Item Numbers in NX 7.5 Parts list

[Madlogger]

I am working on a revision to an existing assembly drawing. The revision started with the modification of one of the parts in the assembly. When I revised the assembly drawing to note the change in the part delineation I noticed that the parts list was no longer in the same order as the previous revision. I must also point out that we are currently running NX integrated with Teamcenter. The drawing was created before this. When I first opened the drawing, the parts list was a mess because the attribute driving the table were not the Teamcenter attributes. When I updated the table to the Teamcenter attributes, the order went awry. How do I change the item numbers so the table matches the item numbers of the previous revision and still maintain a driven table?

 

[ewh]

NX6 (almost to NX7.5!)

We always create an atribute named "CALLOUT" on our assembly components, preventing a parts list reorder.

“Know the rules well, so you can break them effectively.”
-Dalai Lama XIV

 

[ewh]

... of course, the parts list item number column also has to have this attribute.

“Know the rules well, so you can break them effectively.”
-Dalai Lama XIV

 

[Madlogger]

Can I add attributes to the parts in the assembly without affecting the parts? All of these parts are released except the one that I recently revised.

 

[SDETERS]

Try looking into using your PSE (Product structure editor) in teamcenter to assign your Item numbers. If you send your BVR to the structure manager and find the column named Sequence this is the same as the callout in NX.

 

[ewh]

Yes... they will reside in the assembly file.

“Know the rules well, so you can break them effectively.”
-Dalai Lama XIV

 

[ewh]

Clarification... it is in the assembly file that we assign these atributes.

“Know the rules well, so you can break them effectively.”
-Dalai Lama XIV

 

[Madlogger]

ewh, thanks for the input. I found the CALLOUT attribut in there already, it appears to be aligned with the "FIND NUMBER" in Teamcenter. I did add a new attribute for each part in the tree and was able to recreate the parts list to match the previous revision using the new attribute.

sdeters, I will look into the product structure editor with the IT guys, that seems like the best option moving forward for us.

Thanks to all

 

[JohnRBaker]

Starting with NX 8.5, when working in an Assembly, you can select a Component, press MB3, select 'Properties' and then the 'Attributes' tab. Now in the 'Context' option at the top of the page you can select exactly where you can assign an Attributes. The options are the 'Component' itself, which means that if you assign an attribute in that Context, it will be assigned to all copies of the Component in that particular Assembly. The second option is 'Instance', which means that if there are multiple copies of that Component, the attribute will only be assigned to the explicit Component selected and none of the others. The third option is 'Reference Set', which would apply to all like Components loaded using the 'Reference Set' of the selected Component, but not effecting any other Components loaded using a different Reference Set. The last option is the 'Part' file itself, which means that you can add a Part Attribute to the 'parent' Part of the selected Component WITHOUT having to make that part the Work Part. Of course, this will mark that part as 'modified' even if you don't have Write Access to it and of course when you do a 'Save' it will try to save that part as well. Now if you DO have ownership of all of your parts, then this is an easy way to access and add Part Attributes to the actual Part files that makes up the Assembly.

Now in NX 8.0, where we actually introduced this 'Context' option, while you could do everything I described above, the option labels were a bit confusing so we cleaned them up in NX 8.5.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

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

 

[Madlogger]

John R Baker, How does that help me in 7.5? The only difference that I saw was the absence of anything remotely close to a "context" option. Is there any kind of logical reason why the item number, defined as "$~C", can't be edited either in a spreadsheet format, or in the table on the drawing?

 

[JohnRBaker]

This has no impact on the callout behavior, no matter what version you're using. I only posted what I did to expand on what ewh had mentioned, that is that we've made some explicit enhancements to make it easier to assign Attributes to Components at the Assembly level .

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

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

 

[Hoose89]

Starting with NX 8.5, when working in an Assembly, you can select a Component, press MB3, select 'Properties' and then the 'Attributes' tab. Now in the 'Context' option at the top of the page you can select exactly where you can assign an Attributes.

Is it possible to easily access the callout attribute? It is also asked in thread561-275235, but there wasn't an answer to it.

 

[JohnRBaker]

Once you generate a 'Parts List' object, when you go back and select a Component and open the Properties dialog and select the 'Component' Context you should find an attribute named 'Callout' who's value will be the corresponding Parts List letter designator. Note that while it appears that you can edit the value of the 'Callout' attribute, if you do, the next time the Parts List is updated it will go back to the proper letter designator.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Digital Factory
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

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

 

[Hoose89]

Thanks for your reply John, I think I understand the relation between the callout attribute and the parts list a bit better now. My own question isn't answered completely though. The question I have, is the same as in the refered thread: It is a lot of work to change one value. Is it possible to do this on a easier way?

 

[JohnRBaker]

If all you want to do is change the callout in the Parts List then just edit it directly. There is no need to edit the Attribute. Besides, as I've already pointed out, editing the Attribute does NOT change what is seen in the Parts List, but editing the Parts List DOES update the Attribute.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Digital Factory
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

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