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Names, Part Numbers & AI
digitalcarbon
Member Posts: 96 PRO
If you really wanted to put AI to good use then it's first task is you would be able to talk to it about how to name everything, add descriptions and work up a part numbering system..
the ability to take a completed project, say 5 years (a design could be sold to another company), and say "let's review the numbering system and come up with a better system, and then fix it" would be revolutionary.
If the "5 years" sound like too much then you could have the AI looking back every few months at the start of the project, making suggestions. This would allow everyone to get on with the work without spending a few days wringing ones hands trying to delvelope the ultimate system.
Comments
Partly this is why with all the databases I've set up I stuck to the dumbest numbering scheme which I maintain is the smartest numbering scheme. Spooling numbers that just go up. Too many times I've had people come up with "clever" ideas for one reason or another that were incompatible with some other numbering priority. It's all just a lookup number in the end.
Derek Van Allen | Engineering Consultant | Meddler@Derek_Van_Allen_BD , ok i get that…but the part numbers on this large project tie into the operation manual, the stream schematics and the actual parts and assemblies. So for a steam line, I need to call it Main-Steam-001 vs 1258625854.
Then later, after we get into the flow of things, this turns into MS-AA-VALVE-001 to show that the part is Main Steam-Portside turbine Portside of the turbine-Valve-001.
Hence the request.
I seem to remember this being requested before and the suggestion was to do the numbering in a tool designed to do so. ERP or similar. I've dealt with numbering systems before as well but they all seem to fall victim to the same things… out dated by new or different product offering that wasn't thought of in the original number scheme and more importantly…. nobody but the creator and a small inner circle knows wth they mean. Most all numbering systems just get to detailed trying to describe every detail of the parts in a number where simply having a categorical numbering with a sequential number probably gets the job done just fine. Just my $0.02
The people creating the number scheme and the people wanting a number scheme should really take a step back and ask do we "REALLY" need to put this into that much detail or are we overthinking things a bit? Most time the answer is no and its just a personal preference for a particular person or group to keep things straight but that benefit doesn't really translate outside of that small circle.
Adding my voice to the mix as well…
Please do everything you can to stay away from using "smart" numbering systems! I've never seen these actually work properly as there are always going things that don't "fit" or parts later re-used somewhere different area down the road, etc…
It might have made sense in paper based systems where drawings are stored in filing cabinets but in practice it causes endless complications and headaches. Much better to keep the part number a simple incrementing number and add all the other information to meta-data.
In your specific case, can this
numberingnaming be stored in a different field to match up the operation manual? You are talking about "changing your mind" but if the scheme is used in the PN you can't change it later without screwing up the PDM aspect, but you can edit other fields without resetting your revisions.Regardless of what you decide, I would recommend setting the part numbers parametrically using something like the "set properties" FS, if you can use variables from a variable studio to set as much of the name as possible you could save yourself a lot of time.
https://cad.onshape.com/documents/861d68af1cee67efb9e4843d/v/b001b168bae37a8293028ae6/e/30f1b225bf4ab0be37fc09b2
As someone who has done many CAD-ERP integrations, just avoid any kind of intelligent part numbering. Even a 'smart' prefix can cause problems.
Pick a sequential source of truth (either Onshape part numbering, or your ERP/PLM).
A standard tool that I include with ERP integrations is a "part numbering" tool. It lets you pull new part numbers into Onshape from your ERP/PLM without needing to leave Onshape. Creates the part in the other system with the Onshape part name, and syncs all the metadata. Reduces a lot of the annoyance and effort in maintaining part numbers.
Custom FeatureScript and Onshape Integrated Applications
So all of you point to a common failure of smart numbering and that is, one does not know what curveballs are coming in the future, ok granted.
Part numbers aside, I assume you all have to give everything names? Then you have drawings with drawing numbers which are kind of like part numbers…so there are a lot of "names" to manage as the project grows.
So, wouldn't this just make the case stronger for using an AI to sort out all the curveballs?
Take the above image and the name/PN "RHSS-AB-LINE-009".
When I started a few days ago I wrote it as "RH.AB.Line.009".
Question, How does one update the names to use "-", make all text caps & other fixes? Another case for AI assist.
The CAD guy needs to have the freedom to just plow ahead with whatever works for this weeks deadlines, but have the confidence that in 6 months he can go back with AI assistant and reorg the project. This would be a powerful use of AI.
Would need an AI that one can have a conversation with.
Dr Leah Brahms.
I guess the discussion got hijacked by the "don't use smart PNs part of it"!
AI to clean up descriptions etc does seem like it could be useful to have.
That said, I do think a "parametric" approach method using variables can be quite powerful and worth investing in early on in a project.