SmartTeam-Customer/Vendor Communication Issues

[diamondcat]

I am basically looking for some ways other companies have found to deal with the same issues my company and our customer are dealing with.

My customer and I both work on SWX 2001Plus. He does some work in house but alot of it comes to me.
Before SWX, all of his standard parts had specific order numbers that have been around forever. That was how everything was organized on their network and in their shop. After SWX, they still use all of those numbers, but now they are having difficulties where SmartTeam is involved. As they have drawn their standard parts in SWX, they have logged them into the ST system. At that time, ST assigned them a new ST number. Is there anyway to stop ST from using a new ST number and get it to use their standard numbers? (I do not use ST so I am not very familiar on all of the inner workings of the software).

I do SWX jobs for him at my facility (no ST) and I use his standard parts that he has provided for me from his ST vault. When I give him the job and he checks it into the ST vault, ST assigns a new ST number to all the parts. So even though the part is already in his ST vault, it will check it in again. So now he has two identical parts with two different ST numbers. How can we work this so ST recognizes the parts from my assemblies as the same parts already in his vault?

I would appreciate any suggestions that can make both of our lives easier.

Thanks,
Lori

 

[RawheadRex]

Lori,

This is not the simplest issue to address because there are a number of factors involved that aren't clear to me. I apologize in advance for the lengthy reply.

First off, SmarTeam comes in two different flavors. One is a so-called "out-of-the-box" product (which is kind of a misnomer) that is more or less setup to work a particular way and has limited customization, this is call SmarTeamWorks. The other version is basically a full-blown customizable PDM solution that is able to handle a myriad of different file types (both CAD and non-CAD), this is called simply SmarTeam. The full-blown version can be setup exactly however one wants it to work and fit in with their standard practices.

It isn't clear to me which "flavor" of SmarTeam that he's using. If it is the full-blown version then yes the database can be customized to use their standard numbers but without knowing how their database actually looks this might or might not be practical. If it's the aforementioned "out-of-the-box" version then as I recall the database is pretty much set in stone and I believe that you're stuck with what SmarTeam is giving you. I'm a bit out practice so there may have been changes in the software that allow for this since.

Customization of the database (using a tool called the SmartWizard) isn't unreasonably difficult to do but it does require some expertise. Whomever did their installation should have (in theory) evaluated current practices and tuned the installation to work best with how your customer works. Assuming that re-configuring the software to do what they want it to do is a viable option for your customer, there's some thought and planning that needs to go into the next step on their part.

Regarding working on SmarTeam controlled SolidWorks files this is somewhat easier. Assuming the files already are SmarTeam control, it would work something like this:

1. Your customer performs a check out operation on anything that needs to be conveyed to you to his "work" directory.

2. Copy the files out of the work directory and transmit them via the medium of choice. It is important that the originally checked out copies of files stay in the work directory of whomever performed the check out operation (i.e. DON'T MOVE/DELETE ANYTHING IN THE WORK DIRECTORY).

3. Once you have the files, you'll obviously do whatever you need to do. You'll just need to be careful not to rename any files or custom properties residing within them.

4. When you send the files back to the customer they'll just need to copy them back into their work directory and overwrite the files that were checked out.

5. At this point they ought be able to simply check the files back in without having to recreate any SmarTeam metadata (except for any new files that you may have created which will need to be saved into the SmarTeam system).

I know that it's a long reply but I hope that it offers some assistance. SmarTeam isn't known for being the most user-friendly product so I wouldn't be surprised if you encounter some stumbling blocks that I've forgotten about since I last used it. It's better if you were able to work within the system via the SmarTeam web-client software but if the customer's need to make SmarTeam data available on a widespread basis isn't significant, it's understandably cost-prohibitive and therefore not overly practical. The basic method I've outlined ought to work well-enough for your purposes though.

Chris Gervais
Mechanical Designer
American Supderconductor

 

[diamondcat]

Thank you very much for your reply. I will have to check and see what version if SmarTeam they are running, but it sounds like whomever sold it to them didn't set it up to be the most useful to them.
Just a few questions...

You said "It is important that the originally checked out copies of files stay in the work directory of whomever performed the check out operation (i.e. DON'T MOVE/DELETE ANYTHING IN THE WORK DIRECTORY)."
1) So let's say my customer sends me a disk of their standard parts, which have already been logged into SmarTeam. These parts all have a ST log number listed in the Custom Properties box. So I use these parts on my job and send the job back. When my customer goes to log the job into ST, why can't ST read the Custom Properties and recognize that the file is already in its vault?
2) My customer uses these same std parts in house so doesn't leaving them checked out make them unaccesable to other users there?
3) I do not know which of their std parts I will be using on any particular job until I am into the job, and even then I may add more of subtract more. So it is not very practical to have him check out any part I could possibly use.
4) What if my customer gave me a disk of all of their std parts that have been logged into ST. Then when I send him the finished job, what if he looks to see all of the parts that I used, then checks all of those out of his library? Dumps my job into his work directory, then checks them all in that way?
Is that feasible? Easier maybe?

