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How does a vault with different folders not allow duplicate parts?

Question asked by Janet Coleman on Mar 6, 2018
Latest reply on May 9, 2019 by Douglas Folk

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i.e.

A screw that is used on many parts will be located where?

If each "folder" holds a full assembly with all its parts, what if the parts need to be in other "folders"? How do I avoid duplicate parts?

I recently started working for a company that has had solidworks for about 10 years but have never used PDM, only folders... I'm researching ways we can start using PDM but we already have a crazy amount of duplicate parts. For example:

How should I go about cleaning this up?

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Craig Schultz Mar 6, 2018 2:12 PM
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That setting is done through the admin program.

I would set up a "Library" folder and then sub folders for the types (screws, nuts, washers...) You might wan't to look at limiting the ability to copy tree on these parts as well.

As far as cleaning it up. Maybe move the offenders into a temporary folder. Then delete the parts with a suffix. You'd have to replace them in the assemblies, but you wouldn't have to do them all at once. Just as you run across them.
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- Janet Coleman @ Craig Schultz on Mar 6, 2018 2:20 PM
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  ya that's what I was afraid of. (replacing, etc)
  
  When it comes to "Library" folder and the sub folders, currently we have folders for a grouping of part numbers. Which means that a full assembly will have parts from many different folders. Is this an ok way to go about it in PDM?
  
  I'm researching (plan, plan, plan ) to see what we'll need to do to migrate.
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  - Janet Coleman @ Janet Coleman on Mar 6, 2018 2:23 PM
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    also does admin have the ability to not allow someone to rename or create a copy of a part , therefore creating a duplicate except the name?
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    - S. Casale @ Janet Coleman on Mar 6, 2018 2:43 PM
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      PDM has the ability to map as needed. So part reuse is a possibility and a huge benefit... However, don't move file(s) from one folder to the next without remapping or using the proper move tree functionality.
      
      The Admin tool has the ability to turn off copying of specified folders.
      
      Something to note. The flatter the folder struture the better. Big Buckets if you will.
      The more subfolders the more load times. The more folders the longer the file map. I believe PDM only allows for 256 characters in mapping, and this includes the file name and extension. IF you have a lot of sub folders then you could cause yourself some issues. This 256 may have changed, but I don't recall.
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      - Craig Schultz @ S. Casale on Mar 6, 2018 2:50 PM
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        Under group permissions you can set it up how you like. I also control not being able to copy tree by setting library parts to look like toolbox parts using the set document properties.
        
        The 256 character is a windows thing. You can reset it, but I believe it's only local.... So that would be a real pain if you have a ton of people.
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  - Craig Schultz @ Janet Coleman on Mar 6, 2018 2:52 PM
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    "Which means that a full assembly will have parts from many different folders. Is this an ok way to go about it in PDM?"
    
    Totally fine. PDM is a much different monster than windows explorer when it comes to handling files.
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Douglas Folk May 9, 2019 10:16 AM
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You will also like - "Tools>Update Reference" - 'great' tool for helping to mitigate your problem.

I have the same issue.
-Our "VAR" wanted to charge about $14k to resolve this issue. So I do know you can pay someone to "fix" your problem.

I find that the same part in folder "A" isn't exactly the same as the part found in folder "D". So now your assemblies are possibly messed up. Mates, names, variables, etc.

- Options?
1. Pack and Go - Pack and go the assembly add a prefix or suffix to the assembly. Let it live as a legacy assembly.
Any changes and all new assemblies must be created with the proper reference to the Library of parts like Craig said above.

2. Update the references, verify the assembly, fix the assembly and drawing, check in. Do the due-diligence.

3. Create a "legacy" vault that houses the current folder structure (allows duplicates). If you go this route my recommendation would be make this read-only for the population and only allow trusted individuals to make changes. The changes would be to save the assembly into the "Production" vault and update the Assembly properly.

Either way can be very painstaking but that's the price the company pays for not sticking to a procedure, policy or the like.

If a policy isn't agreed upon and supported by the users - it will stay the same and change is horrible. People seeing the benefit of having one location for the library parts should be very easy. The pay-off will come in time.

**Bump**
One can use configurations to support the parts like "no-radius" and the like.
-I question what part is actually being represented.
-A screw is a great example for configurations. (configs for like type) My company uses configurations too liberally. Configurations shouldn't cross type, yes I said it. The guys here do it all the time.

-For example: Why are there 5 versions? Are these like type and do they interchange?
Can the "real" representative part be installed in all the assemblies referenced?

I feel your pain!
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How does a vault with different folders not allow duplicate parts?

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