At InFlow Technology, we provide product lifecycle management and product data management solutions, with a focus on ENOVIA, SOLIDWORKS PDM, CATIA, and SIMULIA products, services, training, and support.

“It starts with providing the right solutions and our commitment to making sure our clients are successful,” said Justin Webster, Vice President, InFlow Technology. We want to build lasting partnerships with our clients.”

In 2017, we added CATIA 3D modeling and design software to our solution portfolio. CATIA is used in a wide variety of industries for product design by some of the world’s most recognizable brands.

“The addition of CATIA to our portfolio was a decision that made sense. We always look for ways to add more value to our relationships with our clients. Many were already using CATIA in their design process. By adding CATIA, we have positioned ourselves as a one-stop shop for our clients,” said Rod Levin, President, InFlow Technology.

For more information, visit our website at www.cati.com.

Jim TeDesco, Vice President, Marketing
Computer Aided Technology, LLC and InFlow Technology, LLC
www.cati.com

DSLS is supported on the following release levels:

•V6R2010x and higher

•V5R21 and higher

•V5R20 SP7 from HF26 onwards (*)

•V5R20 SP6 from HF69 onwards (*)

•V5R20 SP5 from HF84 onwards (*)

•V5R20 SP4 from HF89 onwards (*)

•V5R20 SP3 from HF76 onwards (*)

•V5R19 SP9 from HF96 onwards (*)

 (*) Service request will be required to receive the hot-fix.

DSLS will not be available for V5R18 and for releases prior to V5R18 as these releases are no longer supported.

1. In solidworks, Select smarteam menu and click on options. Type [*] in the simplified configuration extension field.

2. Start System configuration editor [Start/All programs/ Smarteam/ Administrative tools/System configuration editor]

3. Search for “simplified” in system configuration editor                      

4. Click on legacy preferences.config setting 

5. Select “Add Value”

6. Select “Domain” for the override level and add (*) for the value. Click on save changes 

7. A part in solidworks with three configurations..

In this example, since asterix [*] is the simplified configuration, we can create multiple configurations with any text (Default, expl, flat) within the brackets. The name of the configuration itself should be the same. Case sensitivity MUST be followed. We cannot have Test, test, TEST…

8. Other than [ ] the following special characters are supported :

Special characters are:
! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) –

Companies that contact InFlow are generally not looking to buy a PLM solution. Rather, they are looking to solve complex issues in their organization. Often times, the connection between the issue and the definition of PLM is somewhat cloudy. Therefore, my goal in this series is to discuss some of these challenges that InFlow has addressed with PLM and some of the measurable success that our customers have achieved.

“Creating a platform for centralized purchasing”

One of our largest customers came to us before they decided to consolidate 12 locations on a new ERP platform. In the mean time, they desired a way to consolidate purchasing power. This company decided that by reporting on materials and parts that were being purchased for existing product, as well as those planned for newly developed products in all locations, they could receive deeper discounts and save a great deal of money.

In order to do this, InFlow has consolidated 8 (soon to be all 12) of the locations in to a single SmarTeam PLM database. The company has not yet established a central purchasing group. However, when this is established, they will have the power to search all existing engineering projects, plan more appropriately for inventory levels, and negotiate greater discounts with its suppliers.

Companies that contact InFlow are generally not looking to buy a PLM solution. Rather, they are looking to solve complex issues in their organization. Often times, the connection between the issue and the definition of PLM is somewhat cloudy. Therefore, my goal in this series is to discuss some of these challenges that InFlow has addressed with PLM and some of the measurable success that our customers have achieved.

“Reducing the number of pizza boxes on your desk”

…yes, this was a real problem for one of InFlow’s customers.

This customer could not easily track engineering changes throughout their organization. This company filled out a standard engineering change form and routed the form, stuffed in a manila envelope with accompanying drawings and documents, to the next reviewer/approver in the process. However, no one had any visibility as to who had the folder or how long it took him or her to get to the associated tasks.

To solve the issue of tracking where the change was in the approval process, this company bought a few pallets of large pizza boxes from a local restaurant. The manila folders were then glued to the bottom of the pizza box and routed inside the box. That way, anyone involved in the process could look around the facility at the desks that were cluttered by pizza boxes. Furthermore, it was a distraction (and somewhat of an embarrassment) to have a number of pizza boxes sitting on top of your desk, so there was additional incentive to address the change and move it on to the next person in line.

