There are times when you want to use document links. Perhaps you are sending an email to a colleague.   Maybe you have a master list of specifications and you want to make accessing one of these listed documents a simple click away.

And let’s not forget how we love our desktop shortcuts!

While many features (copy, paste, rename) appear to behave the same way in EPDM as they do in Windows, document linking is an exception. If you want to link directly to a document in the vault, it can be done, but a standard file path isn’t the right path to take.

Standard File Paths (Links that don’t work consistently)

Standard disk storage is like a filing cabinet. If you are looking for a particular document, first you find the right drawer (D:), then you look for a particular folder (‘MyDirectory’), and then possibly a folder within that folder (‘MySubDirectory’), and then you locate your document (‘MyDoc001.txt’). [In some cases, when you have more than one filing cabinet (server) you might need to note that also.]

So a standard link or shortcut to a document looks something like this:
D:\MyDirectory\MySubDirectory\MyDoc001.txt

But this does not work in a vault subfolder. This style of path will only access your local cache which will create a variety of behaviors:

• If the file in cache happens to be the latest, then it will open up
• If the file in cache is an older file, then the older copy in cache will open up
• If the file is not in cache, the link will fail to find the document.
• If any version of the file is in cache, it will open up that file even if the user does not have permission to access that file in the vault! (A possible concern for machines with multiple users sharing the same cache, or if permissions are made more restrictive after a document has been pulled into cache.)

If you want to get the document straight from the vault, you need to reference it differently…

Vault Links (Links that do work)

When you access a file directly from the vault (and you have permission to view that file) you get the following more desirable behaviors:

• If the file in cache happens to be the latest, then it will open up
• If the file is not in cache, the latest version of the document will be copied to cache and opened.
• If the file in cache is an older file, then the user will get the following dialogue box, notifying them that there is a newer version of the file in the vault, and asking if they would like to get the newer version.

But an EPDM vault is not like a filing cabinet.  It is like a bank vault filled with safety deposit boxes. In order to get into the box you want, you need two things:

1) Permission from the bank to view the contents of that box
AND
2) The two keys to open it.

If you do not have permission to look in the box, the vault will block your access, even in the file is already in local cache.

The keys, once you have them, are used in the link. A vault link looks something like this:

conisio://MyVault/open?projectid=14&documentid=65&objecttype=1

In this example, the vault name is: MyVault
The first key to open the box is the project ID number: 14
The second key is the document ID number:  65

While the format may look a little strange at first, it’s actually quite simple. The biggest challenge is how do you get those keys? Like any other reputable bank, you can get them from the manager of the vault.

Getting and Using Project & Document IDs

The Project ID identifies the folder the document is in. The Document ID identifies the document. You need both to open up the safety deposit box and get the latest copy of the document.

To display the IDs are for a given file or folder, someone with access to the EPDM Administration tool needs to add the ID column to one of your views.

Adding the ID column to a view

Go into the Admin tool and right click on Columns to create a New Column Set.

Create a new File List column for viewing IDs, and assign it to one of your users or groups (I chose to give it to the Admin user).

Then, when viewing the vault as that user, you will able to see both the IDs for the Project folders and the documents.

Using IDs to create the link

Using the above information, a link to the testing doc links.txt file would look like this:

conisio://ACME1/open?projectid=50&documentid=92&objecttype=1

The vault name, in this example: ACME1
The project ID number, in this example: 50
The document ID number, in this example:  92

Modify the link, replacing the vault name, and the project and document IDs.

Added bonuses

The days of banks giving away toasters with every new account are over, but in addition to hyperlinking directly to your documents, EPDM offers the following hyperlink functionality:

In the vault link you can replace the keyword “open” with the following for these features:
view – opens up the document in the SolidWorks Enterprise PDM Viewer
explorer – opens up the folder that the document resides in
history – opens up the document’s history

Enterprise PDM protects documents from update if they are checked out by another user.  Here I’m logged in as Mary and would like to work on a document checked out by John.  As you can see, I am unable to check out, check in, or undo checkout:

The admin user has special permissions that allow additional access to documents that are checked out by others.  Here, logged in as admin, I see that I can undo checkout:

Or can I?  Clicking the Undo Check Out button does nothing.  Why not?

Notice the warning.  You have to check the Undo Check Out box for the file(s) you want first, then click the Undo Check Out button.  Note that this will throw away any changes that have been made since the last check-in.  Once accepting the warnings, the file(s) will then revert to the last checked in version and will be available for users to check out.

