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In this lesson, we’ll walk you through how to register CAD files into Upchain. We’ll also discuss common ways this process can go wrong and how to recover from it.
Before you start:
You should have a sample assembly ready to register into Upchain. To keep it simple as you get started, your sample assembly should not be larger than about 50 components or so.
The lesson will cover the requirements of this assembly before it can be registered into Upchain. Remember, Upchain supports Catia, Inventor, PTC Creo, Siemens NX, and SolidWorks for 3D CAD.
In this video, we discuss key points you should consider before registering an assembly into Upchain. In general, when your assemblies are well-organized prior to registration, the registration process will be easy.
Any referenced datasets can be downloaded from "Module downloads" in the module overview.
Transcript
00:05
In this video, we discuss the main things to consider before registering an assembly into Upchain.
00:10
In general, when your assemblies are in a tidier state before registration, the easier the registration process will go.
00:18
So, let's take a look.
00:22
Remember, it is very important that you add your CAD data to Upchain so that your team can easily access and share up to date product data.
00:31
Any CAD file that you use that is not managed by Upchain, in other words, it only exists on your local computer,
00:38
that file will not be version controlled by Upchain and will not be easily shared with other stakeholders in your organization.
00:45
However, there is some preparation that needs to be done with your CAD files and drawings before they can be registered into Upchain.
00:56
The first to consider is the names of the files.
01:01
For all CAD files and drawings, the file name plus its extension must be unique in Upchain.
01:08
This is to ensure consistency in the data so that files are not accidentally mixed up between items.
01:19
Let's look at a few examples.
01:23
A model has an accompanying drawing with the same name, for example, bracket.iam and bracket.idw.
01:31
This is fine. The model and the drawing are linked to each other will likely be registered together, and they have different extensions.
01:40
So Upchain treats them as unique file names.
01:46
Two different CAD systems are used in different projects.
01:49
For example, bracket.iam on one project, and bracket.sldprt on another project.
01:57
Again, this is okay because these two files have different extensions. They come from different CAD systems.
02:03
So again, Upchain is fine with these.
02:08
Two assemblies contain different parts using the same name. For example, bracket.ipt and bracket.ipt.
02:16
Different models in two different assemblies, but they're using the same name.
02:23
This is not okay because the parts are using the same file name and extension.
02:28
Upchain will not allow this and will present you with a warning message.
02:38
By default, it is your responsibility to ensure every file name is unique.
02:43
Upchain returns an error message should you attempt to create any item from a CAD file with a name and extension that's already in use.
02:51
However, your tenant administrator can set a tenant property named file name dot pattern that allows your company to specify,
03:01
how you would like Upchain to rename the files during item creation.
03:05
Upchain will do this automatically.
03:09
File name possibilities include, item number, item name,
03:15
an 8-digit sequence of system generated numbers, and fixed text, including letters and numbers,
03:23
you can also include the original file name and extension as part of the final file name in this property.
03:32
So, this can be quite useful.
03:34
This can remove the burden of file naming from the designers,
03:38
and instead allows for a consistent naming convention in Upchain chain that always follows the same rules.
03:50
The next thing is to consider is suppressed components.
03:54
Your CAD system may support suppressed components, which enables you to temporarily hide or remove parts from an assembly,
04:01
both visually and physically, and you may do this for any number of reasons.
04:06
They may also be suppressed because your CAD system is unable to find the files being referenced,
04:11
but you may want to keep that reference there so that you can locate and potentially replace that component later on.
04:21
For the initial registration, all components should be unsuppressed, where possible,
04:28
so that Upchain can properly read from those files and register them into the system, whether there'll be phantoms or items that doesn't matter.
04:36
The important thing is that Upchain needs those files to be unsuppressed,
04:41
so that it's able to properly read all the information needs from that CAD file.
04:50
By doing this, the full cBOM and eBOM structure is fully registered into Upchain for others to be able to view, and access,
04:58
and then you can suppress any components that are required after that.
05:03
A useful way to do this might be to create a new configuration of your design in your CAD system,
05:12
and then unsuppress all those components in that configuration,
05:16
and then use that configuration to create the full cBOM, eBOM structure in Upchain.
05:22
This will ensure that all items properly get registered and created an Upchain,
05:28
and then later you can return to the original configuration that you were working on.
05:36
One thing to note that's very important is that you cannot check-in an assembly that contains a checked out suppressed component.
05:48
So, during that initial registration, you want to make sure you register everything that's unsuppressed,
05:55
then before you start suppressing things again, you want to make sure that those components are no longer checked out to you.
