A software with a nearly 50 - year history ends: Industrial design software is undergoing a "technological reshuffle".

In the great wave of industrial digitalization, the iteration of industrial design software is far more rapid than we imagine. Even those "classics" once regarded as the golden rules by engineers can hardly stand the test of time.

In April 2024, PDMS officially exited the market.

This industrial design software, which was born in 1976 and has spanned half a century, has finally come to an end in the long river of history. Its farewell is not an isolated technological event but more like an industry signal - industrial design software is in the midst of a profound "technological reshuffle."

In an era where AI, cloud collaboration, and data-driven approaches have become the underlying logic, relying on past achievements won't last long. Even being "usable" has become a constraint.

Although PDMS has announced its exit, a large number of its teaching videos still exist, silently recording its glorious footprint in the global engineering design field.

Industrial Design Software at a Crossroads

If the last golden age of industrial software was about "digitizing design," today's keyword is "intelligentizing digital design." (In the digital transformation of enterprises, there is a general consensus that digitalization is the process, and intelligence is the goal.)

In the era represented by PDMS, industrial design first broke away from paper and entered the world of 3D modeling. This transformation was of great significance. It not only improved the accuracy of engineering but also made collaboration possible. However, as the scale of projects has increased exponentially and cross - regional collaboration has become the norm, a new "pain point" has emerged - traditional tools, although "capable of doing the job," may not necessarily do it well.

Especially today, when AI - assisted design, BIM data integration, and cloud - based delivery have become trends, those systems once considered "stable" may instead become obstacles to innovation. Being "good enough" is no longer a safe option but an invisible barrier. Without the proactive reconstruction of "being reborn from the brink of death," one will eventually be forced out of the intelligentization wave.

The Final Ultimatum to the "Sleepers" from the Times

Although changes have occurred in the industry, there are still those who "cling to the obsolete." The hidden risks caused by technological inertia have begun to surface. Throughout history, there have been many cases of giants being overthrown due to their delayed upgrades, and such examples are still happening today.

According to ACE magazine, there was once an open letter that sparked heated discussions in the industry - 25 globally renowned architectural design firms jointly wrote to the CEO of a mainstream design software and service giant, accusing it of not making substantial updates to its core products for many years. The functions were lagging behind, but the costs had skyrocketed (the licensing cost increased by 70%), which had seriously affected engineering efficiency and budget control.

It is reported that in a new statement two years later, the group behind the open letter pointed out that although the software company had made some adjustments in the licensing model and product interoperability and strengthened communication with customers, these measures still did not address the core issues that customers were most concerned about. They believed that the improvement of key functions was still insufficient, and the lack of management tools had led to an increase in compliance costs, which instead exacerbated the operational burden and distrust of enterprises. On the surface, it was just a lag in function updates, but in fact, it reflected that the deep - seated structure had failed to adapt to the rhythm of digital transformation. This underestimated "technical debt" is a potential uncertain factor in future large - scale projects.

What's more serious is that once this kind of "technical debt" breaks out in major projects, the cost far exceeds what can be offset by the upgrade of licensing fees. In comparison, PDMS's exit is not a failure but more like "retiring after fulfilling its mission." Meanwhile, its successor is injecting a new rhythm into the industry with a lightweight architecture and intelligent logic.

The "Reconstruction Logic" of PDMS's Successor

As the successor to PDMS, the debut of AVEVA E3D Design is not a simple "version replacement" but a redefinition of the industrial design process.

It not only has a smoother interaction but also has a logical shift from a "modeling tool" to a "data platform": Design is no longer about "drawing," but "data - driven calculation"; Collaboration is no longer about "transferring files," but real - time online co - construction by multiple professionals; Modeling is no longer just about "drawing geometries" but a "data entity" directly used for analysis, verification, construction, and operation and maintenance.

For example, it can automatically arrange components, optimize structures, and perform collision checks through AI, support VR/AR - linked simulation, and directly push the model to the construction site and even the asset management system, achieving "design - to - delivery." This parallel, data - closed - loop design process is replacing the traditional linear process of "modeling - verification - modification."

Obviously, based on inheriting the advantages of its predecessor and reflecting on the accumulated problems in the industry, the birth of E3D has gone beyond the scope of "version replacement" and is a systematic leap that leads the design concept to a comprehensive transformation towards intelligent collaboration.

AI + Industrial Design Rewrites "Engineering Common Sense"

As can be seen from the above, current industrial design is no longer just a technological process of arranging drawings and defining pipelines. It is gradually becoming a cognitive process assisted by algorithms and dominated by data.

Not only the successor of PDMS, but in this wave of "reconstruction logic," all industrial design software must actively embrace AI. It should not be regarded as an "extra" function but deeply embedded in the core of design decision - making - it can intelligently generate pipeline layout plans, automatically predict possible conflicts in structural rods, and quickly model laser point cloud data. Tasks that used to take days or weeks to complete are now being compressed into a "minute - level" response time.

For engineers, this change is subtle but thorough. Design is no longer just about "how to draw" but is gradually evolving into "how to ask questions" and "how to verify." This not only changes operating habits but also quietly rewrites engineering methodology.

It can be seen that PDMS's farewell is not just the end of an old software but a signal to close an old era. It tells us that the future of industrial design software does not lie in continuously patching up old tools but in completely changing the way of thinking about design - from how the process works, to how the team collaborates, and then to how data drives decision - making.

The emergence of AVEVA E3D Design is a microcosm of this "technological reshuffle": it is not just a new tool but represents a more intelligent and efficient way of working. And this reshuffle has just begun. What may be reshuffled next could be the thinking, role division, and even the skill structure of engineers across the entire industrial chain.

This case in this article is based on public information and does not constitute an evaluation of any enterprise. The relevant technical issues are problems that may have existed in the historical versions of the products and have nothing to do with the current products.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Kunsao's Talk", author: Kunsao. It is published by 36Kr with authorization.