Need advice on developing a workflow and managing a large project.

[Anonymous]

The backstory:

I am a fresh graduate in mechanical engineering and I have been working for a machine shop for about 9 months now. I am very familiar with 3d modeling as far as generating a model, applying materials, and generating assemblies. What I haven't had much experience with is managing a large project with 10+ main assemblies and each of those having multiple sub assemblies. My supervisor who is the lead engineer has worked here for over 30 years, but is still using autocad lt for all of his work and he has never used 3D cad or even upgraded to full blown autoCAD. 

Basically we have a project now in which a parent company is supposed to give us all of the models and assemblies that I can use to make cut lists, fabrication drawings, and machining drawings. The problem I am having is the models and assemblies aren't finished even though it's running at 8 months past the point we were promised to have it. We are using the fusion team cloud based system (because vault won't work for them for what-ever reason) for managing the files as of the past 2 weeks which shows that even the parts and assemblies that were said to have been completed have changed 8-9 times just in the past couple of weeks which makes any drawings I have made questionable at best. To add to this there are things like materials being set wrong, none of the dimensions have been saved consistently as iproperties for ideal BOM management, and the project's ship date hasn't budged at all. I have tried to bring up the issues with the model with nothing really being done about them.

TL-DR: Poorly managed project using inventor and no current system/workflow to follow because my current engineering lead is only used to autocad lt.

I feel like learning to code VBA will help quite a bit, but can't find much in the way of resources even on the forums. The link to Thalheim's book doesn't seem to be active anymore. I was wondering if there was any advice or resources or classes that I could be turned to in order to develop my own work flow as far as managing an inventor project of this size? I have also been making my own standard templates for idws to streamline the drawing process which has helped, but I still feel like there is so much more I need to figure out.

I apologize for such a long post, but I am just starting to feel like I'm drowning and no one at the company seems to be concerned all too much with it, so I am trying to just man up and do what it takes, but it seems like I'm not making any real progress.

Regards,

Kameron Williams

[johnsonshiue · Accepted solution]

Hi Kameron,

Many thanks for documenting the situation clearly! The struggle you are having is not unique. Let's take data management (Vault or Fusion Team or any cloud drive) out of the equation for a moment. The main issue you are having is how to structure the project in a way that you can easily modify the components when you need to. First, you will need to use Inventor Project. If you have done so, it is quite easy to merge or split existing projects. However, if you have not done so, I strongly suggest you study how Inventor Project works. It will make your life much more easily. You can find a lot of learning materials about Inventor Project at Autodesk Knowledge Network or Youtube.com.

Second, in an Inventor Project, you can decide if you want to have an overarching project encompass everything or you want to separate it into multiple projects or groups. Using this paradigm, we have customers managing components ranging from a few hundreds to several millions. Please do not hesitate to ask any question.

Many thanks!

[Anonymous]

Thanks, John! I believe you're right about Inventor Projects. I have started one for this project and have read about how it works a good bit. Is there a way to add iproperties to multiple parts/assemblies in a project simultaneously via a project file? For example if I wanted the extents dimensions so that I could quickly add the column to the bom's/parts lists in my drawings to show those dimensions? Or would this need to be done in VBA?

Again thank you so much for your input. You are a life saver. I am going to study these project files greatly.

Regards,

Kameron Williams

Edit: Also, one more quick question. Since the part/assembly files existed before the project was created, will that affect how the files show up in the project file? It seems like the files aren't showing up in the unpinned section, but they are available after I open them, or if I go through the workspace link. I was just wondering if this was normal, really.

[kelly.young · Accepted solution]

Hello @Anonymous I see that you are visiting as a new member to the Inventor Forum.
Welcome to the Autodesk Community!

Something to consider is the modeling technique and how you want to organize the parameter locations. 

Help: Assembly Modeling Overview

Help: Modeling Techniques in Inventor

It depending on if you want to use the Skeletal Modeling technique to house all of your parameters or use iLogic to link dimensions from parts into an assembly. There are many ways to go about it, really matters on what the end goal is and what organizational method you want to use. 

I would also investigate using the Vault and it's Copy Design feature if you are just getting started. In my opinion it is easier to implement from the beginning for file management than after you've started. 

Please select the Accept as Solution button if a post solves your issue or answers your question.

[donniehaley]

Thanks @kelly.young! I have downloaded and installed vault server and vault client. I tried to log in to create a vault but it's saying I need to login with an administrator password. I can't seem to figure out how to create a vault administrator account. Is this just the account that contains the software? or do I need to do something else?

Edit: Nevermind, I figured it out via the help that the default admin account is Administrator with no password...

[swalton]

As I understand your problem:

1. Parent Company is designing a product.  They are creating the .ipt and .iam files.
2. You are responsible for creating and detailing the manufacturing documents for that product.  (idw, ipn, work instructions, cut lists, etc)
3. The folks at Company A are not modeling in the information that you need to create the normal manufacturing documents, the design is still in flux, and the models are late, but your delivery date has not changed.

What is the minimum viable set of manufacturing documents?  Do you really need to list the extents of each component in the Description iprop? Do they need to be automated? Can you add that automation to the ipt and iam files that are not under your control?

Any automation that you create may be dependent on the way the original designers made the components.  Did they use Frame Generator to create structural tubes?  Are the length, width and thickness of a steel plate always d0, d1, and d2?  Are those values expected to change after you create the manufacturing documents? If so, it may be useful to create some iLogic to add that information to the component description.  

