One of the challenges in the electronic industry is that a lot of the structure is created outside of the PLM system, mainly in eCad tools, and to get this data into the PLM system in a controlled yet cost effective manner is the challenge. If this is not in place the risk is that the data in the PLM system will not be updated at the right time, routed to the correct people for review and approval whilst making sure that the changes are released and communicated to the all parties involved (internally and externally), and other relevant systems are updated, for example ERP.
For the Electronic-PLM solution the Minerva Import Tool can be used as a light integration between the CAD world and the PLM system. The Import Tool will control that existing date is updated via a Change Order so that there will be a structured process for handling the release of the new structure.
The light integration is often the starting point for most customers, which can be extended with a full integration to most CAD systems if necessary, as an extra option.
Another common challenge in the electronic industry is the need to have the component library in the eCAD tool and the PLM system synchronized. There are several ways of doing this depending on whether the PLM system or the CAD system should control the creation of components, or it should be possible in both systems.
Many electronic companies use the description or name of the components to indicate what type of component it is, and a number of the components characteristics. This makes it complicated to distinguish between and search for components, and there is a risk of not having the description/naming consequent. The Electronic-PLM solution has the ability to classify parts in two levels and assign specific attributes to each level, giving a high degree of flexibility in how to describe different parts and components and providing very powerful search ability, whilst securing a common way of describing parts and components.