06:07
If you must keep items in a suppressed state,
06:11
then you need to make sure that your tenant administrator has also enabled the tenant property named allow.import.with.missing.files.
06:19
Otherwise, Upchain will be expecting files to exist. And if it can't find them, the registration process will fail.
06:27
So, this tenant property allows that import still with missing files. The references to those missing files is still maintained.
06:36
Another important thing to remember is that...
06:42
If files are being automatically renamed during item creation,
06:47
Upchain will also do this for suppressed components as well,
06:51
which may cause the link or the reference to that original file to be broken.
06:58
And so, if the files do exist, unsuppress them so that the files are properly renamed.
07:05
The links to the parent assemblies are maintained. And everything is registered properly.
07:10
If the files are missing, then do your best to try and find them before registration,
07:17
in order to not lose that link, after the assemblies are registered.
07:25
But just remember that when your assemblies are in a tidier state before registration, the easier the registration process will go.
07:34
So, keep going in this course to learn how to register files into Upchain.
Video transcript
00:05
In this video, we discuss the main things to consider before registering an assembly into Upchain.
00:10
In general, when your assemblies are in a tidier state before registration, the easier the registration process will go.
00:18
So, let's take a look.
00:22
Remember, it is very important that you add your CAD data to Upchain so that your team can easily access and share up to date product data.
00:31
Any CAD file that you use that is not managed by Upchain, in other words, it only exists on your local computer,
00:38
that file will not be version controlled by Upchain and will not be easily shared with other stakeholders in your organization.
00:45
However, there is some preparation that needs to be done with your CAD files and drawings before they can be registered into Upchain.
00:56
The first to consider is the names of the files.
01:01
For all CAD files and drawings, the file name plus its extension must be unique in Upchain.
01:08
This is to ensure consistency in the data so that files are not accidentally mixed up between items.
01:19
Let's look at a few examples.
01:23
A model has an accompanying drawing with the same name, for example, bracket.iam and bracket.idw.
01:31
This is fine. The model and the drawing are linked to each other will likely be registered together, and they have different extensions.
01:40
So Upchain treats them as unique file names.
01:46
Two different CAD systems are used in different projects.
01:49
For example, bracket.iam on one project, and bracket.sldprt on another project.
01:57
Again, this is okay because these two files have different extensions. They come from different CAD systems.
02:03
So again, Upchain is fine with these.
02:08
Two assemblies contain different parts using the same name. For example, bracket.ipt and bracket.ipt.
02:16
Different models in two different assemblies, but they're using the same name.
02:23
This is not okay because the parts are using the same file name and extension.
02:28
Upchain will not allow this and will present you with a warning message.
02:38
By default, it is your responsibility to ensure every file name is unique.
02:43
Upchain returns an error message should you attempt to create any item from a CAD file with a name and extension that's already in use.
02:51
However, your tenant administrator can set a tenant property named file name dot pattern that allows your company to specify,
03:01
how you would like Upchain to rename the files during item creation.
03:05
Upchain will do this automatically.
03:09
File name possibilities include, item number, item name,
03:15
an 8-digit sequence of system generated numbers, and fixed text, including letters and numbers,
03:23
you can also include the original file name and extension as part of the final file name in this property.
03:32
So, this can be quite useful.
03:34
This can remove the burden of file naming from the designers,
03:38
and instead allows for a consistent naming convention in Upchain chain that always follows the same rules.
03:50
The next thing is to consider is suppressed components.
03:54
Your CAD system may support suppressed components, which enables you to temporarily hide or remove parts from an assembly,
04:01
both visually and physically, and you may do this for any number of reasons.
04:06
They may also be suppressed because your CAD system is unable to find the files being referenced,
04:11
but you may want to keep that reference there so that you can locate and potentially replace that component later on.
04:21
For the initial registration, all components should be unsuppressed, where possible,
04:28
so that Upchain can properly read from those files and register them into the system, whether there'll be phantoms or items that doesn't matter.
04:36
The important thing is that Upchain needs those files to be unsuppressed,
04:41
so that it's able to properly read all the information needs from that CAD file.
04:50
By doing this, the full cBOM and eBOM structure is fully registered into Upchain for others to be able to view, and access,
04:58
and then you can suppress any components that are required after that.
05:03
A useful way to do this might be to create a new configuration of your design in your CAD system,
05:12
and then unsuppress all those components in that configuration,
05:16
and then use that configuration to create the full cBOM, eBOM structure in Upchain.
05:22
This will ensure that all items properly get registered and created an Upchain,
05:28
and then later you can return to the original configuration that you were working on.
