09 Import Export Facility - aldsoftware.com€¦ · FavoWeb (FRACAS) application. Imported data may be used in 'Load from Library'. 6 RBD import Updates MTBF for RBD elements from

Chapter 9 Import/Export Facility 251

Chapter 9

Import/Export Facility This chapter describes all the data import/export facilities from outside sources provided by RAM Commander.

Importing to RAM Commander Import Options RAM Commander allows the import of reliability data from various external sources. The table below describes the RAM Commander import options.

Option Description Remarks

1 Product tree import with Import wizard

Most used option: builds the entire product tree. Example of the imported data:

Ref.Des., Qty, Catalog Number or Part Name, etc.

Used also for importing thermal analysis results and stress information.

In most cases, 'Load from Library' is used, after the product tree import, to load component data from Component Libraries to the current project.

2 Load prediction method data from libraries

Load prediction method data from the Component library or Table library according to one of the component identifiers imported in the previous step.

Identifiers: Part name; Catalog No.; Military No.; or Generic name.

3 Importing parts from external libraries

Used when there is component data necessary for reliability prediction. An example of imported data: Technology, Package, Number of Gates, etc.

Used to enrich the RAM Commander component library.

Imported data is used in 'Load from Library'.

A separate Library Import document may be ordered from ALD Technical Support

252 RAM Commander User’s Guide

Option Description Remarks

4 Cross reference import

Used to define the Cross Reference “pairs” e.g. correspondence between 'Catalog Number' and 'Generic Name'.

Allows importing and working with Catalog numbers specific for your organization.

5 Import a failure rate table

Used for importing vendor MTBF data for different assemblies and/or user’s field failure rates for different parts.

Field data may be obtained from the ALD FavoWeb (FRACAS) application.

Imported data may be used in 'Load from Library'.

6 RBD import Updates MTBF for RBD elements from external sources.

7 FMECA Import Import FMECA data from MS Excel Predefined RAM

Commander format should be used

8 FMEA Import Import Process & Design FMEA data to RAM Commander

Predefined RAM Commander format should be used

Note The Product tree import wizard can import data from various file types (e.g. MS Excel, MS Access, etc.) All other imports can only import ASCII files. When data is in a different format, it should be converted to ASCII.

The following chart shows all of the RAM Commander resources that can be imported, together with examples of the data formats.


RAM Commander Import Process Diagram

Component Library

RAM Commander Project

Product Tree RBD

RAM Commander Global Resources

Table Library

Component Library

Table Library (GPRD)

Cross Reference

CN1817450 74HC00 CN1817451 74HC04 CN1817452 74HC05

Cross Reference Import

C4 M83421/02-3066 3.0 VSR=0.32; C5 M39003/01-5001 15.0 VSR=0.21; C6 M39006/02-1231 15.0 VSR=0.10; C7 Ms23269/09-2001 15.0 VSR=0.90; R1 RLR07C1002GM 5.0 PSR=0.73; R2 RER65F1001M 15.0 PSR=0.31; R3 RCR07G470JM 15.0 PSR=0.05; U1 54HC04 3.0 PDI=0.03; U2 54AS1035 5.0 PDI=0.12 U3 Z8001 15.0 PDI=0.30; U4 DIG001 11.0 U5 DIG002 17.0

Product Tree Import

Library Import

DIG001 GF 35.0 2.34

DIG002 GF 40.0 0.87

GYRO GF 30.0 13.2

Table Import

MUX 456.5 PS 357 CHANNEL 1046.3

RBD Import

ICDI54HC04 TYPE=1;TECH=22;PACK=3;PINS=6; GATE=6; MAX=0.01;TMAX=175;TETA=28; ICDI54AS1035 TYPE=1;TECH=1; PACK=8;PINS=14;GATE=6; PMAX=0.02;TMAX=150;TETA=22; ICDIZ8001 TYPE=6;TECH=17;PACK=3;PINS=48;BITS=16;PMAX=1.50;TMAX=175;TET=28;


Product Tree Importing The product tree can be imported in two ways: using the RAM Commander Import Wizard or manually from an ASCII file (see page 265).

