SolidWorks Custom Properties (Part = Drawing) ? ?

[evolDiesel]

I gotta think that just about every SolidWorks guy out there understands this plight and if a solution exists, please enlighten me. I will be forever grateful.

OK, a part has a description, and it's captured in the SolidWorks custom properties. Then you have a drawing. It also has a description that is captured in it's custom properties. And here comes the big question... how can we make the drawing custom property "description" parametric and populated by the part custom property "description"? Please realize I'm not refering to the title block. The title block employs a note linked to the part's custom property (we're good there).

Exta bonus points for a solution that doesn't not involve terms like "API", ".net", or "Macro". In other words, please tell me that Dassault has a way for us to acheieve this goal with the tools we already have in SolidWorks.

Thanks guys -

Jack Lapham
Engineering Systems Administrator (E20)
Leupold & Stevens, Inc.

http://www.leupold.com

Dell M6400 Covet
Intel Core 2 Duo T9800, 2.93GHz, 1066MHZ 6M L2 Cache
8.0GB, DDR3-1066 SDRAM, 2 DIMM
1GB nVIDIA Quadro FX 3700M (8.17.12.5896)
160GB Hard Drive 9.5MM 7200RPM FFS
W7x64 | sw-01: 55.92
SolidWorks 2010 x64 sp4.0
Enterprise PDM 2010 sp

 

[ShaggyPE]

P.S. I apologize for continuing the philosophical discussion.

-Dustin
Professional Engineer
Pretty good with SolidWorks

 

[bluesman0007]

Jack,

I don't have the answer, just wanted to say nice scopes, I have several.

SolidWorks 2010 SP4
AMD AthlonII X4 620
Windows XP X32 Pro 2.5GB RAM,
Nvidia Quadro FX570, 19" widescreen
Logitech Marble Mouse, Space Navigator

 

[JohnPi]

Enterprise PDM can absolutely find the related drawing for a given part or assembly.

 

[fcsuper]

A change in EPDM 2011 will make finding drawings easier, but it's always been easy if the model is known. Presumably, if you know one, you know them both anyway.

Matt Lorono
Lorono's SolidWorks Resources & SolidWorks Legion

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/solidworks & http://twitter.com/fcsuper

 

[evolDiesel]

Guys,

Thanks for the responses involving a macro or suggested solution. I'm hoping I'll have some time to evaluate them later today or this week.

As for the greater PDM discussion... Yes, PDMWorks Enterprise catalogues relationships between files on the "contains" and "where used" tabs. So if you typed in part of a description, you would get the part, and then from the part you could dig down to see if there was an associated drawing. However, we would rather just see the drawing pop up in the same results as the part. Also, when you click on the drawing, it would preferable to see a populated data card. Which brings us back around to my dilemma/need to have the drawing's description match its model's description.

Bluesman0007 – thanks dood

Jack


Jack Lapham
Engineering Systems Administrator (E20)
Leupold & Stevens, Inc.

http://www.leupold.com

Dell M6400 Covet
Intel Core 2 Duo T9800, 2.93GHz, 1066MHZ 6M L2 Cache
8.0GB, DDR3-1066 SDRAM, 2 DIMM
1GB nVIDIA Quadro FX 3700M (8.17.12.5896)
160GB Hard Drive 9.5MM 7200RPM FFS
W7x64 | sw-01: 55.92
SolidWorks 2010 x64 sp4.0
Enterprise PDM 2010 sp

 

[macduff]

WOW, what a thread this turned out to be!

evolDiesel,
I've been barking about this for years. A description is a description, and should be parametrically linked period. The filename is...why not the description?

It's funny when you first file drawing made from a part or assembly, the filename of that part or assembly shows up automatically in the dialog box, but the description is blank. Why is that?

See attached

Colin Fitzpatrick (aka Macduff)
Mechanical Designer
Solidworks 2010 SP 3.1
Dell 490 XP Pro SP 2
Xeon CPU 3.00 GHz 3.00 GB of RAM
nVida Quadro FX 3450 512 MB
3D Connexion-SpaceExplorer

 

[fcsuper]

It is parametrically linked in that you can display the desc from your model on the drawing. However, SolidWorks currently has no automatic method to carry that value over for the drawing in with WPDM or EPDM. Tricks must be employed.

The problem is the neither WPDM or EPDM show evaluated values for custom properties. If they did, the matter would be simple. Just put the $PRP linking code in the drawing's custom property value. This doesn't work right now (I know cuz I've tried).

Matt Lorono
Lorono's SolidWorks Resources & SolidWorks Legion

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/solidworks & http://twitter.com/fcsuper