In mechanical engineering, the way that data is managed, can be critical to the success of a design and development project. Whether a client has a PDM (Product Data Management) system, or not, and therefore using some sort of manual control process, whilst both work practices have to be adhered to and respected, the processes essentially involved couldn’t be more different.
Over the years, we have become particularly familiar with PTC’s Windchill product, to name one of a few. This works by giving each user an account which is tailored according to their respective needs. More specifically, the settings control whether a person has the authority and permission to open and make changes to documents, (CAD files such as parts, assemblies and drawings) for example. This software, therefore, has the function of fundamentally and automatically protecting the integrity of files when two or more people are working concurrently on the same document.
In contrast, the ‘manual’ approach very much relies upon communication and coordination between the various users of the data. It is imperative that all involved understand how parts are indexed. More specifically, how they are named and what style this will take once revisions are made and need to be saved. It is also most important to have open communication about who is working on which files, to avoid two people or more, making changes and overwriting updates when it is not right to do so, thus creating cataclysmic problems with the loss of significant data.
Having had considerable experience for a number of clients over the years of setting up, maintaining and managing essentially manual PDM systems and processes, we are currently working with our version to create and integrate our own enterprise wide system for internal projects. So, from more personal experience, we acknowledge how crucial it is to ensure you get the foundations, structure, control and management of the files, their names, templates, formats and properties right from the beginning, so that everyone understands exactly how the processes and work.
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