Manufacturers have never needed real-time information sharing, dynamic data visualization, and the ability to collaborate more than they do today. With easy, secure data access for multi-disciplinary and geographically distributed teams, quality-focused processes, and a data driven approach to manufacturing, Windchill is elevating how product development gets done.

Windchill’s open architecture enables easy integration with other enterprise systems, including IoT, providing a solid foundation for a product-driven digital thread. PTC's PLM system provides comprehensive out-of-the-box functionality and highly configurable role and task-based apps. Expand self-service access of traceable product data to non-experts who don’t typically use PLM, while avoiding over-customization and complexity.

PTC’s PLM software is optimized to support the extended enterprise and external partners with a high degree of automation and interoperability for cross-discipline configuration management.

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PTC Windchill Working Method

SOX-PTC Connection Setup

You will receive from EnCo a “properties” file which can be edited in order to configure your server. The properties file supplements the read-only configuration file, supplied as a compressed archive, that also needs to be deployed on your server. In the current configuration, user credentials are “hard-saved” server-side, although this may be subject to change in future releases. I.e., the properties file allows the customer to nominate one PTC user, with his associated password, who will then have access to the external (PTC) repository. This user is not required to be a physical person; it could be an entity generically named “SOX Synchronization” or suchlike, with the implication that this entity may subsume multiple, and varying, users of the SOX rich client. As such, the credentials used authenticate a systemic identity, rather than a personal one.

It will also be possible to edit as required details like the PTC server’s port number (its IP address seems unlikely to change). This setup will enable the SOX server to connect to the PTC server.

Configure Synchronization

Initiate the process by right-clicking your project. Select Configure Synchronization:
Right-click on the single entry and select New Child. The choices shown result from actual queries of the PTC installation. Our example uses the PTC project “English”.
Next, query the Shapes (artifact types) in your PTC project in order to create new Default Shape Definitions. This is done by right-clicking on your project, our example being project “English” once again.
From the dialog, select All Instance Shapes, then click OK. - Outcome: SOX will initiate a server-side query (in technical terms, the SOX server will query the PTC server). The SOX client will then display the results, i.e., the complete set of Instance Shapes (artifact types) found in PTC. SOX can now work on any property structure defined for a given artifact type. Expressed differently, the data structure definition established PTC-side will now be available for working on with the SOX interface.
You can now open the drill-down list to review any field/property definition.
For example, it is possible to examine and, where appropriate, change a given Field Type.
Next, there exists an option to create a new Group Definition, corresponding to a PTC module (i.e., a logical, hierarchical container for requirements). In the SOX context, a Group references a ReqIF document. This setup achieves synchronization of a SOX specification document with a PTC module. Select your Document Path, as well as the Query Executor “Module”. The Query String needs to match the module identifier (number) used in PTC, in the example scenario, “385”.
Lastly, you will need to create default Item Definitions. To accomplish this, right-click the PTC Group Definition (corresponding to a PTC Module) and select New Child - Default Item Definitions. - Outcome: SOX will query the specified PTC module in order to determine which artifact types are present in the relevant requirements subset. These will be displayed accordingly.
Further properties can then be modified as required.

This activity completes the configuration process.

Use good judgment to decide which changes to your field types are appropriate in a specific context. Some changes, although technically possible, may yield unexpected results or errors. Most defaults are adequate and should, hence, not be modified.

Synchronizing Your Project

It is now possible to initiate the synchronization process. To do so, right-click your SOX project.

Outcome: The Synchronization dialog will open. Click OK to start the process.

If, for example, you intend to export back changes to a manifest change set, you will need to supply the set’s URI here. The Global Configuration Context will be used by default if nothing is specified here.

Outcome: If there were no errors, SOX will report success, and the Module requirements will have been loaded from PTC. A new document (a ReqIF specification) will have been created and will be available for editing and backwards synchronization. The initial structure will be identical to the one synchronized with PTC-side.

Double-clicking the root node will open the ReqIF editor:

When synchronizing backwards any changes/additions to your data, you will be prompted for the target change set.

Use good judgment to decide which changes to your field types are appropriate in a specific context. Some changes, although technically possible, may yield unexpected results or errors. Most defaults are adequate and should, hence, not be modified.