Overview https://docs.plm.automation.siemens.com/tdoc/nx/10/nx_help#uid:inde...

Teamcenter Integration is a data management tool used in conjunction with NX. When NX is used with Teamcenter
Integration, Teamcenter is running at the same time as a separate process. Since the two programs communicate, you
can create, store, and access your data within a Teamcenter database. It combines the power of NX in modeling and
generating data from geometric shapes, with the power of Teamcenter in storing and retrieving data in a controlled
fashion.

When NX is not used with Teamcenter Integration, data is not stored in a managed environment; it is stored on the
operating system.

Note Throughout the NX Help, Teamcenter Integration for NX is referred to as Teamcenter Integration.

Note Throughout the NX Help, when NX is not used with Teamcenter Integration, it is referred to as native NX.

This online Help provides information about Teamcenter Integration. It assumes that you are familiar with basic usage
of NX, particularly the assembly and modeling functions. It does not assume any knowledge of how to use
Teamcenter, though an understanding of the basic concepts is useful. Refer to the Teamcenter Help Collection for
additional information about how Teamcenter works.

Defaults and Preferences

The Customer Defaults and Preferences topics contain information about the relationship between preferences in
Teamcenter Integration and Teamcenter. If you are a System Administrator, you should read these topics carefully, and
set the defaults and preferences as required at your site.

Teamcenter Integration/Teamcenter Considerations

There are several concepts you need to understand when using Teamcenter Integration with Teamcenter:

The different terminology used by NX and Teamcenter.

What happens in Teamcenter when you perform NX operations (such as creating a part, or saving a part which
has associated files) when running in Teamcenter Integration mode.
System administration details concerning how to install and set up templates, set up the Assign options on the
Teamcenter Integration Part Selection dialog, attribute synchronization and plotters, and how to suppress the
display of the Teamcenter Integration Preferences dialog.

The material in this Help assumes that you are familiar with basic Teamcenter and Portal terminology and usage.

Teamcenter versions supported and terminology used

When Teamcenter Integration functionality is only applicable to a specific version of Teamcenter, it is specified as such
in the documentation.

In the Teamcenter Integration documentation, the terminology, names of commands, and icons may be slightly
different for some versions.
Before Using Teamcenter Integration

There are a number of things you should be aware of before you begin to use Teamcenter Integration. This topic gives
a brief introduction and provides links for additional information.

NX Defaults and Teamcenter Preferences

NX defaults and Teamcenter preferences allow you to customize Teamcenter Integration. Using these features you
have control over:

Which files are extracted from the database when you open a part file.
Whether a common product structure is in use.
The format for the display of part filenames in NX.
The default configuration rule in NX.
The NX part attributes that are stored in the database.
Whether newly created parts have precise or imprecise components.

The Customer Defaults and Preferences topic summarizes all the defaults and preferences.

You must ensure that all your defaults and preferences are set appropriately before running Teamcenter Integration.
However, the following are particularly important:
To enable or disable the file management functions as required at your site, you must have the NX customer
defaults Export Associated Files and Role set correctly (go to Associated File Management Defaults for
additional information).
To enable or disable the common product structure function, you need to have the NX customer defaults
Structure Update On Load and Structure Update On Save set correctly (go to Product Structure
Synchronization Defaults for additional information).
You can enable or disable the Database Attribute feature with configurable mappings between NX part attributes
and Teamcenter properties. Refer to the System Administration portion of the Teamcenter Integration online Help.
Also, see your database administrator in regards to this, as it is important that all users on a given database have
consistent settings for this option.

Templates
Templates are used as a basis for creating a new model. There are templates for parts, assemblies, drawings, and so
on. Each template contains default settings that make it easier to create that particular type of model. You can also
create custom templates for use at your site. The templates delivered with the software and any custom ones should
be installed prior to running Teamcenter Integration. For additional information, see Install File New templates.
My Teamcenter

This section describes the My Teamcenter objects, terms, and concepts used to create and manage your product
information and tasks. My Teamcenter is an application in Teamcenter Rich Client.

Folders
Folders are containers. Because each user has their own My Teamcenter, object folders are an extremely flexible way
to organize your product information. Object folders can contain any other object including other object folders. You
can create a nested folder structure that stores product information in the most convenient location for you.

Double-clicking a closed object folder expands it and displays the objects inside it; double-clicking an open folder
closes (collapses) it.

Note While we have said that object folders contain other objects (because that is what you see), it is more accurate
to say that folders contain pointers or references to other objects. The distinction is subtle but very important.
Several folders can contain references to the same object; however, that object is only stored once in the
database. Therefore, these folders provide multiple paths to the same product information.

