Family Table instance delete from Windchill

[Amirtharaj_K]

Hi Guys,

I want to know the procedure for deleting the instance/generic in Windchill. How do I create a new instance? Family table created in Assembly, component, and feature.

Regards,

AJ

[avillanueva · Accepted solution]

This can be a complicated topic. Can you be more specific? What is our starting point? I assume you already have a family table assembly checked in. Are you looking to make it no longer be a family table? Or are you looking to delete an instance? Careful when deleting an instance since simply deleting it from the generic and checking in will make that instance no longer retrievable and cause other issues. Well not retrievable but very problematic. The knowledge base has lots on this topic. 

CS21661 - How to Delete a Family Table Instance From Windchill PDMLink

To Delete an Instance from a Family Table

CS4975 - How to add instances back into family table that was deleted from generic in Windchill PDMLink

CS50038 - How to convert a Creo Parametric family table instance into a standalone object in a linked session with Windchill

[BenLoosli]

Another thing to be aware of is if any of those instances have been used in an assembly or referenced in a drawing, you will not be able to delete them as Windchill will have links in the database between the parts and the assembly/drawing.

[Amirtharaj_K]

Thanks for the replay @avillanueva @BenLoosli 

@avillanueva Without purging, can we delete the instance?

@BenLoosli How can we break if I use it on some assemblies?

@avillanueva @BenLoosli How We Can Break If it's an individual component or a sub-assembly, I have one component that I've kept in a library and Can we replace with new component automatically change where ever i used on this.

Regards,

AJ

[avillanueva]

I am still unclear about the overall intent. What are you starting with and what is your desired outcome? Can you diagram or send screen shots? Purging can help remove iterations and items that can complicate these things like references by other assemblies, parts and drawings. It reduced the historical baggage you have to deal with.  I have been successful in the past a removing (and deleting) instances from a generic. Its also possible to convert an instance into a stand alone component. You will have to deal with the ramifications and clean up of this since assemblies will still be looking for that component as being part of a family table. It will cause issues in retrieval if it cannot find it. 

[jlecoz]

Fun subject,

Instances are defined inside the generic. If you delete an instance in Windchill you are iterating the generic too.

So when doing so you will still see the instance because it exists in the previous generic version.

To cleanup this you need to delete folded versions of the generic, but you won't be able to do it if some of the instances are already used. In such a case  you will need to explode the family table instances to make them independent CAD models.

If you have assembly family tables I would suggest to do the cleanup on the CAD side first.

So at the end the question is, what is the problem you are trying to solve by deleting an instance from Windchill? may be other solution would fit without proceeding to a deletion.