The item is the central organizing principle in Upchain. Let’s start by exploring the item data model in Upchain and the information associated with an item.
To understand how an item in Upchain can be of use to you, we’ll explore the types of data managed by an item.
Transcript
00:03
We are about to get you up to speed on items in Upchain.
00:07
Specifically, this video will explain what an item is,
00:10
how it works and help you to understand how different types of data are managed within an item.
00:15
So let's find out what items are all about.
00:18
Items in Upchain represent an object in your Bill of Materials.
00:22
This can be an assembly, sub assembly, part or component.
00:26
Each of these items are listed as a single line within your Bill of Materials.
00:31
The best way to think about an item in Upchain is to think of it like a box.
00:35
An item contains a set of information about the object listed.
00:39
So what information is connected to an item?
00:42
Well one of the key piece of information is item attributes.
00:46
These are things such as quantity, manufacturer, cost and so forth.
00:51
The CAD model is also part of item information.
00:54
This means we can see and even work with the CAD file
00:57
which is usually imported into Upchain and managed by its corresponding item.
01:02
An item can also have drawings attached to it.
01:05
These can be managed by the CAD model or attached separately.
01:08
Translations are generated automatically by Upchain
01:11
throughout the lifecycle of the item and documents are handled in a similar way to what drawings are,
01:18
but these documents are different from CAD files, drawings and translations.
01:22
These are usually support documents such as information about the part or supplier.
01:27
Visualizations can be created manually to compare to similar objects
01:31
and markups are changes related to the information for the item,
01:36
for example adding comments or annotations to a drawing.
01:39
Along with the information we just discussed
01:41
items also have a data model to help identify it from other items in Upchain.
01:46
This model consists of four main pieces of information.
01:50
Item number, major revision, minor revision and version number.
01:55
We'll start to unpack these aspects in more detail in upcoming videos.
01:59
Now that we have an idea about the information contained within an item,
02:03
let's go and see how to view this information in Upchain.
00:03
We are about to get you up to speed on items in Upchain.
00:07
Specifically, this video will explain what an item is,
00:10
how it works and help you to understand how different types of data are managed within an item.
00:15
So let's find out what items are all about.
00:18
Items in Upchain represent an object in your Bill of Materials.
00:22
This can be an assembly, sub assembly, part or component.
00:26
Each of these items are listed as a single line within your Bill of Materials.
00:31
The best way to think about an item in Upchain is to think of it like a box.
00:35
An item contains a set of information about the object listed.
00:39
So what information is connected to an item?
00:42
Well one of the key piece of information is item attributes.
00:46
These are things such as quantity, manufacturer, cost and so forth.
00:51
The CAD model is also part of item information.
00:54
This means we can see and even work with the CAD file
00:57
which is usually imported into Upchain and managed by its corresponding item.
01:02
An item can also have drawings attached to it.
01:05
These can be managed by the CAD model or attached separately.
01:08
Translations are generated automatically by Upchain
01:11
throughout the lifecycle of the item and documents are handled in a similar way to what drawings are,
01:18
but these documents are different from CAD files, drawings and translations.
01:22
These are usually support documents such as information about the part or supplier.
01:27
Visualizations can be created manually to compare to similar objects
01:31
and markups are changes related to the information for the item,
01:36
for example adding comments or annotations to a drawing.
01:39
Along with the information we just discussed
01:41
items also have a data model to help identify it from other items in Upchain.
01:46
This model consists of four main pieces of information.
01:50
Item number, major revision, minor revision and version number.
01:55
We'll start to unpack these aspects in more detail in upcoming videos.
01:59
Now that we have an idea about the information contained within an item,
02:03
let's go and see how to view this information in Upchain.
Items in Upchain have assigned types, as well as statuses, to help identify where they are in their development lifecycle. Identifying the item types and statuses is the first step for managing items in Upchain.
Transcript
00:04
In this video, we will be discussing the key item types listed in the Bill of Materials
00:10
and the different status is an item can have throughout its lifecycle.
00:14
Working with items requires a thorough understanding of how they might appear
00:18
and what level of development they may be in.
00:21
So let's take a look.
00:24
Remember, you always need to select a project first
00:27
in order to set the context for what you will be working with.
00:31
Let's take a closer look at our fishing rod assembly.
00:34
We can expand the parent in the navigation tree to view the items beneath it
00:40
or simply select an item in the tree to have it displayed in the center of you.
00:47
We can see the rod itself and also the fishing reel as separate parent assemblies.
00:52
We can then expand further in either of the views to take a look at the items beneath our rod assembly,
00:58
we will expand further on navigating the BOM management interface in an upcoming video.
01:04
This fishing rod serves as a basic introductory assembly to explain some key concepts.
01:11
The icons next to each item are a great way to help visually identify the item type.
