CAD Installation

[SunshineBuddy]

Good morning folks,

I have been tasked with helping with the installation of a 3D cad system at my new place of work. I have done this before with a small company (2 seats) but this is much bigger (8 seats and critical). I am very good at training people so once up to speed myself I will have that covered.
My questions are.

1. Can you recommend a roll out schedule for the system? Any advice at all is very greatly appreciated. This will be the first time a 3D system have been installed within the company and they want things to work.

2.Can you recommend a suitable file structure. The issue I have is that the easiest option would be Component type > Size of component > rating > project file. However we have tried this before and it becomes impossible to cross reference components easily and very hard to find suitable components to base your initial design on. Is there a way of searching for information saved with the part for example?

Any words of wisdom

Thanks,

SB

 

[swertel]

Since you are on the SE forum, I'm assuming you already have done the homework and have decided to implement SE and are not still deciding on which CAD package to implement?

The reason I ask is because each software has its own preferred method of file management based on the way links are managed, and if you ever plan on implementing a PDM system.

This is a very complex issue and your entire department's processes and procedures need to be reviewed to do an accurate job. I can help but forum rules prohibit me directly soliciting my services. If you want to take it offline scott 'dot' wertel 'at' wertel 'dot' eng 'dot' pro

But for the benefit of the group, perhaps you can ask short, specific questions that are answerable on these boards and we can grow a complete answer from there.

--Scott

http://wertel.eng.pro

 

[SunshineBuddy]

Thankyou for your input.

Ok. Yes, I have been forced to use Solid Edge as it has (is) "Company Standard"

Right simple question. What sort of file structure do people use? and in what context?

 

[KENAT]

You say forced to use is as if you think it’s a poor choice. As someone who has used another system Solid Edge is actually pretty easy to pick up and I certainly find it more user friendly than the other system I've used.

It's not as common in many areas/countries as say Solid Works, which can cause problems but I still like it.

We have a tiered file structure, different folders for different types of part (to match our current numbering system), then for categories with lots of file another layer and then sub folders for each drawing & associated model.

This is not a particularly good system in my opinion, requiring a lot of link management on occasion.

I’d suggest looking at a PDM/PLM system from the get go if you have the option. We’re looking at introducing one but it’s a lot easier to do it from the start than after you’ve got 30000 files with inconsistent file naming, duplicate parts, broken links…

If PDM/PLM really isn’t an option then I’d at least say think long and hard about the file naming and have it in place before you create lots of files. Set up a standard for this from the get go, I’d suggest using part number and possibly rev, at least for drawings.

Project oriented files can seem appealing but think about how you’ll handle things like common components (hardware etc).

There are a lot of things to consider, it may be worth getting at least a little input from a consultant up front as it may save a lot of hassle in the future.

 

[SunshineBuddy]

Thanks again for your comments,

Is it possible to add tags to parts within SE? So that you can search for them? Or is there a better way of searching.

Im open to suggestions with regards to PLM

 

[swertel]

My file structure includes a directory for product design and another for tool design.

Within each directory, are subfolders: archive, released, inwork, cancelled.
I think the purpose is self-evident. Inwork folders are where we deal with live data that is being created or changed. Once the drawing has been signed off, it is moved to the released folder. Cancelled is for jobs that were worked on, but never released. Usually concepts and other development jobs that didn't make the cut, but we want to keep the idea. Archive consists of files moved from released during the ECO process.

Within each "status" folder, we separate into the 3 drawings types we create: sketch, development, and production.

Right now, we hit the Windows performance limit on files within a single folder, so we are working on a way to subdivide those folders a bit more and still manage links.

This file structure works well with PDM/PLM systems, which is why I set it up this way. We have the link-management file setup to the main inwork, released, and archived folders so we can move files with Windows Explorer and not break links.

If your company does custom equipment/machine design, I'd recommend a completely different file system. Thus, the reason for my original post on how this can be a LONG question to answer because it requires a lot of research on your current products and processes to design the best system for YOU. Much of that information is probably not suited for the public realm.

--Scott

http://wertel.eng.pro

 

[swertel]

"Tags" in SE are added through the File Properties. Use them a LOT. File Properties fill out your BOM information mostly, but also is used further up in assemblies, inter-part copies, etc. SE comes with it's own search feature so not only can you search the metadata (file properties) via Windows Search, but you can search for a specific field using SE Search.

Since you didn't start with the basics, I'm assuming you have a file naming convention already determined.

--Scott

http://wertel.eng.pro