Looking for what's happening with SW over last couple of years

[idesignhaus]

Howdy, all.

I've been out of the Solidworks realm for the last couple of years, putting increasingly more of my effort into pursuits other than design and am still using v2020.

What's happening with Solidworks lately, good or bad, with the software, with the company, and of course with the forum(s). Any change of direction for the better? Any hope for valuable improvements to all/any in the near future, or just more evidence of floundering, lack of vision, and generally ignoring the small shops?

I'm asking because I'm too lazy to put in the real research by reading through all the forum posts all over the internet. But also, I'd like to pull together thoughts into a single place even as a reference for others with my concerns.

Does it look like Solidworks is gonna pull through these doldrums or just fade into the sunset? Why do you think so?

[SPerman]

It is a sinking ship, IMO.

[Glenn Schroeder]

You mentioned the forum. Since you're here I assume you know what's going on with that. The old forum was on the Jive platform, which was dying a slow agonizing death, so it needed to be moved, but instead of moving it to a dedicated forum platform they moved it onto their own platform, which is not well suited for forums. They've made some improvements since the move, but it's like one of my friends says "You can put perfume on a hog, but you've still got a hog."

In general, SW is still bringing out new enhancements with every release, and some of them are good ones, but they also seem to be introducing more bugs each time (and to give them credit they fix some, maybe most, of them).

They seem to be working toward moving as many people as possible to their "3DExperience" online platform. Many of us, myself included, will look for other alternatives if/when that is forced on us.

[mattpeneguy]

C'mon Glenn,
You mean you aren't creating ideation funnels over there yet?

image.png (45.25 KiB) Viewed 3398 times

[Glenn Schroeder]

C'mon Glenn,
You mean you aren't creating ideation funnels over there yet?
image.png

I don't even know (or care) what that is.

[bnemec]

You mentioned the forum. Since you're here I assume you know what's going on with that. The old forum was on the Jive platform, which was dying a slow agonizing death, so it needed to be moved, but instead of moving it to a dedicated forum platform they moved it onto their own platform, which is not well suited for forums. They've made some improvements since the move, but it's like one of my friends says "You can put perfume on a hog, but you've still got a hog."

In general, SW is still bringing out new enhancements with every release, and some of them are good ones, but they also seem to be introducing more bugs each time (and to give them credit they fix some, maybe most, of them).

They seem to be working toward moving as many people as possible to their "3DExperience" online platform. Many of us, myself included, will look for other alternatives if/when that is forced on us.

I have found in most cases BBQ sauce is the best perfume for pigs.

[Glenn Schroeder]

I have found in most cases BBQ sauce is the best perfume for pigs.

. . . or a little brown mustard. . . or gravy.

[jcapriotti]

I have found in most cases BBQ sauce is the best perfume for pigs.

I concur

[jcapriotti]

It is a sinking ship, IMO.

More like a patched ship that is leaking but still gets people from point a to point b with discomfort here and there. Meanwhile, they build a new ship that is not seaworthy but marketing would have you think that it's ready to go and already ferrying people.

[idesignhaus]

Thanks, all!

So it sounds like while the software isn't necessarily "bad" yet, they intend to eventually get there by forcing people into 3DXP---which, judging by what happened with the Jive/3DXP switch-over, isn't looking quite as promising as prophetic. Brilliant. I'm sure customers will love even more heavy-handed hubris from tech/software companies in the near future. What could go wrong?

Any particularly useful features that would make jumping from v2020 to v2022 worth it?

[mattpeneguy]

Thanks, all!

So it sounds like while the software isn't necessarily "bad" yet, they intend to eventually get there by forcing people into 3DXP---which, judging by what happened with the Jive/3DXP switch-over, isn't looking quite as promising as prophetic. Brilliant. I'm sure customers will love even more heavy-handed hubris from tech/software companies in the near future. What could go wrong?

Any particularly useful features that would make jumping from v2020 to v2022 worth it?

Tighter 3DXP integration...
I don't know, we're on windows 7 and can't upgrade past 2020.

[SPerman]

Here are a couple of threads on SW 2022. (One of them being mine.)

https://www.cadforum.net/viewtopic.php? ... hilit=2022

https://www.cadforum.net/viewtopic.php? ... hilit=2022

There's lots of snarkiness in this thread, but if you're willing to dig through it all, it is also a pretty good indicator of the product that appears to be the path DSS is taking the company.
https://www.cadforum.net/viewtopic.php?t=53

I don't see a long term future for desktop solidworks. It may be around for another decade, but it's pretty clear the current management sees the future of SW being online. In the meantime, they do continue to make improvements, although you would have a hard time convincing me they are fixing things faster than they are breaking them. And they still don't have any concept that releasing a new feature that is only 50% implemented and buggy isn't good for anyone but the marketing department.

There is at least one user here who went from SW to SE, and another who went the opposite direction. One is really excited about the switch, the other is regretting making the change. If I were starting from scratch, SW would be at the bottom of my list. Depending on how you feel about your data living on someone else's server, there are good online options out there as well. 3DX just isn't one of them.

