PLM Migration : Part 2

This is continuation of my previous blog on PLM Migration Part 1. In this blog I am going to discuss about other PLM migration consideration . On my previous blog we discuss about

·         What to Migrate

·         How to Migrate

·         Before you start

In this blog we will discuss in brief about remaining factors

·         Design Approach

·         CAD Migration

·         CAD vs Meta Data Migration

Design Approach:

Design of Migration required having better architect and validation mechanism. Also log and Report creation mechanism should be in place. Most of complex migration is done through ETL process mainly through staging data base where transformation, normalization and cleaning is done. Following point should be considered while doing Design through ETL process.

1)      Clean interface data load and Staging Table design should be defined. It is recommended to have separate table for input data and for transformation. This will help in better traceability and data validation.

2)      All exception related should be log in Error table and appropriate report should generated for further action on those exceptions. This will help in saving lot of time at upload stage since most of issue can be caught in transformation stage.

3)      Sequence of interdependent upload should be well defined and documented. Since in PLM is a complex web of interlink data the hierarchy of data dependency as well sequence data load is important to defined.

4)      If there is multi system migration then proper validation procedure should be written for integrity of data and its accuracy from different system

Typically following High Level flow involved in ETL migration.

1)      Extraction from legacy system.

a.       Meta Data Extraction

b.      Non CAD Files

c.       CAD extraction

2)      Load Meta data to staging

3)      Input data Validation

4)      Transformation

5)      Post Transfer Validation

6)      Staging Extraction for upload

7)      Data Upload.

a.       CAD Upload

b.      Metadata and Volume files Upload

It is important to do Design for sync of Metadata, File and CAD files upload. All three are interdependent on each other. For example CAD load will may required property like type, part number etc from staging for CAD upload.

CAD Migration:

CAD Migration is one of the difficult aspects of PLM migration. Usually CAD migration is usually done through third party tool which has CAD integration capability with the given system.  For example Siemens PLM provide UG NX tool like ug_export/ug_import and ug_clone for export/import CAD part from Teamcenter. These tools provide lot of configuration option for doing custom export/import to the PLM system. These types of tools are usually used for migrating CAD part by providing proper configuration file.

The most consideration for CAD migration is to understand modeling philosophy of organization like master model concept and inter part relation. For in NX you can create CAD model which are dependent on other part through expression or geometry. The above understanding is very important to define the process and sequence of CAD data. Following should be considered before deciding on CAD migration.

1)      Modeling concept used in Organization.

2)      Interdependent part relation in CAD model like expression, wave link, pattern, template etc in NX.

3)      Categorization of part in different bucket to decide on sequence of migration like library part, assembly or sub assembly etc.

4)      Understand if non master file like CNC or drafting file etc. Understand there dependency on other parts.

 Based on above analysis defined the CAD migration strategy.

CAD vs Meta Data Migration:

It is also important to understand dependency between Meta data and CAD in PLM system. In most of PLM system CAD integration with PLM system also depends on objects relation in the System. For example wave link in NX also create a Teamcenter relation.  Also CAD migration will also required migrating CAD files based on new part number and types. This information is a part of metadata but required for correct migration of CAD in new system. Hence this information will available from staging DB.

This closes my discussion on Migration. I try covering important aspect of migration Analysis to Design phase. There are other important aspects of Migration like testing which itself is a topic on its own. I will try to cover it seperate blog.

See also :

PLM Migration : Part 1