Driving Multiple Part Structures from a Single CAD Model Using Multiple Owner Associations
Overview
The ability to create multiple Windchill part structures driven by a shared CAD structure (that is, allowing multiple Windchill parts to have an owner association with a single CAD model) enables managing BOMs in cases where attributes such as color, material, finish, vary among part structures that are geometrically identical.
This method is not intended as the materials management in Creo, but as a way to take a single CAD definition and drive the start point of several part structures. The key feature of the multi-owner functionality is that the same geometry and same quantities exist in all alternate part structures.
Benefits of Driving Windchill Part Structure from CAD Structure
The benefits of driving Windchill part structure from CAD information include:
• Reuse of CAD model definition in a Windchill part; for example, attributes and geometry.
• Reuse of CAD model BOM definition with a Windchill part structure (structure, quantity)
• Shared information is automatically maintained during updates.
• Easy access to results; for example, access to CAD model and drawing viewables from the Windchill part
• Attributes are propagated on each of the parts
• CAD models and drawings are shared by all of the parts
• Viewables are shared with all of the parts
• Structure is automatically updated by the build action
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If you are trying to manage a high degree of product complexity, you may want to use the Windchill Options and Variants functionality.
For more information, see Windchill Options and Variants Capabilities
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How Is Multi-part Functionality Used?
The following are two anticipated high-level workflows.
• New Product
a. Design a color-neutral CAD model
b. In Windchill, build the first “alternate” (an owner-associated structure) using the current auto-associate.
c. Use Edit Association to create a new alternate.
d. This creates one or more separate alternate part structures and associates models with one or more alternate part structures. Naming identifies the alternate option. The viewables are reused.
For more information, see Creating Alternate Structures in a New Product.
• Existing Product
a. Use Save As to create new alternates.
b. Manually edit alternate attributes on parts.
For more information, see Using Save As to Create Alternate Structures in an Existing Product.
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In the case where a user has access to only one of several multi-owner part structures, multi-owner options are not available.
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Enabling the Multi-part Functionality
A Windchill administrator can enable the multi-part functionality in Windchillby setting a server-side preference, as follows:
Go to the Preference Management UI and under Operation, Auto Associate find the Allow CAD Document To Build Multiple Parts preference. Set the value for the preference to Yes to enable the user to create multiple parts driven by a shared CAD document.