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LawrenceS18-Opal
18-Opal
November 9, 2021
Solved

Pros/Cons of Migrating Material & Symbol files from Network folder/drive to Windchill folder?

  • November 9, 2021
  • 2 replies
  • 6563 views

We are considering migrating the following files from a network drive to a Windchill folder, but would first like to hear what the pros and cons of doing so.  Obviously a pro of having in Windchill is back up and revision/state control.  However what else have you found?

  1. .mtl Material files (pro_material_dir)
  2. .sym Symbol files (pro_symbol_dir)

 

Currently, from the network drives, if either one of these file types are modified, and the Creo model opened again, neither will look at the new file as they are both saved with the model only and loose their connection to the original file.  Does it work differently when using Windchill?  Have you found any config options to help control this or for these files to work better using Windchill vs Network folders?

Best answer by lhoogeveen

These files work the same whether in Windchill or network drives - a copy is stored inside the Creo model.

 

There are pros and cons to each. Drawings formats are the only thing that have to be in Windchill.

 

Network drive:

  • Pros
    • Users don't always have to be in Windchill. Companies may want the ability to toggle between Windchill and non Windchill.
    • Can have the same file name in multiple locations. Example: you can put the material in multiple folders if desired.
  • Cons
    • Users have to make sure the network drive is mapped. You can use the full UNC path to work around this.
    • Network drives can sometimes be slow and performance can vary greatly by location. A workaround could be 'always available offline' on network drives if your company allows this but this has its own downsides (changes take time to sync, may require user to perform this action,). If 'always available offline' is combined with borrowing a Creo license, users can completely disconnect from the network while still keeping the company setup.

Windchill

  • Pros
    • Check in / out history with the ability to have comments.
    • Encourage use of Windchill only.
    • Leverage any Windchill replica servers (hopefully faster more consistent performance)
  • Cons
    • If the user has a typo (case sensitive) in the name of the Windchill server in Creo, the files in Windchill will not show up for users.
    • Importing and exporting has to be done through the workgroup manager to make files 'cad objects' otherwise Creo will not see these files.
      • Option 1 - Save directly to workspace.
      • Option 2 - Set Creo config setting allow_import_file_extension to allow importing various file extensions into a workspace (separated by a comma - MAT, MTL, SYM, etc.).
    • File names must be unique in Windchill. Cannot have the same file name in multiple folders.
    • Not everything can go in Windchill. Creo files like config.pro, config.sup, ModelCheck files, etc. cannot be currently stored in Windchill.

Third Option - Copy some or all files from Network drive to user's computer (robocopy when Creo starts, IT setup a once/twice a day background sync with users computers, etc.).

  • Pros
    • Having local files is the fastest. Example: Using ModelCheck from a network drive can be really slow.
    • Allow for completely offline working if users borrow a Creo license.
  • Cons
    • Slower start of Creo if copying a bunch of files.
    • More complicated to setup

2 replies

Chris3
Chris321-Topaz I
21-Topaz I
November 9, 2021

Having them in Windchill doesn't change the functionality of coping the materials into the part file or the symbols into the drawing file. Part of the reason for this is configuration management. Once something is released most customers wouldn't want released drawings and parts to be updated because an external file is updated.

 

Do you currently have drawing formats and or templates in Windchill? If so I don't see this as a big deal. If not consider that you will be causing some pain for users that work offline. Maybe this isn't something you want to encourage anyways, but our users work offline from time to time due to poor VPN connections, wanting to do quick what if trade studies, etc.

    L
    LawrenceS18-OpalAuthor
    18-Opal
    November 9, 2021

    Hmm, it is too bad there isn't an option for it to work this way.  After all it is already considered accepted functionality in WC that if a component (or format) is changed it will be updated in the WS and therefore the next time that asm is opened.  Now for parts and sub-asms we do have some WC configurations as well as manual options that can be changed to get the latest vs as checked-in (or some other configuration).

     

    The offline scenario is a good consideration, although if someone is not connected to the VPN they won't see our network drives either.  So I don't think that would be a negative impact.  Yes, we do already have templates and drawing formats in WC so anyone modifying parts/drawings will usually not be able to work in offline mode.  Now that I think about it, other things like modifying mapkeys may not even work correctly without the VPN network drives.

      B
      23-Emerald III
      BenLoosli23-Emerald III
      23-Emerald III
      November 9, 2021

      A format does not update unless the user explicitly replaces it with the new one. I have made revisions to formats along the way and when an existing drawing is loaded, it pulls in the format that it was saved with. My latest format may be 0.10, but the drawing was created with 0.6. Opening the drawing in a clean workspace will pull in 0.6.

      My formats are stored in Windchill as well as copies on disk.

      L
      lhoogeveen17-PeridotAnswer
      17-Peridot
      November 9, 2021

      These files work the same whether in Windchill or network drives - a copy is stored inside the Creo model.

       

      There are pros and cons to each. Drawings formats are the only thing that have to be in Windchill.

       

      Network drive:

      • Pros
        • Users don't always have to be in Windchill. Companies may want the ability to toggle between Windchill and non Windchill.
        • Can have the same file name in multiple locations. Example: you can put the material in multiple folders if desired.
      • Cons
        • Users have to make sure the network drive is mapped. You can use the full UNC path to work around this.
        • Network drives can sometimes be slow and performance can vary greatly by location. A workaround could be 'always available offline' on network drives if your company allows this but this has its own downsides (changes take time to sync, may require user to perform this action,). If 'always available offline' is combined with borrowing a Creo license, users can completely disconnect from the network while still keeping the company setup.

      Windchill

      • Pros
        • Check in / out history with the ability to have comments.
        • Encourage use of Windchill only.
        • Leverage any Windchill replica servers (hopefully faster more consistent performance)
      • Cons
        • If the user has a typo (case sensitive) in the name of the Windchill server in Creo, the files in Windchill will not show up for users.
        • Importing and exporting has to be done through the workgroup manager to make files 'cad objects' otherwise Creo will not see these files.
          • Option 1 - Save directly to workspace.
          • Option 2 - Set Creo config setting allow_import_file_extension to allow importing various file extensions into a workspace (separated by a comma - MAT, MTL, SYM, etc.).
        • File names must be unique in Windchill. Cannot have the same file name in multiple folders.
        • Not everything can go in Windchill. Creo files like config.pro, config.sup, ModelCheck files, etc. cannot be currently stored in Windchill.

      Third Option - Copy some or all files from Network drive to user's computer (robocopy when Creo starts, IT setup a once/twice a day background sync with users computers, etc.).

      • Pros
        • Having local files is the fastest. Example: Using ModelCheck from a network drive can be really slow.
        • Allow for completely offline working if users borrow a Creo license.
      • Cons
        • Slower start of Creo if copying a bunch of files.
        • More complicated to setup
        L
        LawrenceS18-OpalAuthor
        18-Opal
        November 10, 2021

        @lhoogeveen, this was a very comprehensive and helpful answer.  You have given us a lot to digest, which is really what I was looking for so thank you very much! 😀

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