engineeing filing system

[metman]

20-30 years ago, maybe more, there was an article in Machine Design Magazine with the subject title. I am almost sure that I still have it somewhere but have not found it yet.

I would dearly like to begin implementing it. I should google it but too many distractions with this new job so I am coming to the quick answer store for help if someone knows of it.

It is beautiful thing!

Thanks in advance
for any help

Design for RELIABILITY, manufacturability and maintainability

 

[MikeHalloran]

Found a link that's dead, but the date may be useful:
{
Computer-aided drawing control. (filing system) - Machine Design ...

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-3146168.html

MANUFACTURING companies typically have 25000 to 1 million active design drawings stored in some... | Article from Machine Design February 23, 1984.
}

Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[JohnRBaker]

Perhaps this is what you're looking for:

http://www.plm.automation.siemens.c...r/solutions_by_product/content_doc_mgmt.shtml

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA

http://www.siemens.com/plm

UG/NX Museum:

http://www.plmworld.org/p/cm/ld/fid=209

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

[metman]

Thanks for trying. This was a fairly exhaustive list of categories and sub-categories and sub-sub categories with main headings like:

Hydraulics
Mechanical Components
Metals and Alloys
Electronics
Etc
Etc
Etc

Design for RELIABILITY, manufacturability and maintainability

 

[Gymmeh]

I would love to see this article. My company has half of the document control in someones memory/head.... and it needs to change.

 

[metman]

I am going home this weekend and will try to remember to search for it. I need to do a thorough office cleanup and hope to find it.

Design for RELIABILITY, manufacturability, and maintainability

 

[ewh]

Heh, at least you have document control... I've worked some places where they only control an 11"x17" printout, totally ingnoring the drawing and model files, letting them fade into oblivion (which happened prety quickly).

"Good to know you got shoes to wear when you find the floor." - [small]Robert Hunter[/small]

 

[Gymmeh]

we use "vault" which solves most of model/Inventor file document control.

But we have not control over engineering calc's and decisions. So we have redundant work, file are left were ever the engineer decides to put them never to be found again.

 

[StructDave]

We keep almost everything by client (both the paper files and the digital versions). Every new job is given a standard file tree, everybody works with it. I still have to drill away at people to not create extra (potentially different) versions of digital files by emailing them around, but mostly it works fairly well. It's not perfect, especially when it comes to finding a sample calc, so when we think of it we put those calcs in a common location.
Many of our clients, >75%, have very poor drawing archives, for the usual reasons. Those that have good archives save $$ in consulting fees. We encourage everyone to keep their drawings in order.

 

[PHovnanian]

20-30 years ago

25000 to 1 million active design drawings

Things have changed quite a bit over the course of a few decades. For this quantity of drawings, I'd consider doing some careful research into te various options available for document management, digital asset management, records management systems.

Issues around tracing customer and regulatory requirements, through engineering analysis to product definition start to become significant. Revision control and backtracking to find documentation in support of changes often require more than the single directional link between top level drawings and subassemblies (or whatever) that simple numbering schemes and hierarchical filing systems can support.

The requirements of a useful document management system will vary between industries. The best place to start is to look at various uses cases in order to determine what sort of document searches are done and what sort and how many different search keys are useful in your particular business.

 

[metman]

I found the article entitled, "Filing system for engineers.” It was not in Machine Design magazine. It was in Power Transmission magazine which is now PTE, Power Transmission Engineering. At least I am guessing that PT became PTE.

At the bottom of pages 126 through 130 in the article it reads, “126/POWER TRANSMISSION-82,” etc. I guess that was 1982 and only one issue printed per year?

I subscribed to PTE online and asked them permission to e-scan and post on eng-tips.com forum from my original copy of the article cut from the mag.

PHovnanian, I appreciate your comments and hope to key into some more modern techniques but for now I just really liked the simplicity of this filing system which can be set up to each individual or company needs.

PHovnanian,BTW -- I have signed up for an intemediate/advanced Ms Excel class for March 2012(took a basic course ten years ago)and I am thinking to use Excel to start a filing system. I have generated two Excel workbooks so far for the project. One is for competitor specs with a composite section for min/max/median/avg numbers and the other is Customer vs. Horsepower requirements based on specific industry formulae.

I re-read your comments which are very germane to my situation because I am in the last stage of gathering competitor spec’s and researching of a difficult engineering application procedure. Friday we had our first meeting with top mgmt. to plan for the initial equipment of a new product line I will be designing. It is an opportune time to implement something of the order you are suggesting but I am clueless where to start because for me your suggestions are a little too generic. However you have hit my nail on the head with this statement:

Issues around tracing customer and regulatory requirements, through engineering analysis to product definition start to become significant.

Because each point you covered applies to this project including Fed rqmts.

This is the part that is too generic for me so that I am not sure where to start:

The best place to start is to look at various uses cases in…

This thread really belongs in the following Forum -- sorry to misspost it here.

Overcoming Obstacles Getting My Work Done

Design for RELIABILITY, manufacturability, and maintainability