Experiences on SolidWorks and SAP R/3 configurator 2

[jmora]

We are working with SolidWorks and SAP R/3 on product configuration. The great deal is a total communication between the parametric data of SW and SAP configurator. I would like to share any information with anybody who is working on communicating this two environments.

 

[Kenneth]

You might want to try duplicating your post on the SolidWorks forum: forum559

 

[DesignControl]

I think that your post is certainly applicable to this fourm... although not exposed to quite the same level of activity as the SolidWorks forum. I notice that nobody answered in the SolidWorks forum, so I thought I'd respond here since this is where I found your post.

Are you offering to share your successful lessons learned, or are you looking to collaborate with others that are in the process of attempting the same goal?

 

[plewright]

Our Purchasing Department has been using SAP for the past few years, and our Technical Services Department has just started using Solidworks seriously in the last 6 months.
We would be interested to learn from the experience that others have had in regards to making the two products work together.
If anyone out there is willing to share their experience, and/or keep in touch as we explore this idea then please respond.

 

[jmora]

Ok. We are offering our knowledge and we are also willing to learn anything new.

We are working 'make to order' in SAP with configurable sales orders boms (Tr. CU51E) and we need to make some 'complicated' parts and all the documentation on SW.

This level of on-line communication does not exit by now. The best product we have found is the interface SAP-SW from GEDAS (certified by SAP). It works great with master data (PDM/PLM) but there is nothing to do with configurations.

Any information about this will be appreciated. Any question will be also nicely ansewered.

 

[Rajila]

This Jmora,

We are soon implementing SAP. We are working on Solidworks without a PDM package. We are fiddling with the idea of having PDMWorks for that.

How well/at all PDM can be integrated with SAP is a question which we have no clue about.

Along with it there is one more SMARTEAM by solidoworks which they claim that can be integerated with SAP.

What would be your suggestion in this. Does SAP include allthe functionality that PDMWorks provide. Can you briefly explain your work.

regards,

raj

 

[jmora]

Hi,
my suggestion is: take it easy. There are many solutions and everything depends on 'who is going to do what'.

If you are only thinking of a tool for managing SW files into your design department, PDMWorks is ok.
But if you want to extend your PDM out of the design department you need something more.

In this case, next thing you need to decide is if your design people is going to work on SAP.

The advantage of this: You do not need another PDM tool (as smarteam). SAP can work as a PDM and you can handle all product documents through the entire organization with a good change management of everytihng at a time. For example, if you need to send a drawing to your vendor and attach it to a purchase order, you have it done with SAP.

The disadvantage: It is not a graphical environment and can be a very hard tool for a designer to work with. I mean that they should open their SW documents from inside SAP, not directly in SW (and if they are many people you should think about the number of SAP licenses too).

A solution may be using both PDMs: Smarteam for the design departament and SAP for everyone else.

This is the scenario we have arrived to. SAP supports vaulting, revisions, change management and so on, and it is ok for us, but it is not user-friendly at all for for our design department.

Our real problem is that we need a tool to connect not only our master data but also some project-specific information (configurations) that 'normal' PDMs don't support.

Regards
JMORA

 

[akakad]

I have just started a SolidWorks/SAP interface thread - I did not see this one otherwise I would have started here.

I am an SAP PLM consultant working with a client who is in the Configure-to-order business. Their engineering drawings are all in solidWorks. Using an interface from a German company Gedas (certified and supported by SAP), all the SW documents have been configured (as document type SWD, SWP, SWA, etc.) and stored into the SAP Document Management System (DMS) as kPro. In the next phase we plan to store BOMs from SW to SAP across the interface.

Whenever we have problems with the Gedas SW/SAP interface, it is taking over 2 weeks to get OSS resolution form SAP. I am hoping this forum may help exchange experiences resulting in quick resolution of issues. Please feedback if there is interest so that I can post my experience.

 

[plewright]

Yes, akakad, I am keen to know of your experiences.
Thank you for sharing.

So far, we have not got anywhere ourselves with regards to linking our Solidworks with our SAP, currently they are each used by separate departments, but we are investigating the possibilities, and particularly like to here about any success stories.

 

[jmora]

Hi akakad, of course there is much interest in your problems (and your solutions too).

I barely know the interface you mention. We had a workshop with SAP and Gedas in order to analize the possibility of improving it to manage with configurable sales order boms.

Too much for us at that moment...

Just a question. Wich SAP release are you running on?.

 

[akakad]

We are on SAP 4.6C, SolidWorks 2003 soon going to 2004.

 

[RLI]

Akakad,
when you use the OSS way via SAP you have to pass first, secound and third level support. Why don't you use SAP-SOLIDWORKS-SUPPORT@gedas.de ? We normally anwer customers questions within 2 days if they are not always consulting questions only. For those customers we recommend to buy some consulting.
best regards, and hope to hear of you via sap-solidworks-support@gedas.de, your gedas support team.