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Anecdotally, my experience is exactly the opposite of yours.
In 2009, a company I worked at migrated just over 880000 files from Intralink 3.4 to Windchill PDMLink 9.1. Within that pile of files were thousands of family tables. Post migration, not a single family table needed to be reopened and verified. I can't really confirm whether this was due to a strict internal policy concerning the verification of all family tables or if it was something in the migration process, but there were no problems with family tables.
In Reply to Steve Galayda:
I am sorry to disagree with you on one of your points Patrick.
I believe PDMLink is more strict on family table objects then Intralink was. There were models that were perfectly fine in ILINK 3.x that need to be verified in PDMLink 9.x. I think this was even the case between versions of Pro/E at one point. Was that the users fault? No. It was reported as regenerated and verified in ILINK and a previous version of Pro/E. Can someone please confirm?
As a matter of fact just this past week I had a user that was working on an assembly and noticed objects on a family table were marked as modified in their workspace. I checked out the files to a workspace and verified the family table. Then I made sure nothing was different. It was easy as it was just a plain spring. Then I checked the files in and put a note in the Description box of the check-in form.
No offence intended but I think you are being a bit naïve about this situation.
Was it the fault of the software that the user didn't hide a layer, add a datum, etc. No. But there are times that objects need to be updated without increasing the revision.
Steve G
I will respectfully disagree with you that blaming the tool is naive for the examples I provided.
The change I am trying to make on a model is not visible on any drawing, it's not related to the products form, fit or function.
If I am adding a new coordinate system for the purpose of aiding a Validation Software such as Geomagic Quality in creating a report requested by QA, I should be able to open the model and add that coordinate system. The coordinate system has nothing to do with the product and it's not tied to any downstream or upstream components.
"Can Windchill change any object in the database, if you want it too -- but do you really want it too?" For the examples I am refering too, the answer is yes. They have no baring on the product, the documentation, the drawing, etc.
Others have provided some great ideas on how to manage these situations and I will investigate which method works best for us.
Thanks
In Reply to Patrick Perry:
In most situations released data should not be changed -- there is legal ramification for this (think OSHA certification). To blame the tool is being a bit naive. The problem is users are depending on the tool and NOT checking things as well as they should (or are being pressed to get things done more quickly than humanly possible). If a datum is visible on a drawing and that drawing was pushed to release, it is not the fault of the tool. If the corporation's process is objects should not be modified when they reach a released state, that is not the fault of the tool.
When I first started in PDM the vendor told me a two very wise statements. What is the best thing about a PDM tool, it can do whatever you want it to do. What is the worst thing about a PDM tool, it can do whatever you want it to do.
Windchill is very flexible, best practices through going to several companies has put limits on some freedoms. Can Windchill change any object in the database, if you want it you -- but do you really want it to? Can Windchill be designed to allow a group of users (other than Administrators) to change released objects -- it certainly can. My question would be in I am making several changes at released I maybe need to look at my process because certain steps are being missed. For the gentleman that need a coordinate system for verification, why not make that part of the process so that every model has that -- it no verification is required no harm. If verification requirement comes after release, then no change is required.
This discussion should not be about Windchill, Windchill is just a tool. This discussion should be about the process of getting objects to be production ready and what is the best way to insure those objects are ready for anything.
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