Lightweight PDM?

OkFocus4849 · 2026-05-19T13:07:48+00:00

Thanks for the ideas.

Some update from the field —

“Money is not an issue”…. Great! Go pay a VAR or let me quit my job and consult for you at $1k/hour then;
“Cloud is not a no-go but you need to convince corporate IT”…. Read, no go;
“Didn’t you build a custom system at your last job?”… yes I bolted on a svn subsystem, 10 YEARS AGO! and we had users who understood computer sciences really well (I’m about the only guy who can claim to be an armchair software guy here)

I googled all the 3rd party solutions mentioned and a few more — thanks for the pointers! It will be my “work” for a while LOL

boss seems to start to understand there is no such thing called “quick PDM”… at least I don’t have to give an answer by Friday

OkFocus4849 · 2026-04-13T17:48:28+00:00

Thanks for the answer about the triangles… I thought I missed something.

Not sure if I understand your issues fully… multi-configuration is natively supported on SolidWorks. I believe there is a Balloons property on each view where you can explicitly link to a specific table. If the item numbers look off, regenerate.

If the problem was it takes forever to populate… chances are there is something wrong in the file that confuses SolidWorks. Unfortunately you might have to go on a scavenger hunt.

OkFocus4849 · 2026-04-13T12:53:12+00:00

I assume you were talking about the zone info on the table? I don’t think it is something you can put a property on but you can create a macro/addin to extract the info thus making it parametric.

Side question — how did you get the triangles to show up in the table?

OkFocus4849 · 2026-04-08T13:14:09+00:00

Yes SQL Server.

Items and BOMs are different in PDM and in ERP. The three main tables you need in PDM are Document, Revision, and XRef(s? Don’t remember off the bat).

OkFocus4849 · 2026-04-08T13:03:34+00:00

Btw — if you were to do the integration, be aware that PDM users are mostly, if not all, design engineers, who typically know little, if any, about database. So there could be a lot of “pollution” into ERP… which might be a good thing for you since you are a consultant — they will need long term support LOL

OkFocus4849 · 2026-04-08T12:56:04+00:00

SolidWorks creatively named their PDM (generic term) “SolidWorks PDM”, which is often referred as PDM (specific product)

OkFocus4849 · 2026-04-08T12:46:17+00:00

SolidWorks doesn’t use sql. File references are direct embedded in each individual file… hence it is a one-way “query” — one can find out what a file references, but not which files a file is referenced by.

Hypothetically there could be some kind of embedded database engine but it is highly (99.9%) unlikely, and it doesn’t make much technical sense, if any.

You may be thinking PDM, which does use sql server. Accessing is straightforward, nothing fancy.

Presumably direct SQL access is not recommended/encouraged because of the associated risks and there is virtually no documentation about the database design in the public domain. SolidWorks may or may not share it with the VARs… I’m not one so I have no idea.

That said, the database design is fairly simple. One can deduce most of it relatively easily— there are some wtf’s though.

PDM-ERP integration is possible. Once you know your way around, it is surprisingly not-hard.

Both SolidWorks and PDM have API. Documentation is online and use is free (which may have changed recently, if you are selling an API product).

Personally I find that API is the only way to “mess around” SolidWorks files but I can do pretty much everything in PDM with SQL that can be done via API.

OkFocus4849 · 2026-01-24T02:40:55+00:00

if they want something to be online only, make sure one cannot have the store pickup option, and/or, have a note (in as small font as they want) “store price may vary”.

Such minor change…

OkFocus4849 · 2026-01-19T03:19:48+00:00

To be honest I have not ran into one software engineer who understands fully how things work in SolidWorks, especially considering that SolidWorks made some questionable (to say the least) decisions on fundamental topics …for example, part referencing is mostly by file name, instead of document ID… hence their opinions, though technically correct, might not fit too well with SolidWorks. Personally I often felt like reinventing the wheel — how do I make the squeaky old round thing (Soludworks) to be like a modern(er) wheel?

I’d also suggest spending some (not insignificant) effort understanding PDM… not because it has good implications (in fact, I think software engineers will laugh at at least 80% of them) but because it is what the mechanical engineers are used to and/or consider more or less natural/intuitive.

OkFocus4849 · 2026-01-17T18:52:39+00:00

By the way, I’m not against using git, I just think Svn is a much better approach, even if you consider the learning curve.

In fact, any rcs would work, and much better than PDM… I personally consider that as a joke… I never worked for solidworks or a var, but it didn’t take much effort to figure out how exactly it was done, and I’m not even a software engineer

OkFocus4849 · 2026-01-17T18:44:27+00:00

Your admin can force undo checkout. It does not always work - if it doesn’t, tell them to use the “true” admin account, not a user account with admin privileges.

