Anyone using Insight?

[rogerreid]

Hi All
Would really appreciate anyones opinion on whether the effort of setting up Insight is worth it. We have 2 sites, one with 2 seats the other with 3 seats of SE. We only got SE 2 months ago and are just starting to use it in ernest. I know Insight it is a data management tools handling releases etc. but i really want to know what you thing the big benefit is in using it is and if it user friendly.
Many thanks in advance.

Roger Reid
(Engineering)

 

[KENAT]

Good news, one of the biggest problems putting stuff in insight is tidying up data before doing so.

Doesn't sound like you have much data yet so this is less of an issue.

Also you're small which will make it easier.

Bad news is Insight doesn't really support multiple sites. I take it you'd want a single data base that persons from either site could use?

Benefits of it, or any PDM system, are significant when it comes to handling/storing/manipulating etc files. It will help the pain that can be re-naming and moving files etc.

Most (all?) PDM allow you to check the work out to your local machine, so you don't need to worry with network lag which can be a big issue.

There are occasional posters here who use or even set up Insight, hopefully they'll give you more.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[rogerreid]

Kenat
Thanks for the advice, I suppose I really wanted to hear someone say that the benefits are "significant" as opposed to marginal and therefore worth the effort. I also wanted to be sure that the benfit is not just the ability to deal with revisions because for one of the sites this is not a big part of the work flow.
While there are 2 sites they both make different things so there is no immediate requirement to work off a single database (also we have significant bandwidth issues so large data transferes are currently out).
Many thanks for taking time to reply.

Roger

 

[toffeet]

Hello Roger,
I have been using Solid Edge for 5 years now and we are using Insight for 2 months now. I did the whole setup, from Windows Server 2003, domain controller, SQL Server 2000, SharePoint Portal Server and Insight Server. Being in South Africa mean that local support is somewhat limited unfortunately. It was not easy at first, to say the least, I had to figure a lot out by myself. There is a help file in the program directory of Solid Edge (search for sespimpgde.html) Right now I will probably do the whole setup in 6 hours.

Now the big question, was it worth it? I would have to say yes and here are my reasons:
1. Running a search or where-used takes no more than 4 to 5 seconds thanks to the SQL server.
2. Moving files and folders is a lot easier, without breaking any links.
3. Releasing a huge amount of files with the Life Cycle Assistant is very quick and easy.
4. We have big assemblies, up to 3000 parts. Working from your local cache is more stable and faster. SharePoint Server handles all the checking-in and –out of files from the server to your local cache.
5. Our filename and part number are the same. Insight prevents the creation of duplicate filenames, even if they are not in the same directory.
6. There are no broken links in our database and Insight makes sure it stays that way.
7. Although you have to pay for Windows Server and Windows SQL Server, Insight comes free with Solid Edge.
8. We can now revise a part from within the assembly environment.

I agree with Kenat, one of the biggest tasks is to tidy up your data before adding it to a managed library. You don’t want any duplicate filenames and broken links.
As long as you don’t have a lot of files and are working with relatively small assemblies you can get away without Insight. We got to a point where it became a problem and Insight does make the management of the data easier.
If you have any specific questions regarding the setup, you are welcome to ask me.

Kind regards,
Theodore



Solid Edge V19 SP6 on WinXP SP2

 

[rogerreid]

Theodore
Once again, many thanks for taking time to give your experiences, it has been very helpful and given me a lot to think about.
Even though I know we could get by without Insight if we are well organized, my instinct is that while we are probably a little daunted about having to learn another thing on top of SE, it will probably yeild benefits in the future as the data starts to grow. Soon it will become second nature. And I guess it will be easier to set up now since we have so little data.
I suppose I have been a little wary of Insight as our VAR has very few clients using it - but this may be more to do with the fact that PDM is still an emerging technology and engineering companies are traditionally fairly conservative.
In terms of the intallation we will leave that to our VAR - I have enough grey hairs!
Thanks again
Roger

 

[304Stainless]

I just started looking into Team Center Express.
I beleive it will do what you are looking for in multi sites. It has all of the same features discribed in the the above posts and it works on multi site and multi language if needed. I just started looking into it for are campany. I don't know the price tag yet. I will update after more research if desired.

 

[toffeet]

Teamcenter Express will be my first choice, above Insight. The only problem is the price tag of $2000 to $2500 per user. That's apart from Windows Server 2003 and Windows SQL Server.

