GrabCAD Workbench Reviews & Product Details - Page 2

The ease of introduction has been so great. We are always moving so fast on projects and have very little time to work on extraneous projects. But this software was up and running in less than 10 minutes and adding our files was simple. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The only big problem I have had so far is that you cannot preview .slddrw files in the Workbench app online. I assume this is a feature that will be added sooner than later. But it is complicating our workflow between Engineering and Purchasing. Not stopping or ruining the workflow. But it would be a nice feature to have. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Mobile access to any files I want to load into Workbench.

Easily share files with vendors and simultaneously know what version was shared.

Lightweight desktop application and SolidWorks integration.

Flexible user plans and low access cost compared to PDMworks, Windchill, or Adept.

Zero setup time - it's ready to go the day you buy it, just start uploading.

Extremely responsive customer service.

Open to input for new development - listens to their customers.

Part library designation for certain projects is a huge help. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

If you have slow internet the upload/download process can be time consuming.

Resolving conflicts is better than dropbox, but you have to plan ahead and be careful when working with others.

Remember to lock the files you're using!

The desktop application user interface needs more organization tools for the files so you can sort/search/manage files on disk. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I like that it is cad-agnostic, but plays well with major packages. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I wish there was some way of implementing a part numbering system, even if it was only something on the grabCAD tab that told you what the next available part number is, or whatever schema you have defined.

Also defining workflows (design, analysis, review, approval) and roles appropriate roles to contributors.

Finally, whenever I try "download as" in the web-interface, it freezes, no matter what computer I am on. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I like the remote nature of GrabCAD. I can work from anywhere on any device and be productive designing with the most current data without having to remote login. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

That I can't have a separate common library for multiple categories such as hardware, electronic components, switches, etc. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

GrabCAD Workbench is an amazing plug and play tool that immediately helped us with revision control of our CAD files. Being able to manage other file types was an added bonus. I love the intuitive online CAD tools that allow our product managers and industrial designers to see and manipulate CAD models right in their browsers. Another amazing bonus is how well it works in China. So far we have had no problems sharing files from the US to our Chinese suppliers. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

It would be nice if a preview of more file types was available but I understand this will come over time. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

As a small startup, the cloud-based architecture has been the best feature. It allows our small team of engineers on our team to check in/out design projects as well as control revisions, both in the office and at home. The online visualization and collaboration tools have also been great. Our engineers have easily been able to share designs with executives who are not always on-site and quickly get feedback on how to proceed. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The product is fairly new, so the feature set is a bit minimalist compared to other PDM solutions. Stronger integration into SolidWorks and Windows Explorer would be nice. I'm confident GrabCad will continue to add more valuable features over time. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Great app with easy interface easy to use, easy to manage and share files. Ability to multiple people to work on it is great as well. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I really like this product. Can't think of anything to dislike. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I like GrabCAD's blend of traditional PDM functionality for organizing design data and managing file history with new tools that simplify the collaboration process and increase the communication of changes within the design team. Implementation has been smooth with great customer support and training provided. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

While GrabCAD's main focus appears to be on handling 3D content, I'd like to see more done to support 2D drawings, PDF's, Excel and Word documents that support the design process. In particular, the ability to view, markup and comment on 2D drawings in the browser or in the mobile apps would be a big help while I am travelling. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I used GrabCAD to transfer a large project from a UK based design team to a US based investor and outsourced manufacturing supply chain. It was fantastic for communicating with non CAD users involved with the purchasing, goods in and assembly of this complex vehicle featuring many parts. The thing I have found most useful is the ability to request features, and for those requests to be followed up by real people at GrabCAD with a thankyou and details of whether the feature might make it into the software. Partner Spaces is a perfect example of this - I needed a way to share only a few files with a certain type of manufacturing partner for quote, for instance laser cutting profiles. The cars I have designed and use GrabCAD for allow me to collect file types for each manufacturing process throughout the whole assembly, sharing each type with multiple suppliers for quote. very handy. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I found the file sync'ing clunky with the early versions of the desktop tool and now don't use this feature. I don't think it handles file conflicts very well yet, but I am sure it will improve. There needs to be more control over permissions, not just the basic view, edit options. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The three pieces that highlight my GrabCAD experience are: customer service, vendor communication, and mobility.

GrabCAD's customer service is exceptional. I work in a small company of ~20 individuals - not that big of a customer in many service providers' eyes. GrabCAD's CEO and his partner, made of point of stopping by our company for an afternoon to discuss GrabCAD's new features and how we were integrating them into our system. Their customer service team has implemented several features that we requested during that meeting and continue to follow up on a regular basis.

GrabCAD's partner space allows me to give vendor's access to specific files in our ever-changing development repository. If these files change, the vendors have access to the latest version. This means we don't have to trace down emails from 3 months prior to see what version of a file was sent out for fab. We also have no vendor confusion about which version of a component they should produce when we place a purchase order.

GrabCAD gives CAD access to non-ME's on their phones. GrabCAD's phone app allows the user to pull up a solid model on their phone from your online repository. You are able to rotate it and zoom just like on your desktop. This may not seem like much, but it gives our marketing and management team a huge advantage. They can use these models to pitch ideas to clients or lead strategy discussions, regardless of their CAD skill level. It's also handy for lunch discussions. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

While the phone app is revolutionary, it's not quite there yet. File structures aren't maintained and loading times can be prohibitive for larger assemblies.

It can be difficult to make the leap from a PLM system to a cloud based CAD management system without part number and BOM structure built into the database. I believe GrabCAD is currently working out a strategy for part numbering. There's no way, that I am aware of, to link your BOM's to your GrabCAD database.

It would be nice if I could link design documents to CAD files for the construction of our DHF. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.