Populating variant data

There are many different ways to apply variant data that affect the ease of maintenance of the product and the use of shared subassemblies. If you populate the structure with variant data that is stored on the optimal item revisions, you make future changes easier to manage. Some of these considerations are discussed in Placing variant data. The following procedures for populating variant data all reference the same example. In this example, the product Car Model G shown in the following figure has a variant structure that depends on the values the customer chooses for the following mandatory and nonmandatory options: Car type – GLX, GLS or LS Engine – 1200 or 1600 Gearbox – manual or automatic Radio – none, mono, or stereo Aerial type – standard or electric Accessory option fog lights – yes or no The following considerations also apply, depending on customer selections: If the customer does not want a radio (radio = none in the variant rule) and a blanking plate is fitted. Teamcenter configures the wing (fender) with no hole and no aerial. If the customer chooses one of the radio options, Teamcenter configures the wing with the hole (for an aerial), and the standard aerial or the electric aerial. If the customer does not specify a particular type of aerial, the standard aerial is fitted. This is the fixed default. If the customer specifies car type GLX, Teamcenter configures a stereo radio. This is the derived default. The 1200 engine cannot be fitted to an automatic gearbox. This combination is excluded by a variant rule check. The radio option is stored on the dashboard assembly for later use in another product, Car Model H. Populating variant data Before applying variant data, you should create the necessary items and structure. To add the variant data, you may want to open the whole structure in a Structure Manager window to make navigation of the entire structure more straightforward.

Caution Whenever you author the option in a child assembly, ensure the derived default is at the same level in the same item.