Document Control Center software recommendations

Basically you need to do two things 1 Look at and print drawings you get. 2 Keep track of where those drawing are stored.

LOOKING AT AND PRINTING DRAWINGS YOU GET. Use: * Same software that your customer used to create the drawing. [Oh, lots of customers, lots drawing packages, lots of money for software, etc] * A Gerber viewer like: View Mate (View only) [ http://www.lavenir.com ] CamCAD (View only) [ http://www.camcad.com ], GC-Prevue (View only) [ http://www.graphicode.com ], PC Gerber II (View & limited data size editing) [ http://www.ecam.com/us_home.htm ] * A flexible, mid-priced CAD software package like CAM350 [http://www.downstreamtech.com/ ] * Some might argue that you really should be looking at the software that you plan to use to create your work packages and machine programs [ie, CircuitCAM, GC-Place, etc.] and all the rest of the stuff along these lines will fall into place, just like FM.

KEEPING TRACK OF WHERE THOSE DRAWING ARE STORED. This is more complicated for a contractor since most documentation control software suppliers make good software, but clueless on the complexity of multiple customers. The other aspect that a lot of these software packages assume is that you plan to have the documents accessible with a computer network. * Quality Magazine [ http://www.qualitymag.com ] likes to rattle on about DC sftwr. Suppliers like to advertise DC sftwr. * Other DC sftwr suppliers are: Rational Software 18880 Homestead Rd Cupertino, CA 95014 408-863-9900 800-728-1212 http://www.rational.com

novasoft 617.221.0300 PQ systems 800.777.3020 (Workbench $1k) Quality Management Products 888.255.1992 Mike Haines http://www.pmproducts.com

ASO Echelon 713.288.8430 fax4415 Document Control Systems 800.825.9117 QualTrak 800.277.3077 540.382.4234 Pilgrim 813.915.1663 http://www.pilgrimusa.com

Harrington Group 800.476.9000 Powerway 800.964.9004 * Here�s some links I found stuck in a cardfile that may have something or other to do with DC or may not: http://www.iac.honeywell.com/Pub/Tech/CM/

http://wwwsel.iit.nrc.ca/favs/CMfavs.html

http://www.enteract.com/~bradapp/links/scm-links.html

http://dmoz.org/Computers/Software/Configuration_Management/

http://www.quality.org/config/cm-guide.html

* I reviewed a pretty good book [Engineering Documentation Control Handbook: Configuration Management for Industry; Frank B. Watts; William Andrew Publishing, LLC; ISBN: 0815514468; 2nd edition (March 1, 2000).] on documentation control in the SMTnet Newsletter a while ago. On the negative side from your [supposed] perspective the book does not address controlling software or evaluating software used to control documentation. Mr. Watts is a good guy and industry gadabout. He works at EC3 in Winter Park, CO.

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