​Engineers often view part numbers as a bureaucratic process forced on them by the sales department of the company but they can have far-reaching efficiency and legal complications. 

Part numbers: so simple, what could possibly go wrong? Just ask Ray DeGiorgio, the GM engineer who infamously approved a change to a higher torque switch without changing the part number.

Part numbers are the inevitable result of any manufacturing company.  Too often laced with their profusion of spaces, dashes, slashes and sub-codes, they are designed to trip up the unwary.  They serve a useful function of separating variations on parts and mean to ensure that the correct part out of many with a similar description is the one that is ordered.  Their primary purpose is to remove ambiguity. Does your system:

• Prevent part number confusion?
• Simplify file naming?
• Easily distinguish between similar parts with similar descriptions?
• Detect BOM errors.?
• Allow for part numbering, file naming and part description automation?

If you want your system to thrive under any amount of growth, you will want:

• little to no training needed to generate new part numbers,
• resistance to files being compromised by poor discipline,
• that the same part can be used in different projects without any friction,
• no missing CAD program file references,
• that anyone can easily search for and find a desired part,
• it to handle any logistical situation without choking, and
• cad files to be effortlessly absorbed into future PLM or ERP systems.

 
Sounds like a fantasy? Well, it is hardly necessary to describe the eye-watering costs to a company using a poor part numbering system, not to mention the huge effort to change to a good part numbering system after thousands of parts are already in the supply chain and in customer's hands. You’ve heard of the Apollo 13 mission where a single un-insulated wire resulted in exploding oxygen bottles, an aborted moon landing and the astronauts barely making it back with their lives. Just keep that story foremost in mind when you design your company’s part numbering system.

Take advantage of our experience working with many companies in all sorts of industries and ponder the following topics:
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Part numbers, once created, endure. If the company is successful then fifty years after the manufacture of the components and the publishing of the parts list a junior employee will get a phone call and will be expected to provide a replacement based on the information identified by the part number.

Intelligent Part Number Systems: Often companies like to have a system with an inbuilt code that can be used to determine the part number of an unknown part if the descriptive information and the format is known.  They were especially common in the pre-computer days but have no real place in the modern production systems.  These “intelligent” part number systems tend to cause pain that outweighs any of the perceived benefits but they seem to take on a life of their own and cannot be easily killed. Why do we here at Ubique insist that this is so bad and unnecessary?

• Difficult to change - Often the scheme does not allow the part number to change when the part undergoes a design change that affects just the inner detail of the part.  An improved part that does not fail early will be given the same part number as the obsolete part. 

• Part Reuse - a manufactured part on a different size or different product line can result in two different part numbers being valid for the same item and will create unnecessary confusion when floor staff constantly sends memos to engineering that the wrong part number for this size of equipment has been specified.
• Ordering of non-existent parts - it possible for an order for a non-existent part to be accepted by sales.  An electrical box larger than the maximum size available in the range was specified, quoted and later ordered on a just in time basis.  Two weeks after the order was placed the customer was notified that it was not possible to deliver since neither the design nor the tooling existed.

It is worth looking at optimizing or revisiting part numbers at the start of the manufacturing process.  As the number of self-similar parts grows, a company relying on descriptive names realizes that the names are becoming the long flowing titles of many a cheap Victorian novel – duplication ensues.  Assigning a controller would seem to be needed, but often in companies at this size the desire to hire a person for just this specific task is weak.  The result is the creation of an “intelligent” part number system.  A set of rules that anyone in the company can follow to generate a unique part number. These systems often have problems with change, especially when there is a change to a part after the initial design has shipped to customers.    Eventually, any “intelligent” part numbering system encounters a need its designers did not anticipate.  This is the primary reason we advocate the next sequential number system.  (Sometimes referred to as sequential random numbers.)  In this system, whenever a part number is required, a service supplies the next number.
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Sequential Part Number System: Here's what we suggest for a company to use on their cad/part numbering system that will provide minimum friction and maximum flexibility. Imagine the system that will stay exactly the same no matter how large or complicated your product range grows. The next sequential number system is easy to implement, simple to automate and ‘soldier-proof’

• Never run out of part numbers - Some companies have had the sequential numbers grow to seven or eight digits and no one has reported running out of integers yet. (Avoid the urge to back-fill skipped numbers; there is no requirement to use every number). Consequently, the system is scalable.
• An off by one-digit error results in an order for a box of 50, #10-32 screws being replaced by an order for 50, 1.35m slew bearings.  A problem, admittedly, but much more likely to be caught by purchasing or the shop floor at an early stage.



