PMI (product and manufacturing information) is everything a drawing says on top of the shape: tolerances and fits, GD&T frames and datums, surface finish, welds, threads, material and coating, and general notes such as "ISO 2768-mK" or "trim all sharp edges". The geometry says what the part looks like; the PMI says what makes it acceptable. In CUTL you collect that list on the 3D model itself, so the shop floor, the inspector and the customer all work from the same confirmed set of requirements.
The PMI panel at a glance
The top of the panel has three buttons:
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Enrich from file | Reads your requirement documents and the model's own PMI (see below) |
| Add manually | Opens a form to type in a requirement and point at what it applies to |
| The gear | Part settings: the drawing standard, the default principle and the general tolerances for the whole model or one part |
Below them are three tabs, each with a counter: Existing (the PMI the model already carries), Pending (your staged changes, not yet saved) and Runs (enrichment runs on the version on screen).
The Existing tab
This tab lists every machine-readable PMI item in the STEP file of the version on screen. Each card shows the kind (for example Dimension / Diameter or Tolerance / Flatness), the value with its tolerance band, and a chip such as Face #1793 when the item is attached to a face. A geometric tolerance is drawn as a small feature control frame, read left to right as on a drawing.
- Click a card to highlight that item on the model.
- Open a single part to see only that part's PMI; Show all brings the rest back.
- Tags on a card tell you its criticality (Key, Critical, Major, Minor), its designator, Unless otherwise specified, Pattern or Same datum system (another requirement on this part is measured from the same datums in the same order, so both belong in one inspection setup).
If the file carries only drawn symbols and no machine-readable PMI, the tab says so and counts the graphic annotations. You can see them on the model, but they cannot be read back as data. To give that model real requirements, add them by hand or use Enrich from file.
Adding a requirement by hand
Press Add manually. The form only shows the fields your choices need, top to bottom.
A requirement for a whole part deliberately gets no leader line on the model: it applies everywhere, so there is nowhere to point.
Picked geometry as features
When you pick more than one face, say what they mean together. Every pick starts as its own feature; Treat selection as one feature joins picks (the two halves of a split bore, say) and Split separates them again. Use as says whether the requirement is about the surface itself or something derived from it, such as an axis, a centre plane or an apex (hold Alt and click to pick a vertex). With two or more features, choose Elements or Pattern; for a pattern, type the Quantity from the drawing and CUTL warns you if, say, the drawing says 4 holes and you picked 3.
The GD&T frame
Choosing Geometric tolerance as the kind replaces Value and Tolerance with a frame editor:
| Field | What you set |
|---|---|
| Characteristic | Position, flatness, perpendicularity, parallelism, angularity, profile of a surface or line, circularity, cylindricity, straightness, concentricity, coaxiality, symmetry, circular or total runout |
| Zone (mm) and Zone form | The allowed amount, and whether it is a diameter, spherical or plain zone |
| Modifiers | Maximum or least material, projected zone, free state, tangent plane and others. Only those valid for the characteristic can be pressed |
| Primary, Secondary, Tertiary | The datum reference frame, in measurement order. Common… builds a common datum such as A to B |
For position and profile you can press Add lower segment to build a composite frame (up to 3 lower segments): the upper row locates the pattern, the lower rows hold the features to each other. Preview draws the frame as it will be written.
The form checks the drawing standard's rules as you type. A broken rule is spelled out under the form (for example, a flatness tolerance cannot reference a datum) and the button reads Fix 1 issue to add until it is fixed. Type decimals with a dot, not a comma. Set the part's standard (ISO 1101 or ASME Y14.5) behind the gear first, because it decides which rules apply.
Criticality
Under the value or frame, Criticality says how much it matters if this requirement is not met:
- Level: Minor, Major, Key or Critical. Leave it empty for most requirements.
- Area: Safety, Mission, Fit, Function or Appearance, so Key · Safety tells the inspector why.
- Designator: the short mark printed in the balloon, such as K, CC or CTQ. Use your customer's own letters.
Criticality is written into the STEP file only for geometric tolerances, dimensions, size tolerances, fits and datums. For other kinds it stays on the requirement in CUTL, and the form tells you so.