01:17
This will also help you to identify assemblies from individual parts and components.
01:23
Assemblies for example, have three shapes grouped together
01:26
while single items imported from CAD are usually displayed as a box icon.
01:32
Upchain offers many different icon variations to help distinguish item types
01:37
and the icon will depend on the chosen item type.
01:41
Now that we have an understanding of the icons that we will find in our BOM structure.
01:46
Let's take a closer look at different status is for our items.
01:50
When an item is first added to a BOM structure, it is assigned status of development.
01:55
With this status, the item can now be edited, meaning documents can be attached,
01:60
attributes updated and general changes made to the model and drawings.
02:06
When we are satisfied with the state of an item,
02:08
we can submit it to a change request to begin a formal release.
02:13
In this case, the status of the item will update to pending.
02:16
This means that the item has been submitted for review and is now locked for editing.
02:22
Upon approval of the change request, the item status changes to released.
02:27
This means it is locked from most forms of editing and can now be made available to other departments.
02:33
Should a change need to be made, a new version of the item will first need to be created.
02:38
Feel free to jump over to the help center for more information on item types, icons or status.
02:45
So now that we've identified what items might potentially look like
02:49
and the possible status as they can be in.
02:51
We will discuss versions and revisions in the next video.
00:04
In this video, we will be discussing the key item types listed in the Bill of Materials
00:10
and the different status is an item can have throughout its lifecycle.
00:14
Working with items requires a thorough understanding of how they might appear
00:18
and what level of development they may be in.
00:21
So let's take a look.
00:24
Remember, you always need to select a project first
00:27
in order to set the context for what you will be working with.
00:31
Let's take a closer look at our fishing rod assembly.
00:34
We can expand the parent in the navigation tree to view the items beneath it
00:40
or simply select an item in the tree to have it displayed in the center of you.
00:47
We can see the rod itself and also the fishing reel as separate parent assemblies.
00:52
We can then expand further in either of the views to take a look at the items beneath our rod assembly,
00:58
we will expand further on navigating the BOM management interface in an upcoming video.
01:04
This fishing rod serves as a basic introductory assembly to explain some key concepts.
01:11
The icons next to each item are a great way to help visually identify the item type.
01:17
This will also help you to identify assemblies from individual parts and components.
01:23
Assemblies for example, have three shapes grouped together
01:26
while single items imported from CAD are usually displayed as a box icon.
01:32
Upchain offers many different icon variations to help distinguish item types
01:37
and the icon will depend on the chosen item type.
01:41
Now that we have an understanding of the icons that we will find in our BOM structure.
01:46
Let's take a closer look at different status is for our items.
01:50
When an item is first added to a BOM structure, it is assigned status of development.
01:55
With this status, the item can now be edited, meaning documents can be attached,
01:60
attributes updated and general changes made to the model and drawings.
02:06
When we are satisfied with the state of an item,
02:08
we can submit it to a change request to begin a formal release.
02:13
In this case, the status of the item will update to pending.
02:16
This means that the item has been submitted for review and is now locked for editing.
02:22
Upon approval of the change request, the item status changes to released.
02:27
This means it is locked from most forms of editing and can now be made available to other departments.
02:33
Should a change need to be made, a new version of the item will first need to be created.
02:38
Feel free to jump over to the help center for more information on item types, icons or status.
02:45
So now that we've identified what items might potentially look like
02:49
and the possible status as they can be in.
02:51
We will discuss versions and revisions in the next video.
An item may require modification throughout its lifecycle. The version and revision numbers make it easy to identify how a design has developed over time. Understanding the relations between item version, revision, and statuses will help you manage your bill of materials effectively.
Transcript
00:04
In this video, we will go through in detail what exactly are item versions what are item revisions and how these two works together.
00:13
It's important to understand how an item's life cycle operates from Upchain's perspective.
00:19
And how this life cycle is affected by changes and updates.
00:24
Items and Upchain can contain a large amount of data.
00:27
As we have previously seen, this can be status, attributes, documents, and CAD files.
00:33
Another piece of information we have for an item is the major and minor revision numbers and the version numbers.
00:41
So, how do version numbers and revision numbers work together?
00:44
Well, as we will see when we make changes here to our items, the revision number will not change until the item gets released.
00:53
The revision number will only change when we move the item from a development state into a released state.
00:60
As we mentioned previously, a released state indicates that the item is now formally approved.
01:05
Bear in mind that some attributes that don't affect the item data itself like cost or quantity can still be edited after release.
01:14
Just to make last minute adjustments simpler and easier.
01:17
So, what happens if we need to make a change to a released item?
01:21
Since the item has been released we need to create a new version of this item.
01:26
Items can have new versions created very easily through the web application, but it will strip any CAD and attached files from that item.
01:35
If you have CAD or other documents attached to the item and you wish to retain them,
01:40
you will want to create a new version via the CAD plugin in your CAD software.
