Ray,
We made the switch to Silma's CimStation some time ago and have had pretty good success using it. The biggest problem we have had so far is getting a workable 'solid model' into the virtual world. We use the Silma Software on a stand alone work station and must convert our math models to an iges format for importing. Once we have a good solid model though the world is at our fingertips! The advantages of using the math data for programming versus the part drawing are endless. The most obvious is that 'every' feature (and every dimension) is available for measurement (without manual calculations). Many of our drawings are 'reduced content' and aside from locating the datum set points they are of very little practical use when generating a 'thorough inspection routine'.

Best Regards,
Joe Corrado

Quality Specialist / CMM Programming
Tower Automotive, Corporation
Granite City, IL