##Overview
If you are searching for a mechanism to manage your company’s data releases and data access to partners (customers, suppliers, etc.), please read on.
The above capability will be of particular benefit to open source hardware projects or companies.
The purpose of this Topic is to find one or more beta users to serve as the design input and tester for a “Git for Open Source Hardware” type of functionality.
##Background Information
There is likely a strong need for a configuration management (to include version control) for open source hardware. With modifications, ERPNext is a strong solution to “Git for Closed Source Hardware” (BOMs, routings, vendor lists, work orders, drawings, etc.). To make ERPNext suitable for open source hardware, the main feature would be to expand access control (permissions) such that public access via web can be granted to specific design and manufacturing data – fairly granular and maybe even on a “per item” basis. Another useful feature could be “work instructions” (assembly instructions) that may require creating wiki-type functionality.
Some quasi-solutions for “Git for Open Source Hardware” exist today – see below for few of them – but they are far from complete.
- About | Wevolver
- http://blog.dragoninnovation.com/2016/10/17/product-planner-empowering-hardware-companies-see-future/
- http://www.openplm.org/trac
Below are just a few of the indicators of need for such a configuration management / version control “feature”.
- https://www.wired.com/2012/05/we-need-version-control-for-real-stuff/
- Version control systems for hardware projects? - Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange
- https://www.quora.com/Product-Design-physical-goods-Is-there-any-source-or-versioning-control-for-hardware
- http://www.infoworld.com/article/2955650/development-tools/git-isnt-good-enough-version-control-enterprises.html
- Version control for hardware projects? - Bar Sport - Arduino Forum
- Interview: Hardware team learns from software developers
- Buzz | MySolidWorks
##Benefits to ERPNext Organization and Community
- Access to a new market: open source manufacturing and other organizations that need public access to specific organizational data.
- Continued commitment to open source.
- Continued demonstration of how ERPNext is THE software for manufacturing.
- Get new ERPNext customers. If someone wants to “fork” the open source hardware item, they can create an ERPNext instance / account, export / import the data, and be on their way.
##Strawman (Straw man proposal - Wikipedia) Proposal
Below are notes that may serve as the basis for creating the functionality for “Git for Open Source Hardware”.
- key data
- item details
- bill of material
- production order
- workstation
- operation
- subcontracting / vendor list
- work instructions (via wiki, ideally)
- related files (PDF drawings, CAD models, sketches, photos, inspection requirements, etc.)
- public facing pages
- determined by user based on organization policies, open source license type, and ???
- Main Page = select by product name and product number (item number, part number)
- For the selected product provide the data
- Bill of Material + Workstations + Operations + Subcontracting + Work Instructions (Wiki) + Design Files (CAD, EDA, ???)
- For the selected product provide the data
- Data could be simply displayed on the webpage or could have links to exportable data (CSV, files, or whatever) or links to the actual data. Or all.
- questions
- version control: post only the current (latest) versions of data?
- how to provide work instruction and related files (see “key data” above) as that data is not a standard feature of ERPNext today
##Next Steps
- If you are interested in serving as a beta user, post a reply to this topic indicating the details of your interest.
- If you have feedback on the above Strawman Proposal, post that feedback to this topic.