A new product browser developed by Avatech Solutions Inc.’s Software Development Solutions Group works with Autodesk Productstream to give departments that are downstream from engineering easy, visual access to product designs and maintenance drawings. Those downstream users can make quicker, more accurate decisions that can affect a product’s time to market or production line maintenance.

“During several Productstream implementations for customers, our application engineers recognized the need for a tool that helps all departments be more responsive to product design and maintenance issues, and cut time spent on cumbersome tasks,” says Matt Mason, director of software development solutions at Avatech.

The product browser is designed to extend the value of product development information captured in Productstream by making it available to additional groups in a manufacturing organization. Graphical navigation capabilities give people the ability to visually search, reducing the time it takes to identify the right part for maintenance or customer service purposes or to find the right drawing for the shop floor or procurement. Users can drill down into components from an assembly to access exactly what they need. The new product also allows manufacturing professionals to search by simply typing in a part number to access associated drawings, models and documentation such as spreadsheets and Microsoft Word documents.

“Manufacturers are under pressure to meet tighter schedules with fewer resources — and the market is only getting more competitive,” says Greg Dohrman, product lifecycle management leader at Avatech. “Those who empower departments downstream from engineering to respond faster to product development issues can help avoid downtime and missed deadlines.”

To further simplify access to product development information, the product browser uses a familiar, browser-like interface. Batch printing capabilities let users skip the process of building print jobs one drawing at a time. Users are also alerted to pending revisions and can only gain access to released models and drawings, further ensuring that the part manufactured is the up-to-date model.

More information is available from Avatech Solutions Inc., 10715 Red Run Blvd. Owings Mills, MD 21117, by calling 800-520-8000 or at www.avat.com.