Product Tree Import Wizard RAM Commander has an advanced Import Wizard making the import of a product tree from an external text, MS Excel, MS Access or Mentor Graphics file, an easy and fast task.

To run the Import Wizard 1 Activate the Product tree view.

2 From the Modules menu, choose Import Wizard.

The Import Wizard allows you the choice of:

• Importing directly from an import file. Use the Import Wizard screens to assist in the preparing the import file for the data transfer into the RAM Commander.

• Using an already existing script. Using existing scripts saves time and effort when importing similar files. Select an appropriate script from the list. Import Wizard prepares your import file for the data transfer according to the specified script.

Note You may add a new script to the existing list of scripts at the last step of the Import Wizard procedure. Adding a new script is recommended when you plan to import similar files in the future.


The Import Wizard facilitates the import of the tree data saved in one of the following file types:

• Text

• Mentor Graphics

• MS Access

• MS Excel

Step 1 The first step of the data import procedure is similar for all types of files.

Choose Next.

Step 2 of the import procedure varies depending on the type of the imported data file.


Importing Text Files Step 2 The data format may be either:

Delimited – characters such as comma, tab, etc. separate each field.

- OR -

Fixed Width – fields are aligned in the fixed width columns.

Select one of the following options.

Choose Next.

Note Start at row allows you to begin the data import from any point within the data file being imported.


Step 3 Step 3 of the import procedure for text files allows dividing the input file into data columns. Follow the instructions.

Choose Next.

Step 4 In step 4 of the text file import procedure, you need to map the columns in your file to corresponding columns in RAM Commander database. Select a field name (from the provided list of RAM Commander fields) for each data column. To do it, click on each column in the table below and then select the corresponding group and field name from the Group and Field Name drop-down lists above the table.


The RAM Commander fields are divided into the groups corresponding exactly to the item data group division:

• General

• Operating

• Non-operating

• Maintainability

• Miscellaneous

Each group of fields contains a list to select from. For an explanation of the meaning of the RAM Commander field names, see Appendix B of the RAM Commander User Manual. There are three entries in the field names list which do not correspond to any of the existing in RAM Commander fields:

• Skip – select the fields you wish to ignore.

• Depth – select the data column presenting the imported item level in the tree hierarchy. The Depth field allows the hierarchical construction of the tree. For example:


If Field_1 is defined as Depth, then the result will be as follows:

• Parent Ref. Des. - Contains the parent's name of the component whose data is defined in the current row. For example:

Field _1 Field_2 Field_3 Field_4 Field_5

C2 C0603C472K1RAC C0603C472K1RAC A12 DSP

C3 C0603C472K1RAC C0603C472K1RAC A12 FLASH

C1 C0603C472K1RAC C0603C472K1RAC A12 DSP

Field_1 Field_2 Field_3 Field_4

1 CARD A12

2 C2 C0603C472K1RAC A12

2 C3 C0603C472K1RAC A12

CARD

C2 C3

EXISTING ASSEMBLY


If you define Field_5 in the Parent Ref.Des. column, and Field_1 in the Ref.Des. column, the result, after importing, will be:

• Hierarchical Parent Ref. Des. - A hierarchical parent contains all of the levels above the current component. For example:

Field_1 Field_2 Field_3 Field_4 Field_5

C2 C0603C472K1RAC

C0603C472K1RAC

A12 AAA.BBB.DSP

C3 C0603C472K1RAC

C0603C472K1RAC

A12 AAA.CCC.FLASH

C1 C0603C472K1RAC

C0603C472K1RAC

A12 AAA.BBB.FLASH

C1 C2

DSP

EXISTING ASSEMBLY

FLASH

C3


If Field_5 will be defined as Hierarchical Parent Ref. Des., then the result will be:

• Stress - Stress information for components is used during reliability predictions. There are two possibilities for stress import in Import Wizard:

a) If it is constructed of semicolon-delimited abbreviations as appear in Appendix D, (eg. TJC=5;VSR=0.4;) use field “Stress Information” in “Operating” group.

b) If each stress (like VSR, PSR etc.) is located in its own separated field in the import file, select field names from the “Operating” group according to stress type.

