Windchill 13, the latest Windchill PLM release, focuses on significant UX improvements to increase productivity and collaboration. It’s designed to power your digital thread and enable the seamless flow of information across the enterprise. Here are the details on the latest Windchill 13 feature improvements.
Windchill 13 Feature Improvements
Interoperability with Windchill Workgroup Manager
The Windchill Workgroup Manager application makes managing CAD data from multiple CAD applications easy. Windchill 13 includes improvements to support both back and forward compatibility. These upgrades allow customers and on-premise users to decouple server and client application maintenance to significantly improve and streamline upgrades.
Visualization with QuickView
Windchill 13 upgrades 3D visualization for extremely large and complex products. The improvements to QuickView offer a faster and more fluid experience to empower more rapid decision-making and collaboration between engineering and manufacturing. It’s CAD agnostic and available in multiple browser environments—so end users can easily use QuickView to visualize larger products and determine which parts they want to see in more detail.
QuickView makes it easy to visualize complex products in real time for improved product design across the enterprise.
Platform Architecture with Smart Platforms
Using the Windchill Smart Platforms dynamic position capability, designers can easily create platform architectures that define the interfaces across the product structure. This advanced technique is accomplished without creating multiple CAD variations by leveraging positioning logic to visualize new product variants. This allows design intent to be captured directly using rules to control assembly logic and positioning.
In addition, with direct access to intent data from CAD, construction geometry teams can create dynamically positioned modules for 3D digital mock-ups, making it possible to execute a modular product configuration strategy. This intent data also allows end users to reduce engineering complexity and costs while improving quality and collaboration, even with CATIA V5 and Siemens NX data.
Direct access to intent data allows teams to implement a modular product configuration strategy.
Regulatory Submission Automation
New tools help simplify and streamline regulatory submissions for the medical device industry. Through various object improvements such as revision control, stakeholders have more control over the change process. In addition, there is now support for the REST framework so teams can tie electronic submissions to the regulatory update process.
There have also been numerous updates to unique device identifiers (UDIs), allowing users to:
- Add UDIs to change processes
- Revise UDIs during the change process
- Add multiple subjects
Process Planning with XBOM
The new automatic eXtended Bill of Materials (XBOM) tool uses customer-defined rules. This simplifies the process for viewing updates so users can take action instead of wasting time on a manual search.
There are also enhancements to standard control characteristics with new features:
- Mass check-in and check-out
- Mass change
- Collector controls
Streamlining control through XBOM and standard control enhancements significantly increases efficiency.
Empower Your Digital Thread with Windchill 13
Overall, Windchill 13 helps extend the information flow between engineering teams with improved visualization and synchronization. Through these new tools, teams can better leverage the digital thread to empower product development throughout the product lifecycle. Upgrading to Windchill 13 ensures you have the latest features at your fingertips to stay competitive in a market that values speed and quality.
Upgrade to Windchill 13
If you’re already using Windchill and are up to date on maintenance, you can upgrade at no additional cost (feel free to reach out if you need help upgrading). If you’re using a different PLM solution and are ready to switch to Windchill 13—contact us.