05:36
One thing to note that's very important is that you cannot check-in an assembly that contains a checked out suppressed component.
05:48
So, during that initial registration, you want to make sure you register everything that's unsuppressed,
05:55
then before you start suppressing things again, you want to make sure that those components are no longer checked out to you.
06:07
If you must keep items in a suppressed state,
06:11
then you need to make sure that your tenant administrator has also enabled the tenant property named allow.import.with.missing.files.
06:19
Otherwise, Upchain will be expecting files to exist. And if it can't find them, the registration process will fail.
06:27
So, this tenant property allows that import still with missing files. The references to those missing files is still maintained.
06:36
Another important thing to remember is that...
06:42
If files are being automatically renamed during item creation,
06:47
Upchain will also do this for suppressed components as well,
06:51
which may cause the link or the reference to that original file to be broken.
06:58
And so, if the files do exist, unsuppress them so that the files are properly renamed.
07:05
The links to the parent assemblies are maintained. And everything is registered properly.
07:10
If the files are missing, then do your best to try and find them before registration,
07:17
in order to not lose that link, after the assemblies are registered.
07:25
But just remember that when your assemblies are in a tidier state before registration, the easier the registration process will go.
07:34
So, keep going in this course to learn how to register files into Upchain.
In this video, we’ll show you how to register an assembly into Upchain. As a CAD user, this is a frequent task you’ll perform in the CAD plugin as this is how you are able to upload new designs as new items in Upchain.
Any referenced datasets can be downloaded from "Module downloads" in the module overview.
Transcript
00:05
In this video, we'll show you how to register an assembly into Upchain.
00:09
As a CAD user, this is a frequent task you'll perform in the CAD plugin as this is how you are able to upload new designs into Upchain.
00:16
So, let's take a look.
00:19
Now, that you've learned how to prepare your items for registration, let's look at how to do this.
00:24
To create new items from an assembly file and for all of its child components, ensure your assembly is ready to go and open in your CAD software.
00:33
Select the BOM view and choose cBOM from the drop-down menu.
00:38
Click the refresh button to refresh the cBOM view.
00:42
This has Upchain Read your currently open files and builds a hierarchical structure of the CAD files within the cBOM view.
00:50
Notice that all files show as not registered because Upchain has recognized that these files have not yet been registered into Upchain.
01:00
To create items, for an assembly in all of its children, you want to right click the assembly and choose create item.
01:07
You want to do this from the top level as this will also create items for the child components.
01:14
This now opens a new window for you to select where and Upchain you would like the new items to be placed.
01:19
All items have to belong to a project, at least at the start.
01:23
If you are working within the context of a project, you'll only see that project in the in the menu.
01:29
If you are not working within the context of a project in as in this example, you'll see all projects that you're a team member of.
01:38
Select the location that will be the parents of the items you are creating.
01:42
For example, if you select the project, your assembly item will be an end item.
01:48
However, if you wish to embed this item within another level of the project BOM, as the child of a parent item,
01:54
then click the little Chevron button, and locates the item you wish to be the parents of the item you're creating.
02:01
Then click select.
02:04
Upchain now gathers all information it needs about the assembly,
02:07
and you can monitor the progress of this in the status bar at the bottom of the window.
02:18
The BOM wizard now opens.
02:20
This window is sometimes known by other names, including the check-in window and the BOM anomaly window.
02:26
The BOM wizard shows the cBOM on the left and the eBOM on the right.
02:31
Generally, this window appears during check-ins to allow you to confirm the relationship between the cBOM and eBOM,
02:37
and to resolve any cBOM-eBOM anomalies, such as quantity differences.
02:42
You can also launch it from the project BOM.
02:45
During item creation, it confirms the details of the structure of the cBOM,
02:50
and automatically assumes you wish to create items for every component to push to the eBOM, as indicated by the check marks.
02:59
The eBOM side says new item, with indicating that a new item number will be created as well.
03:07
You can set any of the check marks to an X, if you wish to create some of these as phantom files,
03:16
such as for reference CAD or children of purchased assemblies.
03:20
You can also use this window to fill out,
03:24
free text that may be configured to be as part of the item numbering rule as configured in your tenant.
03:35
At this stage, you should register most CAD files to items.
03:38
And that way, they are added to the eBOM and other team members are able to see the exact structure that you have just registered into Upchain.
03:49
Once you're happy with all of that, click the okay button to proceed.
03:53
And this now completes the process of creating items, uploading the CAD files to each item and building the eBOM structure in your chosen location.
04:02
If the files are also to be renamed during this process, that will happen as set by your tenant administrator.
04:12
Your data is now fully accessible within Upchain.