• Easy to implement - The next number can be served from a simple webpage, custom SOLIDWORKS® add-in, (see button below) easily incorporated into an inventory system or generated by a service such as SOLIDWORKS® PDM Professional
• File Names created early - Because they can be used early in the design process there is no need for temporary file names or place holders. No missing CAD links to fix. If the design changes then new numbers can always be issued to the new files.  There is a very low marginal cost to assigning a part number.
• Tie the part number to the principal drawing file name and not the part file or configuration.  When the part is revised and the part number changes it will be easier to do a save as with the drawing file and let PDM manage the model file revisions.
• Multiple uses - One of the benefits of next serial number generation is that the numbers can be used for more than ‘part’ numbers – they can be used for file names, document names, memos, notes, etc.
• Custom Properties - Why try to stuff (maximum) 12 pieces of unique information into the part number/filename when the metadata in each file can hold 50,000? With computers, you can search for, filter for and show any of this information. Embed them anywhere on a drawing sheet.

Power Failure: An argument for the “intelligent” systems is that in the advent of a power failure it is possible to determine what the part is without using a computer.  Power failures have become rare events and as a general rule our dependence on electricity so great that most businesses would close early if the power does not return quickly.  For these rare cases, the solution is to tie the part number to the main drawing number.

Conclusion: Take care to set up your file and part-numbering system properly at the beginning and the effort will repay itself many times over. If you are dissatisfied with your current system or having troubles preparing files for a PDM vault implementation then we have tools to help, just call 604-986-9696 and ask for Marc.

Dan Andrews
VP Delivery

Does your design department all work to a standard SOLIDWORKS® modeling method.....or is everyone going about it their own way with their own opinion of what is best? If so, you've likely run into these ongoing frustrations:
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• Part models are too busy and complicated to understand,
• Assembly models are fragile, especially towards the end of the project,
• Drawings take a long time to dimension

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I mean, some of these people will show incredible creativity with their choice of part modeling techniques.  You have to admire the talent it took to get a feature sketch to reference an unnamed sketch further down the tree, to have that controlling dimension reference a reference dimension in another sketch, that is referenced to a fourth sketch and in the fourth sketch the dimension is controlled by an equation.  The variables in that equation are pulling from Custom Properties and the Design Table. 
What exactly is the fallout to your design department when people can't easily make the simplest changes to many part models and choose that it's faster redoing them from scratch? Assemblies blow apart from seemingly innocent changes to parts? Drawings require time-consuming dimensioning ....but haven't you done this work once already in the model?
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If you can identify the above scenarios as directly causing your project milestones to fail, your needing to stay after working hours dissecting other people's puzzling cad files and being mortally afraid of what a newly hired designer or contractor will do to your models, then your department could be a candidate for a robust and standardized SOLIDWORKS® modeling method.

Can you imagine everyone is CAD modeling in such a predictable and professional manner that;

1. Part models have the design intent so well captured that anyone can quickly understand them and easily predict the effect of changes,
2. Assembly models have parts mated so that geometry changes leave them intact and error-free
3. Drawings are dimensioned instantly, even when you delete and re-insert views

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Are you intrigued? Well then read on, because the following is a description of how we at Ubique perform all of our modeling for customers, and shows the standard to which we train our on-site contractors before they work on other's projects.
 



Step 1 - Make a first sketch, choosing the orientation that captures the most important design intent and features. Notice the neatly-arranged dimensions.

Step 2 - make one or more additional sketches in descending priority, relating back to the previous sketch elements. Give them meaningful names (Front Layout) and colors

​​ Step 3 - Relate all of your features to the sketch elements - avoid typing values for depth etc.

Step 4 - Name and comment in your features, use the Design Binder and Hole Wizard exclusively. Take advantage of symmetry to reduce modeling.
 




​Step 5 - Mate the parts into the assembly using reference geometry, not faces. This is why you so carefully identified design intent in the layout sketches
 
 
 
 
Step 6 - Make drawing views using the Insert Model Items command. Your dimensions will be neatly inserted into all views, Shift-Drag any dimensions to a view you prefer, and Use the Auto Arrange tool to quickly tidy them all up. You won't need to insert a single dimension manually.

The downstream efficiencies of this method pay back your time many-fold. The outstanding benefits of following with discipline what we call the “Ubique Modeling Method” are that all your designers can repurpose models any of your people have made, well into the future. They're easy to understand, mate robustly into assemblies and produce drawings rapidly. 

Designers, if you recognize a need for these advantages in your department, I encourage you to show this video to your manager:

​We even have an in-depth training program to efficiently and thoroughly teach this method - check out the Cad Mentoring Program for SOLIDWORKS


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​​Dan Andrews
VP Delivery

Do you need Temporary Contractors, Employee placement or Contractors for hire? Ubique now offers Recruiting and Staffing Services with a difference! 

We test and train for technical skills, especially SOLIDWORKS™ productivity. We personally guide and mentor placement personnel so that you know they're ready for the job. 

Please click here  if you would like to learn more. 

Here’s the job I was working on a while ago – a massive yet incredibly precise granite beam held in place with M20 tie-rods in an anchor plate. The clearance holes in the beam were Ø30mm, so... lots of room, right?

I did the drawing using classical tolerancing, which should have been fine. A ±0.01" tolerance should be more than needed to clear in case the holes weren’t perfectly straight.

