How do you manage delivered products in Onshape?

e_g_e

Hi!

Our company is transitioning from purely R&D work to a phase with more delivery focus and aftermarket services.
As a consequence, we will have to manage several products operating simultaneously at the customer.
It is probably most common that info about a delivered product consists of a BOM and a set of drawings, but we would like try having a "digital twin" of each one in Onshape.

Currently we are branching out from the R&D workspace to capture the version of the ordered product, but with an increasing number of deliveries, this quickly clutters the history tree.

Are there any best practices out there on how to keep track of all the delivered products in CAD and at the same time continue R&D?

S1mon

Revisions + publications.

Nath_McC

As S1mon said, Revisions and publications. 

I use versions on the model changes. However, I use the revision of the drawing as the control point for products. This is when you follow the release process.

For example, I may have part one, which has a drawing at revision C, but the tree is at version 31. I then make multiple updates that change the model and drawing to version 41. However, I will then update the drawing and release that to Revision D.

tim_hess

It sounds like you might be discussing something like a large machine that is developed and then shipped to a customer. Over time, that product might be upgraded. In parallel, you might make design changes that apply to the next products that will be produced. So, you want to track the design evolution of existing products as well as future products.

If that's correct, I would consider making a copy of the product's top-level assembly and putting it in a new document at the time it's delivered to the customer. This copy, in a separate document, would be the "digital twin". That way you can capture how it was delivered and have a clean history tree for any chances made after delivery. 

shawn_crocker

Feels like a separate system that integrates seamlessly with onshape would maybe make it easier for the non-cad team members to visualize what is going on.

e_g_e

tim_hess said:

It sounds like you might be discussing something like a large machine that is developed and then shipped to a customer. Over time, that product might be upgraded. In parallel, you might make design changes that apply to the next products that will be produced. So, you want to track the design evolution of existing products as well as future products.

If that's correct, I would consider making a copy of the product's top-level assembly and putting it in a new document at the time it's delivered to the customer. This copy, in a separate document, would be the "digital twin". That way you can capture how it was delivered and have a clean history tree for any chances made after delivery. 

Yes, you are right, tim_hess. We are building robots, basically. I guess I should have specified that, since I guess it is a different story having a vast assembly as a product compared to a single part.

Doesn't sound like bad idea to copy the top level assembly into a separate delivery document
Our top level assembly consists of several sub-assemblies, all having their own document. Any idea on how I should manage upgrading a single part iside one of these sub-assemblies in the delivered product? I would have to modify the sub-assy document then?

e_g_e

S1mon said:

Revisions + publications.

S1mon and Nath_McC, I'll check out publications, thanks! Haven't tried it out yet.

e_g_e

shawn_crocker said:

Feels like a separate system that integrates seamlessly with onshape would maybe make it easier for the non-cad team members to visualize what is going on.

Yes, that too is necessary. We are going to try out OpenBOM, using it as a link between Onshape and another PLM software.