Note: The manufacturing process model version (also called “cost model version” and abbreviated "CMV") for a given process group is distinct from the aPriori release version for a given deployment. It is possible, and indeed common, for a deployment to upgrade to a new release of aPriori, while continuing to use older, configured versions of the manufacturing process models for various process groups.
When you upgrade an aPriori deployment to a new release, aPriori establishes default values for the site variables of each version of each primary process group. If, in a previous release, a user overrode the default value of a site variable, aPriori retains the override in the new release.
Site Variable Value Compatibility
It is possible for the user to set a site variable for a given version of a process group to a value that is incompatible with that version of the process group, resulting in inaccurate cost, manufacturability, and sustainability feedback. This spreadsheet lists all the site variables for which this is possible.
For releases prior to aPriori 2025 R1, it was also possible for the upgrade process to set a site variable for a given version of a process group to an incompatible value. This is because aPriori established the same value for every version of a process group (aPriori did not then support different values for different versions). For site variables that required different values for different versions, the value for some versions was necessarily incompatible (see Incompatibility Example). Users were instructed to establish compatibility for the process group version they were using by overriding the default value (see, for example, the Release Notes for earlier releases).
For aPriori release 2025 R1 or later, the on-premise upgrade process alerts you to any site variables with an incompatible value. The upgrade process:
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Displays a warning message and generates a report that flags any incompatible site variables. The location of the report is specified in the message.
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Adds a comment that can be viewed in the Site Variables GUI, for each site variable with incompatible values.
Incompatibility Example
In aPriori 2017 R1, aPriori enhanced geometry recognition to extract Pocket GCDs in the Stock Machining process group:
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A new site variable, pocketExtractionEnabled, was introduced and set to true by default.
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A new version of the baseline manufacturing process model (CMV 60) was introduced, which included new cost model logic for estimating the cycle time for machining a Pocket GCD.
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Older cost model versions included no operations appropriate for Pocket GCDs, and so no logic for estimating pocket machining times and costs.
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If a customer upgraded to aPriori 2017 R1, but the customer’s Digital Factory still used an older (configured) version of the manufacturing process model, the customer was instructed to disable extraction of Pocket GCDs by setting the site variable pocketExtractionEnabled to false.
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If the customer did not do this, Pocket GCDs would be extracted, but no cycle time or cost estimates for machining those GCDs would be computed, since the older cost model had no logic for this.
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As a result, the resulting aPriori estimate for the part would be too low—and there would be no error or warning message to indicate that this was the case.