Layer control for visual aids can be handled at the assembly (process) level, operation level, step level, and activity level. This hierarchical layer control simplifies visual aid changes, reducing the time it takes to edit assembly (process) and operation details in addition to step and activity details. Layer control helps you standardize authoring and achieve consistency across all visual aids in your organization.
When you create a visual aid on the Visual Aid Tools tab in NPI, you can select any element and decide which level you want it to be available for. For example, if you have a 3D CAD image view that you want to be available at all levels, you select Assembly in the Layers pane on the right side of the window. Any element assigned to the Assembly (process) level will also be available automatically at the operation, step, and activity levels. If something changes for an assembly and you need to update the visual aid, you select Assembly in the Layers pane, make the change, and that change is automatically made at the operation, step, and activity levels too.
- Double-click an operation in the Process Definition window.
- Add the desired steps and activities for the operation.
- Double-click a step in the tree on the left side of the window.
- Select the Visual Aid Tools - Step tab. (Notice that the tab name changes depending on what's selected in the Layers pane on the right side of the window.)
- In the Layers pane, select the layer you want new visual aids for this step to be available for editing (Assembly, Operation, Step, or Activity). A blue highlight color indicates the selected layer.
In the following illustration, we selected Assembly in the Layers pane and assigned the BOM block to the Assembly (process) level.