SiliconExpert Connect - User Documentation
Details
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Wex ID | com.wincomplm.wex-siliconexpert |
| Name | SiliconExpert Connect |
| Version | 1.7 |
Overview
This extension provides a connection to a SiliconExpert service and renders live data in the Windchill interface.
This allows engineers to monitor a part or a BoM to check for compliance, obsolescence, end of life etc. and makes changes and reassess those changes in real-time.
For any questions concerning SiliconExpert regarding this integration please contact SiliconExpert directly.
Features
- Access to the SiliconExpert user interface from within Windchill
- Simple to configure
- Compatible with supplier management (SUMA) and attribute-based data
- Links from the interface to Windchill objects
- Login is preserved within the Windchill session
User Guide
SiliconExpert BoM Check UI
Adding a new SiliconExpert tab to Windchill
Add the SiliconExpert UI to Windchill by adding a new tab to the part page:
- Navigate to a part in the system
- Add a new menu to the page
- From the left hand menu, add the required feature
- Rename the tab as required
Logging in and sessions
When a user accesses any SiliconExpert page for the first time in a Windchill session, the user will be asked to authenticate To SiliconExpert. A login screen is presented to the user. For any future accesses during the same Windchill session, the user will not be prompted for reentry.
If the user closes the Windchill session, the SiliconExpert will also be closed.
As more features become available from SiliconExpert, the same login and authentication will be used.
BoM check
The seed object of the BoM check is a part. The system navigates the immediate children of the part and sends these to the SiliconExpert API. This allows it to create a UI widget that gives access to multiple levels of information about each part in the BoM.
After verifying the user authentication, the SiliconExpert service processes all the data sent (this may take a few seconds) and presents a screen showing how many parts where identified.
*Note: If one or more parts are not identified, it may require the Windchill data to be updated to ensure consistency. This may be a data error in either the MPN or the Manufacturer name.
It will also show the number of requests this user has made and how many more are available.
Note: SiliconExpert will not re-count multiple requests on the same part multiple times so there is no additional cost of re-accessing the data dynamically.
Data used for the analysis
The administrator will have setup your system, using either the attribute mode or the supplier management mode (SUMA). This means that the Manufacturer, Manufacturer Part Number, and the Windchill Part Number will be sent to the SiliconExpert service. This data is used to perform a complete health check and display the results in the new Windchill tab.
Attribute mode
The attribute mode uses Instanced-Based Attributes (IBAs) that are configured within Windchill. These maybe from standard soft type or a classification.
SUMA mode
In this case (depending on the configuration) the AML links will have a sourcing status. Only parts that are not excluded are sent. By default, Do Not Use parts are not sent. So, in the case below only the Approved part will be sent:
Reports and interrogation of the service
The UI provides reports for download and more detailed information on each part:
Report in PDF
Data in Excel format
Additional information available in the UI
Windchill back links
To improve the usability of the extensions, the UI provided by SiliconExpert contains links to Windchill. This ensures a direct access to the source Windchill part of interest. These links direct back to the latest iteration of the revision of this part.
Glossary
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| SUMA | Supplier Management module of Windchill. This is used to manage the links between CPNs and MPNs |
| MPN | Manufacturer Part Number |
| CPN | Customer Part Number - aka the Windchill Part Number |
| AML | Associated Manufacturer Link - links a CPN to an MPN |
| Sourcing Status | On the link will show the validity of this MPN in the context of this CPN e.g. Do Not Use, Approved, Preferred |
Link to latest version of this document
Configuring the connector
The connector can be configured from the Extension Manager. The system needs to send two data elements to SiliconExpert:
- Manufacturer
- Manufacturer Part Number
The system supports two configuration modes:
- Supplier Management (SUMA)
- Attribute Based
The user selects options in the configuration screen:
Note: The SUMA option only appears if the Windchill Supplier Management module is installed.
Supplier Management
This feature uses the manufacturer defined in the SUMA data.
Attribute Based
In this case, the user is be presented with all available user defined part attributes (Instance-Based Attributes) in the system.
One must be selected from the part number and one for the manufacturer
CPNs and data security
The connector will display a link back to Windchill
This is done by including information about the Customer Part Numbers in the request to SiliconExpert including the server details
Some clients, especially those under security constraints do not want this behaviour and there is a configuration option to prevent this
Troubleshooting
Please refer to this online guide for further information