Engineering Toolkit
Related: Drafting Toolkit Modeling Toolkit
Drafting vs Modeling
- Drafting: Drafting Toolkit — Epicor-driven schedules and BOM on layouts, part lookup, template/layout restore, and publish workflows that keep drawings aligned with Epicor and the PM-maintained material schedule.
- Modeling: Modeling Toolkit — Part naming, L00/L001 style outputs, analysis, and hardware integration (including the shared library populated via McMaster-Carr requests).1
Launching Toolkit
- Open Rhino: Synapse panel > Grasshopper > Load latest FE toolkit. 2
- Location:
DFWCWKA internal > Engineering resource > shared GH for Grasshopper > FE Engineering Toolkit - Note: If the toolkit doesn’t appear, ensure Grasshopper is installed and the latest toolkit version is available in the shared Engineering Team folder.
- First Time Opening: 2 The toolkit will take a minute to load on first open - there’s a loading bar in the Grasshopper canvas as Python components pull required libraries.
- Save Personal Copy: After opening, save the toolkit with your initials (e.g.,
FE_Toolkit_JD.gh) to your preferred location. This becomes your personal copy.
First Run Setup
Plugin Requirements
- PackageManager: 2 Starting with Rhino 8, use the built-in Package Manager (run command
PackageManager) to install required plugins. The toolkit requires specific plugins - if you try to launch without them, it will fail and show a reset button listing required plugins. - Required Plugin: Synapse - allows custom UI within Rhino. The Synapse panel must be in the foreground when launching Grasshopper. After installing Synapse from Package Manager, load Synapse RCP once: Rhino Options → Plug-ins → find Synapse RCP (remote control panel) → right-click → Load Plug-in (or equivalent) so the Synapse panel appears.
Login (Epicor Data)
- Login: 2 Type your Epicor username, hit enter (caches username). Enter password, hit enter (caches password). Both are cached to disk for future use.
- Troubleshooting: If login fails, verify Epicor access and check with IT if credentials need updating.
Pull Payload
- Action: 2 On first run only - go to Setup tab, expand “Toolkit Payload”, click “Pull Payload” to download CW/DFW-specific information from server. Wait for CW logo to appear in reset button.
Reset / Verify
- Reset: 2 Click reset button (always shows an error - ignore it). Reset will verify plugin versions and show list of required plugins if any are missing. When complete, username and password will be hidden (cached).
- When to reset: After any significant model space changes (importing geometry, modeling new parts), click reset to ensure the toolkit grabs the freshest data.
How do I restore model space from the template?
Drafting Toolkit → Template tab → Restore Model Space. Pulls in and merges latest data from the template — adds missing layers, geometry, annotation styles. You can toggle specific items on/off.
How do I restore layout pages from the template?
Drafting Toolkit → Template tab → Restore Layout Space. Select specific pages or restore all. Hover over page names for descriptions (e.g., “Master Parts List”, “G00 General Schedule”).