Inventor PDM System

[Anonymous]

I would like some recommendations for a PDM system that would work with both Inventor and Autocad.

I have previously used Teamcenter and it is a great tool but probably over complicated and too costly for what would be required. Vault isn't the answer as I'm personally not a fan.

I am looking at it from as either a standalone CAD management system or possibly a larger scale PDM system that would look after part numbers, drawing and report documents etc. capable of creating part number and bill of materials.

Any system would not have a dedicated administrator (ie sole psoition as with teamcenter).

This would be for use with a small team of personnel so cost is a major factor.

Would anyone be able to recommend anything?

Thank you

[-niels-]

Welcome to the community!

I just want to make it stand out for others that read this:

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@stevenburnett wrote:

I would like some recommendations for a PDM system that would work with both Inventor and Autocad.

I have previously used Teamcenter and it is a great tool but probably over complicated and too costly for what would be required.

Vault isn't the answer as I'm personally not a fan.

I am looking at it from as either a standalone CAD management system or possibly a larger scale PDM system that would look after part numbers, drawing and report documents etc. capable of creating part number and bill of materials.

Any system would not have a dedicated administrator (ie sole psoition as with teamcenter).

This would be for use with a small team of personnel so cost is a major factor.

Would anyone be able to recommend anything?

Thank you

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As i was about to mention Vault but then re-read your post...

I'm not familiar with other PDM software, so i can't be of much help sorry.

[mflayler]

In my experience, you will find the following by using a system other than Vault...

Incosistent compatibility - very common these other plugins cause problems with Inventor and in my own experience a lot of CTD

Poor Support - why should I fix a plugin not designed for my software right away

You will always be behind on releases of Inventor - why should I update a plugin not designed for my software

If all of that is okay, Teamcenter, Enovia, are somewhat good choices for this.  Also if you are okay using a system that does not directly interact with Inventor or AutoCAD, then you are probably okay as well, but you will find that when the tools are not designed to work inside of Inventor you will end up having to Pack and Go your designs and then load them or take a lot of extra steps to make sure everything is in alignment with the data management system.

How about you let us know why you are not a fan of Vault Professional that can do alot of what you are asking.  Being "not a fan" doesn't really strike me as reasoning to avoid the tool.  I can tell you more people that are "not a fan" of these other tools that I have mentioned and have instead opted to use Vault as an intermediary between Inventor and their chosen PDM system (like Enovia).

Begin by stating what you need it to do that Vault does not do well for you as most of the users here may already have Vault experience to either agree with you or let you know it is possible maybe with a higher version of Vault like Professional, which does cost a lot less than others.

[tschaeferZNBXX]

Meridian is a software I have used before. It does not have the ERP type of information Vault or Windchill has but it does work with Inventor and AutoCAD.

[mcgyvr]

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@stevenburnett wrote:

I would like some recommendations for a PDM system that would work with both Inventor and Autocad.

I have previously used Teamcenter and it is a great tool but probably over complicated and too costly for what would be required. Vault isn't the answer as I'm personally not a fan.

I am looking at it from as either a standalone CAD management system or possibly a larger scale PDM system that would look after part numbers, drawing and report documents etc. capable of creating part number and bill of materials.

Any system would not have a dedicated administrator (ie sole psoition as with teamcenter).

This would be for use with a small team of personnel so cost is a major factor.

Would anyone be able to recommend anything?

Thank you

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Its very important with questions like these to FULLY define all the functionality you need..

What do you mean by "look after part numbers" and "creating part numbers and bill of materials" (what do you envison PDM doing for you there)

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the replies.

I should clarify that my vague "I don't like Vault" is actually:

the person who would back the implimentation of any PDM system does not like Vault. He's the boss so his reluctace is enough for me, at this stage, to look at other possibilities.

I would love a full PDM system, windchill/Teamcenter, but the costs to impliment would rule this out. Both need dedicated admins also as far as I know.

Max number of users would be 10-20 seats.

There is two options:

1. a system for checking out/check in. Lock files when released.

2. Full system that would generate Part numbers, drawing numbers, report numbers. Also be able to create BOM's within assembly part numbers.

Thanks

[mcgyvr]

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@stevenburnett wrote:

Also be able to create BOM's within assembly part numbers.

Thanks

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describe this more..

Create BOMS where? From where?

Do you want it to "push" the BOM from an Inventor model into your ERP system?

