Assign Item Failure

[Neil_Cross]

Got a really bizarre problem.  I have a CC file assigned to an Item, the Item number is WA1079.  This Item is currently Released.

I'm assigning a new Item to AB1234 which is an Inventor model that uses WA1079.  It's stopping me, it's saying that I cannot assign an item to AB1234 with the error "Item#: WA1079 Item's lifecycle state must be 'Work In Progress' in order to perform this operation.  The current lifecycle state of the Item is: 'Released'."

That's normal, it is normal practice to assign an Item to an assembly and then attach Released parts to the BOM.

WA1079 is also used in AB5678, if I assign a new Item to AB5678, it let's me without problem.  So now I'm really confused.  AB1234 and AB5678 are both 'Normal' assemblies.  Anyone have any idea what the problem could be?

[Maxim-CADman77]

We just got same problem.

Have you got any workaround yet?

[Neil_Cross]

I'm afraid not, nobody... and I mean nobody has a clue about this one, which is quite unbelievable.

In most cases, the reason for this error is due the Item being released, but then you maybe create a IDW of the IPT.  When you assign an item to a parent assembly, it performs an update on the child items... the update operation detects that it should attach an IDW to the child Item, but cannot as it is Released.  Hence you then get that error.

The only way to get around this is to change the state of the Item to WIP, skip the revision bump, do the update, re-release it, then do what you gotta do.

I'm frankly fed up with Items personally.  Nice idea but terribly badly executed.  I get the feeling the Inventor team and the Vault team don't collaborate too well on this sort of stuff.

[Maxim-CADman77]

I wonder:



A. Is your issued assy is a configuration member?

B. Have? you create case for this?

[Neil_Cross]

Nope it wasn't related to iAssemblies, just plain normal assemblies.  This wasn't isolated to one assembly either, it was happening all over on random assemblies, but I observed the following:

1) Assign item to assembly '1234', this failed saying part '5678' is released.

2) Assign item to assembly 'ABCD', this assembly also uses part '5678', Vault was happy and let me assign Item to 'ABCD'.

3) Forget about it, go home.

4) The next day, in some cases, it miraculously works.

I say in some cases, not all cases.  I didn't raise a call with Autodesk, I went direct to the Product Manager and this is logged with the developers.  They believe again in some cases that this is linked to the internal object lock which can frequently fail to clear, Vault runs a periodic Item Lock Clean-up which can clear these locks and make these things work again.  But there is no way at all to control the time or frequency that this lock runs.  You have to just stop working and wait. 

Which is completely unacceptable, nobody can argue with that.

[Maxim-CADman77]

I agree that nowadays it almost have no sense to apply to Vault tech
support. They are innocent. They don't know product and they just keep
preventing your contact with right man.

Can you share the way to find contact of Vault Product Manager (I have
much defects to discuss)?

[Neil_Cross]

It's best to post them on these discussion groups, make a new post and they will see it

[Maxim-CADman77]

Just in case - in this particular case the issue have dissociated ("self-fixed").

[Maxim-CADman77]

Case was opened.
Recomendation to wait for next day recieved.
... Autodesk call this technical support of the product and sells it as part of subscription ...
You are developing spaceships in Vault? Ok stop everything and wait while lock for that tiny-little washer would be removed by night automatics...

[Maxim-CADman77]

Seems like one thread is not enough to attract adequate attention to the issue.

Other users keep posting alike threads - http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/Vault-General/Item-s-lifecycle-state-must-be-Work-in-Progress-in-order...