WOODWORK FOR INVENTOR INTEGRATION WITH ERP

Transcription

1 WOODWORK FOR INVENTOR INTEGRATION WITH ERP

2 Possible interface schemes of Woodwork for Inventor with ERP systems Woodwork for Inventor was developed with the aim of handling information production flows of both small companies that have no ERP systems and large companies with ERP systems highly integrated into business processes. MS Excel was chosen as an information output platform. This was done for the following reasons. 1. The output information can be flexibly and quickly adjusted. 2. Well-developed MS Excel VBA tool (where necessary) allows experienced users to make subsequent complex adjustments to the information or output the information to different formats without the help of Woodwork for Inventor specialists. 3. Most systems/programs support MS Excel files for direct processing. This is particularly the case with programs generating cutting schemes. 4. Wide possibilities of formatting the information exported to worksheets increase the readability and understandability of such information. Reporting has been made as flexible as possible and is based on the idea that the user, following the specified rules and a set of keywords, modifies or creates a report template used by Woodwork for Inventor to export various reports to Excel worksheet. The user can create report templates without having the knowledge of a programmer; it is sufficient to have good MS Excel skills. Exported reports are divided into three types: 1. StructuredList. The report presents the structure/composition of the product, showing the parts and nodes comprising the product. 2. Plain BOM. The report presents the list of all parts of the product. 3. Material Summary. The report presents the list of materials necessary to manufacture the product and quantities of these materials. All these types of specifications have their own subtypes. For more details about creating report templates, see Woodwork for Inventor Manual. The user can generate all reports necessary to prepare information for the launch of manufacture without any ERP system. The main question is: who delivers the information and to which points? Is it Woodwork for Inventor or ERP? Several options are possible here.

3 Fig. 1 Woodwork for Inventor fully responsible for delivery of information to various business process points. Fig. 2 Woodwork for Inventor delivers part of the information. Fig. 3 ERP system fully responsible for the processing and sharing of information. ERP merely receives initial information about the product, and all the reports necessary for the manufacturing process are generated by it based on the initial information.

4 Which of the above options applies in which cases? The thing is that Woodwork for Inventor can aggregate all information about the designed product; however, it is unable to directly operate such concept as manufacturing order. Manufacturing order is a specific program for products that need to be manufactured created by the management. Therefore, if a constructor designed an object as a single assembly that has to be manufactured immediately, Woodwork for Inventor can generate the reports necessary to launch the manufacture. For example, a company manufactures custom-made kitchen furniture. The furniture is designed as a single product and its manufacture is launched using the reports generated by Woodwork for Inventor. However, if the manufacturing order comprises previously designed and newly designed products, the size of the ordering program differs, the order of manufacture has to be controlled, etc., it is better to use ERP system as a point of processing and sharing the information (third figure). In such event, Woodwork for Inventor is responsible for generating correct information about the product and delivering it to ERP system. ERP system offers better possibilities to organise completion and management of orders. ERP system can offer feedback about the progress of the manufacturing order during the manufacture, which significantly increases the accuracy of management. To be fair, it should be noted that Woodwork for Inventor can aggregate specifications of several products into a single specification. This is why in actuality, we often face situations, where Woodwork for Inventor report generator combines the specification of the manufacturing order and all reports necessary to launch the manufacture are generated using Woodwork for Inventor, while ERP system receives only the summary list of ordered materials used to write off materials and for warehouse control (second figure). In this case, it is difficult to discuss the actual management of the manufacturing process. Here, ERP system functions more like an accounting program, rather than planning and management system. As to the management, the system at best calculates the throughput of the entire company, processing, for example, area of the boards, taking into account the company s throughput. Why? Based on our experience, this ensures achieving the results in the shortest time. Woodwork for Inventor contains various sample report templates, which are easy to understand and modify according to one s needs.

