Set Up The ArtiosCAD Integration Using Automation Engine
Note: Automation Engine uses Esko WebCenter to store design files (.ARD) and does not require any specific software installation for the iQuote integration.
Prerequisites
You must complete the following prerequisites before you can integrate ArtiosCAD with iQuote using Automation Engine:
Purchase and install Esko ArtiosCAD, Automation Engine, and WebCenter.
Ensure you have access to, and save your design files (.ARD) in, WebCenter.
Use Automation Engine version 21.11 or higher
Configure The iQuote Integration For Automation Engine Users
Although no software installation is required for Automation Engine, you must do the following to complete the Esko ArtiosCAD integration configuration in iQuote:
Configure the iQuote integration in Automation Engine
Launch Automation Engine Pilot.
Navigate to Menu Tools > Configure > External Web Services.
In the URL field, enter the iQuote URL, including the port.
Save your changes and exit.
Configure the Automation Engine integration in iQuote
Navigate to Administration > General Configuration > System > General Settings. The General Settings screen opens.
On the General Settings screen, click the ESKO tab and check “Enable Esko Automation Engine Integration” checkbox.
On the ESKO tab, in the Automation Engine area, select the Enable Automation Engine Integration check box. The Connection Configuration, Feature Configuration, and Format for Simulation areas appear.
On the ESKO tab, in the Connection Configuration area, complete the following fields, as applicable:
In the URL field (required), enter the URL, including the port, where WebCenter stores the Automation Engine design files (.ARD).
In the Timeout (seconds) field, enter the amount of time of connection inactivity, in seconds, before iQuote ends the process with Automation Engine.
In the Feature Configuration area of the ESKO tab, complete the following fields, as applicable:
In the Standard ARD Category field, enter the name of the category folder used for the Standard type .ARD design files in Esko WebCenter.
Select the Design Filter – Use Revision In The Search check box if, when searching for a specific design (Select a Design For An Estimate Product), you want to be able to include the revision IDs in the CAD Name field of the Select CAD pop-up screen in iQuote.
On the ESKO tab, in the Format For Simulation area, complete the following fields, as applicable:
In the Minimum Format (WxH) field (required), enter the minimum width and height of the format range you want Automation Engine to use when simulating the possible nesting (Select a Design For An Estimate Product) of the design layout.
Tip: iQuote automatically appends the default system unit of measurement indicator, such as mm, to the value in this field.
For a faster simulation, it is recommended that you use the same format for the width and height to avoid one simulation per grain direction of the paper. This enables iQuote to flip the product in the correct grain direction in the engineering simulation.
In the Maximum Format (WxH) field (required), enter the maximum width and height of the format range you want Automation Engine to use when simulating the possible nesting (_Select_nesting_options) of the design layout.
TipiQuote automatically appends the default system unit of measurement indicator, such as mm, to the value in this field.
For a faster simulation, it is recommended that you use the same format for the width and height to avoid one simulation per grain direction of the paper. This enables iQuote to flip the product in the correct grain direction in the engineering simulation.
Click Save to save your changes.
Provide access control to Specification Characteristics and Components
Navigate to Administration > User > User Profiles and open the appropriate User Profile. The User Profile screen opens.
On the Permissions tab of the User Profile screen, navigate to EPS > Sales > Records > iQuote > Product Specification.
Enable access for the following product specifications:
Specification Characteristic Type
Specification Component Type
Click Save.
Create an Esko Automation Engine specification characteristic type
Tip: Before you create a new characteristic type for ArtiosCAD Automation Engine, in the Search box of the Specification Characteristic Type screen, search for any Specification Characteristic Type record with a code or description of Esko. If an “Esko – Artios Enterprise” Characteristic Type record already exists, skip to the Link the Artios Enterprise characteristic with a specification component type topic.
Navigate to Sales > Records > iQuote > Product Specification > Specification Characteristic Type.
Click New.
Enter a Description.
In the Characteristic Class field, select Esko – Artios Enterprise.
Select the Create Engineering check box and click Confirm.
