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| I-DEAS Model File Guidelines
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MODEL FILE SELECTION FORM |
Current I-deas Master Series CAD practices that are in place at JLAB rely on each I-deas user to manage his or her own model file data responsibly. The following discussion provides some rules for working with and managing I-deas model file data. Adhering to these rules will help minimize the risk of losing important design data, man-hours, and project schedule.
Exit out of I-deas if you are not actively using it.
Some I-deas users will occasionally leave a model file open for an extended period of time (days). This practice must be avoided. This practice needlessly ties up an I-deas license. It also unnecessarily exposes the model file to potential data corruption or loss.
Do not delete I-deas Model files outside of the I-deas
application interface.
I-deas related files, including model files must not be moved or deleted at the operating system level. These files are tracked by the I-deas software and should be managed only from within the I-deas application interface. Moving files at the operating system level could result in loss or corruption of design data, including project or model file data.
Check in your model file data items into a library on a daily
basis.
Model file work should be checked into an appropriate I-deas library on a daily basis. I-deas model files are intended to be used as short term, temporary storage space for design data (parts, assemblies, drawings, etc.). I-deas libraries provide the means for long term, permanent storage. In no case should model file work be continued for more than a week before checking the data into a library.
Limit the use of an individual model file to a maximum of 2 weeks.
An I-deas Model file should be deleted from within the I-deas software within two weeks of its creation. An individual model file should not be continuously used for weeks at a time. During the two-week time span, after performing one of the daily check-in operations on your model file data, you should delete the old model file and create a new one to check out the data and resume work. The exception to this rule is any model file that contains Finite Element Modeling data. Since I-deas does not allow FEM data to be checked into a library, the model file is our only means of storing this data
Model files are susceptible to data corruption.
There are numerous events that can cause the data in an I-deas model file to become corrupt. These events may be due to some user action or to a computer system hardware or software failure during data creation or transfer.
Model files stored on local /scratch disk are never backed up.
Model files can sometimes require hundreds of Megabytes of disk space. For this reason, most I-deas users create and store their model files on the local hard drive of the their workstations (in the /scratch/userid/ideas directory). Since files on the local hard drives are never backed up they are susceptible to permanent damage or loss.
Library item data files are regularly backed up.
Data that is stored in an I-deas library is more stable and reliable. All of the I-deas library data files are stored on a shared disk drive that is regularly backed up. These files can be restored from backup if they become corrupted or lost.
Checking items into an I-deas library can improve data integrity
and performance.
In addition the items mentioned above, the library check in process also performs a cleansing operation on the parts and assemblies. The check in process updates an item’s history access mechanisms, "hams" which IDEAS uses to track the changes made to the item. Without this process, the data associated with the individual part and assembly files continues to increase as changes are made.
As stated above, I-deas model files must always be deleted from within the I-deas application. Two acceptable methods are described below.
Note: You cannot delete the model file that you currently have open in I-deas.
Method 1: From the "I-DEAS Start" screen select the Find button that is positioned next to the "Model File name" field. On the "Model File Selection"; form select the model file to delete. Select the "Modify" radial button in the upper right-hand corner of the form. Select Actions-Delete. Finally, select OK on the Delete form.
Method 2: From within the I-deas application, select File-Open from the menus. Select either Yes or No when prompted to save the current model file. On the "Open Model File" form select the Find button that is positioned next to the "Model File name" field. On the "Model File Selection"; form select the model file to delete. Select the "Modify" radial button in the upper right-hand corner of the form. Select Actions-Delete. Finally, select OK on the Delete form. You can then Cancel out of the "Model File Selection"; and "Open Model File" forms to return to the model file that you were working in.
This document is maintained by {helpdesk@jlab.org}
Copyright Jefferson Lab 2007
