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Brian Schanen joined Autodesk in 2005 as a Product Designer and currently is a Customer Success Engineer for Autodesk’s Data Management products. Brian has taught at Autodesk University numerous times and has authored white papers on Vault and Productstream. He works with customers to implement a complete digital prototyping solution specializing in Autodesk Inventor, Autodesk Vault and Productstream. Brian lives near Detroit, Michigan.
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Did you know about the 3D viewer war?
July 20, 2006 06:39 AMby Grant RochelleI just read this article about whether or not there is a "3D viewer war". What I always find interesting about this kind of commentary is the complete lack of consideration for how lightweight files representing 3D and 2D data, plus relevant markups actually find their way into the hands of the people who need them the most. Everyone focuses on the tool (the viewer) and not the process. Consider key issues like:
* How does a manufacturing engineer get access to a lightweight file?
* How does he/she know they are getting access to the right revision, and that nothing changed while they were in the process of reviewing it?
* How does the same engineer ensure his feedback gets back to the right person?
* Where are the files and markups tracked and managed for future reference? 2 years down the road how will a manufacturing company be able to figure out who made a design change, and why?
Also consider that most 3D viewers do have some level of Bill of Materials (BOM) support, but it is typically limited to what the native 3D CAD system writes out i.e. a Design BOM (3D parts and assemblies) and not the Engineering BOM (including other relevant information such as non-drawn items and additional properties).
Well, you can probably see where I'm going with this and it shouldn't be a big surprise given this is the DM blog - n'est pas? Productstream is tightly integrated with Design Review out of the box, ensuring that customers like you not only get the tool (Design Review) but also the managed process (via Productstream) that is absolutely critical to improving design efficiency through a managed environment. Productstream ensures that:
* Design data is routed to the right people at the right time for review whether it's an initial design release or an engineering change
* No one ever works on out of date revisions
* Mark-ups are routed to the people who can actually evaluate the impact of change and execute the work if approved
* All information (mark-ups, comments, change notes) are tracked, managed and always accessible
So at the end of the day the pundits can blabber on about what individual vendors of viewer technology are doing, but unless you take a holistic view of the process you'll only ever see point productivity gains and miss out on the big picture improvements a properly managed environment can bring.
Rant over!
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Working with drawings - Update
July 19, 2006 07:13 AMby Grant RochelleIt's been several weeks now since I asked you to participate in a short survey about how you work with drawings. Many thanks again to my friends Lynn Allen, Shaan Hurley and Amy Bunszel for promoting the survey through their blogs too.
First off a BIG thanks to all of you for taking the time to participate. I received 544 survey responses, 161 from people working in manufacturing and the balance from architectural and other disciplines. Working as a Product Manager it's this kind of feedback that we rely on to ensure that our future plans encompass your needs as best we can. The Working With Drawings survey was developed to focus on 3 key areas:
1. How widely 2D is used in the design process, both for new design and maintenance of legacy design data
2. What types of information other than geometry are added to drawings
3. What job functions use the information in the drawing to get their job done and how they receive that information
From a data management point of view all of that background information is highly valuable as we consider new products, features and so on. Now, because I stated the survey was anonymous and will only be used to help us here "under the hood" I won't be revealing the details or how we'll use it moving forward; to do so would just be bad form!
Suffice to say that your input is highly valued and will play a role in helping us continue to define the vision for our super cool DM products. Thanks again.
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Create a personal Vault - My Documents
July 17, 2006 08:25 PMbyHi all, welcome to my first blog post-ever. This is something I've wanted to do for some time, but never had the outlet for it. Many of you may lurk or even post out to the Autodesk Vault Newsgroup, and you'll see my name there, but usually answering posts, reactive. I'm excited about this forum as it tends to be proactive, and they tell me I can post anytime I get a hair-brained idea about Vault/Productstream. Watch out, this might just help you in your day to day Odyssey known as Data Management.
I see Grant has done a fine job of introducing me as a waiter at Olive Garden. I'll get to that later.
Prior to joining Autodesk, I worked for a reseller focusing on the MSD solutions. And prior to the reseller, I used Mechanical Desktop since Designer (that's old school) as an end user. At one point in my tenure at the VAR, along came a product called TruEVault, then became Autodesk Vault and it complemented Inventor, so I took right to it. I became one of the biggest cheerleaders (creepy?) of Vault/Productstream out there - and still hold that title. Yes, I've taught at Autodesk University and I'll be back this year. Now I'm living the dream as a Product Designer for Autodesk working on the Data Management Solutions. I get to participate in the Process now. It's amazing. There are wonderful things coming in the product, which I feel is getting better exponentially each release. You know the old saying "I'd tell you but then I'd have to...?" Well that applies here, but they'll get me first.
I should get around to a topic on DM so here it is: If you are one of the many CAD Admins or power users out there, consider creating a Vault called My Documents. This is especially handy if you are mobile with a laptop. Just install a Vault locally and you're all set. The default Working Folder is 'My Documents\Vault' with Vault/Productstream 5 right out of the box. If you're like me, you have more information than you can handle daily. Just for retrieval alone, I've found that it's worth the effort to Vault all my docs, ppt, expenses, even the scribings doc for this blog post. Read down in the blog from the other Brian on setting up Full Content Search to make the most of your personal Vault. The payoff? You'll learn your own tips and tricks to Vault and at the same time, organize your other data, proving that Vault goes beyond CAD. I have a thesis that a well organized Vault with iFilters for mp3's can replace iTunes (which I loathe) and I call it VaulTunes, but perhaps that's going too far. Remember, this 'My Documents' Vault is only a suggestion, and I'd like to hear your experience with this, good or bad.
