Success with Multiple projects in Vault?

[Winks87]

Has anyone tried the multiple project approach as described by Mr. Moyse in his paper on Design & Motion site?  I am currently thinking about this - I have been charged with getting everyone BACK on board with Inv - Vault.  New employer (1 year) but Im the "Inventor Guy", and I see alot of clutter and bad file practice in our Vault.  I am going back & forth about how to tackle this without losing info and making things more streamlined.  I like the idea of the master project file.  Also, where does the content cener live in this structure?

[steveh4]

FYI...If you are not aware. This white paper may help you decide....Single Project Method.

If you are re-using parts for different designs, this is the method you should use.

[karthur1 · Accepted solution]

Not sure about the paper you are referencing by Mr. Moyse.  Have you seen the "Using Autodesk Vault with a Single Inventor Project"?  It is attached here.

We use a single project approach here.  I think it is the only way to go.  This method totally eliminates the "Resolve Link" dialog if used properly.  We have been using this method since 2006 and AFAIK, we have not had a resolve link issue since then.

Another thing about multiple projects, is when you right-click and do an open from Vault Explorer.  If you have more than one .ipj in vault, it will ask you to pick a project file. If you have many in there, not sure that you would pick the correct one and then the files would not resolve.

In a single project ipj, the C/C files resides in vault one folder above where your .ipj is stored.

If you are the vault administrator, I would also "Enforce Unique File Names" option in vault.

[Winks87]

Thanks for the input!  I am currently trying to "clean up" our current Vault folders while testing upgrade from 2010 to 2013.  Was thinking about new projects to separate the mess, but that mmight be asking for trouble.  Kind of stuck until the new version of sql gets loaded for the 2013 Vault.  The new Inventor looks & works great, cant wait to see the new Vault.

[jason.rogers]

Do you have a link to that paper on multiple Vault projects? Its more of a curiosity than anything. I would have to agree with everyone else; single project file.

[Winks87]

Here is the link:

http://designandmotion.net/autodesk/autodesk-vault-single-multiple-project-files/

[scottmoyse]

Guys,

Multiple Project Files definitely have their place. It has been the only way for us for the reasons I outlined in that blog post.

With Inventor 20132014 & Vault 2013/2014 a number of things have changed, namely with the new Materials & Appearances. The other thing I've changed since I wrote that article is completly eliminating Inventor Project Libraries.

With those two changes, the only downside to a single project file is having a new drawing template for each new contract. That's not enough to justify the use of multiple projects with Vault, along with the ability to save favourite materials in the new M&A interface. So as of Vault 2014 we will be using Single Project files.

I would still recommend using multiple project files for those companies which need to maintain individual material libraries & template sets for each new contract they have. As long as they are set up following the guidelines I set out, they will work just fine. With the only inconvenience being having to select the project file when you open an Inventor file from Vault, along with making sure its set correctly in Inventor... but generally you are working on a contract for an extended period of time so its not like you have to change it in Inventor every day.

Anyway, since I stumbled across this looking for a solution to another problem, I thought I would update my position on this. In a few months I will update my views on D&M once I have it all fleshed out.