EXISTING ASSEMBLY

AAA

BBB CCC

DSP FLASH FLASH

C2 C1 C3


This information is imported by using the Import Wizard. If Stress data is present, upon completing the import procedure, run the Load from library option for RAM Commander to place the Stress data into the appropriate field.

• Search in library – If a column contains more than one type of following item identifiers: - Generic Name - Catalog Number - Military Number - Part Name Select Search in library for such a data column.

Upon completing the import procedure, run the Load from library option. RAM Commander places the data into the appropriate identifier field according to the search results of the Cross Reference and Component library.

Choose Next.


Step 5 Step 5 of the import procedure is the final stage of the import. Here you can save a new script for future use with similar files. Saving your import definitions (script) can save you time and effort when you import files similar in structure to the one you’ve just created a script for.

Choose Finish.


Importing MS Excel and MS Access Files Import procedure for Microsoft Excel and Access files is the same starting from Step 2. You can import data from one worksheet/table at a time.

Step 2 In Step 1 of the import procedure, browse to locate the MS Excel/Access database containing tables or worksheets you need to import. In Step 2 select a table/worksheet containing the import data.

Choose Next.

Steps 3-4 Steps 3 and 4 of the MS Excel/Access import procedure are the same as steps 4 and 5 of the text files import procedure (see pages 257 and 263)


Importing of Mentor Graphics files The importing procedure for Mentor Graphics files has only 2 steps. After you have browsed to locate the Mentor Graphics import data file, the import procedure takes you to the last stage of the import, see step5 of the text file import.

Manually Importing a Product Tree from an ASCII File This option is provided for purposes of compatibility with the previous RAM Commander version.

1 In the Product tree view, highlight the assembly to which the imported items will be structured.

2 From the Modules menu, choose Import from ASCII…; the Tree Import Format Files dialog box opens.

3 Select the appropriate format file from the list box and choose OK.

4 Browse to locate the desired *.dat file and choose OK.

RAM Commander constructs the product tree.

RAM Commander uses two files for importing data. The first is called a data file and contains the actual component data. This file typically has a *.dat extension (you can use other extensions as well). The


second file, called a tree format file, describes the contents of the data file. This file must have a *.rtf extension (RTF = RAM Commander Tree Format).

Tree Format File The tree format file is an ASCII file that contains reserved field names and optional field lengths.

Use the following guidelines when creating the tree format file:

• Use a text editor to create and modify the tree format file.

• Save the file in the \LIB subdirectory in the directory where you installed RAM Commander.

• Each line in the tree format file must contain a field name. (Appendix D contains a list of valid tree format file field names.)

• Each line may contain an optional field length. If you don’t specify a field length, RAM Commander uses the default listed for the field in Appendix D.

• Use the reserved field names listed in Appendix D. Each field name corresponds to a field in the RAM Commander product tree.

• All lines must start with a space. Lines not starting with a space can be used for comments, and will be ignored by the interpreter.

• The first line beginning with a space in the .rtf file is used for a description of up to 60 characters.

• For best results, include the TRrefdes field in your .rtf file.

• For fields of type S-text, you can omit the length.

Data File Data files are ASCII files containing the actual data to be read into your RAM Commander project. Each line in the data file must correspond exactly to the accompanying tree format file. You can order your ASCII file in depth first search order. This means that


when a record contains an assembly, all its components are listed right after it before listing the next assembly.

The data file includes three types of fields:

Type Legal values Numeric Six digit integer or 15 digit floating point String Any character string S-Text One of the values defined for the field

Use the following guidelines when creating the data file: • Use a text editor to create and modify the data file. • Eliminate spaces between fields, except as noted below. • RAM Commander assigns defaults to empty fields. • Numeric fields may be left or right justified. • The maximum length for floating numbers is 15 digits (including

the decimal point); the maximum length for integers is 6 digits. • The maximum sizes for text fields are listed in Appendix D.

Characters appearing after the maximum field length are truncated. • Leading and trailing spaces are ignored. • Use only the legal values for fields of type S-text. • You cannot modify the length of an S-text field. • S-text fields must be left justified. • The first line in the data file must be the start assembly. • If you don’t fill the TRDepth field in the data file, then the

interpreter assumes the first line represents the start assembly and all other lines represent direct children of this assembly.

