Preparing Your Reconfiguration Lists

The Reconfiguration Chart can accept Existing and Proposed lists of products as .sif files or directly from CET drawing (.cmdrw) Article Views. You can set up the Article Views for the Existing and Proposed drawings in different drawing files or as Alternatives within the same drawing file. 

Regardless of the method, it's recommended you review all specifications for accuracy before using the Reconfiguration Tool, as errors in product options or specifications can lead to incorrect comparison of the product. 

Part Tagging will also affect the comparison of products, so for best results, avoid using Part Tags in your lists, or use the same Part Tags between your Existing and Proposed lists. 

The Chart Components

When you start the Reconfiguration Tool, a basic flowchart is displayed. Blocks in the chart are displayed for Existing, Proposed, Compare, Excess, New, and Reuse lists and are connected with arrows indicating the input and output flow. Each block will display the number of items contained in that list. Existing and Excess blocks will also display a Priority number.

When you select a block, you can use the Quick Properties to rename the block and also change the color. This can help you customize the chart and lists to best fit your needs. When a block is selected and a list has been loaded, the Calculation view area below will display its list of items. 

The following sections will detail how to load your lists into the blocks and how to modify the way the results are viewed in the Calculation view area.

Existing Blocks

A list of existing products can be loaded into the Existing block from a CET Article View in a CET drawing file (.cmdrw) or a SIF file. Additional Existing blocks can be added to the chart if multiple existing product lists need to be applied. The Priority of each Existing block can be set in the Quick Properties to designate which list to pull from first, second, and so on. 

To add a list to the Existing block:

1. Double-click on the Existing block or right-click and select Load file from the menu. You can also drag and drop a file into the block.

2. Browse the file explorer for the CET drawing or SIF file that contains the existing products. Select it and click Open.

   

3. A dialog will appear allowing you to select the source Article View. If the drawing contains Alternatives, the dialog will allow you to select the Alternative and then Article View.

   

4. When the Existing block is selected, you can modify the following in the Quick Properties:

    

   • Name - Can be modified to better fit your project or terminology. Keep in mind, this will become a column header in the Compare list. Long names will result in wide columns.
   • Background - Change the background color of the selected block.

   • Priority - Set the priority order for each Existing block. Parts will be considered for reuse from the Existing block set to Priority: 1 first, then Priority: 2, and so on. 

     

5. When an Existing block is selected, the items contained in that list are shown in the Calculation view below. You can change the settings of each Article View by clicking the View settings button in the middle of the window.

Proposed Blocks

A list of existing products can be loaded into the Proposed block from a CET Article View in a CET drawing file (.cmdrw) or a SIF file. 

Additional levels or phases with additional Proposed blocks can be added to the chart, but note that only one Proposed block can be attached to each Compare block.

To add a list to the Proposed block:

1. Double-click on the Proposed block or right-click and select Load file from the menu. You can also drag and drop a file into the block.

2. Browse the file explorer for the CET drawing or SIF file that contains the proposed products. Select it and click Open.

   

3. A dialog will appear allowing you to select the source Article View. If the drawing contains Alternatives, the dialog will allow you to select the Alternative and then Article View.

   

4. When the Proposed block is selected, you can modify the following in the Quick Properties:

    

   • Name - Can be modified to better fit your project or terminology. Keep in mind, this will become a column header in the Compare list. Long names will result in wide columns.

   • Background - Change the background color of the selected block.

     

5. When a Proposed block is selected, the items contained in that list are shown in the Calculation View below. You can change the settings of the Article View by clicking the View settings button in the middle of the window.

   

Compare Blocks

The Compare block creates a comparison list between the parts listed in the Existing block (or blocks) and the Proposed block. 

Additional levels or phases with additional Compare blocks can be added to the chart, but note that only one Proposed block can be attached to each Compare block.

For each Compare block, three types of output blocks are automatically placed:

• New to… [name of Proposed block]
• Reuse from… (one for each Existing)
• Excess from… (one for each Existing)

Output blocks will include the label from the block they are referring to, i.e. Existing or Proposed.

Adding Blocks to the Chart

Blocks can be added to the chart using the icons in the Edit section and connected with Arrows. 

To add a block, click the type to add and bring your cursor into the chart area. Then click to place it. Once it's placed, use the arrows to connect it as needed. As noted above, output blocks and arrows are automatically generated as new blocks are connected and only one Proposed block can connect to a Compare block. Output blocks are automatically generated along with their arrows.

Just above the Edit section, Auto Insert tools are provided to Add Reconfig and New Level. 

• Add Reconfig will add an entirely separate chart to the chart area.

• New level will add a new level below the existing chart.

Merging Blocks

Similar type blocks that are on the same level in the reconfiguration chart can be merged together to create a single Article View that contains both lists. The Merge button is grayed out until you have selected two or more blocks that can be merged. To select multiple blocks, press Ctrl and click on each block that you want to select and then click the Merge button.

Merging blocks will create a new, smaller, pink block. When the small pink block is selected, the merged Article Views will appear in the Calculation area below.

Saving

To save your chart, select the Save icon or Save or Save As from the File menu. This will save the chart and the settings applied to the Article Views. In the Save dialog, select the location where you would like the file to save and enter a File name. 

This will save as a Reconfiguration (.cmrcf) file type. This can later be reopened in the Reconfiguration Tool. This file is not dependent on any of the files used to load the product lists and can be opened and used on its own.