It does look like there are some sample illogic snippits: 

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/inventor-customization/part-aligned-extents/m-p/7061024  

or

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/inventor-customization/ilogic-to-get-part-extents/m-p/6051106

If those assumptions are not true, you may be better off making the manual changes and locking the files with the PDM tool.   

How many drawings do you need to create?  10, 100, 1000?  The iLogic Code Injector discussed here might be useful: https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/inventor-customization/transfer-ilogic-rules-to-old-parts/m-p/5533053

How much time do you have to create and debug a tool verses the time it will take to make the drawings now?  Is the automation something that should be added to your workflow after getting through this bad project?

Are you able to back-charge the parent company when their changes to "ready for manufacturing" files make you re-work your manufacturing documents?

[NachoShaw]

If you have done so, it is quite easy to merge or split existing projects. However, if you have not done so, I strongly suggest you study how Inventor Project works

Hi

I would be interested in knowing more about how to merge / split projects. If you are talking about the built in Project system inside Inventor, i didnt realise it was this versatile. Usually we just add folders  as workspaces but it remains 1 single project.

I couldnt find much on google

Thanks

Nacho

[kelly.young · Accepted solution]

@donniehaley the setup of Vault can be tedious, but once done correctly will run much more smoothly. You can always get more focused support at the Vault Forum. 

Help: Autodesk Vault Server Quick Start Installation

I believe that if you just select OK as administrator the first time without any password that will get you in to setup your custom logins, been a while. 

I would read through the support documents and watch a few YouTube videos to better prepare yourself for the best settings and setup. 

YouTube: How to set up Autodesk Vault Basic

Please select the Accept as Solution button if a post solves your issue or answers your question.

[Anonymous]

@swalton That's exactly the situation at hand. Thank you so much for the thorough list of questions. I will address your questions in the same order they were presented.

What is the minimum viable set of manufacturing documents?

I imagine for this project the minimum set is cut sheets for the 300+ items to be cut on the plasma table/water jet. I have most of these done but as the items keep changing it has gotten interesting trying to verify what has actually changed or not. I also require a bare minimum of 1 detailed drawing of each subassembly which includes 10+ weldments, and about 4-5 linkages roughly. Ideally I would also make individual part drawings for anything that was formed.

Do you really need to list the extents of each component in the Description iprop?

It's handy for the guys in the shop to identify the right parts since we lack a proper warehousing system on top the large volume of jobs going on at the moment. I have tried to speak about this among other issues but instead of working with me to solve the problem people take it personally and pull the ground out from under me with their experience in meetings. Also, it helps with getting an estimate of how much weld time and weld material will be required. It's been requested so I was trying to make it a feature of the drawings.

Do they need to be automated?

Preferrably.

Can you add that automation to the ipt and iam files that are not under your control?

I have spoken with the people that are handling those files about it to get an understanding about their consistency with setting their lengths, widths, and thicknesses as consistent parameters. The answer I got was pretty much that they weren't very careful in that regard. I believe I would be able to do it with ilogic if they would straighten out the dimensions.

Did they use Frame Generator to create structural tubes?

Not that I'm aware of.

Are the length, width and thickness of a steel plate always d0, d1, and d2?

I saw those parameters, but I saw no consistency in the dimensions they represented. All three varied from part to part and got even more confusing when it was an OD x ID part. I brought up my intentions to use them  as ilogic BOM properties so that any change they made would be accounted for and would at the very least reduce the amount of back tracking I had to do. So far I haven't seen any results.

Are those values expected to change after you create the manufacturing documents?

They were expected and they have happened frequently, even on items that were said to be finished. This required going in and remaking cut sheets, and then resetting all of the bom settings, and then remaking the fab drawings. It has made me hesitate in releasing the fab drawings because I don't want to release and have it change in the next day or two and then all of a sudden our part is wrong and the material is wasted. This item uses AL - 6XN so we're trying to minimize material waste and re-dos. But because no one else here uses or even understands 3D CAD, they just think I am dilly dallying. I've tried to explain it and they just say I'm making excuses. I told them plainly I just don't feel comfortable releasing a drawing with my name on it that is statistically likely to change 6 times in a week based on the changes in the past few weeks. Makes me feel like maybe it's just me.

I have bookmarked all of your resources that you have posted and will refer to them heavily.

How much time do you have to create and debug a tool verses the time it will take to make the drawings now?

That's a good question. Not much since there's so many parts that would need to back tracked through to set the dimensions consistently. I have a good amount of the drawings and about 90% of the flat patterns (the other 10% being what's still being designed as far as thickness goes). I have just dreaded going through each of the parts lists and manually inputting the dimensions. I don't mind doing it, I just don't want to have to redo it each time the model gets updated, because it's quite frequent. This is why I wanted automation.

Is the automation something that should be added to your workflow after getting through this bad project?

I'm starting to think so. It would be really nice to have it now, but it's so far into the project now that it would likely only add another complication. Again, I'm very grateful for your questions as they've given me more perspective and helped me digest the situation.

Are you able to back-charge the parent company when their changes to "ready for manufacturing" files make you re-work your manufacturing documents?

Yes sir, we basically have an open line to charge our overhead to so that it doesn't run the budget up. It is nice, but it's an on going issue over most of the jobs that we don't have most of the information that we need to start, but we have to start anyways. I guess that's just the nature of the beast. I'd really like to **** it in the bud though.

Thank you so much for your incredible questions. You have really got me thinking more clearly about this situation and to some degree calmed me down.

[hevin_jose]

Hi

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