Join our MCAD Central community forums, the largest resource for MCAD (Mechanical Computer-Aided Design) professionals, including files, forums, jobs, articles, calendar, and more.
You will need a lot of discipline to work with a folder system if you do not have a PDM system.
We tried for about a year with three seats of Pro/E and no PDM and got into some difficulties with multiple copies of the same assembly etc. Revision control gets more difficult too.
Maybe some other users have a different perspective?
This one is a real trial for the designers/detailers that are involved....
Generally the Golden rule is that only one person can work on a part/assembly at any one time (ie all others have to NOT have those models in session, otherwise you run the risk of someone overwriting work done by another person)
Consequence of the above is that if you are the design engineer, you basically CANNOT touch your models when they are being detailed without getting the detailers to 'hand back control' to you. It all gets messy very quickly. Mistakes are commonplace and overwrites are regular.
There are alternatives, multiple models (one for detailers that is essentially a snap shot of the model at a chosen time) but these bring their own fights and arguments
As for doing it with 14 people, personally I think you are heading down a very rocky road. Be prepared to get your duelling pistols out.
We are a small goup of only 4 users and even with that it is very difficlut. The discipline thing "really" comesin to play sincewe have to work with the folder system. There are always files being modified when they shouldn't be, family tables and etc. Without aPDM systemgiving access only to theperson who should be making changes we continuallyfight this battle.
I have been trying to get us a PDM system for two years now and still no luck. We also face the fustration of repeatitive components, two people working on the same part or assembly. The discipline action works for a period of time, but then when you get caught up in a large assembly, some tend to just forget and then start working on different models again without checking with the others. Hence, the duelling pistols begin.
If you can get a PDM system I would highly recommend it. Especially if your the onealways havingto clean things up.
I concur with the other comments. I am working with one other colleague, without PDM and we still get caught out.
I have, however, in the past worked without PDM (before Intralink 2) with a larger set of users, this is what we did...
Assign responsibility for a set of parts/assemblies/sub assembliesto ONE engineer. That user has write permissions to one folder and EVERYONE else has read access only (we did this on a UNIX system so was easy to setup and change if necessary). Set that folder as the working directory.
It is then OK for other users to have everything in session without the fear of overwriting. If an update is required from another user, suppress the part/assy, erase not displayed and unsuppress to load in the updated model.
Points to watch:
1. Keep assembly constraints SIMPLE. Use datum features via a top level skeleton or part.
2. Ensure all relevant folders are on the search path
3. Revision control is almost impossible unless you export the data to another folder each time you release data.
To look at it from the other end, is it worth getting involved with a PDM system (I'm thinking Design Data Manager) while I'm currently the only full time design engineer, or should I hold-off until I expand the team?
I was thinking if I get a single license now, I could get things rolling before having to re-organise a whole team. However this may mean I spend time messing about with over-laborious working practices that aren't necessary while I'm on my own. Also, I may decide later that the PDM system I choose now is not the right one anyway, so have to start again.
To look at it from the other end, is it worth getting involved with a PDM system (I'm thinking Design Data Manager) while I'm currently the only full time design engineer, or should I hold-off until I expand the team?
I was thinking if I get a single license now, I could get things rolling before having to re-organise a whole team. However this may mean I spend time messing about with over-laborious working practices that aren't necessary while I'm on my own. Also, I may decide later that the PDM system I choose now is not the right one anyway, so have to start again.
Hi Sam, I would not go for a PDM for a single user, however it depends how quickly you intend to expand the team. I do though currently work with a total of 2 users and sometimes wish we had one already
. It is useful for tracking revisions, etc. I am also considering DDM.
To add something else into the mix, I'm now looking at a seat of SolidWorks, and thought the way Design Data Manager Handles both could make things easier. As I understand the first license of Design Data Manager is free, so the the main barrier is in learning how the software works, then its whether a PDM systems speeds up work-flow for a single user, or slows it down.
Also, if later down the line I find Design Data Manager is not the ideal PDM solution, how difficult is it to swap to another system?
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