04:16
You may confirm this by going to the project and then going to the project BOM,
04:23
to confirm that the items were created in your chosen location.
04:35
You'll also see that each item is assigned a unique item number according to your organizations to find item numbering rules.
04:43
All items also begin in a development state with a major and minor revision to XX-XX by default.
04:50
If the tenant property, file name property was configured, you'll also notice that your CAD files have been renamed according to those rules.
04:59
The items are left in a checked-out state, as indicated by the checkout lock,
05:05
so that you can continue working on those items as it's now assumed that the design changes,
05:12
and the file versions are all managed within Upchain from this point onwards.
05:20
So, what about the original files?
05:23
When Upchain registers files into Upchain, it makes a copy of those files you started with and paste them into the home folder.
05:32
It then uploads the CAD files from your home folder into Upchain, during the registration process.
05:38
If you also had file renaming rule sets, you'll see that file name appear in your home folder, not the original file name.
05:48
So, your original files remain untouched in their original location if you wish to register them again.
05:57
It is an easy mistake to choose save or check-in unregistered file.
06:02
What this process does is it still registers the files into Upchain, but it will not create items.
06:11
And so, the files are registered as phantom files. You'll notice we didn't get the location selector because phantom do not appear on a project BOM.
06:22
We also don't get the BOM wizard since its purpose is to compare the cBOM to the eBOM.
06:28
And since no items are being created, there is no eBOM to compare to.
06:34
We discussed previously that there are valid uses of phantoms, but generally most CAD files in your design should be registered to items,
06:42
so that they appear in the project BOM and can be easily viewed by other users.
06:49
However, if you have created phantoms by accident, you can still easily create items for them.
06:59
So, to create items for your phantom files, start with ensuring that they are checked out.
07:14
Then right click on the parent assembly, and you'll see the create item option is still there.
07:23
Now we see our usual location selector for where we would like our items to go. Click Select.
07:30
This message is just indicating that is going to create a new file version to register to an item, but it has not detected design changes.
07:39
Click Yes.
07:44
We also get the BOM wizard now for us to confirm which files we wish to create items for.
07:50
Again, we can still choose to leave certain files as phantom.
07:59
But that's entirely up to you.
08:03
In this example, we're going to create an item just for the parent. Click OK.
08:11
Again, Upchain continues the registration process, creating items for those that you have chosen.
08:20
Now your phantom files are registered to items where you selected that.
08:24
And the items remain in a checked-out state.
08:27
Now, if your CAD files originally had drawings associated with them,
08:32
they do not get registered with their phantom counterparts, and so the link is lost.
08:38
If this is the case, you may be better off starting again with your original files to ensure drawings are registered along with their model.
08:46
We will cover drawing registration in more detail in a later lesson.
08:55
Also notice that phantom files have their own file naming rules.
08:59
If you create an item from a phantom file, the files are not renamed since the file name has now been established in Upchain,
09:07
and it cannot be changed once it's registered.
09:10
So again, if you do want all of your files to follow that specific file naming rule, you will need to start again from the original files.
Video transcript
00:05
In this video, we'll show you how to register an assembly into Upchain.
00:09
As a CAD user, this is a frequent task you'll perform in the CAD plugin as this is how you are able to upload new designs into Upchain.
00:16
So, let's take a look.
00:19
Now, that you've learned how to prepare your items for registration, let's look at how to do this.
00:24
To create new items from an assembly file and for all of its child components, ensure your assembly is ready to go and open in your CAD software.
00:33
Select the BOM view and choose cBOM from the drop-down menu.
00:38
Click the refresh button to refresh the cBOM view.
00:42
This has Upchain Read your currently open files and builds a hierarchical structure of the CAD files within the cBOM view.
00:50
Notice that all files show as not registered because Upchain has recognized that these files have not yet been registered into Upchain.
01:00
To create items, for an assembly in all of its children, you want to right click the assembly and choose create item.
01:07
You want to do this from the top level as this will also create items for the child components.
01:14
This now opens a new window for you to select where and Upchain you would like the new items to be placed.
01:19
All items have to belong to a project, at least at the start.
01:23
If you are working within the context of a project, you'll only see that project in the in the menu.
01:29
If you are not working within the context of a project in as in this example, you'll see all projects that you're a team member of.
01:38
Select the location that will be the parents of the items you are creating.
01:42
For example, if you select the project, your assembly item will be an end item.
01:48
However, if you wish to embed this item within another level of the project BOM, as the child of a parent item,
01:54
then click the little Chevron button, and locates the item you wish to be the parents of the item you're creating.
02:01
Then click select.