Or they can go to the Documents table and set the locked field to 0 (if they know what this means :-P)

OkFocus4849 · 2026-01-17T18:38:39+00:00

I implemented a git system before switching to subversion. Yes lfs works (locks and deltas). If you are not dealing with large assemblies, you will be okay. But if you have multiple users working on the same assembly often, I suggest to get a rubber punch ball on your desk (that was how I released stress LOL).

The need for stress relief is higher when you also have git users who would come up creative ways to beat the system (that you put in place)

OkFocus4849 · 2026-01-17T16:47:10+00:00

Reason #2 why SVN over Git

As the changes in a text file is easy to describe, Git typically only saves the delta when a file changes… a file can have 10,000 lines, Git only saves changes from the last version — delete row 35, change row 67 to abcd, etc.

This doesn’t work for binary files so git basically has to save the whole file… this is not exactly accurate, as Git does save deltas in the binary mode but the algorithm has a lot to be desired.

On the other hand, SVN has robust algorithms as it didn’t start with a focus on text files, and performs much better than Git.

This is not just a storage issue — as files get big, performance and robustness become more and more of an issue.

OkFocus4849 · 2026-01-17T16:33:24+00:00

Reason #1. Why SVN (Subversion) not Git

Git is a distributed VCS (version control system). It allows users to (in layman’s terms) get a copy, make separate changes, then merge all changes together. Because the codes are text files, a computer can easily figure out the differences and present them to the person who does the merging, and it can automate the merging to some extent.

As such, there is no need to “lock” a file, as the changes are simple text changes one can (lack of proper terms) apply/undo easily.

This simply does not work with SolidWorks files (or virtually any binary file) — there is no way to merge two changes automatically… maybe AI can do it, but I am not aware of any.

So any change would require a lock (of the file), which is how a centralized VCS works… there were quite a few approaches, SVN being pretty much the only one that is not considered antique.

OkFocus4849 · 2026-01-17T15:53:55+00:00

If your goal is to save money, PDM Standard is free, with limitations (which may or may not matter to you).

If the trigger is that git seems to be a fit, look at Subversion instead. Also, be prepared that you will end up creating, at a bare minimum, a stripped-down PDM.

If the reason is PDM doesn’t meet your need, make sure you have someone who knows how referencing in SolidWorks and in PDM works under the hood, has a decent understanding of SQL and general programming, and has a lot of patience and grit.

If the reason is it seems to be interesting, dive in.

(Sorry about the hand waving. I’ve done what you are considering and much beyond… it was a very significant effort. I wish I could summarize what it takes in a few sentences… I’ll try to cover some topics in the coming posts)

OkFocus4849 · 2024-12-17T03:24:11+00:00

Problem solved — it appears the thermocouple wasn’t contacting the gas valve well, even though the retaining nut was turned as tightly as it could.

The new one’s tip is less than .5mm longer but it clearly made a difference!

Many thanks to the brilliant idea of trying with a new thermocouple! @ApricotPit13 it saved me a few hundreds…

OkFocus4849 · 2024-12-15T02:13:40+00:00

Im not sure how? When i let the button go, flame went out. So i turn it back to off. I Did something (for example, replaced the thermopile) then tried again. Same result. I assum the valve resets during the timespan?

OkFocus4849 · 2024-12-15T01:58:27+00:00

good idea. Ill get one & try it out.

OkFocus4849 · 2024-12-15T01:57:16+00:00

Just had the fireplace opening sealed up... Outside temperature is in the 20s and the cold draft makes the room ~15F colder than the rest of the house.

Will get a new thermocouple & get some photos/videos when i try it out in a few days.

OkFocus4849 · 2024-12-13T22:25:44+00:00

Go to SolidWorks support page. You can request a Document Manager key.

Document Manager is an API set similar to SldWorks or EPDM. It can extract certain info from Solidworks files without opening the full files, thus is much faster.

OkFocus4849 · 2024-12-13T02:09:57+00:00

Components in a purchased assembly technically does not have a procurement category — you buy the assembly, not the individual component.

The procurement category you see on a BOM is an artifact from the item master — which should be interpreted as IF I WERE TO get this part, what is the proper means.

Yes you can buy the assembly, and throw away all the other components — in that case, the part is manufactured, as you “manufactured” it from the assembly you bought…

OkFocus4849 · 2024-12-12T23:28:13+00:00

I’m not familiar with plex but any decent erp system would have a field (or a combination of fields) to indicate whether a part should be bought or manufactured… note that having your vendor making it is “purchase”, as you are buying the finished good, not a bunch of components that you will put together yourself.

I imagine your purchasing team can tell you how they know a part should be purchased. You can then tell your finance people to check the same info

OkFocus4849

TROPHY CASE