My Teamcenter has three primary object foldersHome, Newstuff, and Mailbox. These three folders are automatically
created for each user. You cannot delete these folders.

Primary Folder Description

The Home folder is the top-level folder in the My Teamcenter tree.

Note My Teamcenter opens with the last object that was opened prior
when you logged out of your last work session.

The Mailbox is where you receive mail from other Teamcenter users.
When your user account is created, your personal mailbox is
automatically created under your home folder.
The Newstuff folder is the default folder for newly created objects if you
do not specify another location. You can drop and drag objects in your
Newstuff folder to other locations or you can use the cut, copy, and paste
menu options.

Teamcenter Objects
Objects are used to create, manage, and store data about your products. Click the name of the object in the table to
access detailed information about creating and managing the object.

Object Description
Folders Folders are objects that are used to organize product information in My
Teamcenter. Folders can contain any other object, including other object
folders.
Item and Item Revisions Items and Item Revisions are the fundamental objects used to manage
information in Teamcenter.

Items are structures that are generally used to represent a product, part or
component. Items can contain other objects, including other Items and
object folders.
Item Revisions are objects used to manage changes (revisions) to Items

Datasets Datasets are objects used to manage data files created by other software
applications. Each dataset references at least two other objects: a dataset type,
which is an object containing a list of tools that can operate on a particular
dataset, and a tool, which is the tool used to create or modify the dataset. Each
dataset can manage multiple operating system files. Each type of operating
system file is called a named reference.
 Forms and Master Forms Forms and Master forms are objects used to display specific product
information (properties) in a predefined template. Forms are often used to
create an electronic facsimile of an existing hard copy form in Teamcenter.
Master forms are used to display specific product information in a standardized
format.
BOM View and BOM View BOMViews are used to manage product structure information for Items.
Revisions
BOMView Revisions are used to manage product structure for Item Revisions.
Item and Item Revision Enterprises typically use many pieces of information that in some way describe
Relations or relate to an Item or Item Revision. Teamcenter uses the concept of a relation
to describe these associations (relationships).
Pseudo Folders Pseudo-folders are special containers that store and display Item and Item
Revision relations in My Teamcenter. When an Item or Item Revision is created,
a pseudo-folder is automatically created for each type of Item and Item Revision
relation.
Address List An address list is any combination of valid users, groups, and/or external email
addresses.
Envelopes Envelopes are objects used to represent Teamcenter mail messages sent to
you from other Teamcenter users. Envelopes can be used to send object
references as well as simple text messages to other Teamcenter users. This is
extremely useful for sharing data throughout your enterprise.

Terms and Concepts

The following table describes the terms and concepts associated with My Teamcenter.

Concept Description
Named References Datasets often manage several different file types. These file types
are the named references of that dataset. Datasets are the only
objects that use named references.

Versions When an encapsulated software application runs during a

Teamcenter session, save commands are intercepted and new
versions of these datasets are created, rather than allowing the
software application to overwrite the contents of dataset. These
versions can be used to track changes to these datasets and to
revert to a previous version of the dataset (for example, undo
changes).
Teamcenter Options Teamcenter options (formerly known as preferences) are additional
environment variables used to configure and control aspects of an
Teamcenter session. Application-specific options enable you to
customize D-Teamcenter , Structure Manager, and Workflow.
Teamcenter Properties Teamcenter properties contain detailed information about a selected
object. You can view and/or modify the information for a selected
object type.
Based-On Relationship to When you duplicate an Item, Item Revision, or Dataset using
the Original Object File>Save As, the new Item, Item Revision, or Dataset has a based-
on relationship to the original object.

Inbox Terms and Concepts

Terms or Concept Description

Responsible Party The user who initiates a process becomes the responsible party for
the process. The root task of the process is placed in the user's
Inbox. The initiator is also the responsible party for all the process
tasks. Thus, it is up to the initiator to assign users to any signoff
 teams required for the process.
Resource Pool In the context of a workflow process, a resource can be a User, a
Group, a Role, or a Role in Group. When a resource is a Group,
Role or Group in Role, any person in the Group or Role becomes a
member of that Group's or Role's Resource Pool.