5 Everything is ready-made, so requires little effort. On the other hand, to apply the third option, ERP system has to meet at least the following requirements: 1. support the product structure; 2. contain mechanisms importing the information from external sources. This could be well-developed API or other mechanism; 3. contain mechanisms generating manufacturing orders from products and mechanisms for the management of these orders; 4. offer possibilities to flexibly organise various report forms. When launching the system, the appropriate ERP adjustment/installation operations have to be completed: 1. data protocol of Woodwork for Inventor and ERP system has to be adjusted; 2. mechanism importing information to ERP system has to be enabled. Keep in mind that Woodwork for Inventor exports its information to MS Excel files; 3. all the necessary report forms have to be created in ERP system and, if necessary, the possibility to exchange data with third-party programs has to be provided. Here, we are talking about, for example, the transfer of data to optimal cutting programs and import of the cutting results back to ERP system. 4. routes by which reports used in the execution of manufacturing orders are delivered to the user have to be provided. So, the second option serves as a compromise in terms of the effort required and the result achieved. Below is the analysis of materials presenting all the information necessary to successfully complete the highest level of integration of Woodwork for Inventor and ERP system, i.e. where the product structure is imported into ERP system.

6 Information about the product generated by Woodwork for Inventor In the Autodesk Inventor environment, constructors create parts that are joined together to form assemblies. Let s refer to these elements as components. Interconnections of these components (let s refer to them as the product structure) can be viewed using Autodesk Inventor BOM command. Model structure is similarly interpreted by Woodwork for Inventor BOM generator. Differences are discussed below. So, when creating a model with Autodesk Inventor, you can choose from two component types: 1. Part 2. Assembly Assembly components can contain other Assembly or Part components. In Autodesk Inventor, Part components are not further subdivided and cannot contain other components. Autodesk Inventor also offers additional descriptions of these components. Components can be: 1. Normal. A product designed by the company is manufactured. 2. Inseparable. Assembly component whose components are interconnected inseparably. Usually, these are various structures that are welded together. 3. Purchased. Purchased components. These can be bolts, drawer slides, various other accessories purchased and mounted inside a piece of furniture. 4. Phantom. Phantom Assembly means that the entire composition of the component is given in the specification, but the Phantom Assembly itself will not be recorded. In other words, components of this Assembly are propagated to the higher level of product structure. If this is Part component, it will be ignored in the specification. 5. Reference. As a rule, this type is attributed to Part components. These components are treated as auxiliary (reference) ones. For example, in the kitchen furniture drawing, these represent the walls. There can be several components interconnected to form a reference assembly; building on the example with kitchen walls, windowsills, windows, etc. can be added here. These components are not recorded in the specification. Up to this point, Woodwork for Inventor BOM generator interprets these components like Autodesk Inventor BOM command. However, additional component information presented by Woodwork for Inventor causes the differences discussed below.

7 What we design with Autodesk Inventor and refer to as Part (component that is not further divided, i.e. Woodwork for Inventor part based on Part component) can actually be divided. In the figure below, you can see that this component can comprise additional components, top, bottom veneers, edge banding, etc. In other words, parts contain several workpieces: the main workpiece and cover workpieces. Fig. 4 Composition of a part of piece of furniture. In theory, each workpiece can be designed using Autodesk Inventor, but in practice, this takes unreasonably long and the construction process becomes too cluttered. For this reason, Woodwork for Inventor has a special Material Assignment command. When this command is activated, as constructor attributes materials and covers, he automatically inputs information about such workpieces, and Woodwork for Inventor BOM interpreter, breaking down the information about the part, automatically breaks down the part into the workpieces that comprise it. So in terms of Woodwork for Inventor BOM, part is not the end component that cannot be further divided; it rather comprises workpieces of various materials. These workpieces are divided as follows: 1. Fill Workpieces: main fill workpieces; 2. Cover Workpieces;

8 3. Composite Workpieces: workpieces comprised of parts that are glued together. This is a part designed in a specific manner in the Autodesk Inventor environment and its composition in Woodwork for Inventor is deciphered as a composite workpiece. The design procedure of such product is described in detail in Woodwork for Inventor Manual. 4. Multilayer Workpieces: workpieces comprised of Multilayer Board.. Multilayer means a board comprised of other boards that are glued together. Woodwork for Inventor offers the possibility to create this material and describe its composition in the material database. In the specification, such workpiece comprises other basic boards/workpieces glued together into a Multilayer Board. Parts always have one fill material workpiece and, depending on the structural needs, cover workpieces. Each workpiece is made from the chosen material. Materials are grouped into fill and cover materials. They are divided into types based on their calculation units and behaviour in CAD system. Fill materials are of the following types: 1. Solids. Material workpiece calculated using units of measurement of volume. This can be solid wood, piece of plastic, etc. 2. Board. Boards are calculated using units of measurement of area. These are various chipboards, plywood, wood panels, glass, etc. 3. Laminated Board. Laminated boards are calculated using units of measurement of area. These boards are delivered for the company s manufacturing process already covered with various cover materials. These are usually purchased products. All furniture manufacturers have heard about Pfleiderer, Kronospan, Egger boards. 4. Multilayer Board. These are boards made of other boards that are glued together. They are calculated using units of measurement of area. 5. Desktop. Laminated boards are calculated using units of measurement of length. As a rule, these are various desktops for kitchen furniture. 6. Rod. Rods, profiles are calculated using units of measurement of length. Cover workpieces are represented by these types of materials: 1. Veneer. Veneers are calculated using units of measurement of area. These can be HPL films, wood veneers, paper, etc. 2. Edge band. Edge bands are calculated using units of measurement of length.

