edge 2024 launch. Forgive me if I appear skeptical, but I thought we did that 40 years ago when hand drafting became CAD. In any case, the company was referring to their digital transformation software, Xcelerator. Introduced in @design_eng_mag
2022, Xcelerator is a collection of Siemens software, hardware and third-party vendors, plus a marketplace. Even so, Siemens’ software unit has spent the last ten years bucking the insistence of its competitors, like Autodesk and PTC, that all software must be resold annually via subscriptions and operate from the cloud. But, the lure of a never-ending revenue stream is always there. And so, for this year’s Solid Edge 2024 product launch, the company didn’t lead off with what’s-new in their design software. Instead, it spotlighted a survey of managers at 400 small- and medium-sized manufacturers. In that survey, seventy-two percent of those managers said digital technology levels their playing field against larger corporations. This is important, as Solid Edge is aimed at these smaller firms. Some 80% maintained or increased their
digital budgets during the pandemic, although we’re not told the size of the increase. More importantly, nearly half said SaaS (software as a service, aka subscriptions) would be a priority in the coming year, while fewer than 30% would make the cloud a priority. That survey, especially the bit about SaaS software adoption, reinforces Siemens’ decision last year to broadened use of subscriptions through token-based licensing. Similar to floating licenses, tokens give you access to eight additional functions in Solid Edge, such as generative design, point cloud visualization and simulation. As to cost, NX users currently pay CAD$13,572 per year for 50 tokens, the minimum batch for NX. However, Solid Edge users can buy as few as 25 tokens at a time. While the exact dollar amount is unclear, Siemens says the
November/December 2023 DESIGN ENGINEERING 9
