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.
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.
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
