In this article you can learn everything about OpenBOM Design Dashboard, Design Projects and Integration of Cloud CAD Storages
OpenBOM provides a wide range of functions to help you manage design data (CAD files, specifications, and more). The functionality includes multiple tiers of features to manage design data for projects, engineering collaboration functions, and integrations with cloud storage and online (cloud) CAD systems. You can access it via the OpenBOM Design Dashboard, which integrates functions related to design data management:
The world of product development and manufacturing has been experiencing significant transformation. As our understanding of technology evolves, so does the complexity of modern products. Every modern product today requires the integration of various disciplines, including mechanical, electronic, and software design. This shift necessitates a more comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to managing the complex data structure and lifecycle of information involved in product design and manufacturing processes. For the last two decades, traditional PDM tools evolved into siloed solutions that focused on a specific CAD System. You can get a separate data management system for Solidworks, and Altium or you can get GitHub which is amazing for software development. However, pulling all these things together requires more than running all these siloed environments separately.
Modern product design is an intricate blend of various disciplines. A smartphone, for example, is not just a simple assembly of mechanical parts; it also incorporates sophisticated electronic circuits and software that enable its numerous functions. This convergence of multiple disciplines implies that product design has become a collaborative process involving various teams, each with its unique data and information requirements. Managing this multidisciplinary information structure becomes a significant challenge.
The product development process can no longer rely on siloed data structures or isolated design tools. Instead, it requires a flexible, dynamic, and inclusive digital information model capable of capturing and managing the vast array of product information across all these disciplines.
OpenBOM embraces the vision of Design Digital Thread helping to integrate information coming from multiple design sources – files, cloud storages, integrated cloud CAD (design systems). a
Design Dashboard settings allow to configure elements of the dashboard, create design projects, or configure visibility of integrations with external design CAD systems and storages. Currently, there are four options available:
Settings sections support 2 functions:
The entire Settings section of the dashboard is only available for Team Admin.
The following section shows how you can add, delete or edit Design Projects.
In short, we have introduced OpenBOM Design Dashboard to expand capabilities to manage project files and integrate OpenBOM to other data storages and systems.
Design Project user interface is a typical OpenBOM user interface standardized to work with objects of information with attachments (files). Each record in this project is associated with a file that can be uploaded using Workspace Manager (see below).
Here is the list of functions enabled by the admins:
To allow to every user to work exclusively on the specific file, “File Lock” function exists. A user can lock the file and since that moment only this user will be able to upload and sync this file from a local folder to proejct cloud storage.
The purpose of Workspace Manager is to support data sync (files and folders) to be transferred between cloud storage and local folders (on the workstation). You need to map local folder to cloud Design Project to perform the sync. Once the mapping is down, you can upload and download files. Note: files can be uploaded ONLY when the project is checked-out. Once data is synchronized, check-in operation can be performed. When the operation check-in is performed, the new revision of a project is created.
The typical scenario of working with Workspace Manager:
Workspace Manager User Interface
Workspace Manager (WM) is a Windows application installed on your computer that allows to control the data from from/to your computer and the cloud Project Storages.
Workspace Manager Commands Reference
Here is the list of commends with a quick description:
OpenBOM Workspace Manager can be installed in Windows environment.
The “SmartSync” function allows you not think what files needs to be downloaded from the cloud server to the client and what files needs to be uploaded.
SmartSync feature brings automation to the forefront, allowing Workspace Manager to make intelligent decisions about what to upload and download automatically.
It simplifies the synchronization process significantly, making it more efficient and less error-prone. The following report shows differences between local (computer) and server state of the project.
Watch the video for the quick demonstration of how OpenBOM Design Projects functions work.
In the following video you can see specific functions of SmartSync process
Here is a quick guide how you start using OpenBOM Design Project functions. It includes administration tasks and user tasks. Before start using OpenBOM Design Projects, you need to ensure you have OpenBOM account (register for free) and your OpenBOM subscription is Free Team or more. (Note 5-Sep-2023: OpenBOM will be rolling out Free Team subscription service later in September. Until that time, you can use Design Projects in Free Trial)
Administration functions:
As a Team admin, you need to check that [Projects] section is enabled. It will let everyone in your team to use Projects. You need to create a Project or more projects for your team. Each Project allows you to manage files that can be uploaded to a project from a folder (with subfolders).
User functions:
Before uploading files to a Project, you need to perform a check-out to set a Project to ‘checked-out’ state. Once it is done, the perform who performed a check-out can upload and update files. All other users have only download function available. Once you finished the upload, you can check-in and create a revision of the project for historical tracking. If you don’t check-in, you can upload files again and they will be overwritten.
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