This idea worked…to a point. While it did speed the change process somewhat, the company was still unable to track the time that the change took in each department, discover methods to make the process more efficient, and someone was forced to scan all of the documents at the end of the process so that they could be filed on a server for future retrieval.

InFlow stepped in. Together, InFlow and its customer documented the existing change process and easily translated it in to an electronic workflow in ENOVIA SmarTeam PLM. This reduced the time the company spent in retrieving engineering changes by over 90% (from 2 days to 2 minutes). Since that time, the company has added over 30 workflow processes in to SmarTeam, creating a system that provides electronic notification, tracking, and history for processes such as, PPAP, Expense Reports, Vacation Requests, Corrective Actions, etc.

With less pizza boxes on their desks, this company is also helping to save paper. This in turn saves trees, which in turn make more oxygen, which in turn makes this a better world for all of us. So…is PLM the answer to the world’s environmental predicament? While there is no conclusive evidence, this PLM salesman believes it with all his heart.

We have a customer that is now running 3 SQL SmarTeam sites.  (Inflow now has many other Oracle multi-site SmarTeam customers)

This is the SQL server with replicated Vault files only   (DB is not replicated)

The quick performance scoop is:

–       An assembly that takes about 2 minutes @ Site1 to Open

–       Was about 24 minutes @ Site2 and is now under 2.5 minutes

–       At Site3, it simply failed before and is now about 3 minutes or less (Slower line for the DB info)

–       Login times and general object searching also decreased significantly since we now have a configuration server at each site

If you are interested in this type of solution for your company, please contact Inflow Technology @

800.875.3009 for more information

www.inflow-tech.com

EACC 2008 will build on the best practices of the PLM industry leading MatrixOne Global Customer Conference (GCC) which was held for eight years prior to MatrixOne joining Dassault Systémes ENOVIA family of PLM solutions. EACC 2008 builds on those traditions, expanding the networking, educational and strategic business planning opportunities to you and all ENOVIA SmarTeam, ENOVIA VPLM and ENOVIA MatrixOne customers.

This is a valuable opportunity to share your services and solutions with ENOVIA SmarTeam, ENOVIA VPLM and ENOVIA MatrixOne customers, executives, business planners, IT professionals, systems integrators and more.

EACC 2008 promises to bring together several hundred attendees across eleven industries — providing a venue to network and learn about both partner and ENOVIA solutions, services and educational opportunities. At EACC, you and your customers will:

• Listen as PLM industry leaders how they are transforming new product development
• Learn about the latest PLM products and solutions during dozens of industry and strategic breakout sessions
• Network with your peers at events including customer appreciation events, industry roundtables and more

Source: http://www.3ds.com/news-events/press-releases/release/1758/1/?no_cache=1

Inflow-Technology, of course, deploys solutions based on Dassault’s product. So, if Dassault is PLM, then Inflow-Technology is the PLM Solution! Chant that three times and tell your friends!

October 6 & 7, 2009   Orlando, Florida

What is DSCC?
DSCC is the first-ever cross-brand Dassault Systémes (DS) Customer Conference. This premier PLM conference is designed for Senior Executives, Decision Makers, Directors and Managers of enterprise and mid-market businesses.

Why Should Your Customers Attend?
DSCC will provide valuable information on how to emerge with advantage from the current economic climate. Attendees will hear how other mid-market industry leaders have benefited from PLM, gain insight into Dassault Systémes’ PLM vision, strategy and solutions and have the opportunity to network with peers.

DSCC offers a robust agenda pertinent to all customers, or prospective customers, of CATIA for virtual design, DELMIA for digital manufacturing and production, ENOVIA for collaborative innovation, SIMULIA for realistic simulation and 3DVIA for lifelike experience.

To get more information.. visit  http://dassaultsystemes.g2planet.com/dscc09/home.htm

More posts as we get more information to share.

Here is what SmarTeam has sent Inflow Technology regarding the time change:

“This year time changes will move in a week earlier and leave a week later. This basically means that on most of the servers out there in the US, our customers will need to install Hotfixes (by Microsoft or Oracle or others), to make sure that the time is working accordingly.

By saying that, we are getting a lot of questions regarding those changes, and therefore, i would like to say that all those hotfixes by different parties are being tested by the ENOVIA SmarTeam QA department.

The tests will probably be done by the end of this week. if we will need to issues a global SmarTeam Hotfix we will do so, if not, we will probably send an announcement that those fixes are compatible with ENOVIA SmarTeam software.” (Noam Ktalav – Dassault Systemes)