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Srinivasan-Iyer14-Alexandrite
14-Alexandrite
December 4, 2025
Question

How can one handle Identical Parts with different Surface Finish?

  • December 4, 2025
  • 5 replies
  • 439 views

We are using Creo Parametric 10.9

How do industries tackle the issue of Identical parts with the difference being only the surface finish.

e.g. : A Car Body with different Colours say Black, White, Yellow and Blue.

Each coloured Body need to have different BOM Item but shall derive their geometry from the base model.

Is there a way to do this without Family Tables?

How can we address it in Windchill?

We do not have Creo Options Modeller.

5 replies

S
23-Emerald III
StephenW23-Emerald III
23-Emerald III
December 4, 2025

We don't do production type quantities.

We moved from specifying colors or even different paint systems from the engineering drawing and related specifications to putting that information with the purchase order and/or the work order. This works for us since parts are rarely ordered for stock, almost always ordered for a specific project.

Any coating/finish that is applied for engineering specific purposes are still included within the engineering controlled print/specifications.

 

    S
    Srinivasan-Iyer14-AlexandriteAuthor
    14-Alexandrite
    December 5, 2025

    This is exactly how we addressed in my earlier company. Design BOM and Finished Product BOM were separate. 

    Design Item: e.g : AZ0054601 would become a Raw Material for the finished product AZ0054601-1, -2, -3, etc. It is the Process BOM or Manufacturing BOM that would be produced. 

     

    I shall wait for some more replies for different practices.

    B
    23-Emerald III
    BenLoosli23-Emerald III
    23-Emerald III
    December 4, 2025

    Without a family table, it would need to be separate part numbers in Windchill and Creo.

    Take the top level assembly, without finish, and add it to the new finished top level assembly.

    Another option with family tables is to put the finish in the top level assembly as a family table and list the parts in a chart on the face of the drawing with the required finish for which assembly.

    kdirth
    21-Topaz I
    kdirth21-Topaz I
    21-Topaz I
    December 4, 2025

    I would use Merge/Inheritance with the original merged into the other variations.

    There is always more to learn.
      tbraxton
      22-Sapphire II
      tbraxton22-Sapphire II
      22-Sapphire II
      December 4, 2025

      The best solution I have seen for this is to use a suffix on the part # and list it in a table for each finish version (-1 for black, -2 for white and so on). In this approach there is only a single model used for geometry definition and there is a table on the drawing or in MBD that tabulates all of the colors/finishes. Only one Creo model is under revision control in Windchill and when new finished are needed it only requires that the drawing is revised. With this scheme the table is in the inspection drawing. If you don't use drawings, then you could in theory put the table in MBD but I have not done that.

        S
        Srinivasan-Iyer14-AlexandriteAuthor
        14-Alexandrite
        December 5, 2025

        Yes. This is how we addressed the issue in my earlier companies where I worked. In such a case part# would be the Raw Material for the -1, -2, etc. The manufacturing BOM would address the Colours.

        I shall wait for some more replies for practices.

        joe_morton
        18-Opal
        joe_morton18-Opal
        18-Opal
        December 19, 2025

        Another option is to have a single CAD model that is linked to multiple WTParts in Windchill. The WTPart is what goes in your BOM. You can use CAD model + Drawing + Finish Specification to define the WTPart.

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