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--- rhino:solidedge [2015/09/14]
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+====== Advice on using Solid Edge together with Rhino from Gary Lucas ======
+Learning Solid Edge is much tougher than it needs to be because the
+documentation is very poor, and they plan on you paying a VAR to teach you.
+Join the Solid Edge newsgroup, a good bunch of people there.  However you
+can only join if you are a customer and your support is paid up.  So let's
+say you wanted to know more about Solid Edge before plunking down 5 grand.
+You are just out of luck because you can't ask the real power users that
+hang out in newsgroups.  The more you look at this kind of crap the more
+impressive Rhino's value becomes.
+I've posted two documents that will help you.  [[http://wiki.mcneel.com/_media/legacy/en/Ricks_Rules_Part1.zip|Ricks_Rules_Part 1]] is very
+good, there is no part 2, I keep hitting on him to write it.  The [[http://wiki.mcneel.com/_media/legacy/en/A_PRIMER_FOR_SOLID_EDGE.zip|Primer for Solid Edge]] I
+wrote.  It is basically all the stuff I learned the hard way that I simply
+couldn't find documented anywhere.
+**[[http://wiki.mcneel.com/_media/legacy/en/Ricks_Rules_Part1.zip|Download Ricks_Rules_Part_1 (.doc-zip)]]**
+**[[http://wiki.mcneel.com/_media/legacy/en/A_PRIMER_FOR_SOLID_EDGE.zip|Download Gary Lucas's Primer for Solid Edge (.doc-zip)]]**
+I have only exported a few things from Rhino to Solid Edge.  Individual
+objects come into Solid Edge as Design Bodies.  That means they are like
+shrink wrapped, no parametric data, and are not adjustable.  A few releases
+ago they added editing of Design Bodies so that you can fillet edges, make
+holes etc, and use a Design Body as a base that you can add or subtract
+from.  So you are kind of out of luck if you want adjustable parts.  Solid
+edge has surfacing tools now.  However I find them incredibly crude compared
+to Rhino's tools.
+In Solid Edge every part is in a separate file.  Solid edge relies heavily
+on the Windows folder format for keeping track of everything.  Every part is
+ONLY linked into an assembly, unlike Rhino which actually loads a Block
+definition.  The good news is that the assembly files are very small, and
+the likelihood of losing an entire model is very small.  The bad news is
+that every assembly references your library.  In order to send an assembly
+to a customer you must use Insight to package all the pieces.  Then your
+customer must either keep all the parts separate from his library, or put
+the parts in the library and relink them.
+I would like you to think long and hard about how you organize your parts
+library.  It seems obvious to have say all PVC elbows in the same folder.
+However if you think about the workflow of designing piping you realize that
+is a poor way to work.  Better to organize them as: Plumbing\PVC\2\Fittings.
+This way when you are piping 2" PVC pipe you go in the library and instantly
+have only PVC fittings, in size 2" and all kinds.  You stay in that folder
+until you are done 2" and then move to another folder for the next material
+or size.  Our library is NOT organized this way and I have to constantly
+move up and down through folders for every single part!  You must
+understand, one a part is named, and placed in a folder it can NEVER be
+renamed or moved, or your assembly falls apart.
+I have been using Solid Edge for about a year, and studying my ass off to
+learn more.  It has paid off in that I am now in charge of solid Edge
+administration at our company, despite the fact that the original user has
+been using it for 4 years.  If I can help you get up to speed quickly please
+don't hesitate to email me directly.
+Gary H. Lucas

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