Link the Artios Enterprise characteristic with a specification component type
Navigate to Sales > Records > iQuote > Product specification > Specification Component Type (or enter Specification component type in the Quick Search field).
Select the Carton Box component record, or create a new one.
Select the Carton Format characteristic (e.g., Format – Carton package, Component Format – Carton) on the Characteristics tab to highlight it, then click Characteristic Options.
Click New and select the Esko Artios Enterprise specification characteristic you created (as described in the Create an Esko Automation Engine specification characteristic type topic).
Click OK.
Create An iQuote Estimate Using Automation Engine
Configure the iQuote integration in Automation Engine.
Navigate to Sales > iQuote > Estimate.
Create an estimate for a carton box product, then click the Product tab.
Tip: By default, the system displays the main characteristic, which in this example is Carton Format. However, you can click the format characteristic name on the Product > Specification tab to use a package layout from Esko Automation Engine.
On the Product > Specification tab, click the format name to display the Carton Characteristic drop-down menu.
Select Esko – Artios Enterprise from the Carton Characteristic drop-down menu.
Note: You can skip this step if Esko – Artios Enterprise is already the default format for this product.
The Esko - Artios Enterprise area opens and replaces the Carton format area.
Complete the fields in the Esko Artios Enterprise area, using the following "Select a Design For An Estimate Product" topic as a guide.
Select a Design For An Estimate Product
There are two types of CADs you can use to calculate the layouts: Custom Design and Standard Design. The Custom Design is a fixed design already created by the CAD team. You cannot change Custom Design files and iQuote must use them exactly as they are.
Use the Standard Design when there is no specific Design CAD for the product you are estimating. When estimators select a Standard CAD in iQuote, they can change some of the information, such as Width, Side Height measurements and Grain Direction
In iQuote, navigate to Sales > iQuote > Estimate and select an estimate record.
On the Estimate screen, click the Product tab.
In the Products area, click the product for which you want to use the Standard Design or Customer Design CAD, then click Select CAD from the pop-up menu.
The Design Selection pop-up screen opens.
On the CAD Selection pop-up screen, do the following:
In the CAD Type field, select Custom Design if you want to use a fixed Design CAD. Select Standard Design if you want to use a Standard CAD that allows changes.
In the CAD Name field, enter all or part of the name of the CAD record you want to use (or leave this field blank to return all records of the CAD type you specified.)
Tips
● If your system administrator selected the Design filter – use revision in the search check box on the Esko tab of the General Settings screen, you can include an underscore ( _ ) plus the revision ID in the CAD Name search. In this case, iQuote ignores the underscore and revision ID when you select the Exact Match check box.
● If you include a revision ID in the search, iQuote returns only the last reversion of the file, regardless of the revision ID you enter in the CAD Name field, but then highlights the file in red if the revision ID does not match the ID you entered. If the user knows the project details under which the required file is stored, user can enter the project description in the Project field, so that search process happens only in the mentioned project and search result can be obtained quicker.
Select the Exact Match check box if you want iQuote to search for the CAD record that matches exactly the name you entered it in the CAD Name field.
Click Filter to search Esko WebCenter for the files.
A list of CAD file(s) that meet your search criteria opens at the bottom of the pop-up screen.
Tips
● For Custom Design CAD Types, iQuote displays more details from the file, such as Revision, CAD description, Project, Customer Name and Revision Date.
● For Standard Design CAD Types, iQuote displays the Category Path and the CAD description.
● You must search Standard Design files by their CAD Description. You cannot use the ARD file name to search Standard Designs.
In the list at the bottom of the design Selection pop-up screen, select the desired design, then click Show Image to display a thumbnail image of the design.
Tip: If you selected the Exact Match check box, iQuote automatically displays a thumbnail image of the design when you select the design name from the list.
Click Confirm to apply the selected design to the estimate product.
Select a design, then complete the following fields, as applicable:
Tip: iQuote automatically populates some of the fields after you select a design.