The following sample .rtf and .dat files correspond to the product tree shown on the following table.


Lines from .dat file Lines from .rtf file 01 UNDF Part 1 TRDepth 02 UNDF CPU TRicode 03 ICDI U1 TRrefdes 03 ICME U2 02 UNDF Multiplex 03 RESI R1 03 HYBR HYB1 04 SUBS Substrate1 05 RESIR N1 05 ICME U4 04 SUBS Substrate2 05 RESIR N2 02 UNDF PWR Supply 03 ICAN U3 03 RESI R2


Loading Component Data from Libraries All necessary data that depends on the reliability method can be quickly and accurately loaded using the data stored in the component and failure rate libraries. Instruct RAM Commander to search the library. If the component is found, its data are retrieved directly into the project.

To load component data from a library into a project 1 Activate the Product tree view.

2 From the Modules menu, choose Load from Library; the Load from Library dialog box opens.

3 In the Search for list box, do one of the following:

• To load data for all items, including those that already have data, select All parts.

• To load data for only those items without data, select Parts without data.

• To load data into empty fields only (those marked ---), select Fields without data.

4 In the Component Library and GPRD list boxes, select two different search priorities.


N/A do not use this library at all Low Priority use this library after the other one High Priority use this library first

5 Choose OK.

You must select two different search priorities. For example, if you want to use only the component library, select High Priority in its list box and N/A for the failure rate table library. If you want to use both libraries, first search the failure rate table library and then the component library only if no matching entry was found in the failure rate library; select High Priority for the GPRD (FR table) library and Low Priority for the component library.

All data from the component or failure rate table libraries for the requested components is loaded into the current project. If RAM Commander cannot find project items in either library, it displays them in a log file. See Chapter 10 for an explanation on how to view the log file and its contents.

Importing Data Libraries from Outside Sources

You can import reliability data from outside sources using the import utilities provided for each RAM Commander library: Cross reference, field failure rate table, RBD and the component library.


Cross-reference Import Description of ASCII file for Cross-reference Data Import Prepare a file where each line corresponds to one cross reference “pair” and each line contains three fields:

• Cross reference flag (2 chars.) - defining the type of the cross reference. It may have one of the following three values:

CN - Catalog number PN - Part number MN - Military number

• Cross reference name (62 chars.) – the value must correspond to the RAM Commander Generic Name.

Note Left justify and add trailing blanks, so that the string is 62 characters long.

• Generic name (42 char) - This is the RAM Commander Generic name.

Note Left justify and add trailing blanks, so that the string is 42 characters long.

Sample Cross-reference Data from Import For example, to import the Catalog number (CN) 1817450, which corresponds to RAM Commander's generic name 74HC00, create the following record in the ASCII file:

Input file: XREF.DAT

CN1817450 74HC00

CN1817451 74HC04

CN1817452 74HC05


To Import Cross-reference Data from an ASCII File 1 Activate the Product tree view.

2 From the Library menu, choose Cross reference.

The Cross reference manager opens.

3 From the Cross-reference menu, choose Import from ASCII…

4 Browse to the library required and press Open.

Importing a Field Failure Rate Table Description of Failure Rate Data Import ASCII File Prepare a file with import field data (Failure Rate) for 3 parts under environment GF (Ground Fix).

Sample Failure Rate Data File For example, if the input file is FIELD.DAT, this file will contain 3 fields as follows:

DIG001 GF 35.0 2.34 DIG002 GF 40.0 0.87 GYRO GF 30.0 13.2

Each field must have the following lengths:

PartName : adjustable, by default 31 Environment : 3 chars. Temperature : adjustable, by default 4 Failure rate : adjustable, by default 8

To Import Failure Rate Data from an ASCII File 1 Activate the Product tree view.

2 From the Library menu, choose GPRD.


The GPRD library opens.

3 Choose Project from the View menu .for import to the local library, or Global to import to the global library.

4 Choose Import from ASCII from Library menu.

The FR Table Import dialog box opens.

5 Enter values for field width, and default values for environment

and temperature. Select Failure Rate or MTBF, depending on the type of data in your import file.

