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Technical Committees Remain Hard at Work
by Dan Glenn, Director of Technical Committees
The latest PTC/USER Technical Committee meetings were highly productive, thanks in large measure to the strong turnout. Over 150 members traveled to Boston in January for the three-day event to discuss the future of PTC software with their fellow members and PTC product managers.
I want to thank all of the committee members and chairs for their hard work and dedication to advancing the state-of-the-art in product development technology. Through their efforts, PTC software users around the world can look forward to software enhancements that will improve their productivity and help their companies compete in an ever-changing marketplace.
Here’s a quick summary of the individual committee sessions.
Core Modeling
Chair: Ron Grabau, HP
The Core Modeling TC assigned members to focus teams, each with its own responsibility to review, discuss and write white papers on a specific topic. The objective is to respond more quickly to user needs and PTC projects. While all members of the TC can participate and provide input, it is the team’s job to interface with PTC and coordinate efforts around their specific topic. Most of the teams conduct virtual meetings on a regular basis.
During the winter meetings, the team leaders reported on their activities and gathered input from the larger committee. PTC also presented projects in progress and enlisted feedback from committee members. These brainstorming sessions are very productive and provide good direction for both PTC and committee activities.
All the committee members have been working hard to represent not only their own companies, but also for the PTC/USER community. As committee chair, I applaud their efforts and sacrifice of time.
Customization
Chair: Jeff Rowe, Honeywell
The Customization Committee focuses on customizations and programming using Pro/TOOLKIT® and Pro/INTRALINK® TOOLKIT. At the winter meetings, JD Felkins of Felco Solutions made a presentation on Pro/INTRALINK scripting and how it can be used to automate activities. He also gave a session on J-Link and automation in Pro/ENGINEER. Our thanks to JD for his useful and informative presentations.
As usual, PTC provided a wealth of valuable information on upcoming enhancements and future trends. Scott Conover, our PTC product manager, presented two tutorials, "Getting Started with Web.Link" and "Custom Dashboards.” A great deal of discussion was devoted to the future of Pro/INTRALINK, which has significant ramifications for customization. PTC’s plans for Pro/INTRALINK will be discussed in detail at the PTC/USER World Event this summer.
Data Exchange and Archiving
Chair: Matt Meadows, Sequoia, Etc.
The January meetings gave committee members an opportunity to test enhancements to Wildfire 3.0 and to review a number of projects for Wildfire 4.0. PTC product manager Asa Trainer went into an in-depth discussion of two of the largest projects and used the committee’s feedback to amend the project specifications.
PTC product manager Mark Fischer delivered an overview of ModelCHECK. He was very interested in our unique use cases for ModelCHECK related to data translation and archival. Victor Gerdes demonstrated the new archive, retrieve, and purge functionality available in PDMLink 8.0. The committee will continue to meet via webcast to help refine specifications for Wildfire 4.0 functionality. Product-focused webcasts are also planned for ModelCHECK and other products.
The Data Exchange and Archiving Technical Committee is actively seeking new members. Please feel free to contact the TC chair, Matt Meadows, if you are interested in helping shape the future of data exchange or archival.
Drafting
Chair: Debbie Guenther, John Deere
The Drafting Technical Committee meeting drew 16 members along with several PTC personnel. We reviewed Wildfire 3.0 and did early testing of the software. The committee also reviewed proposed customer enhancements and their priorities. Other topics of discussion were hole tables, color scheme, and ASME Y14.41 compliance. We reevaluated the 2D sketcher and the drawing tree white papers.
The committee identified multi-language drawings as a topic for a new white paper. If your company has requirements in this area, please send them to Debbie Guenther at GuentherDebraJ@JohnDeere.com.
Manufacturing
Chair: Gary Blackler, Fisher & Paykel
The Manufacturing Technical Committee meeting included 13 members and 4 PTC representatives—a huge increase over last year’s attendance. Francois Lamy, the PTC product manager for manufacturing products, led off with his responses to individual issues for each of the five focus groups (Mold Design, Mold Machining, Production Milling, Production Turning and Wire EDM). During our discussions, committee members decided to appoint a team leader for each group to be responsible for organizing the group issues, enhancements, white papers, and other business.
Francois also gave a presentation and demonstration of what is new in Wildfire 3.0 for manufacturing, and then followed up with a presentation and discussion on the projects planned for Wildfire 4.0.
After the formal TC meetings concluded, eight of the Manufacturing TC members participated in a two-day workshop at PTC. The main objective was to test Wildfire 3.0 on typical part models supplied by committee members and give feedback to PTC’s product definition and the software developers before Wildfire 3.0 goes into production.
On a final note, it is encouraging to see a steady increase in participation in the Manufacturing Technical Committee and the return of some veteran members. Membership is currently open to new participants, so if you or your company is interested in influencing the future of the manufacturing modules, please join up.
Sheetmetal
Chair: Joel Nelson, ENSER Corporation
The Sheetmetal Technical Committee is responsible for reviewing enhancements to the Pro/SHEETMETAL module. During our meeting this year, we presented and closed on a white paper and reviewed development priorities for future software releases.
We also discussed a number of problems and potential solutions for Wildfire 2.0 and reviewed functionality planned for implementation in Wildfire 4.0.
Simulation
Chair: Chris Kaswer, The Timken Corporation
January's meeting of the Simulation Technical Committee brought about some changes. First, I have been given the honor of serving as chair, replacing John Leahey. More significantly, we discussed ways in which we can strengthen our group and create a larger and more representative cross-section of the user community.
