Sloan Digital Sky Survey

Observing Operations | Reviews | Survey Management

Introduction to the Fermilab Drawing Control System
Used for SDSS Engineering Drawings

Introduction

A database has been developed at Fermilab to help mechanical engineers and designers manage their CAD files. This database is called the Drawing Control System (DCS) and is managed by the Fermilab Computing Division. The DCS is being used to manage and control engineering documents generated by personnel working on mechanical systems associated with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) 2.5-m telescope. SDSS documents entered into the DCS include mechanical drawings, electrical schematics, electronic board layouts, logic diagrams, and system diagrams.

DCS assigns a unique number to each drawing entered into the system and maintains an electronic copy of the drawing file in a centralized location. DCS also controls access to the drawing files and maintains file revision histories. An example of the DCS user interface is available at http://www-cad.fnal.gov/gif/dcs_image2.gif .

DCS will accommodate files generated by many CAD programs. DCS has the capability of storing files in their native drawing format as well as in DXF format. As many Fermilab mechanical engineers and designers use IDEAS, a CAD package developed by the Structural Dynamics Research Corporation, the majority of mechanical drawing files stored in DCS are IDEAS files.

Bob Andree, of the Fermilab Technical Division, is the system administrator for DCS. He may be reached by phone at (630) 840-3703 or by e-mail at andree@fnal.gov. Bill Boroski is coordinating the use of DCS for the SDSS engineering effort at Fermilab. He may be reached at (630) 840-4344 or by e-mail at boroski@fnal.gov.

Minimum Requirements for Accessing DCS

The following list summarizes the minimum requirements for accessing DCS:

ftp or other file transfer program
telnet or other program that provides for a remote login session
User ID number to a general computing account on a centrally supported system in the Computing Division.
Login account on TSS or FNALU.

The telnet program enables you to log in to a Unix platform and access DCS. The file transfer program enables you to transfer CAD files or image files to and from the SDSS directory. A CAD program is not required to access DCS.

Obtaining an Account

A Computing Division User ID (uid) is required to access DCS. If you do not have a uid, you may request one by completing a Computing Division uid request form.

You will need the uid to obtain an account on either the Technical Division's TSS cluster of Unix machines or on the Computing Division's FNALU cluster of Unix machines. If you are an on-site user, please contact John Konc. He will set up an account to enable login from a Mac, PC, or Unix workstation. If you are an off-site user, or if you need assistance with DCS access, please contact Bob Andree.

How to use DCS

If you have never used DCS, you may wish to begin by reviewing the on-line user's guide to DCS. In addition to providing a detailed description of the database, the user's guide contains examples of the DCS interface.

To access the DCS database:

Log in to TSS or FNALU.
At the system prompt, start the DCS interface by typing xdcs. The main DCS screen will appear. All SDSS-related documents are stored in the SDSS vault. Go to the SDSS vault by selecting Settings, Vault, Sloan Digital Sky Survey from the pull-down menus.

If you get an error message, contact either John Konc or Bob Andree.

Once the vault has been selected, a query can be performed to list all drawing files or to search for a particular file. Select Item, Query, and the Query window with menu selections will appear. To list the contents of the entire vault, clear out the fields that have been filled in by default. It is recommended that the Latest Version box remain checked. The Experiment box should also be checked, and 3885 Sloan Digital Sky Survey should be displayed in the Experiment field. Click on Query and a listing will appear of all Active Records that are available. To narrow the search, click the Project box and select one of the sub-categories from the list. SDSS drawings have been grouped into subsets associated with various telescope systems.
If you wish to check out a drawing, select the desired record by clicking on the drawing name. The record will highlight in blue. From the main menu, select Item, Checkout. A window will appear listing the specified file and the available options. Unless you intend to modify the file, click the box titled Copy Only. Select which versions of the file you wish to copy (DWG, DXF, etc.), and then click on Checkout. A copy of the current file will be written to your directory workspace.
Use ftp to transfer the copy of the file back to the computer you are using to do your CAD work.
If you checked out the file for revision, then when revisions are complete, transfer the file back to your account workspace with ftp, start DCS, and check in the file. To do this, from the main menu select Item, Checkin, and fill out the form accordingly.
To submit new files into DCS, select Item, New, and fill out the DCS New Part form. For example, if your file exists on your home directory, make sure the Data Exists, Yes box is selected. Type in the machine node name you are logged into (e.g., fnts03.fnal.gov). Select the drawing type that best describes your file (i.e., Electrical, Mechanical, etc.). Select the data type (CAD or Paper). Select the paper size. Select the appropriate experiment, (e.g., Sloan Digital Sky Survey). Select the appropriate project from the Project list.
Fill in the complete path to the file in the directory field, or select the icon that looks like a briefcase to browse through your files. Select the particular file you wish to enter as New. When selected, the file name comes up without its extension. For example, if you have a file named cartridge.orc, the file name will appear as "cartridge". Information is available on drawing file formats compatible with DCS.
Once the file information has been entered, select Get Next Available Number. Select the SDSS number bank. A new part number will automatically be assigned to your file.
To complete the transaction, click on the DOIT box. Unless you get an error message, your transaction was successfully completed and your new part number will be available for query.

Please remember to log out of your account when you are finished working on the system. From time to time the local system administrator will need to perform tasks that require everyone being logged out.

DCS Numbering Scheme

The numbering scheme for SDSS drawings maintained in DCS is as follows:

3885.XXX-MD-355xxx

The first four digits represent the project or experiment number. 3885 is the experiment number assigned to SDSS.

The next three digits, after the period, represent the category or sub-project. A listing of the SDSS categories can be found in the SDSS vault. From the Query window, select 3885 Sloan Digital Sky Survey as the experiment, and then click on Project. The list of available categories will appear.

The "M" signifies a mechanical drawing; insert an "E" for an electrical drawing, "A" for architectural.

The next letter represents the drawing size:
        A = 8.5 x 11
        B = 11 x 17
        C = 17 x 22
        D = 22 x 34, etc.

The final six digits represent the unique drawing number assigned by DCS.

The complete number, as shown above, should appear in the title block at the lower right hand corner of the drawing.

Questions regarding the numbering scheme should be addressed to Pat Poll at (630) 840-4028 or by e-mail at patpoll@fnal.gov.

Last updated 02/18/02
Send comments to boroski@fnal.gov

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