Any member of a Resource Pool can assume responsibility for a

task assigned to the Resource Pool. A Resource Pool member is
able to act as the Responsible Party for a task and/or perform any
task assigned to the Resource Pool.
Privileged User A privileged user is a member of a System Administration group.
Process The automation of a business procedure, describing the individual
tasks and task sequences required to complete a business
procedure.
Task Tasks are the fundamental building blocks used to construct a
process. Each task defines a set of actions, rules, and resources
used to accomplish that task. User actions cause tasks to move
from one state to another, and as a result, the overall process
moves forward (or backward).
Do Task Do tasks include the EPM-hold handler, which stops the task from
automatically completing when it is started.
Review Task Review tasks include select-signoff-team and perform-signoffs
subtasks. Each of these subtasks contain their own dialog box for
executing the respective processes.
Select Signoff Team Subtask Select Signoff Team subtasks allow you to assign specific users to
perform the signoff for a specified task.
Perform Signoff Team Subtask Perform Signoff Team subtasks allow you to perform a signoff on a
specified task.
Add Status Task Add Status tasks create and add a release status to the target
objects of the process. There is no dialog box associated with this
template.
Quorum A quorum may be specified for each release level specifying the
number of users that must vote to approve in order for that task to
be approved, allowing the process to progress to the next task.

If a quorum is set to All, all signoffs must approve for the process to
move forward.
Task Handlers A handler is a small ITK program or function. Handlers are the
lowest level building blocks in EPM. They are used to extend and
customize tasks.

There are two types of handlers: action handlers and rule handlers.
Initiate a Process After you create an object, you will initiate a process (reference
data) for the object. This is the action of attaching reference data to
target (an object).

Target data is the subject of the release. Target data can be any
object type, but typically they are Item Revisions and their
specifications (for example, datasets). By default, target data
cannot be added or removed once the job has started.

Note The System Administrator can modify the procedure to

allow targets to be added or removed after the job has
started by removing the disallow-adding targets and/or
disallow-removing-target handlers on the root task. This
may be necessary for companies using CR throughout an
object's life-cycle. Careful consideration must be give this
this behavior. Reference data is supporting data that
anyone can add or remove at any stage during the job; this
 data can be any object type. This action is called initiating a
process.

Search Terms and Concepts

Term or Concep Description

Query Form Query forms are predefined queries that you can use to quickly search the
database without having to build your own custom query. Query forms limit
your search criteria to those fields displayed in the form. If you require
additional search capabilities, you must build your own custom query.
Query Options Query options, such as sorting options, case sensitivity for search criteria,
and targeting remote sites, are specified by the user when a query is
selected.
Query Result Pseudo Folder The pseudo folder is not a Teamcenter component folder, but a folder place
holder designed to display your search results. You cannot perform simple
tasks, such as refresh, save, cut, copy, or paste within this folder. The folder
name that appears in the Find Tree changes each time you do a search to
reflect the total number of objects found.
Terminology

The table below lists a number of NX terms with the corresponding term used in Teamcenter
next to it.

NX Term Teamcenter Term

Part Item
Part Revision Item Revision
Part File Dataset
Part Number Item ID
Master Part File UGMASTER Dataset
Non-master Part File (Specification or UGPART Dataset
Manifestation)
Non-master Part File UGALTREP Dataset
(Altrep)
Component Occurrence
Lock (part file geometry) Check-Out (Dataset)
Unlock (part file geometry) Check-In (Dataset)
Lock (part file structure) Lock (BOMView
Revision)
Unlock (part file structure) Unlock (BOMView
Revision

When you work in NX, you manipulate Parts, Part Revisions and Part Files. These correspond
to Items, Item Revisions and Datasets in Teamcenter.
Folders

Folders provide a means of grouping and organizing the data in Teamcenter Integration. A folder is an object which
contains references to other objects. A folder may contain other folders, to allow for multilevel structuring of your data.

Default Folders: Home, Mailbox, and Newstuff

Every Teamcenter Integration user is assigned three default folders. These are the Home, Mailbox and Newstuff
folders. You can control the display of these folders' contents and manipulate them just as you would any other folder.

Note You cannot delete your Home, Mailbox or Newstuff folder.

Home Folder

You always have at least two objects in your Home folder :

Mailbox folder
Newstuff folder

Access to other areas in the system is dependent upon the access privileges that your system administrator has
granted you.

Mailbox Folder

The Mailbox folder contains object references that are sent to you.

When objects are mailed to you, you receive a set of object references. These references indicate the sender's name,
the date and time the object was mailed, the object sent, and a note containing additional information (the note is
optional). This set of object references is contained in a mail envelope folder that is placed in your Mailbox folder.

Newstuff Folder

The Newstuff Folder is the default folder for objects that you have created. If you create an object using the File
tab→New or File tab→Save→Save As commands without choosing a destination folder, the new object is
automatically placed into your Newstuff folder.

The Newstuff folder is a good place to look for objects that you have misplaced.

