> 1) Is control as simple as reserving a directory on the network and
> restricting access?
        Maybe...maybe not. How good is you're access control? How do you
ensure that the
        data is really the most current for that revision. Contrary to
popular belief, data will
        be changing right up to moment you start building. Your best bet is
to invest in a PDM
        (Product Data Management) software package right from the start. Its
sole purpose
        is data configuration management control.

> 2) What is done to make sure the drawing matches the fab data after
> revisions are made?
        See number 1.

> 3) Fab data will reside separately from drawing data for redundancy.
        Most PDM packages allow for, and are in fact designed for that
configuration.

> 4) Is FTP or e-mail preferred for fab data transfer? Or is this fab house
> specific?
        That usually depends on the size of the data files you're sending.
Many mail handlers will
        truncate data files that exceed a certain size. Compressing the
files helps a lot. FTP is much
        faster. It's also more reliable, due to the parity checking that
occurs during a transfer.

> 5) Are there software packages that automate all/some of this process?
        Many people write their own shell scripts or C programs to post
process and package the
        data for transfer. This not only ensures consistency of data setups
and formats, but is
        very fast.


 Michael Hiteshew
 Lockheed Martin Launching Systems
 [log in to unmask]
 (410) 682-1259

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