It is a much more "Out-of-the-Box" solution than Insight. Can handle multi-sites, different CAD software, got preconfigured workflows and ERP integration, to name a few.

Kind regards,
Theodore

Solid Edge V19 SP6 on WinXP SP2

 

[KENAT]

We're looking at Teamcenter express too, again partly because we have multi site and partly because when we did a partial Insight set up after the initial installation vendor support was limited. I think my manager has blown the support issue out of proportion but there's an element of truth to it.

However 304 & toffeat, the OP clarified in his second post that the 2 sites didnt' necessarily nead a common database at the moment.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[rogerreid]

It was suggested to me that UGS were focusing on the Teamcenter side of things and that it was unlikely Insight would see much in the way of development in the future. I'm guessing it may be a while yet before companies automatically budget for PDM when purchasing CAD, especially when the PDM costs nearly as much. That said, I am in no doubt there is a lot of growth potential in the coming years and obviously UGS are betting on it.

I am working on the basis that it will be easier to move to Teamcenter in the future if you are already using a managed environment??? Maybe not.

 

[beachcomber]

Hi Roger,
Implementing Teamcenter (or whatever system you decide on) will be easier to do now while you have a relatively small amount of data.
I would suggest that although it sounds expensive now, it will pay for itself many times over in the future.
I've previously worked for a company that had NO system whatever. With massive amounts of data it was a real headache, and the time wasted searching for stuff that hade been put into wrong folders etc. must have cost thousands.
3 years on I know they still have no system.
The problem they have now is that the data is so disorganised they can't get it into a system.

bc

 

[KENAT]

roger, from what we found in our investigation you're right that it will probably be easier to port to full PLM system from Insight than from just a windows folder structure.

Any kind of PDM system will force basic discipline to keep files tidy, correctly named etc. This will then make it easier to move into the 'final' solution.

We have 30000 ish CAD files in a folder structure. There's no budget to tidy them up, but we can't simplisitically pick newer projects to put in PDM as our products are so intertwined, a new product may share major components/sub assemblies with one 10 years old that is still maintained.

I recomend going PDM now rather than later, if Insight is all you can afford at this time then as long as it meets your minimum requirements go for it. Make sure and fully cost it before you make a decision, also think about what you want the PDM to do and make sure Insight does it.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[rogerreid]

I just got a 20min presentation video of Insight features from our VAR and i have to say i thought it looked good. I like the idea that it will also manage dwg/dxf as well as word/excel docs. I'm guessing it will allow us to pull together the existing data with new SE models.
The View and Markup looked good on the demo but i have found the interface "clunky" and not at all intuitive.
Does any here actually the Markup facility, i.e. by non-CAD staff?? I would be interested to know if you have integrated it into your design/manufacture workflow.
BTW thanks for all responses - v helpful.
Roger

 

[KENAT]

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KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[Richcad]

Anyone have any good tips on convincing managment that PDM is worth the investment? The company I'm working at is running 12 seats of Solid Edge and 4 seats of NX. On top of that the NX guys store their files in different locations than the Solid Edge Users. The disconnected links and lost files is getting out of control. But how do you put a monetary value on that?

 

[KENAT]

With difficulty, I wish I could be more helpful.

About a year ago I made an effort to justify it. I asked a few people how much time they thought they used a week on file management etc. I then mulitplyed this by X number of weeks/months/years etc to show what the savings could be over 1, 3 & 5 years. I think I made some other adjustments, can't remember what now.

I came out with a figure that franky sounded too high but I submitted it anyway. Nothing much happened.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[toffeet]

Hello Richcad,

You guys don't work for Airbus by any chance? Just kidding. We only have 4 seats of SE and that's already a big challenge.

Getting management to invest in it financially is one thing, getting them to put there weight behind the whole implimentation process is another.

The other issue is that software remains a tool and nothing more. It doesn't fix things automatically. There is no substitute for leadership, common sense and good management. You can have all the best software in the world and still operate in chaos.

Getting management to invest? That is a difficult one. Maybe someone should simply put his hand up and say: "Hey listen guys, this is crazy. There's got to be an easier way."

Not every thing can be put into Dollar terms. There is no price for sanity.

Solid Edge V19 SP6 on WinXP SP2