NX - IDEAS - SolidEdge

[Piewee]

I was wondering if someone could answer this: I would like to purchase a MCAD package that will support multiple platforms, NX, IDEAS, and SolidEdge. Could someone tell me if a NX database can be converted to IDEAS and/or SolidEdge and maintain the design history (i.e., the database can be tranferred seamlessly for future us in another package).?

Any insight would be appreciated.

P

 

[JohnRBaker]

Not in the way you've described it, at least not at the moment. Now, Ideas models can be moved to UGS NX with virtually the complete history and feature structure intact, but not the other way round.

However, in all cases geometric models can be shared between these 3 systems, at least with NX being the 'hub' in any exchange between Solide Edge and Ideas, and while the history data is not shared, the models can be fully integrated/merged into applications on each system and if changes are made to the original model on the authoring system, those shared models can be updated without losing any of the new data created or relationships establish in the receiving systems. For example, if a model was created in Solid Edge and shared with NX so that NC tool paths could be created to manufacture say a die, if the model were to be modified in Solid Edge and an update model passed to NX, the tool paths would automatically update in the same manner as if those changes had been made in NX itself. the some would hold true for FEA, assembly mockups, Drafting applications, etc. Even in some cases, modeling changes could be made in the receiving system and yet still be able to properly update if the original model were updated in it's home system.

Note that this capablity has been part of NX and Solid Edge for several years, and after the aquisition of SDRC, we included Ideas into this associative data sharing scheme.


John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
UGS NX Product Line
SIEMENS
UGS PLM Software
Cypress, CA

http://www.siemens.com/ugs

http://www.plmworld.org/museum/

 

[Piewee]

Thanks for the information John. I'm interested in obtaining rough order of magnitude pricing.

 

[MCADTrans]

My understanding and experience with Ideas and UGNX and migrating data from one to the other is this: I have not been able to modify the feature history of an Ideas model with UGNX or a UGNX model with Ideas. YOu can get a linked parasolid type import as John was explaining that you can do machining operations, drawings etc. on but you will still have to do the feature tree modifications in Ideas. You can do direct modelling on the model with the UG direct modelling functionality just as you can with any neutral import. There are ways to get a model with feature history from Ideas into UGNX and have it modifiable as a native UGNX model. This is not a part of the Ideas to UGNX migration software included in UG or Ideas.
I am assuming you are an Ideas user looking to go to UGNX???

 

[JohnRBaker]

There is a two phased process needed to MIGRATE data to NX from Ideas (first the TDM structures and then the data files themselves) and this is fully supported by the tools that we have supplied Ideas users, however they can also contact UGS for help and consultation. This is meant as a migration task (i.e., data flows ONLY one way), but once completed, your Ideas models, drawings and assemblies will be available in NX as native NX files. Our success rate for migrating date is quite high and while it's true that many Ideas users have yet to complete both phases of this process, a large number have undertaken Phase 1 and a good number have tackled Phase 2. We anticipate that with the release of UGS NX 5, with its superior CAE capabilities and the new UI theme, that Ideas users will begin to accelerate their migration to NX. Granted, it could be several years before we expect all, or nearly all, customer to have made the transition, but we are confident that they will be able whenever they are ready.


John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
UGS NX Product Line
SIEMENS
UGS PLM Software
Cypress, CA

http://www.siemens.com/ugs

http://www.plmworld.org/museum/