jnoval said:
On the other hand, if you ask one of my managers how much we can spend on a new PLM they ask you "isn't there anything free?"...
I feel your pain, that's the same problem I'm having in getting any kind of PDM/PLM system.
We're running WF3, and have been using ProE for several years with only a file folder structure, and I can tell you it is a recurring headache for me. It can be done, but thought needs to be put into the file folder structure and all your search paths set up. The biggest hurdle we've run into is personal discipline. Any time a part needs to be revised, or when anything new is created, certain procedures must be followed. I'm still in the process of cleaning up redundant parts. By redundant I mean identical parts with different names (sometimes as many as 5+), and parts that are functionally different but have the same name.
One solution we're using is the use of a naming matrix a draftsman here developed. Basically it's a kind of CSV description we use to search for parts in our ERP system. 3 characters, comma, 3 characters, comma, etc. Do a search by that and you can find all models that are close. Again, this comes down to personal discipline of actually entering the matrix and doing so correctly. If the product is still in the development stage and it is not entered into the ERP system this method has its own obvious problem of searching for something that doesn't exist.
Without a PLM/PDM system we also have no way of knowing a part's status (work, released, reserved for changes, etc.). Our ECR/ECN/ECO process is tracked manually. The following example has happened to us on more than one occasion. Our purchaser finds a similar product from a different vendor at a lower cost and (again, his discipline to submit it to engineering) wants to know if it works. Initial specs meet all the requirements, but mounting provisions have changed slightly. The model can be updated, but now we must find every model that uses the new part. Perhaps while the discussion between the purchaser and one engineer is going on another engineer is completing a new product using the part in question not knowing of the new change (as there is no check-in/check-out ability) and submits it for manufacture. Next thing we know is the guys on the shop floor are calling engineering all kinds of names because a purchased part we've used before suddenly no longer fits.
For finding parts without a PLM solution there was another post about findmymother, although I have not tried it yet myself it could help.
[url]http://www.mcadcentral.com/proe/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=33 605&KW=findmymother&PN=0&TPN=1 [/url]
