ERP and PDM 1

MadMango:

Unfortunatly, the ERP system that is being implemented is not partnered with SolidWorks. They are an engineer to order manufacturer, so the data is actually driven from the design. They are not going to incorporate the design calculations into the ERP system because there are way too many exceptions that would cause problems. So, we have decided to keep the design automation separate. There is a separate database that stores the input data and calculated results for each design. I am going to develop several applications that will transfer the data from the model (SolidWorks and AutoCAD) into the ERP database. DimensionalSolutions@Core.com
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We are currently using MK Manufacturing's ERP system, but it is very old (circa '96) in terms of software.

Are you planing to export model data to your ERP system? If so, it would be interesting to know what software you use, as the little research that I have done leads me to belive that our ERP system cannot import any data (though it will export some).

If my company could tie SWX data to the ERP system, it would save many man-hours for everyone. = ) "Happy the Hare at morning for she is ignorant to the Hunter's waking thoughts."

I am going to write custom programs to extract and convert the BOM data from SolidWorks and AutoCAD drawings. The ERP system has an application called Transaction Manager that is used to import raw data and provides all of the validation necessary to populate the database with part information. All I have to do is extract the BOM data and put it into a flat file. Unfortunately, this extraction is going to be limited to parts and assemblies only. There will not be a dynamic link between the drawings and the ERP system, and the building of a "project" is going to have to be done manually. The only benefit of this is that all of the BOMs will not have to be retyped into the system. While the benefit seems quite limited, it will reduce errors in duplication and probably save a days work per project.

As far as populating an ERP system, there are many ways that this can be accomplished. Even though this system has an application to import data, you will, most likely, have root access to your database. Unfortunately, this will probably require some custom database programming. If you are trying to accomplish this, your first goal would be to find import abilities and database compatibility. If you can figure out this format, the rest is pretty easy. DimensionalSolutions@Core.com
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Thanks for the info. We seem to be in a similar boat, in that all we want to do is to reduce the chance of human error by not having to re-enter pre-existing data that is contained in the SWX models or the ProductCenter PDM package. "Happy the Hare at morning for she is ignorant to the Hunter's waking thoughts."