Given the significance and scope of the subject matter the Simulation TC covers, we have too few active members. We cover three major areas of PTC's products and need to attract members who are actively using Behavioral Modeling Extension (BMX), Pro/MECHANICA, and Pro/MECHANISMS. Pro/MECHANICA covers both "Structure" and "Thermal" while Pro/MECHANISMS includes both Mechanism Design Extension (MDX) & Mechanism Dynamics Option (MDO). These areas can also be linked to work together in an even more powerful package.
Our group will discuss each major area individually and, when appropriate, options and ideas for having them work together. While the products covered by our committee may seem more analytical in nature, the BMX product is very much a mainstream design tool. We hope those of you who take advantage of this tool will join our group and inject some design experience into the mix to help us improve this module. My division at Timken is beginning to take advantage of this product, which I’ve come to consider among PTC's most powerful but least-known modeling tools.
If you are interested in participating in our group, please visit the Simulation TC page on the PTC/USER website (ptcuser.org). See you in June!
System Administration
Chair: Paul Crane, John Deere
This forum continues to be a crucial link between PTC and the customer community, providing an invaluable opportunity for system administrators and PTC to share ideas and concerns openly. January’s meeting boasted a record 33 attendees. Our focus during the sessions was feedback on what the Technical Committee needs and wants from PTC, and vice versa. We covered several topics using this interactive format, ranging from Quality Assurance (PTC Product Manager Leo Vogelin) to Pro/INTRALINK administration (Will Kohler) and licensing changes (Mark Fischer).
As a result of our discussions, the System Administration TC has expanded the scope of its coverage to include software quality assurance, PTC Technical Support quality, product integration, licensing, and installation issues. Webcasts addressing each of these items are planned for the coming year.
Mike Reece has stepped down from his position as committee chair but will assume the role of vice chair. He remains an extremely important member of the group and deserves congratulations for his many accomplishments over the past several years.
Usability and Training
Chair: Denise Justice, Honeywell FM&T
The Usability and Training Technical Committee focuses on the areas of usability, training and ModelCHECK. During the January meetings, we reviewed 2004 accomplishments that include an updated curriculum for Wildfire 2.0 and Pro/INTRALINK 3.4, and the release of COACH/LMS 3.0. We also discussed our goals for 2005.
CADTRAIN gave a presentation on the latest developments in COACH and COACH/LMS. PTC provided an update on ModelCHECK, including the current release schedule and compatibility information, Wildfire 3.0 enhancements to ModelCHECK, and potential ModelCHECK projects. We also examined ModelCHECK use cases from typical PTC software users.
Committee members devoted much of their discussion to identifying and categorizing a number of usability concepts. We are currently further defining and prioritizing the categories to clarify their areas of impact.
Visualization
Chair: Jill Schwegel, Sandia National Laboratories
The Visualization Technical Committee meeting drew 27 attendees from North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific regions. The meeting began with a round of short presentations from each committee member, followed by a list of issues and topics for discussion both during the meeting and in future webcasts. PTC then provided an update on visualization product changes and improvements in Release 8.0, including changes to Pro/INTRALINK and their impacts on Graphics Server.
A large portion of the meeting was dedicated to reviewing proposed enhancements and changes for the X10 release of visualization products. This discussion was followed by a vote on the committee’s top five priorities, which will be announced in an upcoming webcast
The committee concluded the meeting with two user presentations. The first was from Fernando Toledo from the National Institute for Aviation Research, covering the use of dvMockup in their Virtual Reality Center. The second presentation was by Denise Justice of Honeywell’s Kansas City plant, discussing the use of ProductView in conjunction with their Work Instruction Simplification Project.
Committee members agreed that the Visualization TC meeting schedule should not conflict with Windchill Infrastructure or the Windchill Solutions TC meetings. This is due in part to the increased use of MCAD viewing in conjunction with Windchill and the need to have a voice in ProductView development.
Windchill Infrastructure
Chair: Dominic Hand, Ingersoll-Rand Climate Control
The focus of the Windchill Infrastructure Technical Committee meeting was on establishing goals and deliverables for the next few months. To help align committee activities with their plans, PTC presented summaries of various initiatives including potential topics to be addressed in the next two versions of Windchill. The 21 members in attendance then created a list of important topics where the TC could have the most impact. As a result, focus groups were established for digital rights management (DRM), reporting, and access control.
PTC will include TC members in its specification review processes for potential development of system monitoring and management, role-based user interfaces, and lightweight customization capabilities. Committee members were selected to provide feedback to PTC on searching, documentation and terminology, and access control. In addition, webcasts will be scheduled for performance benchmarking, ERP integration, solution interoperability, migration and upgrade, and configuration for external collaboration.
While currently accepting new members, the Windchill Infrastructure Technical Committee is expected to close later this year before it becomes too large to be efficient and effective.
Next Stop, Orlando
I look forward to seeing everyone at the Summer Technical Committee meetings at the PTC/USER World Event 2005 in Orlando, Florida. Between the user presentations and the PTC tutorials, there is always a great deal of practical information to be gained at this event.
If you are interested in joining a particular committee, please go to the Technical Committees section of the PTC/USER.org. If you are interested in assisting direct the future of PTC software, I encourage you to contact the appropriate committee chair to find out how you can participate. 
Dan Glenn works for Solar Turbines in San Diego, CA He can be reached via email at dan@ptcuser.org.
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