Default Folder
NX stores the user ID and default folder details in the registry so when you start the next session, the default folder
you used in the last session is again used as the default folder. This applies to each user so that each user can have a
different default folder.
If there is no registry entry for the default folder or if the default folder is not present (such as due to a different
database or the folder being deleted), then the default folder is set by the customer default Default Container. If the
folder specified by Default Container is not present, then the default folder is Newstuff.

If you have selected Home as the default folder in the Default Container option, your login ID name is displayed as
the default folder when you perform a File tab→New, File tab→Save→Save, and other operations.

It is recommended that you specify your home folder by setting the customer default Default Container located at File
tab→Utilities→Customer Defaults→Teamcenter Integration for NX→General→Browse tab. In that customer
default, the format is :<folder>:<folder>:<folder>. The first : indicates Home, for example, :Newstuff, is the
Newstuff folder in your Home container. You can specify sub-folders by using : as a separator, for example,
:Myparts:Newparts:Chassis
Items and Item Revisions

Items are the fundamental objects used to manage information. Items

correspond to parts in an engineering environment. Item Revisions allow
changes to be controlled and development history to be retained.
Items and item revisions can be opened by double-clicking on them in the
same way as folders. When you do this, you can view their contents.
An Item contains its revisions and each revision contains related objects. In
NX, the following objects are used in Teamcenter Integration.

Part (Item) object.

Item Revision object.

Assembly object.

Model object.

In Teamcenter, the Item Master and Item Revision Master form objects are
contained in the Item and Item Revisions.

Item Master and Item Revision Master form object.

Relations

Teamcenter Integration objects use relations to associate either:

Items to item revisions, or

A part's dataset to the referenced part's dataset

You can define which type of relation is generated using the WAVE Relations customer default. This setting will be
preserved from one NX session to the next.

Relating Item Revisions to Items

This relation is between the item revision of the referencing part and the item of the referenced part. (An item revision
is the Teamcenter representation of an NX part, but because it is possible to create a new revision of the referenced
part without the referencing part being loaded, it would be misleading to attach the relation to the current item revision
of the referenced part.)

Set the site preference to ItemRevToItem to create relations between items and item revision. The Teamcenter
Integration Preferences dialog box displays the setting WAVE relations are Item Revision to Item.

Relating Datasets to Datasets

This relation is between the part's dataset and the referenced part's dataset. When a part is saved, the WAVE
references from that part are recorded in relationships connecting the part's dataset to the referenced part's dataset.
Any existing relationships in the database which connect the referencing part's item revision to the referenced part's
item will be deleted when the part is saved. (The ugmanager_refile utility can be used to adjust the relations of all parts
in the database during an upgrade operation.)

Set the site preference to DatasetToDataset to create relations between a part's dataset and the referenced part's
dataset. The Teamcenter Integration Preferences dialog box displays the setting WAVE relations are Dataset to
Dataset. Immediately below this setting is the Messages about inconsistent revisions section.

Select None to perform no checks for inconsistencies. No warnings will be displayed.

Select Warning to load the parts normally. After the load has been completed, a report will display inconsistencies
between the revisions loaded and the revisions referenced by loaded parts. The report will also display the
revisions referenced by parts being loaded and the revisions already loaded. The Warning setting is the default
setting.
Select Error to prevent the loading of any revisions which might cause an inconsistency between the loaded parts.
The load operation will report a warning indicating that some parts were not loaded and the details will be listed in
an information window.

Relations Types
Types of relations include Manifestation, Specification,

Altrep (alternate representation), NX UDF, NX Promotion, NX Expression (interpart expression references), NX WAVE
Part Link, NX WAVE Geometry, and UNX WAVE Position.

The following table shows the referencing and referenced parts for some types of relations:

Relation Reference Part Referenced Part

Type
NX The assembly part containing the promotion The component part containing the base of the
Promotion feature. promotion.
NX The part containing the interpart expression The part containing the expression being referenced.
Expression (including overriding expressions).
NX WAVE The linked part. The start part.
Part Link
NX WAVE The part that contains linked geometry, but is The part containing the geometry being referenced.
Geometry not a linked part. (Linked geometry includes
some interpart geometric expressions.)
NX WAVE The part containing the linked geometry. The assembly part that is the lowest common parent
Position between the part containing the linked geometry and
the part containing the geometry being referenced.

Relations of the appropriate type are created or removed when the referencing part is saved in NX. Relations are
only tracked when the part being saved is a UGMASTER.

