Windchill Option & Variants with Creo Option Modeler

[BV_12860425]

Hi,

I have created the overloaded CAD BOM in Creo, loaded them into Windchill, auto-associated WTParts with CAD Documents, and thoroughly defined Options and Variants. However, when I generate the Variant from the overloaded BOM in Windchill, it creates a variant assembly, but the top-level CAD variant is not being created and associated with the top-level Variant WTPart automatically.

I have learned that an additional license module for Creo is required to generate the top-level variant CAD. Could anyone please advise which license module I should purchase to enable this feature?

[vnamboodheri]

Hi @BV_12860425,

Thank you for your question. 

Your post appears well documented but has not yet received any response. I am replying to raise awareness. Hopefully, another community member will be able to help.
It sometimes helps to have screenshots to better understand what you are trying to do.

Regards,

Vivek N
Community Moderation Team.

[sderoose]

Hello BV_12860425, 

I think it's called Options Modeler Enterprise, more info can be found on the topic in the KB:

https://www.ptc.com/en/support/article/CS195637

https://www.ptc.com/en/support/article/CS195625

Article - CS263701 - Is nested Configurable Products supported in Creo Options Modeler 2.0

It's not that easy to link the both of them, there are some limitations, such as no possibility to use occurrence expressions

https://www.ptc.com/en/support/article/CS287302

If someone has a very good best practice to make use of variants in Windchill, which is linked to Creo, veryinterested in this info. It would be very powerfull if the options & variants in Windchill and Creo are working seamlessly together. Our CAD engineers want an easy way to manage variants in Creo.

[AR_10666332]

Hi , I have done some work in options and variants. My work has been towards advanced logic and less towards option filters, I was working on this for a non Creo customer and my workaround for pulling CAD was to place an empty Assy at the top level (ie. at the variant level) and then perform a compare to CAD and Build the CAD. This will give you an assembly with all the CAD levels from the WTPart structure of the variant. Please note. all configurable nodes will need an empty CAD assembly since all configurable nodes do not have CAD assemblies. This manual intervention led to the customer declining the solution.

[BV_12860425]

May i know the work around that you have used for creating empty assembly at the top level and variant level automatically? 

[AR_10666332]

Hi, the workaround I used is to use an empty assembly and manually associate it to all the nodes that do not have any CAD (ie. all configurable nodes). Once that has been done, all nodes of the variant must have some CAD associated to it (ie. either part, assembly or empty assemblies). Then you go ahead and use compare to CAD tool, set for build the entire structure and then use the build multi level function. This will update the empty assemblies that you have placed with the parts or children available in the structure. This approach has many limitations namely positioning and constraints.

[vnamboodheri]

Hello @BV_12860425,

It looks like you have some responses from some community members. If any of these replies helped you solve your question please mark the appropriate reply as the Accepted Solution. 

Of course, if you have more to share on your issue, please let the Community know so other community members can continue to help you.

Thanks,
Vivek N.
Community Moderation Team.