Codeware, headquartered in Sarasota, offers COMPRESS, a pressure vessel design application.
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GrabCAD Workbench (discontinued)
Score 5.7 out of 10
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GrabCAD Workbench was a CAD collaboration solution that helps designers to manage files and engage partners in the design process. Since August 2022 it has been discontinued.
Codeware Compress is a very powerful ASME design tool. It is very intuitive and easy to learn. Anyone engaged in ASME related design projects will greatly benefit from investing in this software. It has tools for all types of ASME code products (pressure vessels, heat exchangers & boilers). Codeware is always improving the software. New features are included in almost all new releases. Their customer support is also great. They are quick to respond to questions. The web portal has great support tools. The ability to export the ASME design into 3D CAD formats is a huge time saver. The software can also be very handy for other types of non-ASME tank design work as well. For instance, you can use it to explore leg support structures for elevated tank designs.
GrabCad Workbench is well suited for group projects, where all my team members can view the designs at the same time, and by integrating it with CAD software like SolidWorks, all my team members can see the live changes in the projects based on the recommendations received. I can also do conversations with my team, which are project-specific, thus reducing time in email and video conferences. For assemblies, I can generate a Bill of materials with a single click. However, there are some drawbacks like every member needs to have an account in order to sync files with everyone, and the platform requires good internet connectivity otherwise file uploading will be time-consuming.
Add more CAD functionality to create custom support structures and support brackets (clips, ect..)
Partner with a major CAD platform (such as Autodesk, SolidWorks) for an "In CAD" solution. Which would allow quick customization of the ASME design model without leaving the native CAD environment.
One major drawback is, that it cannot display sketches and drawing files, only solids and surfaces can be seen on this platform.
The platform sometimes becomes unstable, it lags when I try to upload complex assemblies. Hence, GrabCad teams need to work to improve the stability of the platform.
SOLIDWORKS PDM is great because it is connected with your windows explorer, so you can guarantee that you will get the most recent version of the file. You need to remember to regularly update your files when using GrabCAD. SOLIDWORKS PDM has a more useful interface, where you can see previews, find BOMs, and view configurations without opening any files or checking them out. GrabCAD was chosen as a starting point to get the team started and familiar with a PDM system with the intention that another PDM would be chosen at a later date
Codeware Compress is a huge part of our ability to design and release pressure vessels quickly. It has greatly reduced our engineering design cycle. We have built standards that allow us to release designs to fabrication in hours instead of days.
The ability to export the 3D CAD files makes quick work of developing quotes and proposals.
Codeware Compress greatly reduces the chances of errors related to meeting ASME code compliance. The software developers keep the software in sync with the current editions of the ASME code. That allows users to focus more time on the design aspects of the project and less time worrying about the actual nuts and bolts of the extensive ASME code rules.
