PDM vs just a network folder....hmmmm.
this post was submitted on 30 Oct 2024
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Just because a file is checked out by another user doesn’t mean you can’t open it for things like insertion into assemblies or to do a SaveAs if you want to explore design changes without affecting the original. The only reason you should be checking out a file is because you intend to change it. Otherwise, it’s read-only to prevent accidental modification. If you need to modify something that someone may have accidentally checked out, just communicate with them and have them check it back in.
Teamcenter makes it much easier. Basically if you have ownership of a part, you are the only one who can actually check out and check in changes. There are still concurrent issues but at least it's not a daily occurrence that you gotta have this setting on the server. Sometimes I just want to grab the screen and chuck it out the window like in the YouTube videos.
We operated with just a network share before PDM. It made remote work almost impossible because of how long it took to load and save files to the server. Every time. PDM having a locally cached copy requires so much less network traffic. The only network traffic happening when you check new versions in, instead of as you save all day while working.
Also, the ability to search file properties has made finding existing parts and avoidance of duplicate parts so much easier. With just a network share, the only way to find things was a visual search. Our filenames are part numbers and if you didn’t know where to look, finding parts took forever. Also, nobody has to maintain a spreadsheet cross referencing part numbers to descriptions. Just a recipe for errors to have data in two separate places that aren’t linked.