Conisio

Back in Sept. I had made a comment that Conisio "had some issues." I have to say that after last night's update I'm impressed, the main issue of slowness with large folders is GREATLY improved - thanks Conisio.

I also found what I believe to probably be a SW2004 function in that the preview of a SW file can be rotated & zoomed right there in Conisio. Makes it pretty handy to go look at something without having to actually load the part, assy or drawing. (Also works with a .DWG file.)

WT

Never heard of this PDM . . . what's the cost per seat?

'Sporky'

Wayne Tiffany wrote:

Never heard of read about it either..

http://www.c>

Spork,

They have different versions but typically if your were using it within SolidWorks the cost would be $750 or $1000 per seat. These prices include subscription service. Conisio runs on top of the Microsoft SQL database. If you have SQL already the cost would be $750. If you don't have SQL you can get a run time version of SQL called MSDE (Microsoft Data Engine) with the $1000 version of Conisio.

Dave

Hmmm . . . makes one wonder whether this is a bargain when both PDMWorks and DBWorks sell for $500 per seat.

Mark 'Sporky' Staplet>

well--for one thing PDM works doesn't cost $500 per seat anymore. SW has jacked the price of a standalone license to $1000--"incentivizing us to purchase OfficePro" was the way my reseller put it. Perhaps contrary to their intention, the price increase incentivized my company to continue to do without PDMWorks....

Dennis,

I did some investigating into Conisio a few months ago. I really liked the way it integrates itself into Windows Explorer. It was easy to use and checking in any file was a simple drag and drop in Windows Explorer or File->Save As within ANY windows native program.

The only hangup I had with it was it's inability to check in Assembly documents and all the referenced parts within that assembly at one time from within the SolidWorks environment. If all of your parts happen to be in the same folder, then it wasn't a big deal. If the parts were stored in several different locations, it seemed to require that you find all the files manually and "drag-n-drop" them into the vault folder. That, along with its relatively small user base when compared to other mid/high range PDM packages were the only red flags I saw.

I think the product is put together very well and it wouldn't surprise me to see it grow into one of the "big players" with SolidWorks users in the future.

Ricky Jordan

Michael,

You make a good point. Many may not be aware of the current pricing of PDMWorks. It's obvious from the below pricing what way SolidWorks wants you to go. It sure isn't $500.

SolidWorks to PDMWorks is $995 + $395 subscription service. Of course the $395 is on top of the normal $1295.

SolidWorks to SolidWorks Office Professional is $1495 + $195 subscription service.

SolidWorks Office to SolidWorks Office Professional is $495 + $195 subscription service. Of course this is after you already spent $995 to get to Office.

Rick,

I've not seen your example very often, because we keep all the SW parts, assemblies and drawings in the same folder. I used to see the problem you spoke of about a year ago in version 5.1, but I think the problem went away in version 5.2 and 5.3. I would have to check, but I'm sure if the Conisio support group was informed about the specifics, they could fix it. When we had an issue with the way the developed the AutoCAD plug-in, they worked with us to develop a custom version which allowed us to use it our way rather then their way.

As to the discussion of price, check out the network license. Last time I checked on the price it was around $35,000 for a site license. I don't think any company compaires with that low of price. That means you get a price break if you have over 35 to 50 users.

Dennis

Hi Ricky,

Checking in parts and assemblies works very well with Conisio from inside SolidWorks. If you activate the SolidWorks Add-in you will have this option both on a toolbar, from your FeatureManager and on the RMB.

The one feature that I like the most is the ability to update/change your custom properties from Conisio without opening your part or assembly. Also all your custom properties is automatic replicated into a MS-SQL database, making the search for component information very fast. Just save all your existing SolidWorks files into the Conisio vault and your customproperties will be indexed into the SQL database.

Jess