Determination of variant engine when loading structures

All data structures loaded in Manufacturing Process Planner must use the same variant engine, either Product Configurator or classic. If a structure being loaded uses a different variant engine than a previously loaded structure, the data is not loaded. The variant control is determined by the first structure you load in Manufacturing Process Planner.

This functionality allows you to gradually move to Product Configurator, program by program, data by data. It encourages the use of the same variant engine for all the data structures involved in the project (EBOM, MBOM, BOP, BOE, and so on) and requires you to maintain a strict methodology of not mixing variant information within a product program.

If variant structures conflict, you receive one of several notification messages that explain why the data was not loaded, and in some cases suggest how to fix the issue.

Conflict notification scenarios

• If you try to load a collaboration context in which two different variant engines are used, you receive the following message indicating the conflict.

• If you try to load two different variant engines at the same time, independent of a collaboration context, you receive the following message indicating the conflict.

• If you try to load a variant structure that is different than the variant structure already loaded in Manufacturing Process Planner, you receive the following message indicating the conflict.

• If a structure with certain types of variants (for example, Configurator Variants) is loaded first, and a structure with either different types of variants or no variants at all is loaded second, then you receive an error message similar to the one shown above.

Note

Product Configurator is used if the top line of the assembly is connected to a configurator context, or if the default configurator context is applied in Manufacturing Process Planner.