In UPS, I currently lack the ability to create a generic product structure in CATIA, similar to the Legacy Logical Structure in variant management. Hence, I came up with the idea of integrating this approach directly into CATIA.
Idea:
A 3DPart or Physical Product could be declared as either a generic or a configured object.
Potential Extensions and Benefits:
- Linking with Variants:
- These objects could be linked to Variants and Variant Values, as is already possible today.
- Additionally, it would be beneficial to link generic requirements to these objects. This means requirements that apply to all variants of a generic object. Alternatively, requirements could be assigned directly to specific variants to provide a focused overview. Based on my findings, this should already be feasible today.
- Extension of Product Configuration:
- A generic setup could bring additional benefits, particularly if the Product Configuration is extended, similar to the PreviewBOM in the legacy data model.
- New functionality: With this extension, the generic product structure in CATIA could be reviewed to identify which parts already exist and which are still missing. This would be especially useful for product management.
- Based on this analysis, an overview list, similar to the PreviewBOM, could be generated. Additional features could enable the direct creation of new 3DParts and automatically integrate them into the overall structure (EBOM), including links to Variants and Variant Values.
- Simplified Traceability View:
- Such an extension should include a user-friendly traceability view that allows for visualizing, analyzing, and examining generic structures, including variants, across various scenarios.
- A graphical user interface could facilitate flexible modifications of structures and variants without affecting the main structure. These scenarios should be storable as separate entities.
- Comparable to the System Traceability Analyzer, but simpler and tailored specifically to the tasks of a generic product architect. The goal would be to develop an optimal modularization by exploring different scenarios.
