A few months back I posted a rant about some of the Pro/E policies at the company where I work:
http://www.mcadcentral.com/proe/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=40 590&KW=jhyder79
After showing off a few examples of Pro/Piping and Family Tables I have finally convinced the Pro/E managers to take a second look at these features. Because of this, I need to put together a detailed list of advantages/disadvantages along with possible problems and solutions.
Here are some of the advantages/disadvantages that I know of (Please add more if you know of any):
Pro/Piping
Advantages
<ul>[*]Faster development and modification of hoses and tubes.[*]Ability to create parametric bend tables for tubes.[*]Ability to extract detailed information such as clock angles, CNC bend data, point data, tube/hose length, etc.[*]Ability to have a consistent linestock library for everyone to use.[*]Pro/Piping models seem to be much closer to actual hoses than models created with other methods.[/list]Disadvantages
<ul>[*]Can be difficult to learn.
[*]Requires correcting all of the existing fittings so that coordinate systems and points are setup correctly (for use with clock angle, etc.)[/list]
Family Tables
Advantages
<ul>[*]Makes creating standard hardware extremely easy since items like bolts can all be stored in a single generic model. This also makes it very easy to develop a standard parts search tool.
[*]Very useful for creating flat pattern instances of sheet metal parts.[*]Very useful for creating parts in different configurations such as a zip tie in different diameters or unusual shape configurations.
[/list]Disdvantages
<ul>[*]Easy for inexperience users to create a big mess.[*]Family Table parts for standard hardware should be maintained by the administrator so users can not add new parts easily.[/list]
As far as possible problems and solutions, I believe that most issues could be prevented by proper education of the Pro/E users and administrators. The only real problem that I foresee is an issue with our data management system. We are currently using a custom built app that sits on top of Intralink 3.4 so I'm not sure how it will handle family tables.
If anyone can add any information (good or bad) that will be helpful to my presentation please let me know.
Thanks!
http://www.mcadcentral.com/proe/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=40 590&KW=jhyder79
After showing off a few examples of Pro/Piping and Family Tables I have finally convinced the Pro/E managers to take a second look at these features. Because of this, I need to put together a detailed list of advantages/disadvantages along with possible problems and solutions.
Here are some of the advantages/disadvantages that I know of (Please add more if you know of any):
Pro/Piping
Advantages
<ul>[*]Faster development and modification of hoses and tubes.[*]Ability to create parametric bend tables for tubes.[*]Ability to extract detailed information such as clock angles, CNC bend data, point data, tube/hose length, etc.[*]Ability to have a consistent linestock library for everyone to use.[*]Pro/Piping models seem to be much closer to actual hoses than models created with other methods.[/list]Disadvantages
<ul>[*]Can be difficult to learn.
[*]Requires correcting all of the existing fittings so that coordinate systems and points are setup correctly (for use with clock angle, etc.)[/list]
Family Tables
Advantages
<ul>[*]Makes creating standard hardware extremely easy since items like bolts can all be stored in a single generic model. This also makes it very easy to develop a standard parts search tool.
[*]Very useful for creating flat pattern instances of sheet metal parts.[*]Very useful for creating parts in different configurations such as a zip tie in different diameters or unusual shape configurations.
[/list]Disdvantages
<ul>[*]Easy for inexperience users to create a big mess.[*]Family Table parts for standard hardware should be maintained by the administrator so users can not add new parts easily.[/list]
As far as possible problems and solutions, I believe that most issues could be prevented by proper education of the Pro/E users and administrators. The only real problem that I foresee is an issue with our data management system. We are currently using a custom built app that sits on top of Intralink 3.4 so I'm not sure how it will handle family tables.
If anyone can add any information (good or bad) that will be helpful to my presentation please let me know.
Thanks!