Windchill: Options and Configurable Products 1

[MR_12404533]

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[PD_9138185]

I am doing the exercise 5 and when I get to Task 2:7, the Assign Expression choice is greyed out. 

Have I missed something before?

I searched in help and it may be a case of option set not being assigned, but I think I have done that in Task 1, haven't I?

[PD_9138185]

I think I found it. I needed to restart the VM at some point and I forgot to recreate the step where I made the small-offroad_stanalone to a configurable module. I changed that now and an now able to assign expressions!

[PD_9138185]

So now I completed the course and have a question.

When working with options and choices, all choices seem to be "generic" in a sense that they are not connected to any specific part. But there must be a connection somewhere, as when I run the option filter in the end, the right parts on a configurable module will be selected or removed. 

So is this connection something that was already set up as pre-requisite for this exercise? I would imagine that this would need to be done on overloaded part structure, wouldn't it? Anyway, where can I see these links or connections?

[KeithKarain]

Good morning PD_9138185 - 

While you are somewhat correct in that options and choices seem 'generic', it is true the Option Set and choices are 'attached', They are attached to a product context or other object(s). In this case, the Option Set is attached to the PTC Motorcycle product. You can see this in Exercise 5, Task 1 where you assign the assign the option set to the product context. You can also 'attach' an option set to lower level objects. 

After making the option set available in the product context, you then apply different choices to specific Windchill parts. So, in the sense I think you are asking about, the entire option set is 'attached' to the product, and individual choices/include/exclude/advanced expressions are 'attached' to the parts where you apply these individual choices/include/exclude/advanced expressions. While it isn't apparent by the level of interaction show in this Virtual Instructor Led Training (VILT), the Part object type includes attributes to hold and 'attach' these pieces of metadata. This level of object type and attribute interaction is typically explored at the business administrative level. 

If you are interested to understand what attributes are available on the object Part, I would recommend exploring the Windchill Business Administration course series. The Windchill: Objects and Types VILT contains this specific information. 

Thanks for your inquiries and I hope you found this helpful - 

Keith Karain

Technical Enablement Senior Instructional Designer 

[PD_9138185]

Hello,

Thank you for the answer and yes, I think you understood my question correctly. I was aware we "attached" the option set to product context in Exercise 5, bit I think it was what you said about attributes on parts that I was looking for. I'll try to explore that more.

I have a follow up question though, and maybe it's just because I am not a seasoned Windchill user. Where can I see an overloaded BOM for the PTC Motorcycle, with all the choices available? I can of course find the two variants which we worked with in the course the "small" and "large" ones, but there must be the overloaded BOM somewhere, right?

Regards

Pawel

[KeithKarain]

Hey again Pawel - 

This particular introductory VILT focuses more on the Options and Choices of a configurable product. One could conceivably say the small and large motorcycle product structures here are 'overloaded' (they include an option that can be added or removed depending upon the desired end item), However, I would hesitate to say this is a good overloaded BOM example. 

So, no, there must not be an overloaded BOM somewhere, for the purposes of this course. 

It seems you have a keen interest for configurable products. I suggest you fill out the New Course Suggestion form with your desired topic additions. While we have additional Options and Configurable Products courses on our roadmap, direct customer feedback helps us prioritize new course offerings. The two OCP courses we have available are really just scratching the surface of possibilities. Product Families, Platform Based Products, Advanced Parameter Selection Logic, Variant Generation and Reuse, and Dynamic Positioning are some additional topics to explore.

Thanks again, 

K-