PTC Windchill

Windchill 9.0 FAQ

1. What's the news with this release?
2. How does Windchill 9.0 fit within the PTC Product Development System (PDS)?
3. Briefly describe the usability, visualization and other Windchill 9.0 improvements.
4. What new modules are available with Windchill 9.0?
5. What services are available for getting Windchill 9.0 solutions rapidly into production?
6. What training will customers require with Windchill 9.0? Are there standard update user based training classes for Windchill 9.0 and where can I get additional Windchill 9.0 training information?
7. How can I learn more about Windchill 9.0?
8. When will Windchill 9.0 be available?

What's the news with this release?

Windchill 9.0 is focused on solving customer-specific problems that can deliver the biggest impact to the company’s operations and gives them the ability to manage real world business processes that affect time-to-market and cost pressures. Specifically, Windchill 9.0 strengthens six critical business processes:

• Manufacturing Process Management. With this release, PTC introduces Windchill MPMLink, which enables simultaneous development of product designs and manufacturing process plans to eliminate miscommunication issues and shorten development cycle time.
• Change and Configuration Management. Windchill 9.0 introduces additional product configuration capabilities through a new configurable user interface that streamlines many daily tasks. Change Management capabilities have been increased to offer improved support for rapid changes, change modification tracking, and manufacturing variances.
• Detailed Design. Pro/ENGINEER data management productivity enhancements plus improved heterogeneous CAD data management capabilities accelerate the design cycle.
• Variant Design and Generation. Windchill 9.0 helps engineering quickly define and validate product variations, so they can address customer-specific product requirements without increasing costs or lengthening delivery schedules.
• Design Outsourcing. Effectively coordinate with designers and partners around the world by allowing secure access to product information, while controlling what they can see and do with it.
• Technical Publications. Enable more effective collaboration on technical publications by managing Arbortext content within Windchill ProjectLink.

Additionally, Windchill 9.0 offers enhanced usability and supportability, new improvements for embedded visualization (via ProductView Lite user interface and performance enhancements) and expanded business reporting capabilities.

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How does Windchill 9.0 fit within the PTC Product Development System (PDS)?

Windchill is a core component of PTC's comprehensive Product Development System. It enables manufacturers to have a single repository capable of controlling all product information and to optimize key product development processes. With its integral, pure Internet and interoperable architecture, PTC's Product Development System can be deployed quickly, offering a reduced total cost-of-ownership and lower risk of technological obsolescence over time. Get more information on the PTC Product Development System.

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Briefly describe the usability, visualization and other Windchill 9.0 improvements.

• New embedded visualization capabilities, delivered with ProductView Lite 9.0, improve user productivity with dramatic performance improvements in loading, interacting and distributing visualization data
• Enhanced reporting capabilities with industry-leading Cognos 8 Business Intelligence that includes real-time, out-of-the box reports on change management activities, user task status and project progress
• Powerful user interface configuration capabilities to tailor the functions and interactions available to a particular user according to their role and tasks.
• Effectively coordinate information with remote users and external partners with new smart replication capabilities that improve system performance and availability while reducing replication setup and administrative maintenance.
• Extended supportability options streamline installations and add additional system monitoring tools that utilize industry standard Java extensions and frameworks

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What new modules are available with Windchill 9.0?

Three new modules are being introduced with Windchill 9.0:

• Windchill MPMLink – An optional, integral module to Windchill PDMLink, Windchill MPMLink offers digital Manufacturing Process Management (MPM) capabilities to help resolve the daily challenges that design and manufacturing engineers face in ensuring that process plans, manufacturing bill of materials (mBOMs) and work instructions accurately reflect the current engineering model and that design decisions consider manufacturing best practices.
• Windchill Business Report Author– While Windchill 9.0 now includes enhanced business reporting capabilities (based on Cognos 8 Business Intelligence), this optional module allows customers to use Cognos to create their own reports or modify existing ones.
• Windchill Business Report Monitor – This optional module is also based on Cognos 8 Business Intelligence. It allows customers to create agents that define report parameters or metrics and the associated conditions to invoke when a report variable crosses one of these boundaries. For example, one could define that an e-mail should be sent if any user has more then ten overdue tasks.

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What services are available for getting Windchill 9.0 solutions rapidly into production?

PTC Global Services provides a blend of strategic process consulting, system implementation services, and a unique education approach to help leading companies realize the full value of Windchill. These activities have been integrated together and executed using an innovative Realized Value Methodology, a collection of best practices and lessons learned from thousands of customer engagements to ensure that our customers realize the most value from their investment in the shortest possible timeframe. These assets are combined together into various standard solutions that are designed to meet the needs of a particular business process, industry or implementation stage.

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What training will customers require with Windchill 9.0? Are there standard update user based training classes for Windchill 9.0 and where can I get additional Windchill 9.0 training information?

PTC has a role-based curriculum; therefore the amount of training that customers will require depends on the role they perform. Check out our Role-based curriculum maps, including role descriptions.
There will be standard update user-based training for both Windchill PDMLink 9.0 and Windchill ProjectLink 9.0. Administration-based update training will be available for Windchill PDMLink 9.0. PTC also offers end-user geared e-learning libraries (formally know as e-learning subscriptions). These subscriptions include unlimited access to all Web-based training materials available on the current release.
The PTC training section contains much of the information on training, including links to PTC's Learning Management System, and PTC University.

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How can I learn more about Windchill 9.0?

If you are a current PTC customer, please contact your PTC sales representative for more information. For additional information available online, please visit the Windchill product page.

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When will Windchill 9.0 be available?

PTC is planning to release Windchill 9.0 in September 2007.

NOTE: The timing of any product release, including any features or functionality, is subject to change at PTC’s discretion.