SOLIDWORKS To Onshape : Why Cutsforth Made The Switch

Blog • CAD & Simulation

Based in Ferndale, Washington, Cutsforth Inc. designs and manufactures this equipment for some of the world’s largest power companies and corporations, including National Grid, Pacific Gas and Electric, ExxonMobil, Shell, and General Electric. The high stakes of keeping the lights on means they’re always looking for ways to improve their product development process. So when they heard about potentially switching from SOLIDWORKS to Onshape, they were intrigued.

Could this be the answer to their prayers? They decided to put it to the test.

For a few months, they designated one of their R&D engineers as the staff “guinea pig” and had him design only in Onshape. At the end of the experiment, their guinea pig didn’t ever want to go back. Here’s why:

• Their old CAD system was very susceptible to crashes. And because it was an older system, it wasn’t compatible with many of the newer computers on the market.
• When they switched from SOLIDWORKS to Onshape, they didn’t have to worry about compatibility or crashes. It’s a cloud-based system that is always up-to-date and accessible from anywhere.

• Their design team used to spend way too much time managing their PDM system, which housed more than 15,000 legacy files accumulated over 10-12 years.
• With Onshape’s built-in design data management, Cutsforth was able to cut down on the amount of time spent managing files. And because all of their data is stored in the cloud, they can access it from anywhere, at any time.

• They found that SOLIDWORKS was sometimes difficult to use and required a lot of training for their staff.
• When switching from SOLIDWORKS to Onshape, the learning curve was much shorter because it is more intuitive and user-friendly. Plus, there are plenty of resources available online if you need help with anything.

“We’re product development people, we’re not in the IT business.” – Rob Cutsforth, CEO

If you’re considering making the switch from SOLIDWORKS to Onshape, we say go for it! You won’t be disappointed. Onshape is more reliable, saves time, and is more intuitive than SOLIDWORKS. Plus, it’s backed by a team of passionate engineers who are constantly innovating and making improvements.

So what are you waiting for, give Onshape a try with a free 14-day trial!

TriStar PLM Solutions welcomes questions. Feel free to CONTACT US if you can’t find what you’re looking for, or call us at 800-800-1714