Now Mary can check out the file and do her work:

Here I cannot check out this document because John has it checked out:

We’ve found that defining a search favorite that simply returns all documents that you have checked out is a very effective mechanism for streamlining this process.  Enterprise PDM search result sets can be managed in the same manner as in browsing through Windows Explorer.

Let’s say you’ve been working on several designs during the day and are getting ready to go home.  Furthermore you are looking forward to a much needed vacation.  You know that others will need to get the latest changes that you’ve made, and a colleague may need to further modify some of the designs.

You can define a search that returns all documents in the vault that are checked out by you.  Then you can go through the result set and take any appropriate actions (such as check in).  Since this is a search that you would likely repeat, why not save it as a favorite, just like you would for web sites that you frequently visit?  Then you can execute this search without having to go to the search form and reapplying the same search criteria.  This is easily done in Enterprise PDM.

First set up the search by entering the criteria in the Checked in/out tab:

Next add it to the favorites, give it a name such as “My checked out files”, and click OK.  You also have the ability to define favorites that other users or groups can execute or edit if needed.

Now you have the ability to execute this search favorite at any time without having to re-enter the search criteria:

Hopefully you’ll find this to be a great time saver, and your colleagues will appreciate it too!

EG was so pumped about becoming certified that she wrote a song for it, called “Crazy Little Thing Called Cert” based off of Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.”

Not only is EG brilliant and creative, but she can also sing! So we asked her to record her version of “Crazy Little Thing Called Cert,” which we have provided for your listening pleasure.

Enjoy!

Crazy little thing called “CERT”

This thing called “Cert”,
we just got a handle on it!
This thing called “Cert”,
we just got around to it

Are you ready?!
Crazy little thing called “Cert”.

This thing called “Cert”
Made us cry, like babies
All day, and all night

Dispatch
Wrong writes
It shook us all over like jellyfish
We kinda liked it!
Crazy little thing called “Cert”

Sitting with my baby
Learning how to write the code,
It drove us crazy
It gave us Admin fever
You’ll love EPDM, I bet!

It’s gonna be cool! Not hard,
You’ll be great with data cards
Don’t take a back seat, don’t fret
And take the long class then the “Cert” test

Then you’ll be ready!
Crazy little thing called “Cert”.

1. Hard work
2. Passion
3. Always remembering the reason for why the love started in the first place.

At CAPINC, our Sales and Engineering teams love our customers! We always remember that YOU and your success are why we are at CAPINC! We have a passion for all the products we support, and we work hard for you!

Love, hard work, and passion run rampant at CAPINC.  But no one at CAPINC feels this like two of our Applications Engineers: Michael LaFleche and his bride, Elba-Gloria LaFleche-Erazo.  Their love thrives on their common interests:
SolidWorks, Enterprise PDM, and music.

Here’s their story:

Elba-Gloria and Mike at their wedding reception

“After the June 1^st tornado stole our home just a month before our wedding reception, Mike and I definitely need a break…. but our calendars were already filled with training, consulting, and implementations at various customers all around New England.  As much fun as that all is to us, we were spending too many days apart.  We decided to take a vacation… of sorts. We booked a week’s stay at a cozy hotel in Concord, MA, and signed up for some fun: a 4-day class called “SolidWorks Enterprise PDM Advanced Admin Training and Project Management Workshop”.  Very much like a scuba diving class, this class ended with a Certification Exam.  Also like a scuba certification exam, it would be hands-on with a lot of pressure coming in from all around us to pass this exam, because (in our minds), our lives depended on it!

First we had to meet pre-requisites to even take the class: we both had to have completed Basic Enterprise PDM training, we had to have taken and passed the multiple choice-style Certified Enterprise PDM Support Technician exam, and we had to be proficient in delivering an Enterprise PDM demo.  Mike already has every technical certification SolidWorks Corp. offers, and has been successfully demo’ing EPDM to the masses for years.  So: “Check!” , “Check!”, “Check!”

I, (EG) have been working very passionately over the last 4 months to catch up to Mike and to expand the horizons of my knowledge of the Dassault Systems suite of products.  So: “Check!” , “Check!”, “Check!”

Then we had to take the class.  Ever heard the phrase “drinking from the fire-hose of knowledge?”  Well, let me tell you: Joy Garon, our instructor, is quite a remarkable “fire-woman”.  She’s been at SolidWorks Corp. for a long time, is a Sr. Education Specialist, and has hunted and gathered quite a treasure trove of information.