The CAD Type field indicates whether the Design type is a Custom Design (not editable) or Standard Design (template)
Note: You can modify the fields just for Standard type CAD designs, and not Custom type CAD designs.
The CAD Name field indicates the name of the CAD design file used with this estimate.
The Length field indicates the total length of the package.
The Side (Width) field indicates the total width of the package.
The Height (Depth) field indicates the total depth of the package.
Note: The system automatically populates the following format fields (using the default unit of measurement from iQuote) after you select a design; however, you can modify the values in these fields as necessary, provided the CAD Type is set to Standard.
The Blank Size (X x Y) field indicates the length and width of the package when flat (before folding).
Note: The system automatically populates this field for Custom design types. For Standard design types, iQuote populates or updates this field every time the estimate is calculated.
In the Grain Direction field (editable only for Standard design types), indicates the grain direction of the product. For Standard design types, select whether the direction of the grain follows the package Horizontal edge (X), or Vertical edge (Y).
Click Details to review additional design details. The Details pop-up screen opens.
On the Details pop-up screen, review the following (read-only) fields, as applicable:
The Customer field indicates the customer to which this design applies.
The Project field indicates the project name for this design.
The Salesperson field indicates the salesperson assigned to this customer and project.
The Designer field indicates the name of the designer for this CAD.
The Created Dt field indicates the date and time this design was created.
The Last Modified Dt field indicates the date and time this design was last modified.
The Total Length field indicates the total length of the design, using the system base unit of measurement.
The Cutting field indicates the length to cut, using the system base unit of measurement.
The Creasing field indicates the length to crease, using the system base unit of measurement.
In the Layout Details area of the Details pop-up screen, complete the following fields, as applicable:
In the Gutter (X) field, enter the horizontal gutter amount, using the system base unit of measurement.
In the Gutter (Y) field, enter the vertical gutter amount, using the system base unit of measurement.
In the Layout Styles field, select the nesting options you want to make available for this design, using the Nesting Options topic in this guide as a reference.
Click OK to save your changes. iQuote saves your changes and the Details pop-up screen closes.
Click Die Layout if you want to predefine tooling and specific layouts for the engineering calculation. The Die Layout pop-up screen opens.
Note: This step is optional for engineering calculation.
On the Die Layout pop-up screen, select the Define Die Layout Manually check box if you want to select a specific layout or options of layouts before the engineering calculation. Otherwise, skip to step 16.
Notes:
● If you select the Define Die Layout Manually check box, you must manually select or create a die layout for the system to calculate this estimate. Leave this check box deselected if you want the system to automatically define the die layout according to the information provided.
● You can create a new specification for a new layout, but it will not be connected to the Esko ArtiosCAD integration.
The Die Layout table opens at the bottom of the Die Layout pop-up screen.
If you selected the Define Die Layout Manually check box, do any of the following in the grid at the bottom of the Die Layout pop-up screen, as applicable.
Click Select Die Cutter to choose a Die Cutter record.
Note: The record you select will not be connected to the Esko ArtiosCAD integration.
Click Automatic Fit Options to choose from a list of fitting options from Esko ArtiosCAD, then click Confirm to accept the selected option.
On the Die Layout pop-up screen, click OK to return to the Product > Specification tab of the Estimate screen.
On the Product > Specification tab of the Estimate screen, click Calculate or Recalculate, iQuote connects with ArtiosCAD, and ArtiosCAD provides a list of possible layouts, based on the design you selected and predefined rules. iQuote then calculates the engineering and selects the most cost-effective route, considering the nesting options simulated by ArtiosCAD.
Tip: All other features of iQuote are available, so you can select a different layout, machine, or change speeds, materials costs, etc.
Review The Automation Engine Integration Logs
Use the Automation Engine logs in iQuote to identify or troubleshoot customer issues and requests. These logs include a history of all transactions completed with Automation Engine.
To review the logs, navigate to Sales > Records > iQuote > Integration > Esko Integration Logs.
The Esko Integration Logs screen opens, with a list of all transactions completed using Automation Engine.
Select a transaction you want to review and click Show Details to display detailed information about the transaction.