And here's a new twist for this Blog: What book are you currently reading or can recommend? It doesn't have to be related to Data Management (if it is, we need to talk). I'll go first. My wife just picked up Who Moved my BlackBerry? for me. Instantly funny and it drew me right in. Look for my review in a future post.
Finally, since I've been depicted as waiter (I prefer Sommelier), might I recommend Barossa Valley Estate 2002 E & E Black Pepper Shiraz? Color is Opaque red-purple. Abundance of lifted ripe red and black berries, vanillin, spices and pepper. Palate: Firm structure, exceptional length with firm, fine grained tannin aiding a rich mouthfeel. Quite complex and very well integrated oak showing. I could go on...
-B
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Welcome Brian Schanen
July 17, 2006 06:00 AMby Grant RochelleIt is with great pleasure that I can announce another new addition to the Under The Hood blog team. My good friend Brian Schanen will join Brian Roepke (Wow, is that too many Brians I wonder?) and I as a regular contributor starting today. Brian is a Product Designer in the Data Management team based in Novi, MI. Prior to joining Autodesk, Brian worked with Autodesk customers to implement data management and mechanical solutions, specializing in Autodesk Vault, Productstream, and Inventor. In addition, Brian has developed whitepapers and workflows on the topic of Autodesk Data Management solutions. He is a regular speaker at Autodesk University and is a recognized expert, instructor, and consultant in the field of Mechanical CAD and Data Management.
Just so you can recognize him at AU this year, here is a picture of Brian in his dazzling whites. He sort of looks like a waiter at Olive Garden don't you think?
Welcome Brian!
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AU is coming
July 14, 2006 08:36 AMby Grant RochelleJust wanted to remind you all that Autodesk University (AU) is coming soon so start planning your attendance. AU promises to be a blast this year, moving back to Las Vegas and offering more data management classes than ever with a wide variety of topics. Here is a list of just some of the classes we'll be providing:
- Autodesk Data Management 101 - A Guide to Lean Thinking
- 10 Do's and Don'ts of the Vault
- Going Farther with Inventor's Bill of Materials - The Productstream Story
- Change is in the Air - Autodesk Productstream's Change Control
- Managing the Entire Bill of Materials - the Productstream Edge
- Best Practices in Lifecycle Management: Insights Across Industries
- A "Crash Course" in Implementing Data Management: Everything You Need to Know to Achieve Success and Avoid the Pitfalls
- Connecting Engineering and ERP
- Data Management Nuts and Bolts 'A Power Users' Guide to Data and Information Management Requirements
- See how Vault can change EDMS
- Combination to the Vault - Unlocking the Secrets of Setting up Autodesk Vault
- Data Management Made Easy - An Intro to Autodesk Vault
- Cracking the Vault: Project Management for C3D 2007
We'll be staffing the event with Product Managers, Product Designers and Senior Management so get the dates blocked off right now and plan to meet us in Vegas November 27th - 30th.
See you there!
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English Football Needs Hockey Spirit
July 5, 2006 10:54 AMby Grant RochelleIt's officially over. After the usual pretense of putting together a "world class" international squad, England sputtered through the early rounds of the World Cup (that's football by the way, not soccer) only to exit in the manner to which we have become painfully accustomed over the last 16 years or so. England has not advanced to the World Cup Final since 1966 (which they won by the way) and my father still likes to talk about because he's old enough to remember.
Which begs the question - will anyone other than the fans (we figured it out a long time ago), more specifically those in charge of putting this team together ever quite grasp the notion that when a team can't score a goal in 2 hours of regular play, the chances of them winning on penalties are actually quite slim? I can't profess to know all the statistics, but for as long as I can remember watching England in the World Cup we have always LOST on penalties. During the match last weekend only two player really demonstrated any spirit at all; Hargreaves and Rooney. And Rooney eventually got so frustrated he "accidentally" stamped on a Portugese player in a very delicate spot. It was actually the only time in the match that someone deserved a card - for effort.
And can anyone explain why a captain, representing his national team in a Quarter Final game would ever leave voluntarily with anything short of a broken neck? Having gravitated to ice hockey since moving to the USA in 1998 I now expect any major league sports star to get stitched up, strapped up or drugged up in order to continue playing in key matches. Watching Englands exit last weekend only confirmed why I gave up watching football some time ago - I just can't tolerate the diving, feigning, card-seeking "play" that exists in the game today. It certainly didn't used to be that way when I was a kid; there weren't any poster boy players back then. Most had teeth missing and broken noses, and for those of you that know who Vinnie Jones is (Gone in 60 Seconds or Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels) did you also know that he used to play football in the UK?
Anyway, to my point (trust me, there is one after this very long and non-data management orietned rant). Scotty Bowman needs to come out of retirement, move to the UK and become the new England manager. He needs to instill old school hockey spirit into the sport, at least at the national level. And let's face it - since the last England manager was a Swede we're certainly open to international coaching!