Customer step files

[Anonymous]

I need to update my signature but we are on Inv 2015.

We receive step files for assemblies from some of our customers, and often they are similar to models they have previously manufactured so they reuse many of the parts.  When we open the OEM step assembly and save it and then try to check it into Vault we get errors because most of the parts are already in Vault.  From here it appears that our only options are to not save the assembly in Vault, rename the OEM parts so they will check in, or replace the parts with the OEM parts from Vault.

The parts that are reused may keep the same name, but we just had a case where the part was replaced and came in with a different orientation than the original part.  Thankfully it was an obvious error (it came in upside down) but it may not always be.  It is incredibly important to keep the original assembly intact because any dimensions not called out on the drawing are to come from their OEM model.

I very much need to find a workflow that is more efficient and more accurate than replacing all the customer files that are reused.  If the solution is to simply not put them in Vault, that is worst case but may be what we have to do.

If you have a solution for this I would appreciate any help given.

Thank you.

[r.smith1]

Hi bcrowell,

Issue one with this workflow you have stp files that when imported to Inventor, are named the same as files you currently have either local or in Vault.  If you must use this workflow, to always use the stp file, you should consider just renaming the file with a vendor suffix to the file, to denote it’s the same file, just from a stp.  Perhaps even name it filename_stp.ipt.  This way, your assembly will know to only look for that particular file. 

If you have filename.ipt local, when you open the file in inventor, it is possible that the local file you have, may resolved before the stp generated file is resolved to the assembly, and therefore you run the risk of the problem you are reporting. 

You noted something particularly interesting in your comment though, “often they are similar to models they have previously manufactured.”   If they are the same parts/assemblies, then why would you not reuse what you have in your vault?  If they are similar but not exactly the same, then you run the risk of having two or more files with the same name that are different.  In this case, we recommend you rename the files, because although similar, they are not the same.  For example, if you have a mount  with four holes and another mount that has four holes, but the difference between the two mounts is a .05” dia hole tolerance, yet everything else is the same, they are similar, but not the same.   These two files should not be named the same.

[Anonymous]

We do use a customer prefix with their part number, but when they reuse the same part number we can't add the OEM assembly (in the form of an .iam) to Vault with or without the customer prefix.  We add the customer prefix and create drawings from the renamed file, and make any modifications needed for production to our renamed file (adding in clearances, etc.).

Very often we receive a step assembly with the same model number as a previous assembly that, like you said, almost matches the previous assembly.  In that case, we can add the step file itself to Vault with no problem, just rename it with the Rev level or change level as needed.

Our problem comes when we open the step file, and try to save the OEM step file in the form of an iam file.  Is there a workflow that would make sense so that we aren't creating copy upon copy of the same part in Vault with different names that would still allow us to save the OEM iam file in Vault (without manually replacing all the existing files)?  We have yet to think of a way to make this work, and maybe the solution is simply to not put the OEM iam files in Vault.

[Mark.Lancaster]

@Anonymous   Let me ask you this..  Does the information coming from the 3rd party need to be an actually assembly in INventor?   Meaning do you need to manage the individual 3rd party components that make up this assembly at your end?  If not then import the step files as a single part file then you don't need to manage all the individual components in Vault, thus eliminating this issue.

So If I bought a complete assembly from a customer, my model would only show that assembly as a single part.   Just a thought.

[swalton]

I have struggled with this issue too. 

Here are some of the workflows I have tried:

1. Derived Part

     Import the stp file into an iam. 

     Save the iam to disk.

     Derive the iam to a ipt.

     Break the link between the two.

     Check-in to Vault.

2. Rename with Design Assistant

    Import the stp file into an iam.

    Save-As and change the vendor's name to something from our part numbering scheme.

    Close Inventor and append our part number to the vendor's filename for each sub-component using Design Assistant

    Re-open the file with Inventor and check-in to Vault. 

3. Rename with Vault

    Import the stp file into an iam

    Check it into Vault if there aren't any name collisions

    Rename with the Vault Tools

None of them work well, especially because I need correct weights and COGs for the purchased assemblies. 

When the vendor issues a revision to a design, I have to go through the work all over again.  I had hoped that the AnyCAD feature of IV 2016 would help, but I don't think it will.  Maybe in 2017 STP files will benefit.

I don't worry too much about the extra files in Vault because that is a small number compared to the new design files that we generate.  In fact, I avoid altering the imported files, other than name, material, and motion constraints because I don't want to have any liability for changing geometry.

One option I have not tried is to write some iLogic to replace/rename components in an assembly. It could be added to the code I already have that grounds imported components.

[r.smith1]

Hi swalton

Is it possible that you keep all of these files in the same folder?  When you import the stp, just point to the same folder from CustomerXYZ; considering the files are the same.

[swalton]

r.smith1, I can give it a try. If I import Assembly.RevA.stp and save all the component files to a directory and I import Assembly.RevB.stp, will Inventor 2014 re-use any of the component files from RevA to build RevB? What if the sub-component geometry changed between RevA and RevB, but the file name did not?

[Anonymous]

That is definitely a problem, because in the situation we are in, our customer will be running two revisions simultaneously (talk about a potential nightmare) in different assemblies.