Solution to Integrate Multiple CAD applications including multiple migrations of Pro/I

[patrick.chin1]

I was advised by my manager to have your manager and Product Line Managers of PDMLink, ProjectLink and EPM prepare for a meeting. This is an extremely delicate situation. This is an OOTB functionality where OEMs and ODMs collaborate and share information via ProjectLink Projects and ProductPoint interfaces from PDMLink, the OEMs/ODMs create information and designs in their own Projects and Project workspaces. The information is checked into and approved in projects and then vaulted/send to PDM in the single common PDMLink vault.

This is an OOTB functionality till the point of duplicates between ProjectLink and PDMLink. It is a more refined solution is to have the database warn you of potential duplicates at the attempt creation.

We will also have multiple CAD integration storing IDeas, Mentor and AutoCAD.

We are also use ProE Family Tables intensively. This is causing major issues in our Family Tables. This has nothing to do with ProE, but how windchill identifies uniqueness in EPM. We are having very labours workaround deleting and tempting to rename work. It is difficult to modify a generic after it has been renamed if it calls out a duplicate instance.

The best solution is both removing and modifying your uniqueness checks in the APIs and database respectively. If you remove the API checks and let the database handle it, it would a more refined and efficient solution in terms of code management and data integrity.

I removed the unique index called EPMDOCUMENTMASTERKEY$UNIQUE that currently depends on:
• EPMDOCUMENTMASTERKEY.Wtkey (EPM document number)
• EPMDOCUMENTMASTERKEY .IDA3ORGANIZATIONREFERENCE (organization principal id)
• EPMDOCUMENTMASTERKEY.IDA3NAMESPACEREFERENCE (workspace ID reference)

If none of these columns contain a empty record (IÂ’ve checked and they never are), place 2 new unique indexes against EPMDOCUMENTMASTER called:
• EPMDOCUMENTMASTER$UNIQUE based on the following columns
o EPMDOCUMENTMASTER.DOCUMENTNUMBER (EPM document number)
o EPMDOCUMENTMASTER.IDA3ORGANIZATIONREFERENCE (organization principal id (i.e ProI database))
o EPMDOCUMENTMASTER.AUTHORINGAPPLICATION (ProE, IDEAS, UG, AutoCAD, CATIA)
o EPMDOCUMENTMASTER.DOCTYPE
• EPMDOCUMENTMASTER$UNIQUEFILENAME based on the following columns
o EPMDOCUMENTMASTER.CADNAME (file name)
o EPMDOCUMENTMASTER.IDA3ORGANIZATIONREFERENCE (organization principal id(i.e ProI database))
o EPMDOCUMENTMASTER.AUTHORINGAPPLICATION (ProE, IDEAS, UG, AutoCAD, CATIA)

We would then disable the APIs in the WGMs to check for uniqueness of file names because they are redundant to the database validation. We require this to be supported. Please forward this to your managers immediately.

Thank you,

Patrick Chin, P.Eng.

[patrick.chin1]

Here is an updated power point. For upgrades if you already have implemented this solution. You can now map your Windchill system attributes directly to ProE drawing title block template with PTC_COMMON_NAME (Windchill NAME) and docname/ProE name (ProE File Name with no extension/ Windchill Number)

Thus, there is no need for multiple attributes in Windchill which causes confusion. Most organizations use theWindchill number as the business identifier and name as the title or description. If you need multiple lines, make the title block to be a note and place PTC_COMMON_NAME as the value.

Every timeyou create a drawing, part or assembly in the ProE interface,the methodology is name=part number without extension and PTC_COMMON_NAME as title or description.

Though this is currently not supported by PTC, it will solve a ton of additional customizations, confusion and migration issues from Pro/Is, filesystems, etc.

[patrick.chin1]

This is a great solution if you want integrate ECAD with MCAD when the EPMDocument numbers are identical for the PCB and PCA. Like it was mentioned in the TC's for ECAD, most MCAD and ECAD designs meet up after the fact and try the numbers for the engineering document are already set in the ECN. With ECAD methodology, you have to really start changing the mind set that ProE models and assemblies are MATERIALs for BOMs of "PART" and "ASSEMBLIES". ProE models are only supporting files, documents or now 3D drawings to materials.