Is Solid Works is being sued by Pro E 1

[littlef8]

I overheard that Solid Works was being sued by Pro E for using their translation drivers. Is this true?

 

[Rocko]

There are discussions currently between PTC and Solidworks over this issue. At one time during Beta testing the Pro-E import was available, then quickly taken down because of pending legal action by PTC. I have personally been irritated by the lack of communication by Solidworks on this issue and have had to pull there teeth to get the above information. My VAR has been great, but they are not in a position to help me on this issue. Solidworks corporate advertised when we bought Solidworks 2003 that we could import Pro-E files 2000, 2000I and above with history trees intact. I believe Soliworks should give inform its customers on where this thing is going. (personnel opinion) I do not see PTC anytime in the near future being cooperative on this issue. They have told dealers to tell people to buy a seat of Wildfire because it is so inexpensive at less than$5000.00 to work with clients that have PRO-E. I see this as a ploy to help push the seats of their product.

 

[TheTick]

The "C" in PTC is definitely not for "cooperation". PTC wants all of its customers to work in a vacuum where there are no other CAD systems. All part of the lovely way they do business.

Considering that SW was originally developed by former PTC developers, I'm surprised it took this long for a translator to emerge.

IMHO, PTC is not interested in how engineers work. They are interested in getting engineers to work PTC's way.

Gravity is a harsh mistress.

 

[littlef8]

Thanks for the answers. I've switched to Solid Edge for a similar problem. I'm not having any trouble reading the Pro drawings but I can't convert any complex surfaces through automaticly. I have been reconstructing the complex surfaces in edge. Not difficult due to the fact that they exceeded pro's surfacing capibilities in their last release. Although, it's easily achieved, nothing beats being able to translate the entire model in one click.

 

[TheTick]

There's always "ProDesktop Express", PTC's free reader. You can open Pro/E files and translate them to a neutral format. Unfortunately, no feature data translation.

Not a fan of Pro/E's surfacing ability, especially when compared with UG. Definitely part of the reason PTC is not used by tier 1 auto or aerospace.

Gravity is a harsh mistress.