The Product Structure Editor is the primary app within the 3D Product Architect role on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. It is used to “architect” the components that meet the requirements of the design, into an intelligent hierarchical engineering definition. This achieves the goals of defining the work breakdown structure and possibly the travelers on the shop floor – if a company has that level of harmony in their operations. It should be noted that I did not say, “design structure” – this is intentional on my part. The architect generally leaves the finer points of component substructure and assembly in the hands of the designer within their specific CAD environment.
That being said, one of the capabilities of the architect using the platform is the evolving ability to do top-down design. With the release of 2021x, the ability to utilize CAD templates directly in the product definition has opened the door to this capability. Beyond this, the platform is beginning to offer in context design capabilities across different CAD systems initially offering this ability between CATIA & SOLIDWORKS. In the example below, I will introduce you to this functionality in a simple scenario using multiple CAD systems in the definition of a new front fork assembly for a motorcycle.