A guide to product data management with Autodesk Vault
What proper product data management (PDM) looks like, how to tell where your team sits today, and the sensible next step. Whether you manage files in folders, run Vault Basic, or already use Vault Professional.
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What proper PDM means
All manufacturers manage product data, either by design or by habit. Where it’s working, five conditions are usually met.
One source of truth
Every part, drawing and document has one authoritative version, in one place.
Controlled change
Work can’t be overwritten. Every change is tracked, attributed and reversible.
Formal revision and release
Drawings move from work in progress to released to obsolete. Only released revisions reach production.
Traceability
A full record of who changed what, when and why, for any file, at any time.
Access
Engineering, purchasing, production and quality each reach what their role needs.
The four stages of PDM maturity
Understand where your team sits and how you’re currently managing your data. A higher stage isn’t automatically better; it all depends on how much rigour you require as a business.
Start where you are
Few teams begin with a complete data management framework. Most build theirs step by step, so the guide lets you go straight to the part that fits.
Also inside: Vault Office for non-CAD users, and how we help at each stage.
Download the guide“With ten design engineers, having the horsepower to put multiple people on a project and not be tripping over each other has sped up the design process.”
Mechanical Design Engineer, Metalform
Prefer to talk it through?
Our data management specialists work with manufacturers at every stage, from first implementation and upgrades to workflow configuration and ongoing support.
