Using PDM for other documents

Hi Mike.

I don't think you are asking too much. I have used and implemented this solution in EPDM for controlling and managing office documents and CNC g-code:

Automate engineering change (ECO):

• Automatically create the office document creation using EPDM templates
• Auto-populate the office document from the data card upon opening
• Attach referenced drawings the ECO is applied against as a reference so it appears in the contains tab
• Status ECO's as they travel through their workflow either through saved searches or dashboards

Automate the transition of g-code data to the machine shop and machine shop vendors:

• Engineering creates g-code and zips up all the necessary reference data for machining and put the file into the same folder as the source CAD data
• Transition data zip file into a vendor access state and enable visibility for the vendor on this state
• Share the data zip file from this folder into a "Vendors" folder inside EPDM where the vendors can access only that folder in EPDM using the web portal

This works great.

Hope this helps,

Tim Webb CEPA

http://www.equivaq.com

We use it all the time for various office programs as well as visio, pdf, AutoCAD, etc.  One thing to keep in mind is how you utilize your variables using different blocks and file extensions as appropriate - assuming you are planning to use EPDM to interact with these documents and not just store them.