02:04
Upchain now gathers all information it needs about the assembly,
02:07
and you can monitor the progress of this in the status bar at the bottom of the window.
02:18
The BOM wizard now opens.
02:20
This window is sometimes known by other names, including the check-in window and the BOM anomaly window.
02:26
The BOM wizard shows the cBOM on the left and the eBOM on the right.
02:31
Generally, this window appears during check-ins to allow you to confirm the relationship between the cBOM and eBOM,
02:37
and to resolve any cBOM-eBOM anomalies, such as quantity differences.
02:42
You can also launch it from the project BOM.
02:45
During item creation, it confirms the details of the structure of the cBOM,
02:50
and automatically assumes you wish to create items for every component to push to the eBOM, as indicated by the check marks.
02:59
The eBOM side says new item, with indicating that a new item number will be created as well.
03:07
You can set any of the check marks to an X, if you wish to create some of these as phantom files,
03:16
such as for reference CAD or children of purchased assemblies.
03:20
You can also use this window to fill out,
03:24
free text that may be configured to be as part of the item numbering rule as configured in your tenant.
03:35
At this stage, you should register most CAD files to items.
03:38
And that way, they are added to the eBOM and other team members are able to see the exact structure that you have just registered into Upchain.
03:49
Once you're happy with all of that, click the okay button to proceed.
03:53
And this now completes the process of creating items, uploading the CAD files to each item and building the eBOM structure in your chosen location.
04:02
If the files are also to be renamed during this process, that will happen as set by your tenant administrator.
04:12
Your data is now fully accessible within Upchain.
04:16
You may confirm this by going to the project and then going to the project BOM,
04:23
to confirm that the items were created in your chosen location.
04:35
You'll also see that each item is assigned a unique item number according to your organizations to find item numbering rules.
04:43
All items also begin in a development state with a major and minor revision to XX-XX by default.
04:50
If the tenant property, file name property was configured, you'll also notice that your CAD files have been renamed according to those rules.
04:59
The items are left in a checked-out state, as indicated by the checkout lock,
05:05
so that you can continue working on those items as it's now assumed that the design changes,
05:12
and the file versions are all managed within Upchain from this point onwards.
05:20
So, what about the original files?
05:23
When Upchain registers files into Upchain, it makes a copy of those files you started with and paste them into the home folder.
05:32
It then uploads the CAD files from your home folder into Upchain, during the registration process.
05:38
If you also had file renaming rule sets, you'll see that file name appear in your home folder, not the original file name.
05:48
So, your original files remain untouched in their original location if you wish to register them again.
05:57
It is an easy mistake to choose save or check-in unregistered file.
06:02
What this process does is it still registers the files into Upchain, but it will not create items.
06:11
And so, the files are registered as phantom files. You'll notice we didn't get the location selector because phantom do not appear on a project BOM.
06:22
We also don't get the BOM wizard since its purpose is to compare the cBOM to the eBOM.
06:28
And since no items are being created, there is no eBOM to compare to.
06:34
We discussed previously that there are valid uses of phantoms, but generally most CAD files in your design should be registered to items,
06:42
so that they appear in the project BOM and can be easily viewed by other users.
06:49
However, if you have created phantoms by accident, you can still easily create items for them.
06:59
So, to create items for your phantom files, start with ensuring that they are checked out.
07:14
Then right click on the parent assembly, and you'll see the create item option is still there.
07:23
Now we see our usual location selector for where we would like our items to go. Click Select.
07:30
This message is just indicating that is going to create a new file version to register to an item, but it has not detected design changes.
07:39
Click Yes.
07:44
We also get the BOM wizard now for us to confirm which files we wish to create items for.
07:50
Again, we can still choose to leave certain files as phantom.
07:59
But that's entirely up to you.
08:03
In this example, we're going to create an item just for the parent. Click OK.
08:11
Again, Upchain continues the registration process, creating items for those that you have chosen.
08:20
Now your phantom files are registered to items where you selected that.
08:24
And the items remain in a checked-out state.
08:27
Now, if your CAD files originally had drawings associated with them,
08:32
they do not get registered with their phantom counterparts, and so the link is lost.
08:38
If this is the case, you may be better off starting again with your original files to ensure drawings are registered along with their model.
08:46
We will cover drawing registration in more detail in a later lesson.
08:55
Also notice that phantom files have their own file naming rules.
08:59
If you create an item from a phantom file, the files are not renamed since the file name has now been established in Upchain,
09:07
and it cannot be changed once it's registered.
09:10
So again, if you do want all of your files to follow that specific file naming rule, you will need to start again from the original files.
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