Day 1

Before she started the lessons, she had us all copy “pure gold” from her flash drives to our computers.  Then… gold being so valuable now-a-days, we “Vaulted” it! The class started with “simple” things, such as back-up, restore, move, and upgrade of SQL Database and Archive Database.  We transitioned into Workflows, Revision, Templates, and property mapping into MS Office and XML documents. Then we got to go home and do homework for the evening! This is when we had a chance to calmly chug from the pooled knowledge of the day.

Day 2

The second day consisted of learning how to write Dispatch utilities, which is not only fun, but rather simple! Then we were thrown into the deep end of the pool of knowledge.  Joy taught us how to query the SQL database for information.  This required a map… literally… of the tables stored in the SQL database, as well as a language lesson.  We had to learn the syntax of SQL if we were going to navigate its geography.  We also had to swear to follow the Prime Directive of the “Enterprise PDM”: no human shall contaminate the SQL Database or any table therein.  We may extract information from the SQL Database, but it is a violation of the EULA and terms of Warranty to write to the SQL Database.

Our final destination in day 2: Reports!  SQL-based, Excel-linked, even web-based reports! Oh, the power!!

Let me share with you Mike’s list of his favorite things, or as he puts it:

Top ten reasons why  EPDM makes SolidWorks better

# 10:  Files are copied to a local user cache on your hard drive, rather than working directly over the network.  Studies have shown that working locally on a fast hard drive vs opening files over the network increases performance and reduces system lockups.

# 9:  Sharing files with local and overseas customers, suppliers, and branches is faster with web access to files and replicated vaults.  For example, if you are working with an overseas supply chain partner, you can nominate a certain part of the Vault to be automatically replicated to another local server at their site.  File download time is now removed from the equation with replicated Vaults and everybody always has the latest version of the file, no matter where in the world you are.  Now everyone can have some cake, and eat it too!

# 8:  As good as an ice cream sundae:  the SolidWorks Toolbox data library can be stored inside the EPDM Vault and the files can then be stored in each user’s local data cache, which is faster than storing the Toolbox in a plain network drive, as the file would need to be downloaded over the network.  The whipped cream:  users can also search for files within the Toolbox if stored in the Vault.  The cherry on top:  if you are a global company, the Toolbox is replicated to local data vaults over the Wide Area Network (WAN)!!

# 7:  Searches in EPDM vs Searches in SolidWorks are like the difference between driving a Ferrari and driving a Tercel.  EPDM Searches are indexed and managed by SQL Server, which is architected to handle large data sets.  Custom search cards can be developed specific to your needs.  For example: you can search your Toolbox for all screws that fit a certain hole in the context of the ones that cost the least and are in stock!

# 6:  No more walking down the hall to the part number book.  Automatic part numbers can be assigned to documents in the Vault.  When you open a new SolidWorks part, a new part number is assigned and  EPDM saves the part in the Vault immediately, so if a system crash occurs, the part is still reserved and safe in the Vault.

#5:  SolidWorks Templates can be saved in the Vault and automatically deployed to end users.  So when you start a new design, your company standards are already preset with no intervention from the end user.  Don’t you wish your taxes were that easy?

#4:  ECOs, or Engineering Change Orders, can be completely automated.  When you discover that something needs a design change after it’s been released, all you have to do is right click on the files and start an ECO, which then creates a new ECO document in the format of your choice (Microsoft Word for example).  This automatically forms a bond with the SolidWorks drawings to which the ECO action refers, and the ECO can be approved by the appropriate person or committee.  Like Magic!

#3:  Your task list is ready and waiting for you.  Simply pull up a saved search that shows what you need to work on, and what is overdue (not saying that job could possibly be overdue).  Collaborate with other users in your vault with instant messages on the documents that you are working on together, even if you are an ocean apart.

#2:  File references are no longer lost, ever!  You can rename files and move them to different folders and all is well.  SQL Server is managing files once they are stored inside of EPDM.  This means you’ll retire with significantly more hair.

#1:  Do what you love to do:  design new products.  EPDM lets SolidWorks design engineers work without worrying about process, saving PDF and DXF files every time a design is released or making sure that all revisions of a design are backed up with the correct permissions.  Simply check in and release your files and the automated workflow of your system takes care of the rest.  EPDM let’s SolidWorks be your design tool, and minimizes your mundane tasks!