Editing and deleting
On the Existing tab, the ⋯ menu on a card offers Edit and Delete. Editing opens the same form with the item filled in; a new pick replaces the old face rather than adding to it. For a geometric tolerance, Keep existing frame is the default so a simple change (criticality, designator, face) can never wipe the datums; choose Replace frame to rewrite it. Changed cards are badged edited or to be deleted, and Undo drops the change.
Cards without a ⋯ button (notes, and items the file does not identify) cannot be changed from here. If one is wrong, add a correct requirement on the same face.
Pending and Save all
The Pending tab lists every staged addition, edit and deletion, with what it applies to and, for edits, the original value. Part settings you changed appear here too.
Save all writes every pending change into one new version of the review. The version you started from stays exactly as it was. The screen does not jump: a banner shows Saved as v4 with the results, and Reload v4 switches over when you are ready.
| Result | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Semantic | Written as data that software can read and tie to the face. The outcome you want |
| Drawn as callout | Written as a drawn note: a person sees it, software gets text only. The row says why |
| Failed | Not written, with the reason. It goes back to Pending so you can fix it; the rest of the set is already saved |
| Unconfirmed | Not reported back. Reload the version to check before saving it again |
Enrich from file
Enrich from file reads a customer's requirement documents together with the model's own PMI and proposes every requirement it finds, with its source, for you to confirm. Nothing is accepted silently: there is no "approve all", and the model on screen is never changed in place.
| You have | What happens |
|---|---|
.csv, .xlsx, .xml | You give it a Document ID (the customer's document number) and map its columns once |
.pdf | Read directly. It must be a real text PDF exported from CAD, not a scan |
.qif | Read directly, exactly as written |
| The STEP model | Not uploaded here: the review itself is always the model |
Mapping columns
In step 2, Map columns, you tell CUTL what each column of a table means: Text (required), Kind, Nominal, Upper tolerance, Lower tolerance, Unit, Fit code, GD&T, weld and thread columns, or Ignore. CUTL never guesses.
Do
- Map a Dimension kind column (diameter, radius, length) so CUTL can place sizes on the right faces, and a Tolerance kind column if some rows use +/- deviations and others absolute limits.
Avoid
- Picking one tolerance convention for a file that mixes both: 0 / -0.2 and 35.2 / 34.8 both look valid, so the mistake shows up as a wrong part, not an error.
The mapping is saved with the document, so you can reuse it in later runs. Tick This is a revision of an earlier run to compare a new customer revision against a confirmed earlier one and see only what changed: carried forward, value changed, text changed, added or removed. Balloon numbers stay the same across revisions.
Runs and the three review rounds
A run carries on in the background; the Runs tab shows its progress and an orange dot when it is waiting for you.
| Round | What you do |
|---|---|
| Round 1 | Decide every proposal: Accept, Move (wrong scope), Edit, Reject or Defer, with keyboard shortcuts. Where two sources disagree, click the one you keep. The Evidence window shows the drawing pages with each proposal boxed |
| Round 2 | Only for requirements CUTL could not place: pick the right face on the model, or keep it part-level |
| Round 3 | Sign off the enriched STEP model against a machine check of what was written into it |
Results
When the run is complete, Results offers:
| Export | What it is |
|---|---|
| Inspection report | Every characteristic with who decided it and when, plus blank columns for the inspector |
| Inspection program (QIF) | The same characteristics for inspection software |
| Ballooned drawing | Your drawing with a numbered balloon on every requirement; Preview balloons shows it first |
| Enriched 3D model (STEP) | The model with the requirements written in. Download STEP first, then Create vN to make it the next version |
A completed run can also issue a Certificate of conformity that the part meets the confirmed requirement set, citing the decision record. Customer, purchase order, quantity, material certificate reference, heat number and signatory are all optional; blanks print as "not supplied". It is not an EN 10204 3.1 certificate and only cites your supplier's 3.1 by number. Every decision is kept in a signed audit record you can show the customer.
Next, see STEP documents to put a part's PMI into a passport or manual, or STEP viewer to share the model.