Pro/ENGINEER and Windchill PDMLink(An Integral system for the collaborative development of Pro/E Product Models)
© 2006 PTC
Pro/CONCEPTPro/CONCEPT
Pro/Pro/DESKTOPDESKTOP
Pro/IPro/INTRALINKNTRALINK
Routed SystemsRouted SystemsDesignerDesigner
CREATECREATE
ProjectLinkProjectLink
DynamicDesignLinkDynamicDesignLink
PartsLinkPartsLink
FoundationFoundation
PDMLinkPDMLink
COLLABORATECOLLABORATE& CONTROL& CONTROL
Pro/MECHANICAPro/MECHANICA
Pro/EPro/EWILDFIREWILDFIRE
The Challenge
The solution must be web-based, simple to use and compliment, not constrain Pro/E
C++Native, Desktop ApplicationWorks with files (Lots of files)Associative, Parametric
Java3 Tier Web Application
© 2006 PTC
Topics I will cover
User Interface
Architecture
Files types, runtime support & name resolution
Dependencies
Managing the Pro/E model development processes
Family Tables
Simp. Reps
Collaborative Design
Linking Pro/E Data to the rest of the company
Futures
© 2006 PTC
The user environment: Accessibility & Convenience (Immersion)
Built-in Browsing
Built-in Navigation
Built-in Search
Single Button to Download
& Open in Pro/E
Simple drill-down for
more information
© 2006 PTC
The user environment: Accessibility & Convenience (Immersion)
3D Preview
Visual Navigation
PDM (Control)
Information
Relationships and history
Parameters Created in
Pro/E
Pro/E File Information
Easy access to
commands
Drag & Drop to Open or
Assemble in Pro/E
© 2006 PTC
The user environment: Accessibility & Convenience (Immersion)
Actions On Model Tree
Windchill available during
placement commands
Checkout on-the-fly
© 2006 PTC
The user environment: Accessibility & Convenience (Immersion)
Hyperlinks on Notes to Windchill managed
documents
© 2006 PTC
File Support,Runtime Access and Name Resolution
Automatic Name Resolution
Pro/E has runtime access to the Windchill Database
– Windchill is in the Pro/E “search path”
Pro/E automatically pulls files from the database when needed
– e.g. During Assembly Retrieval
Database can be accessed anytime by the user
– e.g. to resolve an assembly component reference
Common Pro/E variables can point to locations in the database
– e.g. pro_library_dir (For Library Parts)
– pro_symbol_dir (For Drawing Symbols)
– pro_material_dir (For Material Files)
– start_model_dir (For company std. start parts)
Supported File Types
Pro/E can create approximately 200 types of files:
….all are managed by PDMLink
© 2006 PTC
Pro/E File Abstraction (PFA) Layer
File Support,Runtime Access and Name Resolution
Architecture
All files read & written via PFA
– File>SaveFile>Save A Copy (IGES, STEP, .ol, Shrink wrap etc.)File>Backup
A Windchill FPA driver makes Windchill transparent to Pro/E Applications
All Pro/E files written by Pro/E both now and in the future can all be managed by Windchill
Use of Internet Protocols make this firewall safe
– S.O.A.P., http, https, Multi-part MIME
Local Disk
SAVE
Windchill Server
Local fwrite()http
Location = “D:”Location = “http://theserver/pdml”
© 2006 PTC
Dependencies
Dependency types
Dependencies enable associativity
More than 30 dependency types
– e.g. MEMBER, DRAWING, FORMAT,
GENERIC, MFG, MERGE, GROUP,
SUPPRESSED, NON_PLACED, UDF, MARKUP…
Broken dependencies can lead to an incomplete, sometimes un-retrievable model
PDMLink understands and manages all Pro/E dependency types
– Robust infrastructure for exchanging dependency information (Neutral data)
– Understands REQUIRED vs NON-REQUIRED dependencies
Simple Dependency Example: BoM (Uses)
a.asm
c.prt
b.prt
d.asm
bb
cc
ee
ff
gg
d.asm
f.prt
e.prt
g.prt
UsesMate/Align
Assembly “A”
Assembly “D”
Note the circular
dependency
uses
uses
Drawing Format
X-hatch
More Complex Example: Assembly Drawing
© 2006 PTC
Family Table Support
Instances are modeled in Windchill
Separate objects, independently checked in/out
Can each have parts associated
Checkout of one instance does not checkout all instances
Generic automatically retrieved when required
Supports nested instances
Supports checkout on-the-fly
Instance Verification on checkin
© 2006 PTC
Simplified Rep. Support
Simplified Reps.
Invaluable when working with large assemblies
Reduces the amount of data in session
Reduces the amount of data downloaded from the server
Windchill supports Internal & external simp. Reps.
External Simp. Reps. New with Wildfire 1.0
Create Simp. Reps on the fly
© 2006 PTC
Collaborative Design
Workspace
– Manages configurations of Pro/E Data (Latest, Baselines etc)
– Records all data referenced by user (Not just checked out)
Workspace update
– Synchronizes work with others before checkin
� Replace in session
Automatically updates in-session models with updates from the database
� Subscriptions
� Asynchronous Notification (Future)
© 2006 PTC
Pro/E Data integrates with the Enterprise Product Structure
Requirements
Data Sheet
CAD ModelData Sheet
Viewable
Requirements
Test PlanSoftware Code
Analysis
Part: Cell PhonePart No: CEL9412Cost: $34.95Weight: 3.5 oz.
Part No: KEY124Name: KeypadCost: $0.65Weight: 0.25 oz.Manuf: Key, Inc.
Test PlanSoftware Code
Analysis
CAD Model
Viewable
Test PlanSoftware Code
Analysis
CAD Model
Data Sheet
Viewable
Requirements
Part No: SCR243Name: ScreenCost: $1.04Weight: 0.35 oz.Manuf.: Screen, Inc.
SkeletonModelNot Built
Builds ComponentPart
Builds AssemblyPart
Builds ComponentPart
Pro/E Structure Enterprise Structure
© 2006 PTC
…And more…
Rename Pro/E Objects in Windchill
All dependencies resolved & updated on retrieval
Windchill supports “Save As…”
Includes support for Family Tables
Ghost Object management
Prevent incomplete objects from entering the database
Automatic Number Allocation
PDM Number generator linked to Pro/E File>New, Add Instance etc.
Model Check Integration
Ensures objects will only checkin if they conform to corporate standards
Client Side Viewable generation
Viewables created by Pro/E on checkin
Performance
Parallel thread architecture
Avoid Network “chatter”
Data compression
Asynchronous transactions
© 2006 PTC
Futures
Performance: Retrieve in session & download in parallel
Shape indexing
Asynchronous notification
Full Text Indexing of Pro/E Data
© 2006 PTC
Conclusion
Windchill PDMLink provides an “immersive” environment for Pro/ENGINEER users to collaboratively develop high fidelity 3D Product Models
It is easy to use and compliments, and does not constrain Pro/E
It enables user to use the full modeling power of Pro/ENGINEER, and propagates the results to the enterprise