[AlexLachance]

you don't even need to put in any real effort, just login to

https://forum.solidworks.com

Try navigating through it and understanding it. Try not getting lost in the mess that it's becoming.

[Glenn Schroeder]

Any particularly useful features that would make jumping from v2020 to v2022 worth it?

There are some good things in them, but without knowing your industry or workflow it isn't possible to say which ones you might benefit from. I'd suggest reviewing the "What's New" site for SW2021 and SW2022 to see. If you have any questions about any of those new enhancements fire away.

https://help.solidworks.com/2021/Englis ... Redirect=1

https://help.solidworks.com/2022/Englis ... Redirect=1

[bnemec]

What's the difference between 3DX and SpaceX, aside from one wants to put an entire business ecosystem on the cloud and the other wants to put an entire ecosystem on Mars?

[mattpeneguy]

What's the difference between 3DX and SpaceX, aside from one wants to put an entire business ecosystem on the cloud and the other wants to put an entire ecosystem on Mars?

Yeah, it's really difficult to tell them apart, so similar:

[Arthur McR]

Any particularly useful features that would make jumping from v2020 to v2022 worth it?

I found the Bom Feature to dissolve all weldments super useful.

[jcapriotti]

What's the difference between 3DX and SpaceX, aside from one wants to put an entire business ecosystem on the cloud and the other wants to put an entire ecosystem on Mars?

One actually has a working product in the cloud and beyond?

[TTevolve]

you don't even need to put in any real effort, just login to

https://forum.solidworks.com

Try navigating through it and understanding it. Try not getting lost in the mess that it's becoming.

Yea, I get lost trying to search for anything on there, it's why I post on here.

[IndianaDave]

DSS is putting way too much fucus on the 3D Experience platform, and getting everything on the cloud based do everything in one place platform...
They are so invested in this new platform, they are ignoring the fact that probably 90% of their users just need a good, robust CAD package... We don't need the collaboration tools, etc...

[KennyG]

DSS is putting way too much fucus on the 3D Experience platform, and getting everything on the cloud based do everything in one place platform...
They are so invested in this new platform, they are ignoring the fact that probably 90% of their users just need a good, robust CAD package... We don't need the collaboration tools, etc...

My opinion is... The writing on the wall has been around for over a decade and folks chose to ignore it. DSS bet the farm on the cloud based stuff over a decade ago with Catia/Enovia V6 and has been having trouble getting traction with customers to adopt it. They also announced over a decade ago that their intention was to kill desktop SolidWorks and replace it with a cloud version based on the V6 technology (https://develop3d.com/cad/the-death-of-solidworks/). After a decade of investment and little to no income to show for it, I think the "nice" is about over with DSS and soon customers won't have a choice other than not to be a customer.

[jcapriotti]

My opinion is... The writing on the wall has been around for over a decade and folks chose to ignore it. DSS bet the farm on the cloud based stuff over a decade ago with Catia/Enovia V6 and has been having trouble getting traction with customers to adopt it. They also announced over a decade ago that their intention was to kill desktop SolidWorks and replace it with a cloud version based on the V6 technology (https://develop3d.com/cad/the-death-of-solidworks/). After a decade of investment and little to no income to show for it, I think the "nice" is about over with DSS and soon customers won't have a choice other than not to be a customer.

Killing DesktopWorks is a no go for us. We are going to Windchill for PLM......that doesn't work with CloudWorks. They will have to support DesktopWorks or lose a lot of large customers using other PLMs like Windchill, Teamcenter, Agile, Aras, SAP, etc.

[berg_lauritz]

Killing DesktopWorks is a no go for us. We are going to Windchill for PLM......that doesn't work with CloudWorks. They will have to support DesktopWorks or lose a lot of large customers using other PLMs like Windchill, Teamcenter, Agile, Aras, SAP, etc.

They ARE loosing big customers (aka Mercedes, Hyundai, Volvo...)

[SPerman]

I am not sure the current management cares. I guess they figure they will win all of those customers back once we open our eyes to the beauty of their online collaboration suite.

[berg_lauritz]

I am not sure the current management cares. I guess they figure they will win all of those customers back once we open our eyes to the beauty of their online collaboration suite.

It's easy and cheap to go back!

[jcapriotti]

It's easy and cheap to go back!

Your comment was uber sarcastic but this may hold an element of truth. If the new platform turns into a train wreck....ditching it and going to a working system is easier and cheaper than going forth.

[berg_lauritz]

Your comment was uber sarcastic but this may hold an element of truth. If the new platform turns into a train wreck....ditching it and going to a working system is easier and cheaper than going forth.

True. But I was talking about making a change like Mercedes did:
Going from D'assault to Siemens. Changing the backbone of a system is no small feat in such a large company and they did it in only 1.5 years. Which is actually really fast! I cannot imagine the amount of money they spent and it's unlikely that they go back in the next 5-10 years.

Once you're that invested there is only one direction: Forward.

[bnemec]

Your comment was uber sarcastic but this may hold an element of truth. If the new platform turns into a train wreck....ditching it and going to a working system is easier and cheaper than going forth.

I think they've shown they don't go for the cheap and easy route. It appears they prefer the overly complicated approach.

Function is not even a consideration.