Databases

All data is stored in databases. To work on design data you must specify the name of a Multiple Database (MDB) before you enter another module. An MDB is a collection of databases with defined access rights. Specifying an MDB sets your access rights to the databases.

A MDB can contain up to 1000 DBs, and any number of the 1000 DBs can be described as current and accessed at one time. Databases which cannot be accessed are described as non-current or deferred. The status of a DB can be changed to Current or Defer at any time. Refer to Current and Non-current Databases for further information.

MONITOR checks that an MDB has been selected before it will allow you to enter another module (except ADMIN).

Note:
When you select an MDB and enter a design module, UNITS settings are taken from the first current catalog DB. Connection compatibility (COCO) tables in all the current catalog DBs are available to the designer.

Current Working Units Initialization

Current units are set on session start. Their configuration is dependent on the setting of the BUNIT and DUNIT attributes in the first UNIT element found in a catalogue database in the MDB.

The value of the BUNI and DUNI are used for setting BORE and DISTANCE current working units. The BUNI value is applied to current BORE units (one of MM, INCH or FINCH) and the DUNI value is the current DISTANCE unit (any distance standard unit including MM, INCH or FINCH).

The setting of DUNI also determines which of imperial or metric units are to be generally used.

Some physical quantities will be initialized to use their database unit regardless of imperial or metric DUNI settings (e.g. angles, voltages, and current, time, power).

The current working units of most other quantities are directly dependent on (for example, DERIVED from) the setting of the current distance unit (and sometimes current units of other quantities. For example, Area, Volume, Surface and Linear Density, Content, Temperature gradient.

Some quantities have special initial imperial or metric settings applied which are dependent on whether the distance unit is imperial or metric

• Mass will be kg or lb

• Temperature will be degC or degF

• Pressure will be pascal or PSI

• Force will be newton or lbf

• Density will be kg/m3 or lb/ft3

Unit mass will be kg/distance or lb/distance