Day 3

We met Gagan Ahuja, Field Services Manager who flew in from Santa Monica, CA to share his wisdom with us.  He had us take a few steps back so we could see the big picture, (read: immensity) of our task when performing an implementation.   Gagan covered as much Project Management as he could in 8 short hours, and left us with a hands-on exercise to be completed in groups by the next morning. (more homework!)  To our great relief, Gagan shared some very useful tools that SolidWorks provides to us so that we won’t have to re-invent the wheel for every implementation we perform!

Day 4 – Exam Day

We presented our homework to the rest of the class, took a break….. and then…walked the plank! Er… I mean… we took the test!  The test had a 4 hour time-limit, so the instructions for the test were given to us at the end of day 3.  Why?  Because the 12-page set of instructions would consume an hour of time just to read!! It turns out that the exam instructions guide you through a full implementation of an Enterprise PDM vault!

Part I
The first part consisted of setting up users, groups, permissions, revisions, data cards, and mapping variables.  Then we imported a workflow into our vault, and had to “Verify all possible routes for all users by using test files.”  No, I’m not kidding. There goes another hour! Why?  Because not only are we testing that our part of the setup was done correctly – Surprise! the workflow we imported had errors that we had to troubleshoot and fix! After we had tested that the setup was done correctly , we moved on to Part II of the exam: Vault usage.

Part II
We were given very specific instructions that mimicked “a day in the life of the vault”, where we had to log in as different users and perform various tasks.  I love the notes at the beginning of Part II:

• The exercises in Part II are only meaningful if each and every step in Part I have been finalized and proved to work as intended.
• Be sure to follow each step exactly as outlined.
• If all steps are not completed, the examination is considered “not passed”.

Part III
The third part consisted of writing a dispatch utility that would rename SolidWorks files “per the instructions provided”.  Believe it or not, this was the easiest part of the exam!

Once we were done, Joy or Gagan came around to our workstations, logged in to our vault, checked file histories, performed certain tasks, and tested our Dispatch utility.

I am very proud to announce that, not only did Mike and I pass the test – we were two of the few people who did not have ANY mistakes!!!

Mission Rekindle the Romance – COMPLETE

We took turns driving home, stopped by to pick up celebratory food and drinks, and jointly prepared a seafood dinner like the newlyweds we are.

Mmmm

We slow danced while singing Queen’s “We Are the Champions” to each other, reveling in the fact that we are the first married couple in the world to have become Certified Enterprise PDM Professionals.  While enjoying a glass of homemade wine (made by one of CAPINC’s customers), we re-wrote Queen’s song to fit our joy.  Can you guess which song it is?

Crazy little thing called “CERT”

This thing called “Cert”,
we just got a handle on it!
This thing called “Cert”,
we just got around to it

Are you ready?!
Crazy little thing called “Cert”.

This thing called “Cert”
Made us cry, like babies
All day, and all night

Dispatch
Wrong writes
It shook us all over like jellyfish
We kinda liked it!
Crazy little thing called “Cert”

Sitting with my baby
Learning how to write the code,
It drove us crazy
It gave us Admin fever
You’ll love EPDM, I bet!

It’s gonna be cool! Not hard,
You’ll be great with data cards
Don’t take a back seat, don’t fret
And take the long class then the “Cert” test

Then you’ll be ready!
Crazy little thing called “Cert”.

The answer to this question is yes, this is possible.  The reason to do this is most prevalent on process sheet drawings. A company may execute a workflow that approves each process of making a complicated part, and each process is either a drawing sheet or a configuration in SolidWorks.  To check in and manage each sheet of an AutoCAD DWG or a SolidWorks drawing or a part/assembly with configurations, turn on support for “Items” in the Enterprise PDM Admin tool for the document types you need.  Make sure you add “Items” support for the document “Category” in the Admin tool as well, then in the EPDM client, you can generate items.  Here is a picture that shows the steps and workflow.

There is good new however.  SolidWorks Professional, Workgroup PDM and Enterprise PDM offer tools to convert your files to the latest file format.  For basic SolidWorks and companies that use Workgroup PDM, open the SolidWorks Task Scheduler.

The SolidWorks Task Scheduler is part of SolidWorks Professional and Premium and can be found in the SolidWorks Start Menu under SolidWorks Tools...