9 3. Paint. Paints are calculated using units of measurement of area. When attributing the main material to the part and specifying cover materials for the surfaces, the user breaks the part down to the appropriate workpieces. When attributing the main material to the part and specifying cover materials for the surfaces, the user breaks the part down to the appropriate workpieces. Fig. 5 Structure view in Autodesk Inventor Fig. 6 Structure view in Woodwork for Inventor In the figures above, you can compare the view of specification interpreted by Autodesk Inventor BOM command (on the left) and the view of information interpreted by Woodwork for Inventor BOM generator (on the right). As you can see, Woodwork for Inventor BOM generator reads the structure of the assembly in the same manner, but comprises a series of workpieces that are made of the appropriate materials. Workpieces are represented as components included in the part.

10 Describing the product structure in the report From the description above, it is clear that Woodwork for Inventor BOM generator reads the structure of Autodesk Inventor model, adds the information necessary for wood products and exports this material to MS Excel file. How do you get the desired form? As it was mentioned, the form of report exported by Woodwork for Inventor can be defined by creating a report template, which is prepared as MS Excel file. Below you will find a description of transfer in cases where ERP system also supports data of the product structure. First, it is important to organize data in the exported form in a way that shows the relationship between one component and other components. We will use the relational database method. For this purpose, we will use the socalled Parent-Child relationship. Let s assume that all components in the assembly are consecutively numbered as shown in the figure below. The worksheet presenting data of the components needs two additional columns: Child (showing the number of the component mentioned above) and Parent (showing the number that includes the component from the given row). This makes it easy to create an application that interprets these worksheet data and recreates as well as transfers the product structure in the necessary data form. Fig. 7 Showing the relationship among the components in the worksheet

11 The figure below gives an example of Woodwork for Inventor template and the result achieved by generating a report using this template. In the template, you will find a column with the keyword {Item.Number}, where all component numbers are exported. These numbers are automatically assigned by Woodwork for Inventor BOM generator. Parent component numbers are exported to the column with the keyword {Item.Parent.Number}. Fig. 8 Template and part of the report generated using the template

12 Deciphering component data Different types of components are exported to the report. What happens if an external application is used to read these data? This means that the same data field has no value and is exported empty for one component type, but has a different value for other components. For example, Woodwork for Inventor does not calculate measurements for assembly components. This is why the {Item.Length} column will be empty for these components. Another example: all components have the quantity characteristic. This characteristic is called out using the keyword {Item.Quantity}. In case of parts or assemblies, this keyword returns the quantity in units; in case of workpieces, it returns the quantity in units, in which the material is measured. For example, in case of Workpiece component, the quantity column will give the quantity of the workpiece in units of measurement, in which the material is measured. In case of Rod material, the quantity column will show the workpiece length; in case of Board, it will show the workpiece area, etc. How to interpret each row? How to recognize the component type, when reading the specific row in the report? This is why the {Item.Type} keyword is used: it defines the component (item) type. It describes the item and indicates whether it is: Assembly. Part. Fill Workpiece. Cover Workpiece. Composite Workpiece. Multilayer Workpiece. But this keyword does not answer the question: what type of material was used to make the workpiece? This is why {Item.Material.Type} keyword is used. It specifies the material used for the workpiece, i.e. whether it is: Solid. Board. Laminated Board. Multilayer Board. Desktop. Rod. Veneer. Edge Band. Paint.

