Quote:
Originally Posted by DampRobot
Does Windchill preserve the parent-child relationships in Inventor or SolidWorks the same way the "native" version control system would? As I understand it, the really powerful thing about any version control software is its ability to update dependent assemblies or drawings automatically and seamlessly. I suspect that using a third party version control system (like Windchill) for version control with, say, SolidWorks wouldn't be much better than using a program like Dropbox.
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DampRobot,
To my knowledge and understanding of your question, yes Windchill does preserve the parent-child relationship. I will give a few a few examples from SolidWorks: I am able to update the sizes of bolts on the fly through configurations and design tables (generic -->instances), update a part and the assembly changes based on those modifications, drawings remain linked to parts for autoupdating. These are also available for Windchill for Pro/E (now Creo). I use Winchill/Creo at work and Windchill/SolidWorks for robotics.
The other difference between a PDM software (like Windchill) and something like DropBox is easy revision control. With a few minutes of setup by the admin of the Windchill server, user permissions can be created such that only selected people can delete parts, roll back versions, etc. In order to make changes to a part, a user has to "checkout" the part/assembly/document from the Windchill server. This prevents other users from changing the part as someone else is. Windchill keeps track of every upload incase something is needed to be rolled back. Then the part can be "checked in" for others to use. Once a design is decided on, the part can be locked such that people can download and use the part, but not make changes to it. If the part is changed by an authorized user, it will updated in all places that it is being used.
EDIT: Take a look at this
link for Windchill for SolidWorks. I have never used Windchill with any software packages other than Pro/E (Creo) and SolidWorks. I have Inventor 2012 on my computer, and I will give it a shot as well in the near future. I would assume it is very similar to the Pro/E and SolidWorks counterparts.
/EDIT
I can explain in more detail some "library" practices in further detail if needed.
*Note* One thing that most people view as a downfall for Windchill is the limitation of only having the same name on the server once. Meaning if you made a part called "arm.prt" in 2012, you could never name another part "arm.prt". I would recommend adapting sometype of numbering convention that includes the year to avoid these problems.