Mass designation of the parameters

[Alberto_Todisco]

Good evening to everybody;

I need to designate all the parameters of the Creo components within windchill.
Is it possible to make a total designation?

I hope that someone can help me.

[BenLoosli]

You will need to create attributes in Windchill with the same names (in upper case) of every parameter you want to take from Creo to Windchill. Then in your Creo Parameters table, check the Designate box for each item.

Putting the items into Windchill is just one step. You will also need to edit the MoreAttributes layout page to display them. Keep all Internal Names in upper case, but when you add the attribute to the layout, the upper case name will default to the display name which you will see when you do an info on an object. Change the display names to mixed case.

[Alberto_Todisco]

OK thanks.
But I had already done this procedure; the problem is that now, after many years of use, I need other parameters (thickness, weight, etc.).
So I need to designate the parameters of all existing components.

[BenLoosli]

The only method I can think of may be to use ModelCheck in batch mode and have it check for the existence of a designated parameter  and if not designated, to designate it.

I am not sure how MC works within Windchill. When I ran it in batch mode, it was all external as we converted parameters from Pro/Intralink verbiage to Windchill verbiage. We exported all of the files from Pro/I, ran a customized MC in batch, then imported the files into Windchill.

[mmeadows-3]

First, a general comment…  Requests to link “all” Creo parameters to Windchill attributes sets off red flags for Windchill business analysts.  There are many Creo parameters used in drawings and to drive model logic that have no practical value in Windchill.  If it isn’t showing up in a Windchill report, BOM, used regularly in Windchill searches, or used to drive Windchill behavior, it shouldn’t be mapped to Windchill.  Going the other direction, if it doesn’t drive geometry or need to appear on the drawing, the Windchill attribute shouldn’t be mapped to a Creo parameter.

To answer your question, the solution depends on if the business can use it going forward (a.k.a. attrition) on new and changed models OR if the business needs it applied in bulk to large collections of models immediately.

Attrition

The WGM or WWGM will create, designate (Creo), and populate the CAD parameter when the content file is opened in the authoring CAD application PROVIDED:

1. The attribute is explicitly mapped to an expected authoring application's parameter
2. The CAD parameter does not exist.
3. The Windchill attribute is populated with a value.

This technique works for any content added to a Workspace and exported to disk or opened in the authoring CAD application, regardless of checked out status.  This technique does not work if we create a new CAD Document through Creo (file > new).  That scenario needs to be addressed in the CAD template models.

Additional Notes:

• Explicit attribute mapping is required. Implicit mapping doesn’t work.
• If the parameter exists but is not designated, the WGM or WWGM will designate it. The driving direction of the value depends on the config.pro option auto_des_ilink_filebased_attrs (https://www.ptc.com/en/support/article?n=CS48362).
• Family Table generics and all instances must be processed together (https://www.ptc.com/en/support/article?n=CS30910).

Not sure about setting a generic default value in Windchill and having Creo’s value override it.  You would have to test.

Bulk

Bulk processing of CAD models (e.g. library components) requires all the models to be in a modifiable state.  Usually we get around released components by processing with an administrative Windchill account.  ModelCHECK can (in theory) do it thru Distributed Pro/BATCH but there are other third-party tools, easier to configure and use, that can perform parameter mass updates, designation, format replacements, etc.