Hi Scott-bob
Many others before you have also pondered the 'should I' or 'shouldn't I' make the next step into modern manufacturing software. I would be tipping that the one's who didn't are still struggling or out of business and the ones who did are now glad they did and can look back at the hard road travelled and say it was worth it.
mrainey hit the nail right on the head with his questions about how the software would interpret the changes and what to do with them. The simple answer is that there are varying levels of involvement from the software but in the end a skilled human needs to make a decision which of the choices he/she is presented with is most suitable to accomodate the change. The level of programming required to automate a process of even simple manufacturing associations is complicated and needs to be justified by high volume and/or high margin products to make the effort worthwhile.
You may even consider hiring a skilled person with your software purchase to speed up the learning curve for your company. It would certainly be worthwhile in terms of return on investment as a whole. He/she could dramatically increase the rate at which all of your relevant personnel learn this new skill and apply it in their day to day tasks. Find a person with the right skill set for your business type who also has the software experience you are looking for. A well rounded designer/manufacturing engineer does not need to work with a specific CAD/CAM system. Its about knowing the principles of robust modelling and when associativity is required is what makes the person right for the job. Using a different CAD/CAM package for the right person is just semantics.
derekj308  |