Archive for May, 2009
Have you ever seen a message similar to this while working with the SolidWorks Integration for SmarTeam enabled?
In this article, we will explain some of the reasons when and why this message is displayed, what happens when you click the Yes, No, or Cancel buttons, and some tips on how to avoid the message.
When the SolidWorks Integration is enabled, SmarTeam monitors many of the events that occur behind the scenes. One of those events is when a referenced file is about to be opened in SolidWorks. Continue Reading
The world and the markets and the business environment of today is very different from any that we have faced in the history of business. There are many forces that make this marketplace different, but a lot of it has to do with the wishes and the bargaining position of the customer. Always remember that customer can mean an internal department, a vendor, a subcontractor, or end user. Anyone that requires your services, and to whom you deliver any sort of product, from information to vehicles, is a customer. Continue Reading
Congratulations, you have just purchased and successfully implemented EPDM! The next item on the list is getting all the legacy SolidWorks files into the EPDM system so that they can be accessed, managed, work-flowed, and version/revision controlled. Everyone knows that one of the big ease-of-use functions in EPDM is the ability to drag and drop files, or cut and paste them from one location to another. This works GREAT for flat files with no references, such as Microsoft Office documents, txt files, pictures, etc. However, when you begin to bring in CAD files with part, assembly, and drawing relationships, it gets a little more difficult. If you happen to have all the files for an assembly in the same folder (parts, sub-assy, assy-drawings, part drawings) then the above method works just as well for SolidWorks files.
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From the last post on this topic, we’ve collected five basic “engines” at work in even the simplest Product Data Management (PDM) systems that manage CAD files:
- File vaulting
- CAD relationship interpretation
- Multi-document file vaulting
- Lifecycle
- Security
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When installing the EPDM Editor client with the AutoCAD 200X* integration there can sometimes be issues with the integration menus inside the ACAD application. Reloading the client often does not resolve the issue. Doing a complete uninstall and re-install sometimes works, but not always. The ACAD integration can be added manually by following the steps listed below. You must install the EPDM Editor client first and select the appropriate ACAD release. ACAD 2009 IS supported, and it uses the same add-in as 2008, so when you do the install, select ACAD 2008 because there is no 2009 in the list.
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When discussing the concept of storing standard parts designed in CATIA V5 into SmarTeam, there is usually some confusion with the various definitions of a standard part. Some companies will define standard parts in categories like bolts, nuts, clips, etc. Other companies may define a standard part as any part that is purchased (i.e., not designed in house). And still other companies may include all of the above plus parts they design in house like brackets or other sheet metal parts that are used over and over. Continue Reading
Many SolidWorks users prefer, or even consider it to be a best practice, that the SolidWorks file name be the same as their company’s part/item number. There are advantages and disadvantages to this that would make good material for a separate newsletter article. However, what if your company has decided that it does not care what the SolidWorks file name is and to have SmarTeam automatically generate the file name. There are advantages and disadvantages to this approach as well. This article will cover an approach to displaying the part/item number in the SolidWorks Feature Manager Tree (FMT) rather than the automatic file name given by SmarTeam.
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