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Part ID

Posted: Mon Jul 03, 2017 2:25 pm
by VVN
Hello all!

I’d like to ask you for help with general matter. There is one cotinuous problem for me in TopSolid – part ID. I’m trying to make decision one year but I’ve not found good variant yet. I mean "design in-place" technology.
Now I run “number automatically” procedure (with special BOM template) for assembly and use its results (combination of INDEXEs) as a parts IDs for different BOMs, multi-drawing, multi-machining and so on. This allows me to analyze assembly automatically, using many parameters (including topology analysis) and generates identical IDs for identical parts. I use these IDs for drawings and NC-files. Theoretically this process is good because it is flexible, automatic and fast. And it can analyze big and complex assemblies and reduce the number of drawings and NC-files (by detecting identical parts).
But the other side of this coin is that this structure is always alive and you need to regenerate IDs after each modification of assembly. And this regeneration forces you to produce new set of drawings, NC-files and so on. Therefore, you have to finish design stage completely before indexing. It is not possible for big project with long time of realization and big number of paper documentation.

I’m looking for compromise between automatic and manual procedures, between fixed ID and flexible one, but I’ve not found it yet. I feel myself like a dog catching his own tail.

Do you have any experience in this area? Sometimes I think that it is a good idea “to fix” and “unfix” selected indexes but I’ve no idea how to do it.

With best regards,
Vladimir.

Re: Part ID

Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2017 12:15 pm
by RaudMees
Hello!

I am interested to have same option with fixed ID's. If customer will add new part to project, then it's not indexed and after indexing all parts have new numbers in BOM and I have to reload all data to ERP again.

Meelis

Re: Part ID

Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2017 3:23 pm
by Todd
the way I see it is I have a Project
1.) model the parts, include components or sub-assembly's
2.) define my parts
3.) then I number automatically
4.) upon numbering automatically any parts that have not received a fixed index # like components or sub-assembly's will get a number
5.) Draft the assembly and parts
6.) multi-machine/program, nest the parts for cnc
7.) then if I revise and add or remove parts and number automatically again without removing pervious index's only the new parts get number base on the highest number found in the document
8.) the parts removed with have to be manually deleted from the draft, nest and cam locations as these files leave behind the basified elements

so your issues is with the index of new parts added to a design after its been produced at least once?
I am wondering if you are removing indexes when you don't need too number automatically will add the next part number to parts without indexes without having to re-number.

Re: Part ID

Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2017 9:56 pm
by VVN
Hi, Todd!

Thank for your answer. It is important for me.
I use the same algorithm. Exactly. But it does not solve a problem. I prepared short video – the situation is extremely simplified in this example but illustrates problem, I think.

Video - https://youtu.be/SgzITmyV2jg

Re: Part ID

Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2017 11:01 pm
by Todd
Ok I see what your saying now you have 3 identical parts then 1 of the 3 changes and you need a new index only for the 1 that changed. that sounds like a good improvement for them because we have the same issue with those parts on a complex design also.

Re: Part ID

Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2017 6:39 am
by VVN
I think that possible decision is “to freeze/unfreeze” some indexes manually and remove free indexes only during numbering of assembly. This idea is not the best because it is manual procedure and therefore it is not safe completely. But it is better than nothing.

May be, to freeze indexes of parts with machining? It is not the best too, there are not only machinings, there are drawings too. And it is not possible to analyze them, I think.

May be, to reduce the size of “in-place design” assembly and use workspaces and so on? But sometimes it is not possible. (Now I'm working with non-small assembly and I can not divide it into smaller ones).

.....
:D

Re: Part ID

Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2017 2:22 pm
by Todd
if you want automatic
Remove index=
• No
• Yes
• Only identical Parts with different index and Parts with same index that are different (“Parts that have changes since last numbering”)

Re: Part ID

Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2017 8:23 pm
by VVN
I think that it is great idea and we can say that it is a final formula:

Yes/No/Repair

And it looks good.

Thank you, Todd for this discussion and help.
We don't have this magic option but I feel myself better now.

:D

Re: Part ID

Posted: Mon Jul 10, 2017 7:29 pm
by o.esposito
Hello Guys

there is a lot of exchanges on this topic ( i should have to read all of your message before answering sorry ) before i check all your ideas what you do think about this?

you would like to be able to continue a numbering with a re-analyse of existing ones in case of modification

1) Example of t project with 3 parts

you number automatic by type with topology analyse

A > qt 2 > got index Px001 qt 2

B > qt 2 > got index Px002 qt 2

C > qt 1 > got index Px003 qt 1


2) you make change ( add a new part and modify existing ones ( you do a drill in part A )

For the new part it's easy TopSolid number and does this
let's call it D
+ 1 Part D > got index Px004 qt 1

What's complex is about part A
>you made a drilling in one of the A part >the problem is that we cannot clean the numbering so we would like that TS compare again existing numbering and create have a new index only for the new part A that had PX001 and change to PX005 for example

do you confirm that this would solve your problem?

Ole

Thanks

Re: Part ID

Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2017 5:10 am
by VVN
Hi, Ole

"What's complex is about part A
>you made a drilling in one of the A part >the problem is that we cannot clean the numbering so we would like that TS compare again existing numbering and create have a new index only for the new part A that had PX001 and change to PX005 for example

do you confirm that this would solve your problem?"


Yes, we can clean the numbering but we don't want to clean numbering completely. We'd like to analyze assembly again (automatically) and repair wrong index only (same indexes of different parts or different indexes of identical parts).

Re: Part ID

Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2018 12:55 pm
by RaudMees
I found this today. Maybe it helps. Last index added manually, because I changed one part in project and index was lost.

RM