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Choosing an Automation Program Type Depending on the Task. Madison Mine r Software Engineer EDA, Inc. Presenter background EDA has been an automation consultant for over 21 years. Madison has been a software engineer @ EDA for 9 years.
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Choosing an Automation Program Type Depending on the Task Madison Miner Software Engineer EDA, Inc.
Presenter background • EDA has been an automation consultant for over 21 years. • Madison has been a software engineer @ EDA for 9 years. • EDA has experience automating Solid Edge, SolidWorks, AutoCAD, Google SketchUp, MS Office and more. • EDA has automated quoting, drafting, design, engineeringand manufacturing.
Questions to be answered during this presentation: • What is possible with automation? • What are the different types of automation programs? • What are the advantages and disadvantages of each? • When should you use each type of automation program? • What problems has EDA solved using each type of program?
What is possible with automation? “Automation is to Engineering as Robotics is to Manufacturing." • Automate Repetitive Tasks • Setting file properties. Setting material weights, colors.Creating design tables. Updating part numbers. • Automate Revision Manager to batch move and/or rename files. • Automate Design • One simple part, a whole assembly, or an entire machine. • Automate Report and Drawing Generation • Word, Excel, PDF, DWG • Quotes, Proposals, Technical Data Sheets • Automate Order Entry and Quoting • For in-house sales people or customers
What are the different types of automation programs? • Console • Text-only interface. Runs outside SE on user’s computer. • Windows Form • Graphical UI. Runs outside SE on user’s computer. • Plug-In / Macro • Runs inside Solid Edgeon the user’s computer. • Web Form • Runs outside Solid Edgeon a web server.
Console Program • Advantages: • Simple to develop. • Easy to call from other programs. • Easy to pass parameters from other programs. • Disadvantages: • Not very user friendly. • Difficult for users to enter multiple parameters. • Cannot easily prompt for user input (no drop-down list, file select dialogs, etc.). • Can be challenging to keep program open after running. • Hard to update if used on multiple computers.
Windows Form Program • Advantages: • Easy to prompt users for input. • Can easily access files on local computer or network. • Disadvantages: • Hard to update if used on multiple computers. • Can be time consuming to create. • Can be difficult to call from Solid Edge. • Can be difficult to have the user interactwith Solid Edge while the program is running.
Plug-In / Macro • Advantages: • Called from inside Solid Edge. • Looks like an integrated component of Solid Edge. • Can be called at different stages during model development. • Can prompt the user to interact with the model, e.g., to select features. • Can be easy to develop (macro). • Disadvantages: • Can be difficult to develop (plug-in). • Hard to update if used on multiple computers. • Cannot restart Solid Edge when required.
Web Form • Advantages: • Easy to maintain. • Easy to deploy. • Easy to use. • If the program only generates .SAT or .DWG files,users do not have to have Solid Edge installed. • Easy to develop a high quality interface. • Can be used by mobile devices, Macs, Linux, etc. • Disadvantages: • Can be difficult to develop back end. • Internet connection required for use. • Can be troublesome supporting multiple browsers.
When to use a Console program • Programs that are called from other software. • Batch programs that operate on multiple existing files. • Programs that are called often and require little user input. • EDA has used a console program for: • PSM Updater: a program that takes a single argument (file name) and then opens that file, modifies the Bend Relief value and “Simplify B Splines” option, then saves and closes the file.
When to use a Windows Form program • Batch programs that operate on multiple existing files. • Programs that are not frequently updated. • Program that require multiple inputs from the user. • Programs that are accessed by a small number of users. • EDA has used a Windows Form Program for: • Revision Maker:Allows the user to select an assembly and a destination folder, search and replace file names in all linked parts, change exposed assembly variables then copies all linked files & creates a new revision.
When to use a Plug-In or Macro • Programs for which the user must interact with Solid Edge. • Example EDA Program: • Tank Evaluator: Fuel volume evaluation depending on tank tilt, user has to interact with model at several stages, to decide tank size, create tank shell, & perform a volume evaluation. Results of evaluation are written to Excel spreadsheet and saved.
When to use a Web-Based program • Programs with a large number of users (employees, engineers and/or customers). • Programs that are frequently updated. • Programs for inexperienced users or users that do not have Solid Edge installed. • Programs that need to support mobile devices, Macs, Linux, etc. • Example EDA Program: • AmeriTex Enclosures Configurator: Allows customers to design, build and order custom enclosures. Customers can download 3D models and 2D PDFs.
Choosing an Automation Program Type Depending on the Task Thank You! Questions? madison@edainc.netwww.edainc.net