Does it need to create item master records in your ERP system? (obviously if the above is wanted)

[Anonymous]

Manually created part reports/bom.

I would not be looking to pull the part report over from an Inventor assembly.

Regards

[smokes2998]

have Look at team center rapid start.
I used to work at a company that had to spend $20million on fixing a inventor global vault it still didn't work as intended and was slow.

[mcgyvr]

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@stevenburnett wrote:

Manually created part reports/bom.

I would not be looking to pull the part report over from an Inventor assembly.

Regards

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Please do me a favor and provide more information.. Maybe a paragraph instead of cryptic sentences..

FULLY describe you needs...

Describe this "manual" process to create a BOM..

Where are you going to store the BOM data?

If what format?

For what use?

How will that report/bom be used?

Describe the whole interaction from start to finish..

,etc..

You are asking about a complex system to manage data.. YOU need to describe EXACTLY what you intend it to do and in sufficient detail for us to actually give you valid/related answers..

"manually create part reports/bom" is very basic and really doesn't tell us anything..

I can manually create a bom in excel and I doubt thats what you really want..

The more information YOU provide the better answers you will get.. 

[Anonymous]

Everything you've described is what Autodesk Vault does, which is odd that it's already been thrown out. 

Why does your boss not want Vault? Did they get a bad demo, did they come from a place that implemented it poorly, did they use it years ago when it first came out? 

[Anonymous]

As requested I have tried to outline the requirements for a PDM system.

My apologies, I made the assumption people had experience of windchill, teamcenter, epims etc and know it’s functions already.

I am looking to get options for a PDM system.

In my mind there are two options, basic and full.

Cad systems are Inventor and Autocad

So for a basic system:

To have the function of checking in and out models. To ensure only one user can modify a model when they have it checked out. The ability for other users to still work with models when another has it checked out (but not make changes). It can be used to build assemblies etc.

Revision control.

To have a logical file system so that files can be viewed in a folder that suits the project. Something like a windows based filing system where folders can be created and then subfolders of that.

Model/file number control. Alpha numerical project based numbering (cad platform-project number-part or assy-unique numerical number, eg: IN-00123-PT-00001)

An ideal to have would be the ability to hide or severely restrict access to folders or files.

A full system:

All of the above

The ability to create multiple reports (word, excel, Mathcad etc) and have full revision control.

The ability to create Part Numbers and then create BOM’s linked to the part. (a function that windchill and teamcenter have). The BOMS are manually created and linked to the parent part but all children of the parent exist in the database. This ensures the latest revision is always called out on a parent part.

Full revision control of parts and models.

To be honest the full system is complicated to explain. Those that have an understanding of windchill/Teamcenter will understand right away.

The full system is probably a non starter as the implementation and upkeep costs will be to great.

[Anonymous]

From what I'm reading of this, everything is in Vault Pro

[Anonymous]

What was said to me was that the filing system of vault was not great. It lumped all the files in one place and not in any kind of order.

There was issues with vault and trying to rebuilt models was very slow and complicated due to the above.

I think it was used in approx. 2013/2014.

I have no real view on the subject but I have read many views that have been negative towards vault.

[Anonymous]

That's how the backend sort of works for Vault, but the internal folder structure can more or less be what you you would want. The only Caveat is that Inventor needs to have a project file pointing to a workspace and then you map the project file and tell it where it sits inside the Vault. 

If you have a reseller, ask them about it, if you don't have one shoot me an email. 

[smokes2998]

You can do all this in the vault but there is a huge issue of the vault slowing the performance of  inventor down.

As it wants to update released for  production files when you haven't edited or changed them.

It  also has a poorly design User Interface.

It is also Slow and PITA use compared to use Solidwork PDM which does the basic of Vault managment so much better than Vault can.

[Mark.Lancaster]

@smokes2998

Your posting clearly shows you have negative feelings toward vault (like Solidworks instead) and that's fine, its your opinion.

But at the same time I can counter and say I have been using Vault for over 10 years now and I never had any performance problems in Inventor and etc.  YEah there may be a few quirks here and there but overall it gets the job done.

So when I read your reply and hear what you are saying in your words, my first gut reaction is

1.  Your Experience with Vault,  using Basic (free) vault or a paid version

2.  Were you properly trained in using Vault?

3.  Did you have someone that was experienced (like a reseller) come in and setup your vault?

4.  When was the last time you used Vault?