To awaken the SolidWorks task scheduler, you need SolidWorks Professional or Premium.  Then navigate to the SolidWorks Start Menu under SolidWorks Tools… and open SolidWorks Task Scheduler.  Here there is a wealth of tools that are meant for batch operations and I could create a blog post for each one of these, but right now we will focus on the file conversion tasks.  If you do not use SolidWorks Workgroup or Enterprise PDM, simply choose the Convert SolidWorks files option.  You have the choice of pointing it to a folder where you have SolidWorks files.  You may choose to convert your entire drive worth of SolidWorks files or choose certain folders to convert.  If you have a lot of files to convert, I recommend using the “Network Monitor”  This will turn all the SolidWorks computers in your company into participants in a file conversion processing farm.  Once computer acts as a Coordinator computer and the others work as nodes.  You need to go to all the “node” computers and elect to become part of the processing pool, so no worries of having your computer commandeered.

If you use Workgroup PDM, there is an option in the Task Scheduler to convert files in a Workgroup Vault.  You need to login as a user with Admin rights for Workgroup PDM, and then choose to convert the whole Vault or just certain projects within the Vault.  You can then decide whether you want to convert all revisions of the files or just the latest revision.  This is dependent upon you use of the Vault and the “As Built” or Use Latest Revisions”.  If you use “As Built”, the only safe thing to do is to convert all revisions, and if you only use “Latest Revisions” when checking out a file, then you only need to convert the latest revisions.  Companies that use the “As Built” method to manage files in Workgroup PDM are generally concerned with configuration management, meaning, the revision of the assembly and parts that were shipped to a certain customer at a certain time., where as a product development firm generally is always going with the latest revisions.  Please let me know about your thoughts are on this by commenting below!  One caveat for converting Workgroup PDM files is that you cannot use the Network Monitor to distribute the load of the task.

For SolidWorks Enterprise PDM, there is a separate tool that has been made available to convert SolidWorks files.  This is an installable program that is found with the lastest version of media that you have for SolidWorks Enterprise PDM.  If you downloaded it, it will be under the SupportFile Version UpgradeFile Version Upgrade.exe.  Install this package and you will have a program in your Start Menu.  The steps are fairly straightforward for running this and you can follow along with the screenshots that I have below.

Step 1: The EPDM upgrade process asks if this is the coordinating machine or a node participating in a file conversion farm.	Step 2: Tell the upgrade wizard which version of SolidWorks to convert to
Step 3: Here is the fun part, what to convert. You have great control over what gets converted, by folder, workflow state and any of 3 attributes that you wish.	Step 4: Here you have the choice of overwriting versions of files with the same revision or adding a new version of the file with the same revision.

Please let me know what you think of these tools by commenting here on the blog.  If you are in the Northeastern United States, CAPINC would love to come to your company and provide upgrade assistance services for you.  I look forward to any questions that you may have and please add your comments here!

First, let’s introduce the competitors.  In the left corner, wearing the red, blue, yellow and green trunks, from Redmond, Washington, Microsoft Windows Explorer.  In the right corner, wearing the blue trunks, from Concord, Massachusetts, SolidWorks Enterprise PDM.  Windows Explorer has been the staple for manufacturing and engineering companies for many years  and SolidWorks Enterprise PDM, which builds upon Microsoft Windows, is a rising star in the document management community.  It’s time to let our contenders go at it.

Round 1:  How companies store projects

In a typical engineering and manufacturing company, individuals store their documents either locally or on a mapped network drive.  For this match, we are going to  assume that the engineer is storing the files on the mapped network drive on the server, as that get’s backed up and other design team members with read access to those folders in the drive can read them.  Before creating a new project, the engineer needs to ensure that they take a project or part number out, so as to not have duplicate file names.  Then the engineer creates a folder structure with the appropriate content, for SolidWorks models, for technical illustrations and for project management documents such as a gantt chart.  In a recent webcast that I ran for our customers, a ran a poll asking how they currently manage project documentation today.  The poll showed that 90% of users are managing documents using a mapped Windows drive  using folders, 30% also used a PDM system or an ERP system, 30% were looking at alternative solutions and nobody was using microfiche to manage project anymore.  Let’s ring the bell here in Round 1 and let the contenders battle it out.

