Lew_Merrick
Guest
Prolog:
To be clear the "entries" allowed by the File Properties->General->Part Data system would have to be seriously improved to qualify as idiotic! Whoever dreamed them up obviously had no experience whatsoever with industrial material ordering, storage, or issuance. Shop-made Parts have one set datapoints that need to be defined, recorded, and applied. Purchased Parts have a different set of criteria. Assemblies have yet another. There appears to have been no thought given to these differences when the File Properties->General->Part Data system was created! Alibre needs a system with the flexibility and power to handle a broad range of such requirements.
A Proposal (says the guy who will not be required to code it):
Remove the ->General->Part data system from the File Properties definition set and replace it with a user-created CSV data file that will Name the Data Entries and Define the Data Types to be used thereby. [I have a rather long and detailed proposal about this I submitted to Alibre back in March of 2017.] My idea is that a user could have a number of Definitions for Part Data that they could apply (as appropriate) to each type of Part or Assembly with which they work. Thus, at a “least-defined” level they could have such a Definitions for Part data file (which I propose calling a “DFD” file) for (say) Machined from Bar or Plate “DFD,” Cast Metal “DFD,” Molded Plastic “DFD,” or any other “Part” process they use. Similarly, “DFD”’s would be created for (say) “Screw and Dowel” constructed Assemblies; Weldment created “DFD” Assemblies, etc.
At the risk of opening a subject I wish (at least for now) to avoid, the basic “layout” I suggest starts each functional line with an asterisk and a space (* ) before defining (surrounded by double quote characters) the Name of the data value. The next value would define the Type of value (integer, real number, string, or validity). More defining will be required and each entry will need access through the API. However, this approach will expand the power of Alibre immensely.
To be clear the "entries" allowed by the File Properties->General->Part Data system would have to be seriously improved to qualify as idiotic! Whoever dreamed them up obviously had no experience whatsoever with industrial material ordering, storage, or issuance. Shop-made Parts have one set datapoints that need to be defined, recorded, and applied. Purchased Parts have a different set of criteria. Assemblies have yet another. There appears to have been no thought given to these differences when the File Properties->General->Part Data system was created! Alibre needs a system with the flexibility and power to handle a broad range of such requirements.
A Proposal (says the guy who will not be required to code it):
Remove the ->General->Part data system from the File Properties definition set and replace it with a user-created CSV data file that will Name the Data Entries and Define the Data Types to be used thereby. [I have a rather long and detailed proposal about this I submitted to Alibre back in March of 2017.] My idea is that a user could have a number of Definitions for Part Data that they could apply (as appropriate) to each type of Part or Assembly with which they work. Thus, at a “least-defined” level they could have such a Definitions for Part data file (which I propose calling a “DFD” file) for (say) Machined from Bar or Plate “DFD,” Cast Metal “DFD,” Molded Plastic “DFD,” or any other “Part” process they use. Similarly, “DFD”’s would be created for (say) “Screw and Dowel” constructed Assemblies; Weldment created “DFD” Assemblies, etc.
At the risk of opening a subject I wish (at least for now) to avoid, the basic “layout” I suggest starts each functional line with an asterisk and a space (* ) before defining (surrounded by double quote characters) the Name of the data value. The next value would define the Type of value (integer, real number, string, or validity). More defining will be required and each entry will need access through the API. However, this approach will expand the power of Alibre immensely.