6 Choose OK.

7 In the Open dialog box, select the ASCII file containing the data to be imported.

8 Choose OK.

RAM Commander imports the file directly into the project FR table library. Environment and Temperature fields without data are assigned the default values you set in step 4.


Import to RBD An RBD import updates the MTBF of the reliability block diagram

(RBD) elements.

Description of ASCII File for RBD Data Import Prepare a file, such as RBD.DAT, that contains two fields:

• Reference Designator (27 chars.); and a

• Floating-point MTBF value of unlimited length.

Sample RBD Data from an ASCII File MUX 456.5 PS 357 CHANNEL 1046.3

To Import RBD Data from an ASCII File 1 From the Modules menus, choose RBD.

The Open RBD dialog box opens.

2 Select the RBD required.

3 From the RBD menu, choose Import from ASCII.

4 In the Open dialog box, browse to locate the desired rbd.dat file.

5 Choose Open.

The MTBFs in RBD elements changes accordingly.

Importing parts from External Component Libraries RAM Commander provides a utility for importing component data from external libraries or databases. RAM Commander reads the library import file and encodes it into its own library. This saves the laborious task of manually keying in an entire component library. If


you have reliability data for components on another system, use the import utility to convert it into the RAM Commander format. The file must be in a certain format. As this can be quite complex, contact the ALD Technical Support Department for a document describing the different formats.

To Import Component Data 1 Activate the Product tree view.

2 From the Library menu, choose Component library.

The Project library list opens.

3 From the Library menu, choose Import from ASCII…

4 Browse to locate the library required and choose Open.

Importing FMECA data This option allows for the importing FMECA data (Failure modes with FM-NHE-EE links and Testability data) from Excel.

To import data, select tree root (to import all tree) or specific branch (to import only this branch’s FMECA data).

Select “FMECA Import” from Modules menu and choose file name for import. Import file should be of specific format. It should be an Excel workbook with 3 sheets in it:

FMECA sheet - failure modes and effects

This sheet has the following structure:

• ItemID – string, hierarchical ID of tree element.

• Depth – numeric, depth of tree element in tree or in branch

• RefDes – string, Reference Designator of tree element

• Qty – numeric, Quantity

• FROper – numeric, Operating Failure Rate

• DutyCycle – numeric, Duty Cicle


• FM_name – string, failure mode name. Each item may have more than 1 failure mode, in this case each failure mode is a separate line in worksheet.

• Sev_rank – string, severity rank of the End Effect

• FM_Alpha – numeric, failure mode ratio

• FM_Cause – string, cause of the failure mode

• FM_compens – string, compensating provisions of the failure mode

• FM_remarks – string, remark for the failure mode

• NHE_ID – string, hierarchical ID of tree element for Next Higher Effect

• NHE_name – string, Name of the Next Higher Effect. Each Failure Mode may have more than 1 NHE, in this case each NHE is a separate line in a worksheet.

• NHE_Beta – numeric, NHE conditional probability

• Failure Modes of highest level tree elements are End Effects. Please see example for project TUTORIAL:

Tests sheet - Test library



• TestCode – numeric, code of the test in tests library

• TestName – string, test name

• TestLevel – string, test level first letter (O-Organizational, D-Depot, I-Intermediate, S- Supplier, M- Manufacturer)

• TestTypes – string, test types

Here is an example for project TUTORIAL:


TAMsheet - Testability data


• ItemID – string, Item hierarchical ID in tree

• FM_name – string, Failure Mode

• TestCode – numeric, code of the test (from test library) for current Item and Failure Mode

• Efficiency – numeric, test efficiency

• Indication – string, test indication

Here is an example for project TUTORIAL:

Note the data format for import should be exactly as export format described above. The best way to get a file of required structure is to perform FMECA Export first from an empty project and then to fill the created file with your data.

Importing Process&Design FMEA data This option allows for the importing FMEA data (Items, Failure modes with EE, Causes and corrective actions) from Excel.

