CAD Families for the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform

You can create physical products and representations for CAD Families for the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.

For models updated to the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, you can view the configuration in the ConfigurationManager: CAD Family tab.

In the CAD Family tab, the configuration appears as a physical product or a representation based on the Part number displayed when used in a bill of materials option in the Configurations Properties PropertyManager. When you specify this option as Configuration Name or as the CAD Family, the configuration appears as a physical product.

ConfigurationManager: CAD Family tab ConfigurationManager tab Notes
CAD Family Appears as an assembly or a part. CAD Family is the main object in 3DEXPERIENCE that can assist you to create different SOLIDWORKS configurations from one CAD Family.

When you create a part or an assembly, you create a configuration of that object. You can also create another configuration having some different features of that same object. The 3DEXPERIENCE platform displays all these configurations as physical products. Hence, all the physical products are linked to a CAD Family object from which they are generated.
Physical Product Appears as a configuration.

In the Configuration Properties PropertyManager, the CAD Family displays for the Part number displayed when used in a bill of materials option.

 A physical product is a configuration with a part number that you can order on a bill of materials.

You can save physical products to the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.

A CAD Family requires as least one physical product.
Representations Appears as a configuration.

In the Configuration Properties PropertyManager, the physical product name displays for the Part number displayed when used in a bill of materials option.

 A representation is a child configuration of a physical product.

A representation shares a part number with the parent physical product to represent a state of the physical product. For example, an exploded state.

Representations are not saved to the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.

Managing Configurations in MySession

The Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) rules apply to the Lifecycle, Revise, Lock, and Change Ownership actions as follows:
  • If you perform one of the actions on a CAD Family, the action affects all the physical products associated with it.
  • If you perform one of the actions on a physical product, the action impacts its CAD Family and all the physical products associated with it.

Managing Configurations in Collaborative Spaces

Make sure the CAD Family and its connected configurations are in the same collaborative space because they are all stored in one common file. You cannot save a new configuration in a different space than the CAD Family.

You can use Transfer Ownership to keep them in the same space. For a single configuration, the CAD Family name does not display in searches or the Relations Explorer.