Mechomatic
Mechanical
- Apr 23, 2013
- 50
Hello all-
If you've got a moment, I'd appreciate your input on a change I'm proposing for my company's system of saving Solidworks models and drawings. We run SolidWorks 2012 x64 SP5.0.
Our file server has a "SolidWorks Drawings" ("SWxDwgs") folder and a "Job Files" folder (just sticking to the pertinent info, here). SWxDwgs contains solid models, assemblies, and SWx drawings, along with occasional .pdf or .dwg versions of the .slddrw files on an "as needed" basis. Job Files contains the customer specific models and drawings for when we make specific configurations of equipment for a customer and also for us to have reference models down the road so we know what components/equipment a specific customer received. Currently, revisions (general and customer specific) are handled by: Save a Copy of the model under revision file name (part#-rev-type.SLDxxx), then making a new drawing for the revised part (since references to the original drawing were broken with the save-as-copy change). It's basically a big mess where we're experiencing solid model/assy bloat, never really making a revision to a drawing- just making a whole new drawing, and wasting a whole lot of time.
The system change I'd like feedback on is as follows:
SWxDwgs folder contains models and drawings for each component and assembly. When a revision is to be made, a new configuration in the model is created with the changes. The drawing is opened, the referenced configuration in the views is changed, and the drawing is then saved with the new revision number. As old versions are phased out, their drawings can be saved as a PDF and sent to an archive folder and the old configuration can be deleted from the solid model/assy. This way the most recent version of the model and drawing is always available in the SWxDwgs folder without the assembly file bloat (# of files) and we don't have to keep making drawings from scratch for every revision to a model.
In the Job Files folder, the customer specific configurations must be kept for an indeterminate amount of time. To do so, I plan to save the top level assembly/assemblies as Parasolid Binary files (.x_b) to the job files folder. This way any changes to the models used in the SWxDwgs folder (as time and revisions pass) do not affect the reference model saved to the job files folder. Drawings submitted for production will be saved as PDF files to the job files folder, as well, so that -again- no changes elsewhere affect what is saved as reference information in the job files folder. When we get customer specific requirements for a job, the configuration(s) required will be applied to the SWxDwgs folder files as revision configurations (so they are available at a later date if we get the same requirement down the road).
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Does this sound like a suitable method to keep us from having to keep making drawings from scratch for each revision, while maintaining reference models/drawings for job files? Thank you for taking the time to wade through this post, and I sincerely appreciate any feedback, whether it's a "thumbs up" or constructive criticism.
If you've got a moment, I'd appreciate your input on a change I'm proposing for my company's system of saving Solidworks models and drawings. We run SolidWorks 2012 x64 SP5.0.
Our file server has a "SolidWorks Drawings" ("SWxDwgs") folder and a "Job Files" folder (just sticking to the pertinent info, here). SWxDwgs contains solid models, assemblies, and SWx drawings, along with occasional .pdf or .dwg versions of the .slddrw files on an "as needed" basis. Job Files contains the customer specific models and drawings for when we make specific configurations of equipment for a customer and also for us to have reference models down the road so we know what components/equipment a specific customer received. Currently, revisions (general and customer specific) are handled by: Save a Copy of the model under revision file name (part#-rev-type.SLDxxx), then making a new drawing for the revised part (since references to the original drawing were broken with the save-as-copy change). It's basically a big mess where we're experiencing solid model/assy bloat, never really making a revision to a drawing- just making a whole new drawing, and wasting a whole lot of time.
The system change I'd like feedback on is as follows:
SWxDwgs folder contains models and drawings for each component and assembly. When a revision is to be made, a new configuration in the model is created with the changes. The drawing is opened, the referenced configuration in the views is changed, and the drawing is then saved with the new revision number. As old versions are phased out, their drawings can be saved as a PDF and sent to an archive folder and the old configuration can be deleted from the solid model/assy. This way the most recent version of the model and drawing is always available in the SWxDwgs folder without the assembly file bloat (# of files) and we don't have to keep making drawings from scratch for every revision to a model.
In the Job Files folder, the customer specific configurations must be kept for an indeterminate amount of time. To do so, I plan to save the top level assembly/assemblies as Parasolid Binary files (.x_b) to the job files folder. This way any changes to the models used in the SWxDwgs folder (as time and revisions pass) do not affect the reference model saved to the job files folder. Drawings submitted for production will be saved as PDF files to the job files folder, as well, so that -again- no changes elsewhere affect what is saved as reference information in the job files folder. When we get customer specific requirements for a job, the configuration(s) required will be applied to the SWxDwgs folder files as revision configurations (so they are available at a later date if we get the same requirement down the road).
--
Does this sound like a suitable method to keep us from having to keep making drawings from scratch for each revision, while maintaining reference models/drawings for job files? Thank you for taking the time to wade through this post, and I sincerely appreciate any feedback, whether it's a "thumbs up" or constructive criticism.