To import data, open FMEA diagram, choose FMEA Import from Tools menu and then select the file name for import. Import file


should be of specific format. It should be an Excel workbook with 2 sheets in it:

Diagram sheet – FMEA diagram items (parts or processes)


• ProcessID – unique ID of process or part

• ProcessName – part or process name

• ProcessDescr – part or process descroption

• Responsibility – Responsible person

• PreparedBy – prepared by person name

• FMEADate - FMEA date

• FMEADateRev – FMEA latest revision date

• KeyDate – FMEA Key date

• CoreTeam – Core Team members

• Code – Part/Process Code

Here is an example for project “Tutorial”:

FMEAsheet – FMEA data


• ProcessID – unique ID of the process (according to the first sheet)


• ProcessName – Part/Process name

• FM – failure mode description

• EE – end effect description

• Severity – severity (1-10)

• Cause – cause description (each FM may have multiple Causes)

• CriticalCause – 0 if usual cause, 1 if critical cause

• Occurrence – Occurrence (1-10)

• Occurrence_Prob – probability of occurrence (0-1)

• Pcontrol – control methods description

• Detection – detection (1-10)

• RPN – RPN = Severity*Occurrence*Detection

• TakenActions – Taken Actions description

• TakenActionsSeverity – severity after improvement

• TakenActionsOccurrence– occurrence after improvement

• TakenActionsOccurrence_Prob – occurrence probability after improvement

• TakenActionsDetection – detection after improvement

• TakenActionsRPN - RPN after improvement

• ActionName – suggested corrective action name

• Action – suggested corrective action description

• Responsibility – suggested corrective action responsible person

• Advantages – suggested corrective action advantages

• Disadvantages – suggested corrective action disadvantages

• ActionDate – suggested corrective action execution date

• ActionTracking – suggested corrective action progress


• Selected – suggested corrective action selection flag (1-selected, 0-not selected)

• Comments – suggested corrective action comments

• ActionSeverity – suggested corrective action severity

• ActionOccurrence – suggested corrective action occurrence

• ActionDetection – suggested corrective action detection

• ActionRPN – suggested corrective action RPN

• ActionCostVal – suggested corrective action cost

• ActionTimeVal – suggested corrective action duration

• ActionSuccessVal – suggested corrective action risk (0-1)

• ActionAdditVal – suggested corrective action additional evaluation criteria

• ActionEval –- suggested corrective action efficiency

• ActionCostUnit –- suggested corrective action cost unit

• ActionTimeUnit – suggested corrective action duration unit

• ActionSuccessUnit – suggested corrective action risk unit

• ActionAdditUnit– suggested corrective action additional evaluation criteria units

• ActionFeasibility – actions feasibility

• ActiondRPNF – actions dRPN/Feasibility

Here is an example for project “Tutorial”:


Note The data format for import should be exactly as export format described above. The best way to get a file of required structure is to perform FMECA Export first from an empty project and then to fill the created file with your data.

Exporting

Exporting using reports • HTML reports may be exported to Word, Excel and Internet

Explorer (use “Publish with Excel”, “Publish with Word”, “Publish with IE” options of the “Report”menu).

• RTF (Rich Text Format) Reports may be exported in rich text format (.RTF) for use in such applications as: MS WORD, MS Excel, etc.

• RTF (Rich Text Format) Reports may be exported as fixed field length ASCII files for use in other software packages.

Tip Export data in the required format by producing customized reports using the Report Generator.


To Export Data from RTF report 1 Create a report.

2 From the Report menu, choose Save as… to save in .rtf format.

- OR -

3 From the Report menu, choose Save to ASCII… to save in a .txt file.

FMECA export This option allows for the exporting FMECA data (Failure modes with FM-NHE-EE links and Testability data) to Excel.

To export data:

1 Select tree root (to export all tree) or specific branch (to export only this branch’s FMECA data);

2 Choose FMECA Export from Modules menu and select the file name for export.

P&D FMEA export This option allows for the exporting FMEA data (Items, Failure modes, Causes, End Effects, corrective actions) to Excel.

To export data:

1 Open FMEA diagram, and choose FMEA Export from Tools menu.

2 Select the file name for export.


Summary In this chapter you used wizards to save time in importing data from other formats, learned about manual file importing and exporting to other applications.

Documents

09 Import Export Facility - aldsoftware.com€¦ · FavoWeb (FRACAS) application. Imported data may be used in 'Load from Library'. 6 RBD import Updates MTBF for RBD elements from