• In Windows Explorer
  • For the first punch, before creating the folder structure, the Windows Explorer user needs to obtain part numbers and project numbers for the job at hand.   This is done through several methods.  One method is to obtain these part numbers from and Excel spreadsheet or an Access database.  Others will use an MER/ERP system to obtain part numbers from an item master, but many still use a manual log book of part numbers, which is stored in document control somewhere.
  • Windows Explorer then deals a blow to create the folder structure.  The user takes the project number and names a top level folder with that number, creates appropriate subfolders for the project and then opens Microsoft project, saves a Gantt chart, renames it to the project number and stores that with the project.  We have a pretty savvy Windows Explorer user here, so he does not create all the subfolders and Gantt charts manually, he has a directory structure stores locally as well as a sample Gantt chart stored that he can modify later.For the final punch, a haymaker is delivered and the Windows Explorer user creates the permissions for each folder to ensure correct access rights are granted to each of the subfolders.
• In SolidWorks Enterprise PDM
  • In SolidWorks Enterprise PDM, to create a new project, we use the “Create Project” from a template function.  This is set up by the administrator to create a repeatable, yet flexible process for creating new projects.  The part number and project number are obtained from the Enterprise PDM system automatically.  The interface to access SolidWorks Enterprise PDM actually is Windows Explorer, with additional capabilities, like a built in file preview window, that is interactive, Bill of Materials functions and revision control functions.
  • The project structure is also defined from the template, and the folder names are renamed automatically to the project number which was added.
  • Project documents are also automatically named an inserted by the “Create Project” wizard.  In this case, a Microsoft Project Gantt chart is created from a template, renamed and checked into the system automatically.  Fields from the Microsoft Project document are linked to the Enterprise PDM system database and can now be used for reports.

Round 2:  How revisions and versions of files are managed

The topic of how to store revisions of documents, especially SolidWorks documents is typically an emotional one.  In the aforementioned webcast that I ran for our CAPINC customers, I posed the question “How do you currently keep track of your documents” and the following answers were uncovered:  40% responded that they only stored the changed documents,  another 40% stated they store a copy of each changed document, 10% rename files to indicate a revision change and 20% do not revision control document altogether.

I have seen many methods for managing revision discreetly, however, I have honed in on one method here for managing files without a document management system like SolidWorks Enterprise PDM. This process proceeding  will allow for traceability of documents with the manual Windows Explorer process  so that it is an apples to apples comparison to SolidWorks Enterprise PDM which handles this for us.  In this case we will go from Rev “A” to Rev “B”.  Let us assume we have a 3 piece assembly in SolidWorks in which one of the parts changes in thickness.  This would mean that the changed part would go from Rev “A” to Rev “B” and the Assembly would also go too.

• In Windows Explorer
  • Create a copy of the documents “the changed part and the assembly” in a separate folder named Rev “B”  before making the change.
  • In SolidWorks set your “Search Paths” to the top level directory of your engineering area on the mapped drive you work out of.
  • Open the copied assembly in SolidWorks.  The file references should pull the new files you copied manually and grab the other files that were not copied from the other directory.  This is because we set the search paths.  To check this, in SolidWorks,  in the File… puldown menu you can see the references under “Find References”
  • Use SolidWorks Custom File Properties (Data about your data) to describe the revision change (Revision B)
  • In the changed part and in the assembly, change the custom file properties from Rev “A” to Rev “B”.  This way the file names stay intact and the drawing title blocks are updated.
  • Make your changes and save the documents.
• In SolidWorks Enterprise PDM
  • SolidWorks EPDM deals a blow below the belt in this round, as all of this is done automatically.  Simply “Check Out” the Assembly.  When the assembly is Checked Out, it will ask if you want to check out any referenced documents.  Choose the part that needs to change in thickness.  By checking a document out, it gives the user the privileges to make the change and check them back in when they are done.  When the change is complete “Check In” the documents, and EPDM understands to change the version of the files that changed automatically, then it also copies the old files in the background so they can be access in the future if need be.  Controls can be put in place so that an approval needs to happen before anything goes from Rev “A” to Rev “B” if you want.

Round 3:  How to track an Engineering Change Order (ECO) Process

Some companies have a process of approval that needs to take place before any of the changes we were doing previous in this article can really occur.  This is usually called and ECN or an ECO (Engineering Change Notice / Engineering Change Order).  Some companies need both the request to make a change to be approved as well as the change itself needs to be approved.  SolidWorks Enterprise PDM has a nice process for handling this automatically.  However, if you do not use a PDM system today, many companies employ policies such as creating a paper traveler that gets routed through appropriate departments for approvals, or a once a week meeting is established to review requests to make changes, or companies have some other system that is capable of handling this, like an ERP/MRP system.

