Ci-Configure, step by step

01The big idea

Ci-Configure runs Creo from a spreadsheet. Each row of the sheet is one command ("open this model", "write these dimensions", "save a PDF"), and the rows run top to bottom. You write rules in cells, not in code.

Every product (a catalog item) has up to three parts. Only the Actions part is required.

Values flow left to right: inputs feed variables, and both feed the action rows. Every cell in the Actions sheet is worked out at the moment its row runs.

02The screen

When a catalog item is open, the main window has these parts:

03Where things are saved

Everything lives under the catalog folder (C:\Ci\CONFIGURE\ on a standard install):

The catalog row

An item only appears in the catalog when it has a row in catalog_setup.xlsx:

04Your first action set

The smallest useful action set opens one model, regenerates it and closes it. It is the Creo health check this website sends with Test my CPS + Creo.

1. Add a row to catalog_setup.xlsx with FILE_NAME and FOLDER_NAME CREO_HEALTH_CHECK.
2. Create the folder CATALOG\CREO_HEALTH_CHECK\ and a CAD_DATA.XLSX in it (sheet catalogDATA, the header row from section 05).
3. Add the six rows below.
4. Open the item in Ci-Configure, select all rows and press play.
5. Watch the feedback: each row prints Running: …; Creo opens the model and closes it again.

Row 900005 reads its own sheet of the batch file into a table called 900005_Grid1; every later row takes its values from that table with DTCell. That is the pattern every Amada module follows.

05The Actions sheet (CAD_DATA)

One row per command. Rows run in order, top to bottom.

Example: write two parameters in one row

Action     Creo.ModelItem.WriteMany
CADInputs  NO|NO|NO|NO|NoOutput
6  Models        trailer_assy.asm|trailer_assy.asm
7  Owners        |
8  Item IDs      LENGTH|WIDTH
9  Values        INPUT_LENGTH|INPUT_WIDTH

The remaining columns (types, value types, regenerate, regen option, condition) follow the same | pattern. The action reference lists every command's main and advanced inputs in order.

06The Inputs sheet (UI_DATA)

Each row is one question on the inputs panel. Its InputName is the name you use everywhere else.

07The Variables sheet (VAR_DATA)

Variables hold the logic: each one is a formula worked out from inputs and other variables. Build them with the f(x) builder, or type the expression yourself.

Examples

08Writing expressions

Expressions are written function first, with the arguments in brackets: FUNCTION(arg1,arg2,…). So "a minus b" is -(a,b) and "a equals b" is =(a,b).

Rules that save time

• Text you compare against goes in double quotes: "Front Railing Only". Names (inputs, variables) go without quotes.
• A condition is true when it gives 1 (or True). A Boolean variable can be the whole condition: cad_mesh_ramp_opt.
• | separates list items in a cell. Each item is worked out on its own.
• In a | list, an empty item between two bars (a||c) is a blank value.
• Use the f(x) builder when unsure: it builds the brackets and commas for you.

The full list of expression functions is in section 14.

09Tables and loops

A table is a grid of values held in memory while the item runs. It is the easiest way to feed an action set with data from Excel.

Make a table

• Data.ExcelTable.ToDataTable with "file.xlsx"|Sheet!|Grid1 loads a whole sheet. The table is named <row ID>_Grid1.
• Data.ExcelTable.LookUp loads only the rows where a column matches a value (advanced inputs: column name, matching value).
• Row 1 of the sheet holds the column names; values start on row 2.

Read from a table

DTCell(table,row,column): row 0 is the first data row, the column is its name. DTCell(100010_Grid1,0,CATALOG_ITEM) is the CATALOG_ITEM of the first row.

Loop over a table

Put the table name in the row's [for-loop] column. The row then runs once per table row, and Loop1Row is the current row number (from 0): DTCell(100010_Grid1,Loop1Row,ITEM_NUMBER). A loop inside a loop uses Loop2Row.

10Calling other action sets (modules)

One top-level item can call others. Amada's TOOLING_AUTOMATOR loads the batch and calls the module for the tool: SPECIAL_SHAPE_2D, FORM_TOOL_3D or CREO_HEALTH_CHECK.

The rules

• The set name is picked from a list, so it can't be an expression. Use one row per module and let the condition choose.
• Only the module's CAD_DATA is loaded. Its inputs and variables are not.
• A module can't see the caller's tables. Give it its own first row that loads what it needs (row 300005 in FORM_TOOL_3D, 900005 in CREO_HEALTH_CHECK).
• No nesting. A module can't call another module; the call is skipped with a message.
• The set name must match FILE_NAME in catalog_setup.xlsx.

11Running and reading the log

• Run all runs every row of the open item. Play runs only the selected rows; handy for testing one row.
• Creo must be running before Ci-Configure starts, or it can't connect to it.
• Keep Simple on: the grid then draws only the columns you need, and runs and module loads are faster.

What the log lines mean

Each session writes its log to the logs folder as yyyy-MM-dd_HH-mm-ss-fff_Ci-Configure.txt. Send that file when asking for help.

12Running from this website

The website never talks to Creo itself. It puts a batch file on the CAD Instruct queue, and whichever Ci-Configure is waiting on that queue builds it and sends the status and PDFs back.

Each queue item's status and results show on QueueInfo. A good run ends with 100% - done.

13When something goes wrong

14Expression functions

Use these inside any cell: conditions, inputs, advanced inputs and variables. used at Amada marks the ones already in the Amada action sets.

Source: LogicFunctionsRef.xlsx and the expression engine. Descriptions of the ones not yet used at Amada are taken from their names; check the result in the feedback before relying on them.

15Action reference

Every command in FunctionsRef.xlsx, with its main inputs (CADInputs, in order) and advanced inputs (columns 6, 7, 8 …).

used at Amada = in the Amada action sets. check = listed in FunctionsRef.xlsx but no command of that exact name was found in the engine; try it on one row before building on it. FunctionsRef.xlsx is a starting point, not a guarantee: the feedback shows what a row really did.