How to Import the CAD KOP into Windchill?

Since this is a frequently asked question, I thought would create a document explaining the best practice for getting the CAD KOP into Windchill. The FTC and FRC CAD KOP's come with their own internal folder structures. This is something you can mimic in Windchill or create your own folder structure. Also, putting ALL the CAD KOP files into Windchill is not a prerequisite, since in many cases you may not use them all. Lots of teams leave them on the local machine and check them into Windchill as they are incorporated into the design.

Lets start with some ground rules to make sure their are no misconceptions.

1. CAD files can only be added to Windchill using Creo
   • Files are opened in Creo, saved to a workspace and subsequently uploaded and checked into Windchill as new CAD files
2. CAD files cannot be added to Windchill using any of the following methods. This will create documents in Windchill and not CAD files. These options are good for any other type of electronic file, except CAD.
   • New Document
   • New Multiple Documents
   • New Upload Documents from ZIP File

To get started, you'll need the CAD KOP files from PTC which can be downloaded from www.ptc.com/go/firstkop. Choose the FTC or FRC kit you are interested in, download the ZIP file and unzip it somewhere on your computer.

If the files are located in multiple folders and you want to import everything, here's a quick tip to get all the files into one folder to make importing much easier.

1. Open Windows Explorer and navigate to your CAD KOP folder.
2. Create a new folder named ALL CAD
3. Run a search from the box in the upper right hand corner for *.*
4. Ctrl-A to select all the files in the search result
5. Sort the search results by Type and select all the PRT and ASM files
6. Ctrl-C to Copy all the files to the clipboard
7. Navigate to the ALL CAD folder and Ctrl-V to paste a copy of all the files into this single folder.

Now that you've got all your files together, we can move to Creo and import them.

1. Start Creo Parametric
2. Confirm you session is connected to Windchill by looking for the Windchill Cabinets and Workspace nodes in the Common Folders tab.
   
3. If you are not connected to Windchill, chose File, Manage Session, Server Management. This will open the Server Management box allowing you to either connect to the server or create a new connection if you don't already have one. The server location is https://academic.ptc.com/Windchill as shown in the image below.
   
4. Now that you're connected to Windchill, pick on Workspace in the Common Folders tab. This will open your active Workspace for your Windchill Project. I would suggest creating a new Workspace before we start. Pick on the Workspaces link at the top of the page next your project name. This will show you all the Workspaces you have for this project. Pick the orange star icon to create a new Workspace and give it name like "Import KOP". Chosing OK will automatically set this up as your active Workspace in Creo.
5. Pick the name of your new Workpace in the My Workspaces table to open it.
   
6. Choose Tools, Import to Workspace
7. From the Import to Workspace window, choose the green + to add files.
8. Navigate to your CAD KOP folder or your "ALL CAD" folder from earlier and select all the files you want to import.
   
9. Chose Next from the bottom of the Import to Workspace window
10. This is optional, but easier to do now. Use the Select All button to pick all the items in the table. Then pick the Folder icon to choose the folder you want to put all the files into in your Windchill project.
11. Pick OK to complete the import process
12. With all the files in a Workspace, you're now ready to check in the files to your project. Use the Select All button again to select all the files in the workspace, then pick File, Check In from the menu. The Check In form will open with a list of all the files. Like any check in action, add a comment to the Comment box at the bottom of the window and click on Finish. Depending on the number of files you are uploading, it will take some time to complete this operation. Look for the chasing arrows in the status bar in Creo and give the application enough time to complete the upload.
    
13. With all the files checked in, the last step is to confirm their location in the project. Pick the Windchill Cabinets link in Common Folders tab of the Navigator, then navigate to the folder in your project. You should see all the CAD files and their 3D thumbnails in the project now.