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M
MohanMB1-Visitor
1-Visitor
May 11, 2012
Solved

Duplicate or save as objects in Windchill

  • May 11, 2012
  • 1 reply
  • 8340 views

Hi,

I am facing a unique problem and unable to solve it. Would appreciate if someone could help.

Ideally the wt part, drawing file and CAD part file all should have the same "Number", "Name" and "File name" in PDM windchill. Its a kind of best practice developed in our company. We also have autogenerated numbers for new files enabled. So if we create a new part, automatically a number is assigned and related drawing file and wt part file with the same number is created

Now with that background in mind, i have a certain part file and its related drawing file. I need an exact copy of the same but with very minor change (maybe a small dimension change). I dont want it to be a family table but want it to be a separate file by itself. So the new required part should have a new number and this same number should be assigned to its related drawing file and wt part file. So if i try to "save as" the drawing file with new auto generated numbers for all the related parts, it does the job BUT now the new drawing file, its related part file and wt part file DO NOT have the same number. Each one has been assigned a different new number.

I try to rename the drawing name to have the same name as the part file but it says already a drawing file with the name exists so cannot rename.

So i try the reverse - to rename the part file name with the drawing file name but again the same problem, it says already a part file with the same name exists so cannot rename.

So i try another option - back up the drawing file to local system hoping to rename them locally "outside" of PDM and then put them back in. But it would not allow me to rename the file, giving a message saying "it is not recommended to rename files managed by pdm outside" and thus cancels the rename command.

So i am stuck with this problem with no solution for now.

Does anyone know the best option here?

Best regards,

Mohan

Best answer by JRCarr

Mohan,

Understood. To have all 9 attributes match you'll need to have the file extensions included in everything. The reason is because Windchill requires uniqueness in Number per object type. WTParts and EPMDocuments are both different object types. That means you can have a WTPart and EPMDocument with the same Number but no WTPart can have the same number as another WTPart and no EPMDocument can have the same Number as another EPMDocument.

The problem is with the drawings. CAD assemblies, parts, and drawings are all EPMDocument object types, meaning none of them can share the exact same Number as another. What many companies will do to get around this is to include the file extensions (see example below).

WTPart 0001

EPMDocument CAD part: 0001.prt

EMPDocument CAD drw: 0001.drw

This allows you to in effect have the same number but still have uniqueness within object subtypes.

Does that make sense?

1 reply

J
JRCarr1-Visitor
1-Visitor
May 17, 2012

Hi Mohan,

Are you attempting to have the Number of the WTPart match that of the CAD part and the drawing? Or just have the Number, Name, and File name all be equal values for each object?

JR Carr

Boston Engineering

M
MohanMB1-VisitorAuthor
1-Visitor
May 17, 2012

Hi Jonathan,

Appreciate your response.

To answer your question, in short yes for both. There are basically 2 sets of requirement which in effect are a combination of both the conditions that you mentioned.

1. The WT part, CAD model, and CAD drawing all should have the same File number.

2. Additionally, the "Number", "Name" and "File name" of each of the above should also be the same.

Thus it means that all the 9 attributes (Number, Name and File name of WT part, prt-part model and drw-drawing file) should all be the same.

I hope i have clarified your doubt. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need more info. I would really appreciate some help in this regard. I have not yet found a suitable solution.

Best regards,

Mohan

J
JRCarr1-VisitorAnswer
1-Visitor
May 17, 2012

Mohan,

Understood. To have all 9 attributes match you'll need to have the file extensions included in everything. The reason is because Windchill requires uniqueness in Number per object type. WTParts and EPMDocuments are both different object types. That means you can have a WTPart and EPMDocument with the same Number but no WTPart can have the same number as another WTPart and no EPMDocument can have the same Number as another EPMDocument.

The problem is with the drawings. CAD assemblies, parts, and drawings are all EPMDocument object types, meaning none of them can share the exact same Number as another. What many companies will do to get around this is to include the file extensions (see example below).

WTPart 0001

EPMDocument CAD part: 0001.prt

EMPDocument CAD drw: 0001.drw

This allows you to in effect have the same number but still have uniqueness within object subtypes.

Does that make sense?

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