This is how the tie-rods looked in the manufactured plate – GAAAK - not straight and there’s no way this will fit in the granite beam.  (It was tapped by hand!!!!). The shop apologized and remade the plates with straighter tapped holes and it worked. They only had to remake the two plates. Of course the schedule took a hit

• There’s no way to say how straight the holes need to be. What should I have said...... "pretty darned straight?" Anyway, on a very shallow granite beam, this would have been just fine.
• It was only two plates – what if it was 1,000? The vendor could rightly have decided not to remake them, a huge financial loss.

So I redid the drawings using GD&T, as below. This is a 3-D system that ensures there only one way to measure and verify the part. In this case, it allowed me the following benefits:

 

• I could loosen up the unnecessary tolerance to 0.030" from 0.010", saving manufacturing cost
• I could tighten up the tolerance where needed, by specifying a PTZ (Projected Tolerance Zone ⓟ) on the axis of the tapped hole.
• This saves money and time, as the requirement is unambiguous and the part will be delivered correctly the first time. Well, lets just say if not....... it won't be my fault!

We find this blog post inside Solidworks Blog 
"Virtual simulation is now used as a 3D concurrent engineering tool by product engineers during each phase of the Product development cycle. To make the implementation of virtual simulation smoother and to get the full benefits of simulation while you are designing, you need to have in your hands both intuitive and powerful FEA software. The article also give us a sneak peak on the 2014 performance improvements: 

1. A new solver for large models

The 2014 release includes, for all users, a new robust solver called “Large problem Direct Sparse Solver.” This solver is tailored to models that contain millions of degrees of freedom so you can efficiently solve simulations for large models, parts or assemblies.


2. Large speed up in the Iterative Solver
SolidWorks Simulation 2014 boosts your calculations with a large speed-up of the iterative solver, which again is available to all users. The new version improves the multi-core support at a rate of around 10-15% and the convergence speed of contact simulations up to 40%!" 

You can read the whole article here

Changing jobs by your choice or not is possibly the most difficult situation we can experience during our adult lives. If we are terminated, the sum of all fears come together in an instant sitting in your managers office listening to their business decisions. The cold sweat, the ringing in your ears as you try to figure out when your medical benefits will end. You ask yourself, "why me? I was always" .....(insert best qualities here). The sum of all fears come together in an instant that hold your life together. You visualize your bills, your rent or mortgage payments, car payments, dollar symbols flash before your eyes. You think about your family, all the responsibilities they bring you, your vacation time as well as all of the other things you have earned that have defined your life. Now what?

Even when we choose to leave our jobs for a new one, the process for many is just as stressful. We fear the probationary period, we experience job changing remorse and second guess ourselves until all hours of the night. Typically we do not leave our current roles for new ones until we are so fed up with the nonsense of that job or the boss it can be a very bitter ending indeed. I hope to guide you through the career changing process with this blog and show you that there is a better way to feel and operate in these life changing situations. It can be done in a more positive and successful transition that will leave you feeling much better about this whole process.

Some people are constantly passively searching for their next role. They might be career gypsies that enjoy movement and constant change. In a way, I admire their courage but I am stuck on the other side of the coin worrying about what perceptions my resume might leave with a future potential employer. Others are simply not happy so they feel constant change of work environment may lead them to that perfect setting where they will retire. From my experience as a recruiter and career developer, they are likely in the wrong careers in the first place! Still others move from one role to the next to develop their work experience in their chosen field and this is a necessary part of that growth.

Could any of the above describe how you feel at this moment? Desire for a change in location or duties? Are you feeling stuck in your career? Are you second guessing the career you have chosen? Everyone feels this way on a fairly regular basis in their world of work. A suggestion I offer to you is to take the time to find a source for some great personality assessments or apptitude assessments. These are valuable tools because they can offer suggestions or confirm what you may already know. These assessments can tell you about your work style, the types of challenges you function best or worst in and depending upon the assessment, the type of management style that works best for you.

How can I find one of these assessments? There are many free online resources available as well as community job finding clubs in your local area. There are employment counsellors or facilitators trained in the delivery of these for a minimal cost or no cost at all. If you are serious about change but unsure what that looks like or you are suddenly in the middle of change through no planning of your own, this can be a very valuable use of your time. Start taking some control of your career now, make sure you are on the path you are meant to be on!

It is important to feel good about what you do and where you do it. North American workers spend more time in their work environments than they do at home with their families. Think about that for a moment. If you spend eight hours per day, five days per week at work that equals 40 hours. At home during your waking moments you average 20 hours on the weekend and about 20 waking hours during the week with your loved ones. Your most productive and conscious time is spent with your coworkers earning a living. If you are a manager or senior manager, this figure probably looks worse. This is just a rough estimate here but it is no wonder we have a health crisis on our hands. This is why it is so important to make sure that what you do makes you happy and when you come home, your day is something you can feel good about.
Michele Matheson, Vice-President Recruiting