Prototype parts "how do you handle this"

[ptc-46674]

I'm being asked to define a standard practice to use when getting prototype parts made.

currently we have no standard solution for “informally” prototyping a new revision of a part that can be evaluated prior to releasing it as part of an existing production assembly. Some engineers add a suffix –OLD or –PROTOTYPE to the existing part number Some just change the release level of the part & drawing in Intralink. Others create a new part number for the prototype part and then go back to the old part number if the evaluation is successful. We need to identify a standard procedure to accomplish this that ensures the prototype part does not inadvertently get mixed up with production inventory or fabricator production records.

one of our engineers suggestion was to create a prototype titleblock, in which the title and/or drawing number is not drawn from the model. " I think this method lead to a ton of more work for our small engineering staff ! "

Below is my opinion on how this should be handled but I wanted to get some input from others to see how they handle this.

I want to say that the most common way & efficient method of dealing with this is to rely on the released BOM in the ERP system, and on the release level system in "Intralink" we have these states defined "Concept, In Work, Prototype, Released, & Obsolete"

Engineering needs to set the the drawing & part to the correct release level and clearly communicate with Purchasing and Purchasing needs to clearly communicate with our suppliers that when ordering / shipping prototype parts that they need to clearly mark the parts and / or the shipping container that the parts are for Prototype.

Then after the prototype parts are tested and and the new design is accepted and approved.
All that engineering needs to do is to change the release state in intralink to "Released" and update the BOM in our ERP system to the new revision.

How does your company handle this ?is there a standard ?

I will post a summary after I receive some replys

thanks In advance

Dave McClinton

System Administrator

Mckesson Automation
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[MikeLockwood]

The involved answer to this is: Use a 2 phase lifecycle with segmented versioning (file-based or state-based).

But - That's a one-time career decision that you pretty much have to live with forever (or until you start at a new company that hasn't yet implemented PDMLink). Luckily, our migration from Intralink 3.x was delayed for a very long time while problems were being worked out and we had time to learn and understand what this is all about and plan for it.

It's possible that you could update your lifecycle and then mass apply the update to all items - it might be worth looking at. Need to closely coordinate a change to the version series. Short of this, no good ideas.