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Alternate Catalog Databases or front-ends?

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Message 1 of 3
Jay Mackey
236 Views, 2 Replies

Alternate Catalog Databases or front-ends?

I am wondering if anyone is using a separate parts database in place of the ACADE catalog database. I am referring to the capability of ACADE to refer to an external database through a Lisp program (xcat.lsp), instead of opening the ACADE catalog.

Alternately, is anyone using a custom Access front-end that uses or interfaces with the ACADE catalog database?

My issue is that a company should have one parts database, not one for the electrical designer, one for the mechanical designer, and one for the purchasing department. The second part of this issue is BOM creation. An ACADE-generated BOM is only going to have parts from the ACADE drawings. But our project BOM must have both electrical and mechanical parts, so in practice, I am still doing a BOM in another application, AND entering all the parts into the ACADE catalog and into my drawings so that an ACADE BOM can be generated.

Other issues I have are that the ACADE BOM is really only a report that is generated by scanning through all of the project drawings, and you can only access/edit the ACADE catalog in the context of editing/adding symbols to your drawing. It would be nice to be able to just call up a Catalog front-end and enter or edit parts.

I would really like to use a 'database application' like "Parts and Vendors" in conjunction with ACADE. All parts (electrical and mechanical) would be entered into the database application's database through the applications front-end, OR through ACADE at design time. BOM's would be compiled and stored in the database, so ACADE's BOM report function would not be used. Cable wirelists and component pinlists would be edited through the database application's part-entry front-end. (Currently, ACADE's cable wirelist editing is ideal, but its pinlist editing dialog is completely separated from the catalog component editing dialog. A pinlist editing and display function should be present on the Catalog Component entry dialog.)

I'm very curious how other people are working with regard to parts databases.

- Jay
2 REPLIES 2
Message 2 of 3
Anonymous
in reply to: Jay Mackey

Excellent point Jay,
I must provide an Electrical and flow schematic and panel layout at a minimum for every product we build (circulating liquid temperature control units)
I am now being asked to put the tag names for the electrical components that appear on the flow schematic in the bill on the flow schematic.
I recall seeing something about "interdisciplinary cross-referencing" and wondered if that would do the trick.
I also thought that all if I created the database and made the flow symbols I already had "intelligent" that I could do flow schematics in ACADE also.
What is the difference if you "cut" a wire or a "pipe"
Now just to find the time to figure it out.

Chad
Message 3 of 3
Jay Mackey
in reply to: Jay Mackey

I'm still hoping someone out there is thinking along the same lines as me in regards to the Catalog and BOM generation...

So your 'flow' is the liquid cooling? You should just be able to treat it like electricity or pneumatic piping, which ACADE also does. I'm doing a comprehensive pneumatic diagram on my current project. You would have to use the Black Box builder to add ACADE attributes to your unique symbols, but your flow piping should be no different than pneumatic tubing to ACADE.

- Jay

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