A Summary of TechniCom's Guide to Selecting a Mechanical CAD System for Small and Medium Businesses (SMB) in Software Reviews
Contributed by: Ray Kurland
05/01/2010

This paper is a follow on and update of a previous paper published in February 2005. In that paper we discussed Selecting a CAD/CAM/CAE/PDM system and noted that selecting such a system is no easy task. Today, five years later it is still no easy task to select a comprehensive engineering and product development system, yet it is crucial to the success of ANY business, be it small or large. Our goal with this paper is to help people make better decisions when selecting software solutions to improve product development and engineering performance. This paper can provide you with a logical and orderly approach, which, if followed, will allow you to select the proper 3D mechanical Computer Aided Design (CAD) system for your company. In this paper, different than many others we have seen, we provide guidance for mid-sized businesses rather than large-scale enterprises.

Exploring Windchill ProductPoint in Software Reviews
Contributed by: Ray Kurland
07/01/2009

ProductPoint is easy to get started with, is easy to maintain administratively, and extends the power of SharePoint while inheriting all its excellent characteristics for storing, sharing, and retrieving data. In addition, it is low cost, capitalizes on the extensive sharing and web oriented capabilities of SharePoint, and integrates well into existing Pro/ENGINEER installations. We highly recommend this product!

When a consultant can help in Interesting Papers
Contributed by: Ray Kurland
10/26/2008

I was recently musing about an assignment I conducted several years ago. Enough time and changes have gone by so that I can now share this story with you. At the conclusion of this assignment, I proposed that this company entirely rethink their process, only stocking raw materials and investing in an automated manufacturing processes to greatly reduce their order to delivery cycle and reduce their WIP inventory. My recommendations were not accepted. Less than two years later, no longer able to be competitive, the company closed its doors. Click on the link to read the full story.

SolidWorks 2009 Released in Software Reviews
Contributed by: Ray Kurland
10/26/2008

Recently we attended a review of SolidWorks 2009 in Barcelona Spain for industry analysts. SolidWorks 2009 focuses primarily on improvements to the product rather than dramatic new tools. But this focus really pays off, resulting in a faster, easier to use product. SolidWorks seems to be avoiding function creep, where function is added but usability suffers. A very impressive release! Click the title above to read our high level review.

Selecting a PLM System to Improve Product Development Performance for Small and Medium Sized Manufacturing Businesses in Interesting Papers
Contributed by: Ray Kurland
09/27/2008

This paper is a follow on and update of TechniCom's previous paper published in February 2005. In that paper we discussed "Selecting a CAD/CAM/CAE/PDM (CCCP) system" and noted that selecting such a system is no easy task. Today, almost three and one half years later it is still no easy task to select a comprehensive engineering and product development system, yet it is crucial to the success of ANY business, be it small or large.