01:45
This is covered in-depth in our MCAD course.
01:48
And if this is relevant to you, you may want to head over there once you've completed BOM management.
01:54
Once in development, changes can now be made.
01:56
For example, we could update the description for this part if it was accidentally omitted prior to release.
02:02
Remember that changes to attributes and within the CAD plugin will not affect the version numbers,
02:08
while changes to the status and versioning up in the web application will.
02:13
Moving an item from development over into released again will always be done with a change request.
02:19
And we look at change requests in greater detail in the change management learning path.
02:25
Now looking at an already released item, the major revision number is AA.
02:30
This indicates that it is the first major revision of this item.
02:35
And the same would be applicable for a minor revision in the case that we had set the affecting change request to be a minor revision.
02:42
In that case, the minor revision number would have versioned up instead.
02:46
The version number of an item indicates just that the version of that particular item for a specific revision.
02:54
For example, looking at this item, we can see here that the version number is set to V1,
03:00
and the major and minor revision numbers are set to XX.
03:05
The item version will change in certain situations such as when the item is released and a new item version is then created at V0.
03:15
The version number will increase whenever you create a new version of that item.
03:21
File version also exists for items with a CAD file attached.
03:26
This number will adjust whenever a CAD user checks out the CAD file and then saves changes back into Upchain.
03:33
It also tracks incremental changes to the model over time.
03:37
For example, this top clip item is currently set at major revision AC,
03:43
minor revision A1, item version 1, and file version 11.
03:48
Meaning that the latest iteration of this item is referencing the 11th CAD version,
03:54
and that there are 10 versions prior to this in Upchain that reference previous versions.
03:59
As we have now seen, both the revision number and version number work closely together,
04:04
to help indicate where a particular item is in its development life cycle.
00:04
In this video, we will go through in detail what exactly are item versions what are item revisions and how these two works together.
00:13
It's important to understand how an item's life cycle operates from Upchain's perspective.
00:19
And how this life cycle is affected by changes and updates.
00:24
Items and Upchain can contain a large amount of data.
00:27
As we have previously seen, this can be status, attributes, documents, and CAD files.
00:33
Another piece of information we have for an item is the major and minor revision numbers and the version numbers.
00:41
So, how do version numbers and revision numbers work together?
00:44
Well, as we will see when we make changes here to our items, the revision number will not change until the item gets released.
00:53
The revision number will only change when we move the item from a development state into a released state.
00:60
As we mentioned previously, a released state indicates that the item is now formally approved.
01:05
Bear in mind that some attributes that don't affect the item data itself like cost or quantity can still be edited after release.
01:14
Just to make last minute adjustments simpler and easier.
01:17
So, what happens if we need to make a change to a released item?
01:21
Since the item has been released we need to create a new version of this item.
01:26
Items can have new versions created very easily through the web application, but it will strip any CAD and attached files from that item.
01:35
If you have CAD or other documents attached to the item and you wish to retain them,
01:40
you will want to create a new version via the CAD plugin in your CAD software.
01:45
This is covered in-depth in our MCAD course.
01:48
And if this is relevant to you, you may want to head over there once you've completed BOM management.
01:54
Once in development, changes can now be made.
01:56
For example, we could update the description for this part if it was accidentally omitted prior to release.
02:02
Remember that changes to attributes and within the CAD plugin will not affect the version numbers,
02:08
while changes to the status and versioning up in the web application will.
02:13
Moving an item from development over into released again will always be done with a change request.
02:19
And we look at change requests in greater detail in the change management learning path.
02:25
Now looking at an already released item, the major revision number is AA.
02:30
This indicates that it is the first major revision of this item.
02:35
And the same would be applicable for a minor revision in the case that we had set the affecting change request to be a minor revision.
02:42
In that case, the minor revision number would have versioned up instead.
02:46
The version number of an item indicates just that the version of that particular item for a specific revision.
02:54
For example, looking at this item, we can see here that the version number is set to V1,
03:00
and the major and minor revision numbers are set to XX.
03:05
The item version will change in certain situations such as when the item is released and a new item version is then created at V0.
03:15
The version number will increase whenever you create a new version of that item.
03:21
File version also exists for items with a CAD file attached.
03:26
This number will adjust whenever a CAD user checks out the CAD file and then saves changes back into Upchain.
03:33
It also tracks incremental changes to the model over time.
03:37
For example, this top clip item is currently set at major revision AC,
03:43
minor revision A1, item version 1, and file version 11.
03:48
Meaning that the latest iteration of this item is referencing the 11th CAD version,
03:54
and that there are 10 versions prior to this in Upchain that reference previous versions.
03:59
As we have now seen, both the revision number and version number work closely together,
04:04
to help indicate where a particular item is in its development life cycle.
