Inventor file management

[sheila.clair]

I am a Mechanical Designer for an automation company and have questions on Inventor file management.  I have always used Vault for file management.  The company I work for implemented Vault three years ago (right before I started there) but could not adapt to the workflows since it's a very small company (20 employees with 3 mechanical designers), so they are reverting back to storing files on a network drive.  On the network drive, each station we design has its own folder and project file.  I would like to add two changes to their process:

1) A central purchase parts library.  We use many of the same purchase parts across projects and have copies upon copies of the same file on the network.  Where should this be library be stored (i.e., route of network drive, etc.)?  How do we lock the files but let users put files in the directory and let admins make changes?   We work with external design houses and will need to provide this library to them every time they work on a project.  Please provide tips on workflow for that as well.   

2) I want to cross reference assembly files within the same project.  Since each station has its own project file, they shrinkwrap any reference parts to break the link (i.e., customer part files, peripheral equipment such as a pallet, etc.).  I know I can add a path in the project file to each of these folders, so we don't have to shrinkwrap these.  What are pros/cons to this approach?    

[pball]

We used to work off a shared network drive before we switched to Vault. So here is how we did things.

For our shared purchased part folder we had a folder on the network and had that linked as a Library in all project files. This allows the parts to be shared between different projects. This also sets the parts as read only when you link them as a library. This is handy to prevent random edits to standard reused parts. If you need to edit these parts after the initial save you need to use a library project file.

I'm not sure if I completely follow, but if you want to access items from another project there are two main ways. The first would be to add the other project folder as a library in the project file, this will keep the other project read only in the active project. The other option is to add the other project under the Workgroup Search Paths in the project file. This will allow access to the other project and allow editing.

[b.mccarthy]

Hello.

I work in manufacturing as well, as a contractor. I set up Vault for one company which had the same issues you describe and were using the network approach. There were 10+ engineers, along with marketing, fabrication, sales, etc. Although the beginning was a little rocky (actually a LOT rocky...), it eventually worked very well. Training was the key, along with the inevitable mind-shift needed from past practices. Without a single source of truth, i.e. Vault, or one of its competitors, to control file access, you are inviting significant issues into your workflow, such as file duplication and mismatched versions/revisions. 

I currently use Vault for all of my projects, and although it is not perfect (perish the thought!), it can be tweaked to deliver what you need.

If Vault was not a good fit, I would recommend that you give another PDM system a try, and engage someone to help implement and train your people. There will be those who complain endlessly about the switch, and you know who they are, but once they get comfortable with the workflow, many issues will be resolved.

Good luck.

[SBix26]

There is one significant downside to a shared library of common components, though, and this is true whether it is managed in Vault or not-- if one of those parts needs to be edited (for example, to add more detail because it's needed for a new project), that changes it for all current and past projects using the same part.  Now all models & drawings that use that component are dirtied and need to be updated, possibly with a new revision level.  Some existing assemblies may break because of that change.

Unless you have a very carefully controlled revision process for the library, this can get pretty messy.  Where I last worked we kept a library that everybody had access to (read & write), but items from that library were copied to the project rather than referenced.  Then part #s and other iproperties could be changed to suit the new project, as well as appearance or detail changes, without adversely affecting any other project.

---

Sam B

Inventor Pro 2022.2.1 | Windows 10 Home 21H2

[sheila.clair]

@pball - Thank you for the information.  For item #1, Users sometimes have to add purchase items that are not in the library.  Are they able to do that with this set-up?  Do you have a good tutorial that will show me how to set this up?

I knew item #2 was a little unclear, but you got it.  

@b.mccarthy - Thank you for the feedback.  I agree with everything you said.  Unfortunately, I have the lost the battle with proving to them that Vault is worth it in the long run.  So here I am trying to make the move back to the shared network just a little less painful.  Sigh.  

[b.mccarthy]

@sheila.clair

My commiserations. I hope that you can make it work. I struggled with getting everyone on board, but engineers are a tough crowd...

One more note: For everything that you and others have described, I have effectively dealt with using Vault and Content Center.

[pball]

@sheila.clairNew parts can be saved into a library path the same as saving to any folder. The only catch is after the file is saved Inventor will not let you edit it while working in a project file that has the part in a library path. The most annoying part there is saving a part and then having to update the iProperties or something.

To set this up you just have to right click on the Libraries section in the project file editor and add your library paths. We used to have a Standard Parts folder and Purchased Parts as libraries references in our project files.