How do you manage your Cadworker settings and ME processes for checkin, revise?

[jwagh]

Let me preface this by saying that we are beginning our digital journey, so we appreciate any help and patience you can offer.

Currently, out cadworker is setup to generate visualizations "As Stored", so that it captures the snapshot in time when the data was generated. However, we are seeing some issues:

1. Engineers are making some small changes to the geometry. They are promoting just the part, and no higher level assemblies; since the assy BOM are not being affected. Does your company enforce the user to revise ALL higher level assemblies so that the step file gets updated? How does that impact downstream teams when the top-level  assemblies could be getting revised multiple times a day without any 'real' change. That could end up having a lot of wasted work where most items on an ECN are 'no changes'. In addition, we used to tell our team to check-in their work every day. Now we need to have them change this to check-in all of their work at once so that it updates properly the 'as stored'? Sometimes, the simple files are the higher level assemblies that don't get updates as often as the lower level more complex parts.
2. Let's take this a step further. What about NO geometry changes? Let's say a title mistake in a drawing needs to be fixed. So the part title parameter is updated. Now, the Creo VIEW attributes for the higher level assemblies are wrong. Those higher level Creo View files are calling out the wrong rev for the part, and the attributes are still showing the wrong title.

We would like to solve the step file issue and the Creo View issue.

ALL help is appreciated!

Thanks!

[jwagh]

Here are some thoughts:

• In addition to a 'as stored' and 'as latest', the cadworker should be able to do 'as promoted'. This way, the engineers/users don't need to study and take notes on when they checked-in their files. It makes sense that the files that are promoted together get updated at once. If a higher level assembly isn't promoted, it won't be updated.
• A promotion should have the ability to gather all higher level objects, revise them and edit any attributes all during the same workflow. By allowing a quick revise, they can be promoted together with the actual changed objects and they will automatically be updated via the logic above. If there are any attributes that should be updated, that can also be done quickly, all from the same menu.
• Creo View should have the ability to view structure and attributes based on the filters within Windchill. If someone wanted to see latest, they can show latest, or as-stored, or a baseline...etc. This may require using positioning assemblies to generate the data quickly 'on-the-fly', or using some other mechanism. This will ensure the data shown in Creo View is accurate to the PLM system. This way, if there is a small attribute change to a screw, all higher level assemblies won't need to get revised for the Creo View data to be accurate.

Just some thoughts. Of course, something else to consider is MBD step files. What process in generating new higher level step files, when you update GD&T for a small subcomponent? For instance, a small piece of a car gets revised due to DFM and GD&T values get updated. Do all higher level assemblies and step files get updated since someone 'could' theoretically open the step file of the car, then open the sub part and view the annotations and we would want that to be accurate?

Thanks!

[d_graham]

Some thoughts on this.

I implemented something that might be similar to what your are thinking about. The workflow automatically adds related objects to both Affected and Resulting Objects based on their relationship to what is already on the Change Activity (or Promotion Request)

If the object(s) found in the Used By direction should be revised it gets revised and added to the Change Activity.

It’s really mostly about define what you want to have happen. Once that’s done automation can be implemented.

The direction (Uses and/or Used By) of getting the related objects can be whatever is desired.

Once the Change Notice is approved and after the Resulting Objects’ state are set to Release (or whatever) the workflow could automatically create your “as Promoted” baseline(s) and then publish any config specs you want, as stored, latest, as Promoted whatever.

Likewise if you are using Promotion Requests.

If you are using WTPart their links to the appropriate Revisions can also be generated and cleaned up automatically.

As for generate step files 'as stored' but Creo View data using latest with positioning assemblies, as Tom mentioned you would need to publish twice, as stored and latest to create the data.

But after publishing you could automatically delete everything  from the as store rep except the step files. Or you could automatically move the step files to the latest rep.

In other words, publish as stored rep and latest rep, move step files from as stored rep to latest rep, delete as stored rep.

The latest rep could also be rename to append “ step files are as stored” to its name and the description could also be update to let everyone know what the rep includes.

Very interesting possibilities that could likely be automated for the user.

[hoarnold]

Adding some additional details to this good topic.  

We are relying on the As-Stored config spec for automated publishing because it provides a version controlled "snapshot" of a design that can be viewed and consumed while additional design changes occur under the latest config spec.  Downstream users rely on the fact that they can extract a non-latest representations that were approved via a promotion using its baseline to help collect and extract the promoted items "Additional Files, DXF, STEP, PDF" for external use, like sending to contract manufacturers. If we use the latest config spec for automated publishing how would anyone be able to rely on the design data representations, the underlying representations would  keep changing constantly with each CAD design change.  Many of our Windchill user/consumers rely on this As-Stored viewable and typically go back to older promotion baselines to extract the additional design files created weeks/months prior.

We also rely on the Navigate platform for simple users who need to search and view non-latest design reps.  Navigate is a simple system which acts as a lens into Windchill relying on the default representation only, as non-default representations are not available through the Navigate system.  If one were to publish multiple representations using the default As-stored representations and a latest representation via a workflow driven expression robot, how would this situation be handled for Navigate users?  Navigate is simple and does not provide a lot of info to the user, it assumes Windchill is configured to provide the right information for users to consume under the default rep only.

We are using wincom's rep export tools to extract the default representations additional files generated via WVS from the promotion baseline.  We also use wincoms promotion validation framework to enable some of our business rules to work as UI validators instead of using expression robots with business rules as post validation, this saves users time and does not let the promotion request get created unless the UI validation rules are met.

 @d_graham in your post above are you saying to create a kind of blended representation containing a latest config spec viewable for Creo View while having As-Stored Additional file content?  Thanks everyone for this topic and the great discussion.

[d_graham]

@hoarnold , yes, you are correct, that's exactly what I am suggesting.  And I'd definitely automate this per my post including updating the rep's name and description so that everyone knows what they are looking at.

If you need help with this let me know.

David

[jwagh]

I guess someone could run into similar issues for step files as the Creo View data, if their organization is using model-based-definition. Annotations in the step file, at a lower level, would not be accurate at a higher level; unless the higher level is revised each and every time, even for small non-geometry changes. What a conundrum. I would love to hear what other organizations do to try to minimize these issues.

[TomU]

I think in a perfect world you use work from 'as stored' and then in the change management process collect all the upstream objects that need to be updated anytime a lower level item is changed.  That is probably the only way to make sure the entire chain is accurate and updated/released together.

[jwagh]

Correct. However, would that cause any downstream negative impacts by having your 'car' design revise every few days for the slightest attribute tweak for every subpart?

[TomU]

Probably.  Fortunately we don't design any cars.  😂

[jwagh]

Some thoughts:

Would we be able to generate step files 'as stored' but Creo View data using latest with positioning assemblies? I've heard positioning assemblies don't work great with flexible components, which we use a lot of for our shades group.

[TomU]

You would have to generate double publishes for each object - one 'as stored' and one 'latest'.  Only one of them can be created 'out of the box', so you would probably need to write some extra code to generate the second publish event.  (See 'do publish'.)  We don't use WT Parts here, but I wonder if it's possible for a linked WT Part to use one publish spec. while the CAD doc uses a different one.  (No idea...)

Positioning Assemblies will not show flexible components, but Extended Positioning Assemblies will!  Essentially anything that is flexed is embedded into the assembly representation like a traditional publish and everything else is just referenced (like a positioning assembly.)

[jwagh]

Thanks for the info.