PDM or not to PDM, Parts Management

[DeSimulacra]

>Thanks Scott Baugh for advising posting this as new thread and referencing old thread<. I found an old thread559-74771 "solidworks plays musical parts behind my back" that best addresses the number one issue I have with SW. The ending was left hanging and still lacks a promising answer. Many of the replies are based on larger company networks; SW is based on the premise that it is user friendly for all users including people who can’t afford PDM (<- what’s that ) or a full time guru keeping up with part numbers-revisions-lost constraints.
We are a 3 man engineering team with myself the point man leading this company into 3D. I have been looking at SW’s file management for a few weeks. Looking at this thread and others it is confirmed there are issues. All of the posts helped but none are >opinion here< complete solutions for small companies.
I’m not throwing rocks because anyone good enough to help/offer solutions is a great guy/girl and it worked for them. “I am” looking for a better solution/fit for my company.

If someone will answer the question below in the affirmative and post the solution then I will post how a rock solid “small company” solution might be found. It is one I’ve employed for years without trouble with other similar software. Not listed here to keep length of post down.
I would like to know: 1) If there is anyway to set a working directory so SW never looks outside of that directory. 2) If #1 above is yes is it possible to change that directory easily during each session? If either answer is negative someone with clout needs to point this out to SW and incorporate these as options in the next version. “Cause” I know SW listens to us grunts (fingers crossed and breath held).

Sincerely
Mark

 

[SBaugh]

1) No, it always uses the last saved folder (this is a Windows function) try doing the same thing in Word.

The only thing you can do to get your enhancements in is to fill out an Enhancement Request at the SW website.

Regards,

Scott Baugh, CSWP to me

http://www.3dvisiontech.com

http://www.scottjbaugh.com

If your in the SW Forum Check out the FAQ section

To make the Best of Eng-Tips Forums FAQ731-376

 

[MadMango]

I have to say the answer would be Yes to both questions.

If you go to Tools>Options>System Options>File Locations and show folders for Referenced Documents you can add/delete all the file folders you need. Am I missing something?

Ray Reynolds
"Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons."
Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949
Have you read faq731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

 

[aamoroso]

Mango,

I think that will only work when Solidworks is looking for a part that is missing from the assy. If solidworks knows the last location of the part, it will look there first no matter what.

 

[DeSimulacra]

Thank You Guys
I'm filling out an enhancement request now. I wondered why PDM was such a big issue, now I see why. If your software is running all over your disk looking for part numbers it can get messy.

To compete with cheap overseas labor America must automate. Soon all our robots will have jobs.

Mark

 

[Dennyd]

Mark,

I've worked at small companies with SWX and no PDM. Our computers were on a network. So long as we:
1) (Most importantly) Exercised the discipline to keep our project files on the network and not make local copies, and
2) Point our file locations to the network directories as MadMango describes,
then we had no serious issues. The only time we had problems was when folks made local copies of files and did not move them back to the network. It is tempting to work from local files, especially if you have a slow network relative to the file sizes and complexity. However, the need to keep the files straight outweighed this issue.

PDMWorks actually makes local file copies (I think) but it manages the control of these files for you. We later purchased PDMWorks separately for $495/seat. This was before SWX acquired PDMWorks and later bundled it with SWX Office. We had one instance where two guys were working on different versions of the same part file and didn't know it. This is because they let their discipline slip and at least one of them made a local copy to work on. We caught it in time and prevented a mistake to a plastic mold that would have cost us around $3500 to fix had we gone just two more days without catching it. That was easy justification to go to PDMWorks.

Yes, SWX looks in the last directory it used for that file to try to find it, but if you do not allow this to be anything but a network directory you can dramatically reduce the chance of the problems you are concerned about. With only three guys and some god communication this should not be a big problem. However, for approximately $1500 you can have more than your cake and eat it too. It has some GREAT benefits besides preventing overlapping files. I highly recommend you look into PDMWorks.

- - -DennyD

 

[SBaugh]

If you go to Tools>Options>System Options>File Locations and show folders for Referenced Documents you can add/delete all the file folders you need. Am I missing something?

I never thought about that, so I tried it. When I click Open or Save as I'm still in my last directory I opened or saved my file to.

Then I looked in the help to see what is meant by Referenced Documents:

[blue]When opening a referenced document, SolidWorks performs a search to locate the document. For example, this search may occur when you open a drawing and the referenced assembly cannot be found or when you resolve a lightweight component in an assembly.

When a referenced document is found, the software updates the path to the referenced document in the parent document. When you save the parent document, the updated path is saved as well.

The Rules column below describes the search routine that the software uses to locate a missing referenced document.[/blue]

There lots of rules that are listed in the help on this subject. Anyone that needs this should look at the help file on this subject.

Regards,

Scott Baugh, CSWP to me

http://www.3dvisiontech.com

http://www.scottjbaugh.com

If your in the SW Forum Check out the FAQ section

To make the Best of Eng-Tips Forums FAQ731-376

 

[EdDanzer]

We started using SolidWorks in January 1996 and only have 1 or 2 people using a part, assembly, and drawing library consisting of over 20,000 files. The low cost method we employ is to store all files on a NAS (network attached storage) so no workstation is slowed down when someone is opening a large (1,000+ part) assembly. Excel is used to track part numbers that are semi significant. Since the first of the year I have worked on 2,245 files, some had minor updates, some are next iterations of an existing product, but have created over 10 new products.
We will be looking at PDM software again this year, but cannot afford any production reduction caused by check in and check out.
If you have assign a new part number to any important revision, no data will be lost, and a accurate trail will be created to back track on if problems with the new design arise.