Integration with Other Applications > Introduction to Windchill ESI > Integrating Windchill ESI with SAP > Windchill ESI Features > Parts
  
Parts
Windchill ESI allows you to publish parts created and changed within Windchill PDMLink to a distribution target such as SAP. You can configure the Windchill PDMLink system to publish particular attributes of a part, as well as documents that are associated to the part. The Windchill PDMLink part information is used to create a part in the distribution target.
Windchill ESI passes the following part-associated attributes from Windchill PDMLink to the EAI software components:
Number
Whether the part is a phantom part or not
Default Unit
Control Characteristics
Type
Name
Source
Version
Iteration
Date Effectivity
Last Changed By
Distribution Targets
Serial Effectivity
Lot Effectivity
Lifecycle State
View
Storage Location
Previously Published Part Version
Once the part data has been sent from Windchill PDMLink, the EAI software components map the Windchill PDMLink part attributes to SAP material master attributes. The following table shows the mapping of Windchill PDMLink part attributes to SAP material master attributes:
Windchill Part to SAP Material Master Attribute Mapping
Windchill Part Attribute
SAP Material Master Attribute
Number
Material Number
Name
Material Description
Default Unit
Base Unit of Measure
Type
Material Type
Source
Procurement Type
Version
Revision Level
Date Effectivity
Valid-From Date
Serial Number Effectivity
The material’s serial effectivity inside the ECN. The ECN becomes parametric effectivity (serial effectivity) controlled.
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If you create a new part-associated attribute then you must map it. If additional part-associated attributes are available consult with your system administrator for mapping details.
If Windchill MPMLink is installed and the Publish Common Enterprise Data Information preference has been turned on, then version information from Windchill does not come from the part, but from the associated Enterprise Data.
When using the object-centric mode of publishing a part, with the distribution target attribute Publish Related Documents when Publishing a Part set to Yes, documents associated to the part are published as well.
The Windchill PDMLink part iteration is passed to the EAI software components; however, the attribute is not sent to the distribution target. If the distribution target is capable of handling Windchill PDMLink part iterations, the EAI software components can be extended to pass the information to the distribution target; however, the out-of-the-box SAP system does not currently have an attribute that can handle iteration information.
The attribute Distribution Targets (in the elements Destination and TargetID that appear in the ESI response) identifies the distribution target in which the part should be created or changed. The EAI software components use this information to communicate with the correct distribution target and pass plant information to it.
Some attributes that are passed from Windchill PDMLink are passed to the distribution target from the EAI software components without transformation; however, there are a few attributes that contain values that are either modified or cross referenced by the EAI software components.
Windchill PDMLink passes the Part Date Effectivity in the format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS. The EAI software components remove the time stamp that accompanies the date prior to passing the data to the distribution target.
The attributes Default Unit, Type, Alternate Unit, Description Language Key and Source are cross referenced in the EAI software components. The following tables show the possible available Windchill PDMLink part values and the corresponding SAP material values that are passed from the EAI software components to SAP.
Windchill Part Default Unit Value to SAP Material Base Unit of Measure Value Mapping
Windchill Part Default Unit Value (Database Value)
SAP Material Base Unit of Measure Value (Database Value)
As Needed (as_needed)
Without Unit of Measure (NO)
Each (ea)
Each (EA)
Kilogram (kg)
Kilogram (KG)
Liter (l)
Liter (L)
Meter (m)
Meter (MET)
Square Meter (sq_m)
Square Meter (M2)
Cubic Meter (cu_m)
Cubic Meter (M3)
Windchill PDMLink Part Type Value to SAP Material Type Value Mapping
Windchill PDMLink Part Type Value (Database Value)
SAP Material Type Value (Database Value)
Separable (separable)
Semi-Finished Product (HALB)
Inseparable (inseparable)
Semi-Finished Product (HALB)
Component (component)
Raw Material (ROH)
Windchill PDMLink Part Source Value to SAP Procurement Type Value Mapping
Windchill PDMLink Part Source Value (Database Value)
SAP Procurement Type Value (Database Value)
Make (make)
In-House Production (E)
Buy (buy)
External Procurement (F)
There are some attributes that SAP requires to create or change material master records that are not provided by Windchill PDMLink. In these instances, Windchill ESI defaults the values in the EAI software components prior to passing the data to SAP. The following table lists the SAP Material Master attributes that are defaulted in Windchill ESI and their default values.
SAP Material Master Default Values
SAP Material Master Attribute
Default Value
Industry Sector
Mechanical Engineering (M)
Basic View Indicator
Enabled (X)
MRP View Indicator
Enabled (X)
Material Description Language Key
The default value is (EN).
Refer to the section titled Internationalization Considerations in the Planning and Implementing a Windchill ESI Installation chapter of the Windchill Enterprise Systems Integration Installation and Configuration Guide - SAP.
MRP Type
No Planning (ND)
Procurement Type
Enabled (X)
Special Procurement Type
Enabled (50) for Phantom Parts only
Windchill PDMLink also supports publishing alternates related to parts; however, because the concept of alternate parts, as it exists in Windchill PDMLink, does not exist in SAP, the EAI software components portion of Windchill ESI does not support publishing alternate parts to SAP. If the SAP distribution target is capable of handling Windchill PDMLink alternates, the EAI software components portion of Windchill ESI can be extended to pass the information to SAP, however, OOTB, alternates are not supported.
Plant Specific Attributes for Parts
Plant-specific attributes for a part can be published using the view-specific capabilities of Windchill MPMLink. To publish plant-specific attributes:
Ensure that the Publish View Specific Enterprise Data Information preference from the ESI > Settings > Part category is set to Yes.
Define a specific view corresponding to each of your plants in Windchill MPMLink.
Define your plant-specific attributes in the corresponding view attributes tab.
Use Windchill ESI to publish your part.
Windchill ESI then retrieves the plant-specific attributes for the part from Windchill MPMLink and sends that information to the relevant plant in the distribution target.
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These attributes must have their mapping defined in the ESI response meta information file. Also, the EAI software components should be extended to map these attributes to SAP as appropriate.
While publishing plant-specific or view-specific enterprise data for parts or resources using Send to Distribution Target action, Send Material to Distribution Target action, Change Notice, Promotion Request, Set State, or Saved Filter is used from:
BOM Settings on distribution target when publishing part or BOM.
Resource Settings on distribution target when publishing resource or resource structure.
Process Plan Settings on distribution target when publishing process plan structure.
Change Notice Settings on distribution target when publishing using change notice.