how to lock assembly so others cannot change

[duk748]

hello - using sw2009 - our company has had a bad few months in sw where our detailers and un-authorized people are changing the approved design assembly models (replacing parts, changing parts w/o approval, etc.) - is there a way to lock out the assembly to keep others from changing it? - i know you can make it read only but the problem is we have to let others work on the model & then the model becomes public domain - i want to lock the model out so only i can make the changes i need to - not someone else - any help or info would be greatly appreciated - thank you

 

[steinmini]

For sure you can protect an eDrawings file with a password, but as far as I could investigate, there is no secure way to protect a part or an assembly file from being exploited/changed or modified by someone else. The only way to protect your file is not sharing with others or converting into some other file format and as I figure, none of this is acceptable...

http://help.solidworks.com/2010/English/eDrawings/topics/Password.htm

 

[kellnerp]

PDM programs like dbWorks will do this for you.

If these are unauthorized changes then go to the IT people and have them restore from backup to before the changes were made.

This sounds more like a management problem. Who determines what is or isn't authorized by various people in the department? And then there are issues like SW creating configurations in parts and assemblies when drawings are made with flat patterns or alternate position views.

TOP
CSWP, BSSE

http://www.engtran.com

http://www.niswug.org

"Node news is good news."

 

[duk748]

hello again & thank you for the replies - the last poster has hit the nail on the head - just exactly who is making the final approval is any body's guess at this point - when we started down this sw road 3 people who have been quoted as "sw experts" have taken over how we design engineers do things & make our models/assemblies - when things are not the way that the "experts" think they should be they take our designs & make changes w/o telling us or advising management when a design has already been approved & is only there to be detailed - my question relates to a new design that i had already had approved & an "expert" took my assembly & started turning his own spin on the design -i just wanted a way to control my designs & keep others nose out of my business - thank you for the rant & everyone have a great holiday weekend

 

[TheTick]

If you have a competent IT guy, he can show you how to set permissions for individuals and groups for a file or folder. If you have the regular kind, you will need to figure it out yourself.

 

[AnnaWood]

How can you not know who is making the final approvals and who is allowed to update files, when?

You have a more fundemental management problem then the need to simply locking down drawings.

Your company needs to define it engineering release process and who does what when.

Then your company needs to enforce that policy.

Anyone making changes they are not authorized to do needs to be disciplined appropriately.

Seriously, I do not understand why you have this issue if you have disciplined engineering business practices and file management in place.

FWIW,

Anna Wood
Core i7 EE965, FirePro V8700, 12 Gb RAM, OCZ Vertex 120 Gb SSD, Dell 3008WFP 30" Monitor
SW2010 SP2.1, Windows 7 x64

http://www.solidmuse.com

http://www.phxswug.com

 

[duk748]

hello again & thank you for the reply - you have cited the correct terms in your statement - "if you have disciplined engineering business practices and file management in place"
i do not know who or what is doing what when the so called "experts" keep all the info to themselves only talk to others working on the project on a need to know basis and have our v.p. believeing what only they tell him - your comment is in error when you implied that we have a fundemental management problem - we have always had a problem working as a team & since there is no "i" in team those of us doing the work get bullied into complying with what the "experts" tell management is the right thing for us to do - our problems lie far deeper then solidworks - also none of the "experts" ever gets diciplined - heaven forbid that would happen!!

 

[ShaggyPE]

Sounds like a pretty bad situation. Can you identify specific points where the "experts" have made design changes that have caused problems. No need to identify here... but to the management.

I have been in situations previously where overzealous design "checkers" would completely overhaul drawings and models because it didn't match their concept of right.

Ultimately we didn't have to resolve the situation, the checker passed away.

-Dustin
Professional Engineer
Certified SolidWorks Professional
Certified COSMOSWorks Designer Specialist
Certified SolidWorks Advanced Sheet Metal Specialist
Certified SolidWorks Advanced Weldment Specialist

 

[AnnaWood]

duk748,

That is my point. You do not have a SolidWorks problem, you have a data management, business practices, engineering management problem.

If your company had a handle on it processes with coordination and cooperation from the various team members you would not be posting here.

That is the fundamental issue you need to solve. Anything else is just a band-aid on the root cause.

I feel for you. Sounds like there are some difficult politics that need to be handled carefully.

Cheers,





Anna Wood
Core i7 EE965, FirePro V8700, 12 Gb RAM, OCZ Vertex 120 Gb SSD, Dell 3008WFP 30" Monitor
SW2010 SP2.1, Windows 7 x64

http://www.solidmuse.com

http://www.phxswug.com

 

[Gupta65]

PDM will be really good to use here. There are several status for file there and one of them is approved. So you can set up a rule that approved can be only done by manager/supervisor and once the part/assy is set to approved, none should change until instructed.

Deepak Gupta
SW2009 SP4.1
SW2007 SP5.0
MathCAD 14.0

 

[kellnerp]

3 people who have been quoted as "sw experts" have taken over how we design engineers do things & make our models/assemblies - when things are not the way that the "experts" think they should be they take our designs & make changes w/o telling us or advising management when a design has already been approved & is only there to be detailed

Unfortunately I have been in the expert position and have done some of those things which you are having problems with. One way I addressed this was to hold training sessions once every week or so to promote everyone being on the same page.

Second, I promoted written standards so that everyone knew what was expected.

Now the term "make changes" that you use could be construed several ways. It could mean changing the form fit or function of the part by, say, changing a dimension. It could also be construed as changing the way the model was constructed while leaving the overall part or assembly geometrically identical to what was originally built. I would vehemently disagree with the first understanding of "make changes", but if it is the second you might do well to understand why they did what they did.

Changes I made to existing and sometime approved models included:

Improvements to mating schemes to take hours out of rebuild time and drawing regeneration times.
Improvements to better capture design intent.
Improvements to make parts rebuild faster or to meet standards such as configuration naming, adding simplified reps for use in assemblies, or even reorienting a part so it works with drawing automation.
I'm sure there were more than this.

I have found that if someone is an "expert" they will be willing to share the reasons. More importantly they will be willing to listen to you and work with you. I don't know everything and am always learning from others myself.

We have had several presentations in our user group about best practices and working in teams. As soon as there are two or more SW users in a company there will be three or mores ways things get done. Just human nature and the flexibility of SW. Flexibility can be a blessing or a curse. Be a hero and get a user group together in your plant or join a user group to figure out just what is the best practice and then present a plan to management.

TOP
CSWP, BSSE

http://www.engtran.com

http://www.niswug.org

"Node news is good news."