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Different locations sharing same models - How do we? 1

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darnell

Mechanical
Jun 24, 2003
79
Our company has several offices around the country that have their own Engineering groups. We would like for each group to utilize each others models. Each location has their own server.

Can someone tell me the best way to copy / replicate models that are being created at three different locations so everyone will have a copy of everything? Some models are part files and some models are assemblies.

It is not feasible to think that someone in LA will have to log into Detroits server and reference a block from their server in the LA model.

Thanks in advance!

 
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Maybe I didn't explain this correctly. All three locations will be creating our company's products as models (parts and assemblies). We do not have one central server. I would like to get ideas on how we can copy models created by the other two locations and also copy any files that have been updated. We do not have PDM. ONe of my fears is that if we try to write a dos batch file, the assemblies will not find their parts. For example, on the LA server, they log their block directory as S Drive. If they put an assembly into the blocks directory, the parts the make up that assembly come from different directories as well. If we dos batch file copy to the east coast server, they map their enginnering drive as T drive. I fear that the assemblies will lose the locations of the parts because the drive letter changed. This will be the case for the other location as far as drive letter, etc.

We have 8.5 million product combinations that we sell. Obviously, we have not modeled all of these but it is not possible to use SW Explorer for each assembly.

MadMango, I like that document - thanks - but I do not think we are clssifying ourselves as a "shared network drive"
 
Do you have an FTP directory?

The only thing I can think of (not having PDM) is File> Find References.

Office A "find refernces" for all it's assemblies, then make a copy to the FTP site. Office's B & C takes those files and save them locally on their own servers.

Office B does the same as A, and now A & C get the copies.

Office C does the same as A, and now A & B get the copies.

This way each satellite office has copies of the other office files. The hard part is coordinating file changes between A-B-C, or B-C-A, or C-A-B, etc... you get the drift.

I think your corporate HQ needs to bite the bullet and get a PDM system, especially with 8.5 million configurations to maintain.

[green]"But what... is it good for?"[/green]
Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968, commenting on the microchip.
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I agree 100% with MadMango. Without a PDM system, your setup is a disaster waiting to happen.
 
We tried what MadMango suggested the first year of having SolidWorks. It is much more cumbersome and time consuming without a PDM software. I agree with the others "... a disaster waiting to happen". I suggest having management sit in a PDM demo to show what it can do.
 
A PDM system is the only way to go. Even if you do figure

out how to get what MadMango sugested to do. You still have

to figure out how you are goiing to keep 2 sites from

making changes to the same modle without over writing each

other.
 
Never make copies of files in different locations. If you do that, you will soon experiment big problems, loosing track of what is realy updated. The first rule of security and consistency of information is to avoid file duplication.

So, if you want to share files between locations, first you must find a unique place to save them. Don't go cheap on this, otherwyse you'll have a big mess.

Regards
 
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