When a part that has references to other parts is cloned (Assemblies tab→More gallery→Cloning) or imported
with the Import Assembly option on the, the new item revision does not include the relations. This is because those
functions create item revisions in Teamcenter without saving the NX parts, but relations are created or removed as
required when parts are saved. To apply the relations, save the new item revision. (This is not necessary if you use
the ug_import utility, which saves the parts during the import. Go to the Teamcenter Integration Import and Export
Utilities topic for additional information).

The following table shows when some types of relations are saved or deleted (the part being saved is the
referencing part):

Relation Created When Deleted When

Type
NX Promotion The part being saved contains a promotion. The part being saved has no promotions.
NX The part being saved contains one or more interpart The part being saved has no interpart
Expression expressions. expressions.
NX WAVE The linked part is first saved. The part being saved no longer contains
Part Link a linked reference set (i.e., the linked part
has been broken).
NX WAVE The part being saved contains at least one WAVE The part being saved contains no WAVE
Geometry geometry link. This does not include broken links, geometry links.
promotions, or links in a linked reference set.

Some linked geometry can have parent geometry from

more than one part. In this case, more than one
relations is created.
NX WAVE The part being saved contains at least one WAVE The part being saved contains no WAVE
Position geometry link. This does not include broken links, geometry links.
promotions, or links in a linked reference set.

Some linked geometry can have parent geometry from

more than one part. In this case, more than one
relations is created.

Non-Product Structure Occurrence Relations

Another kind of relation that may be created when a part is saved is a non-product structure occurrence. These
relations are similar to WAVE relations but are not part of the product structure (for example, geometry). Non-
product structure occurrence relations are linked to child datasets that reside in items other than the item where the
UGPART resides. For example, a drawing (typically a specification) is linked because it contains a view of a part in
another Item. Relations are also linked to the Item Revision where the child dataset resides. The relations are
created when a part that is saved is a UGPART, not a UGMASTER type.

Non-product structure occurrence relations are not created to child datasets that reside within the part's own Item
(except for ALTREP types). If the UGPART is an ALTREP type, the relation is linked to its parent UGMASTER that
resides in the ALTREP's Item.

The creation and deletion of non-product structure occurrence relations are handled in the same manner as WAVE
relations.
Using NX with Teamcenter Integration

This topic describes the NX dialogs and functions that are different when running NX with Teamcenter Integration
instead of native NX.

The dialogs that display while running Teamcenter Integration are similar in appearance to the standard NX dialogs.
The main difference is that the Teamcenter Integration dialogs deal with part numbers and part revisions instead of
operating system file names.

When using Teamcenter Integration, almost all functions available in standard NX are available to you. With
Teamcenter Integration, however, you create, access, and modify part files in the Teamcenter database.

Storing Part Files

In Teamcenter Integration, each part revision has a master part file. This file is used in all assemblies that include the
part revision as a component. You can also store non-master part files within a part revision. These may contain
drawings, NC data, or extra pieces of geometry for your own purposes.

Storing Non-Part Files

You can store file types other than part files in your database, such as a speadsheet. Essentially, you store all the files
associated with a particular part together with the part file. You can then control which of these associated files are
extracted from the database into a local directory when you want to work on them by specifying a role when you start
Teamcenter Integration.

The file types that Teamcenter Integration stores, and the filters that are applied to them, are customizable.
Teamcenter Integration is supplied with a setup, which we believe is appropriate for most customers (go to Roles
Supplied With Teamcenter Integration). If you want to change the supplied setup, you must discuss your requirements
with your System Administrator.

User Defined Features

You can store User Defined Features (UDFs) in the Teamcenter database.

Go to Export user defined features for information about exporting and importing UDFs. UDFs can also be imported to,
and exported from, the database with the Teamcenter Integration import and export utilities (go to Teamcenter
Integration Utilities for additional information), using the options for associated files.

Locking
Teamcenter Integration locks part files in the database automatically when you modify them in your NX session (go to
Locking Parts for additional information). This means that two users cannot modify the same part file simultaneously. If
someone else has a part file locked when you open it or start to modify it, Teamcenter Integration warns you and
notifies you which user has it locked.

Variant Configurations
Variant configurations allow you to create options and allowed values for those options to create different
configurations of an assembly within Teamcenter. In Teamcenter Integration, you can apply configuration rules when
loading assemblies, to determine which component parts are loaded from the database. For additional information, go
to Loading Variant Configurations.

Teamcenter Integration Preferences

There is a Teamcenter Integration preferences menu selection, which allows you to set some of the customer defaults
for your session interactively. Go to Teamcenter Integration Preferences for additional information about the
preferences.

Terminology
NX terminology is normally used to describe the action of the functions. Where a particular operation has an effect on
the Teamcenter database, Teamcenter terminology is used to describe the effect.