Am I missing something? I don't really see the benefits of using ST. I just have all of my files in organized directories and everything seems to work fine. I am going to have to read up on ST to find out as much as I can about it.

Thank you again for your reply,
Lori

 

[RawheadRex]

"1) So let's say my customer sends me a disk of their standard parts, which have already been logged into SmarTeam. These parts all have a ST log number listed in the Custom Properties box. So I use these parts on my job and send the job back. When my customer goes to log the job into ST, why can't ST read the Custom Properties and recognize that the file is already in its vault?"

It's kind of difficult to explain this but I will try. If the parts that your customer sends you truly are standard library parts that YOU NEVER MODIFY (EVER) then in theory the way that SolidWorks works it shouldn't be a problem. However when the customer goes to save your work into SmarTeam what the software is doing is generating meta-data that "lives" on the database which in turn actually tells the software what files are used where (i.e. the database kind of manages the files).

When someone is working in SmarTeam and wants to use a library component (e.g. a standard fastener) they use SmarTeam to track the file down and insert the instances (copies of files in the vault) into the design layout/assembly. At the same time this is happening SmarTeam is updating its database so that it reflects what's happening in the design layout/assembly. It doesn't really have to do with custom properties (which CAN contain a copy of certain database info) when the files go back in under the scenario that you're working in. Your customer saves your work into SmarTeam (which generates the meta-data). Whether you used their standard files or not SmarTeam doesn't know anything about this which is why it generates new numbers everytime you send something back to your customer and they put it into SmarTeam.

Actually, it occurs to me that (at least as I recall it) even simply checking the files out might not be good enough. I wouldn't be surprised if SmarTeam tried simply generating new numbers even if you tried doing it as I originally suggested. As I indicated it's been some time since I last used SmarTeam extensively so I'm somewhat out of practice. I'd suggest that you attempt a dry run test.

"2) My customer uses these same std parts in house so doesn't leaving them checked out make them unaccesable to other users there?"

No, because other users can access copies of any files in the vault. It's important to understand that files in the vault never actually LEAVE the vault but are actually copied out (first to a temporary directory, then to the person's "work" directory). The database just informs other users that someone has something checked out and that they can't MODIFY that file. They can, however have a copy of the file (which is read-only and can't be checked back in to the vault and possibly overwrite the original - this is another subject though).

"3) I do not know which of their std parts I will be using on any particular job until I am into the job, and even then I may add more of subtract more. So it is not very practical to have him check out any part I could possibly use."

This is why I mentioned that it's best to work within the SmarTeam environment. Unfortunately what you've described is also a consequence of working outside of your customers' SmarTeam system. The system is setup so that it manages virtually every aspect of the file management process. To make it work correctly you really need access to the system or someone working with your customer who's a guru with knowledge of how to work SmarTeam inside and out (I'm not under the impression that someone like this is currently available to you).

"4) What if my customer gave me a disk of all of their std parts that have been logged into ST. Then when I send him the finished job, what if he looks to see all of the parts that I used, then checks all of those out of his library? Dumps my job into his work directory, then checks them all in that way? Is that feasible? Easier maybe?"

This is worth a shot. Based on the new info you've given me, it sounds more practical for how you're working with your customer in any case. As I suggested earlier in this reply give that a dry run a see how it works (if it works, keep your fingers crossed).

"Am I missing something? I don't really see the benefits of using ST. I just have all of my files in organized directories and everything seems to work fine..."

I have no doubt that your method does indeed work fine but I'm under the impression that you're working a smaller group in a company that doesn't have need for a widespread dissemination of SolidWorks design data and the like (my group works in a similar fashion to what you describe). SmarTeam is used in situations where data needs to be available on a widespread basis (sometimes not very practical to do in a smaller group) or where design data needs to be vaulted and more tightly controlled (shared folders might work in some cases but in other cases the brass of a particular company just isn't comfortable with that method).

FYI I was asked a couple of years ago to find a method of working that minimized the SmarTeam software's grasp on the file management aspects to simplify things and never really came up with anything acceptable to my overlords. Hence, we suspended our installation and I wrote some custom software which manages our design files/data in a more streamlined fashion. You might want to ask your customer whether or not they evaluated a package called PDMWorks which allows for a bit more flexibility (by my reckoning) than SmarTeam. It doesn't have the ability to manage other types of documents (at least not that I'm currently aware of) such as Word, Excel, AutoCAD, etc.

The bottom line is that SmarTeam is complex software (regardless of how they try to sell it off as being otherwise) with a pretty good-sized learning curve.

Hope that helps,
Chris Gervais
Mechanical Designer
American Superconductor