• In Windows Explorer
  • In traditional Windows Explorer, for an ECO request to begin, one would fill out an ECO Form, either on paper or Electronically in Microsoft Word.  This would then be distributed via email or printed and filed to review ad hoc or in a structured weekly meeting.  Once all the approvals to move forward with the changed proposed in the ECO are met, the engineer would then perform the same process outlined in Round two to make a change to the engineering documentation.
• In SolidWorks Enterprise PDM
  • In the Enterprise PDM process, a user can right mouse click on the item that needs a change and choose to change its “State” to “Create ECO”.  What this will do is execute a dialog box to ask the user which documents the ECO effects (The assembly knows what parts make it up, so this list is presented to the user) and then a session of Microsoft Word pops up with an ECO form repopulated with the relevant information.   An email is sent to managers who need to approve the ECO automatically and once the signatures have all been obtained, through email, the file becomes writable and an engineer can check out the Assembly and part that needs to be changed and follow the process outlined in Round 2 of the Enterprise PDM prize fighter.

Well, now that we have seen a valiant fight between standard Windows Explorer and SolidWorks Enterprise PDM, we need to tally up the points and find a clear winner.  While Windows Explorer was not knocked out, SolidWorks Enterprise PDM floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee, and standard Windows Explorer cannot get in as many punches in the same amount of time.  Windows Explorer, while still standing,  loses by technical knockout or TKO as the referee intercedes and stops the fight, declaring Explorer unable to continue because of bad cuts or bruises; it cannot go on and it is defenseless.  So by TKO, the winner and new Heavyweight  Champion is you, the user of SolidWorks Enterprise PDM.

For more information and a full video demonstration of these topics, sign on to our recorded GoToMeeting page at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/440165672

• You can rename these virtual components in the FeatureManager design tree, avoiding the need to open, save as a copy, and use the Replace Components command.
• You can make one instance of a virtual component independent of other instances in a single step.
• The folder where you store the assembly is not cluttered with unused part and assembly files resulting from iterations of component designs.

Some of the thinks that you have to watch out for are the inability to create a drawing of the virtual component.   To make a drawing of a virtual component, you must save it as an external file.  To save it as external you simply right mouse click on the file and save as External Part and it will ask for a file name and folder location.  Simple as that.

Now to really throw a wrench in the works, how do PDM systems track these virtual items?  Workgroup PDM will certainly let you add an assembly with a Virtual Part, but it has no means for really tracking it beyond the where used report.   There is a setting to turn this on in the User Options, but selecting this option has significant performance impact. and since a virtual part is ususally only used relative to one design, this setting may have a low return on investment.

Enterprise PDM actually handles these quite nicely and if a virtual component is being used, it is shown in the check in dialog box in reports as well as the BOM tab, which is really where you want it displayed.  Below is a quick video demonstrating the differences between Workgroup PDM and Enterprise PDM concerning virtual parts.

The layout sketching technique is quite powerful, especially for larger designs and machinery. Take a look at the engine image below. You can see how one could design a quick mechanism in 2D, with all the mechanism dynamics of the alternator bracket, positions of belt tensioners, ect… Each of these components would be “block” entities in a single layout sketch in assembly mode. Once the components work to you satisfaction, you can drop in the 3D components if they all ready exist and mate them to the layout sketch. This approach is also great for program managers who want to retain control over the position of components and assign ownership of subsystems of components to project engineers using SolidWorks Enterprise PDM.

The other class in the Horizontal phylum of mates is the Delphi class. I did not make this up. This is been a technique that has been around for quite some time in the world of CAD. Long before SolidWorks and their new-fangled geometric, associative mates, the Delphi technique allows engineering teams to mates systems of components to datum planes that are strategically places. Much like the compartments of a submarine, components are mated to sketching planes are various stations., as in the image below.

This technique actually holds a patent, filed under US Patent 7472044, in which the patent abstract states: Abstract
A method for converting a vertically structured CAD/CAM model to a horizontally structured CAD/CAM model, comprising: identifying and establishing a base feature; establishing a parent coordinate system; identifying a parent modeling element; identifying each dependency for each feature from the parent modeling element; restructuring each dependency for each feature for placement, such that each feature exhibits a direct associative relationship with a reference feature; and restructuring each dependency for each feature for positioning, such that each feature exhibits a direct associative relationship with another reference feature.