13 There is one more group of components: purchased products. It is marked with {Item.BomType} keyword. It specifies the type of the product: Normal normal part or assembly. Purchased purchased product. Below you will find an example of the template and part of specification generated in using the template, which shows the results obtained using all three of the above keywords. Fig. 9 Exporting item type into the report With this information available in the worksheet, you can clearly determine the item type. All other characteristics of the specification items, e.g. quantity, length, width, thickness, material name, colour name, etc. are generated depending on the exchange protocol set by the user by entering the desired keyword in the appropriate column of the specification template. Example of a specification used for exchange with ERP system can be found in sample template folder installed with Woodwork for Inventor.

14 Material codes in ERP systems and their integration with Woodwork for Inventor reports If ERP system is responsible for the main management and processing of information flows, the accounting of materials necessary for the construction and manufacturing process will most likely performed in ERP system. When generating reports in Woodwork for Inventor, it is important that material names and codes correspond to the appropriate names and codes in ERP system. This problem is eliminated using Woodwork for Inventor material replacement procedure. Fig. 10 Material replacement procedure Keep in mind that materials in Woodwork for Inventor can be described by material codes and names, but some materials are additionally described by colour codes and names. Material types described by material codes and names: 1. Solid. 2. Board. 3. Rod. 4. Multilayer Board. Layers of this board can be characterised by a colour.

15 Material types defined by material codes and names and colour codes and names: 1. Laminated Board. 2. Desktop. 3. Edge Band. 4. Veneer. 5. Paint. This is why, when we discuss replacement of material codes and names, we also mean the replacement of colour codes and names. To replace these codes with ERP codes, you have to make sure that ERP system exports its material database into MS Excel file with a simple worksheet containing at least two columns: code and material name. Woodwork for Inventor material replacement command makes it easy to configure columns and define which Woodwork for Inventor materials are represented. During the replacement procedure, the contents of the exported file are read and presented to the user as possible replacement options. At this point, it is clear that every time you make adjustments to material database in ERP system and export the data to MS worksheet, the constructor will work with the relevant ERP material database. During the material replacement operation, Woodwork for Inventor collects all materials used for the furniture model and presents them in a single worksheet. Now, a worksheet with material names and codes exported from ERP system can be called out for any material and, after selecting the desired row, they can be used to replace names and codes used by Woodwork for Inventor. This replacement will apply in all stages of generation of the information: when generating reports, drawings and CNC programs. This way ERP material codes and names are exported to final reports, which are imported back into ERP system. This ensures generation of data in Woodwork for Inventor reports synchronised with ERP system. You can create the most popular replacement combinations and store them as replacement configurations. Later, when designing any piece of furniture, if the same Woodwork for Inventor materials are used, the same replacement configuration can be used for them and all materials will be replaced with the materials included in the replacement configuration. In the material replacement command, you can configure changes to materials used in the structure of a piece of furniture and changes to all materials registered in Woodwork for Inventor database.

16 This is how you can separate the work of the designer from that of the constructor. Colour designer can create various colouring styles in advance, so the constructor will simply have to apply one replacement configuration or another. In addition to material and colour names and codes, you can transfer more information about the material. For example, this can be name of the supplier or manufacturer of the material, unit price and information about stock of the material in the warehouse. Fig. 11 Material replacement dialogue Code replacement does not affect the appearance of the model. However, if each row of the material description is provided with an image of the grain of the material, you will be able to change the appearance in the model too. To do this, simply specify address and name of the image in one of the columns of the file exported from ERP system and place the grain image file next to the aforesaid file. When configuring ERP data ties for replacement, specify the column containing the link to the grain image. Now, when making the replacement, you can replace both codes/names and the appearance of the appropriate materials in the model. This facilitates the process of designing and adjusting the product with the client.

17 Conclusions Woodwork for Inventor ensures flexible generation of reports in various formats. This allows carrying out various levels of integration with external systems. Reports are generated in MS Excel worksheets. So if you want to import data into ERP or other system, you will have to create the appropriate application, unless the system already has some kind of mechanism to read MS Excel files. Worksheet form and contents are defined by modifying Woodwork for Inventor specification template, which is given in the form of MS Excel worksheet containing keywords in the appropriate fields. The highest level of integration with ERP system is ensured by a report form giving full product structure. In this case, it is assumed that ERP system is used to prepare all the information necessary to manage the manufacturing process, while Woodwork for Inventor takes care of the presentation of correct information about the product. For data integration, it is very important to use material replacement procedure provided in Woodwork for Inventor. It ensures that data generated by Woodwork for Inventor correspond to material codes and names stored in ERP system. Product Owner Technical master Dr. Saulius Dereškevičius