Teamcenter Engineering - Data Structure
Managing Ownership Properties

Purpose

The purpose of this document is to explain how to maintain ownership properties of datasets when revising items within Teamcenter Engineering.

Background

Many companies are managing design to manufacturing information within Teamcenter Engineering (TCE). CAD/CAM processes are integrated within TCE to form a fully associative, managed environment and some of the benefits are:

• Provide the ability to efficiently manage down stream engineering to manufacturing processes.
•  Better collaboration between cross functional teams, TCE allows teams to work together more efficiently, putting the right data in the hands of both engineering and manufacturing team members.
•   Change management, when the parts change, the related manufacturing processes are easily updated and applied to the new design.

A typical Item data structure within TCE will contain datasets that include; a part model, a drawing specification, a manufacturing assembly and a quality assembly. Each of these data types are owned by the respective departments that author and use the data type. A typical item data structure would look like this:

Item Data Structure	Name	Group ID
Part Model	.prt	Mechanical Engineer
Part Drawing Files(s)	-dwg	Drafting
CNC Machining Operation	-cnc	Manufacturing Engineering
CMM Inspection Operation	-cmm	Quality

How’s it done?

To maintain ownership during the revision process within TCE a couple of things need to be done;

The TCE iman environment file has an entry that is used to control ownership of iman data types during revision process. Note; before making any changes to the iman_env.dat file; make a backup of that file.  Find this section in the iman_env.dat file:

     # Who should own the new dataset; the user performing the save

        # ("SavingUser") or the owner of the original dataset ("Original")

        #

        DATASET_saveas_owner=

        SavingUser 
	

The variable DATASET_saveas_owner controls ownership of the datasets when the files are revised with a saveas call.

By default the variable DATASET_saveas_owner is set to SavingUser. Change this variable so that it is set to “Original” as:

     # Who should own the new dataset; the user performing the save

        # ("SavingUser") or the owner of the original dataset ("Original")

        #

        DATASET_saveas_owner=

        Original 

Please note that the assigned variable must be on a separate line as above example. Make the modification and save the file.

Now test this new environment on a test data set. Launch Teamcenter/NX manager and open an existing part in Teamcenter/NX and do a save as to a new revision:

Select the new revision, and when asked to copy Non-Master part files, select the non master files to copy to the new revision:

When a component is revised within TCE, all of the data that is attached to the new part revision is saved with the proper ownership. The functional departments will continue to maintain ownership to their data types after the structure has been revised

Hope that you find this helpful,

Charles Foshey
CAD/CAM/PDM Systems
Gillette, P&G
cam@plmworld.org

Charles Foshey is a CAD/CAM/PDM Project Engineer for Gillette, Procter and Gamble. His primary function is to provide computerized systems to the Engineering Implementation Group with special focus on integrating manufacturing and quality processes within a Teamcenter PDM system. He holds a B.S. in Manufacturing Engineering from Northeastern University. He has worked for Gillette for 23 years; previously in Space and Defense with McDonald Douglas and TRW.