PartBrowser

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PartBrowser is a simple solution to the problem of finding your CAD files on your computer. You need only to tell PartBrowser where your CAD files are, either in local directories or network drives, and you're ready to search. Once found, files can then be opened in the appropriate CAD system.

3 versions are available:

PartBrowser Desktop:

PartBrowser can be used to find CAD models where the filename, part number or description is not known. This enables part re-use, reducing costs by saving design time, allowing manufacturing data and tooling to be re-used, and improving inventory management.

PartBrowser allows a user to navigate and search through very large databases of CAD models. Users can browse through the database, selecting parts increasingly similar geometrically to the desired part. Alternatively, the user can supply a sketch of the required part as a query. Currently, the software is integrated with SolidWorks and Solid Edge, but can be configured for any CAD system.

PartBrowser Network:

PartBrowser Network is a network-enabled version of PartBrowser suitable for up to 10 users and up to 100,000 parts.

PartBrowser Network combines 3D shape search along with free text and attribute search for product data. By using PartBrowser Network design teams can avoid repeat work involved in re-inventing existing designs and retooling. This dramatically lowers cost across the design and tooling process and can shorten time-to-market.

PartBrowser Enterprise:

PartBrowser Enterprise is a multi-user server version of PartBrowser suitable for any number of users and 100,000+ parts.

PartBrowser Enterprise combines 3D shape search along with free text and attribute search for corporate product data. It also includes the ability to identify duplicate and near-duplicate components by geometric shape so that rapid part rationalisation is possible.

By using PartBrowser Enterprise design teams, locally or globally, can avoid repeat work involved in re-inventing existing designs and retooling. This dramatically lowers cost across the design and tooling process and can shorten time-to-market.

The solution is designed to augment existing PLM systems with a range of connectors to popular PDM and PLM products, leveraging  existing investments. It can be rapidly deployed with a Return on Investment in 18 months.

DuplicateFinder searches through CAD databases finding part duplicates, allowing rationalisation of part libraries. DuplicateFinder looks for geometrically similar parts and so finds duplicates regardless of differences in CAD software used to generate the models, file formats used or minor differences in model geometry.

The DuplicateFinder add-in to PartBrowser scans all the CAD files on your computer for potential duplicates. DuplicateFinder looks for geometrically similar parts and so finds duplicates regardless of differences in CAD software used to generate the models, file formats used or minor differences in model geometry.

DuplicateFinder can, if required, output a text report containing the paths of all potential duplicates for futher investigation.

Find with ‘Search-by-Shape’.
Do you know what a part looks like but can't remember its filename? Use our unique shape similarity technology to search your CAD files by their shape and size.

Save money - Re-use parts.
Have you already designed a part like this? Hundreds of $$$’s are wasted on designing a new part when similar ones already exist. PartBrowser can take a partially finished model and find similar parts.

Save time - Find files faster.
Loads of CAD files in directories on your hard drive or network? PartBrowser helps you browse or search for the file you want instantly.

Quicker, Easier Indexing.
Do other Search programs slow your system? PartBrowser is tailored for CAD files, doesn’t use Microsoft Windows indexing and needs minimal system resources.

Search-by-Shape
Whilst modeling a component, have you ever been sure that you've designed something similar before?

With traditional systems if you can't remember a file name or part number you need to exhaustively search through old directories and projects with only thumbnails to help. Often it's easier to design a new part.

Using our shape similarity technology, PartBrowser can find an existing part even if you only roughly remember its shape.   Either select a part similar in shape to the component you want to find and PartBrowser will display all CAD models that match the same shape. Alternatively you can model a very simplified sketch of the part you want to find in your CAD system and PartBrowser will do the rest.

Browse-by-Shape
PartBrowser allows you to browse-by-shape when you don't exactly know the shape of the part you want but would recognise it when you saw it. PartBrowser shows a representative sample of the shapes of parts on your computer - just select the most similar and then browse towards the part you want.

Text Search
PartBrowser incorporates full text search capabilities. You can search through file names, part numbers, file properties and custom properties. We have developed specialised algorithms to parse file names and numbers according to typical naming conventions. PartBrowser will even cope with minor typos.

Visual browsing - better than thumbnails
Whether browsing through your directory structure or viewing the results of a text or shape search, our visual browser shows CAD files in full 3D - a vast improvement over thumbnail images. You can also zoom in on any part to see more detail and display file and custom properties.

Finding duplicate parts (optional add-in).
The DuplicateFinder add-in to PartBrowser scans all the CAD files on your computer for potential duplicates. DuplicateFinder looks for geometrically similar parts and so finds duplicates regardless of differences in CAD software used to generate the models, file formats used or minor differences in model geometry.

DuplicateFinder can, if required, output a text report containing the paths of all potential duplicates for futher investigation.

Automatic indexing
After installing PartBrowser you will be prompted to specify the location of any CAD files on local or network drives. PartBrowser will then scan those directories for CAD files and index them for shape and text searches. Each time PartBrowser is started these directories are scanned in the background for new or modified files and any re-indexing is then done automatically.

PartBrowser uses it’s own CAD-specific indexing service rather than the Windows Indexing service in order to minimise memory and CPU requirements.

Currently Supported CAD systems:

• SolidWorks 32-bt
• Solid Edge 32-bit

Currently Supported Operating Systems:

• Windows XP 32-bit, 64-bit
• Windows Vista 32-bit, 64-bit