This summer Siemens PLM Software is set to launch the second Solid Edge release based on its new Synchronous Technology. Al Dean got a sneak preview of the product that has helped drive the direct modelling revolution of the last 12 months

Siemens PLM has added Synchronous Technology to the helix, a complex geometric form that doesn’t lend itself well to direct manipulation. This image shows a helix shape for the blades as the first feature created with nearly instant changes

With the release of Solid Edge and Synchronous Technology (ST) around this time last year, Siemens set in motion a chain of events that hasn’t been seen since the launch of parametric history-based modelling which was 20 years ago. We now have a situation where the dynamic editing of geometry, without having to worry about time-consuming history recalculation, is gaining ground in all areas of industry.

The introduction of ST by Siemens PLM brought a greater level of awareness to the market about the potential of such technology. While PTC already had CoCreate acquired, the original direct modelling application, and new kid on the block SpaceClaim had delivered its take on the technology, ST was certainly a catalyst for all that followed.

Dassault introduced dynamic editing with the launch of Catia V6, as did SolidWorks, although to a lesser extent with its 2009 release. PTC’s Pro/Engineer Wildfire 5.0 has learnt some direct modelling from CoCreate and Autodesk will shortly place Inventor Fusion on its Labs site for users to download. In short, it’s been quite a year.

We’re now about to see the launch of Solid Edge with Synchronous Technology 2.0 (ST 2) which is due to ship later this year (expected late summer).