Overview
The White Out feature in 1factory provides quality engineers and inspectors with the ability to obscure or hide specific areas of technical drawings during the ballooning process. This functionality is particularly valuable in regulated manufacturing environments where drawings may contain proprietary information, unnecessary details, or elements that could distract from the specific inspection requirements being defined.
In the real world, organizations often receive drawings that include multiple views, detailed assembly information, or supplier-proprietary data that is not relevant to the specific inspection plan being created. The White Out feature allows users to maintain drawing integrity while focusing attention on the critical features requiring inspection control.
Important Note: The White Out feature is only available after the ballooning process has been initiated (balloons have been created) and balloons are linked with their corresponding callout regions on the drawing. This feature works for both Manufacturing Plans and Receiving Plans.
Conducting the White Out Process
Step 1: Access the Manufacturing or Receiving Module
From the main dashboard, select either the Manufacturing or Receiving module.
Step 2: Create a Plan with the Drawing
- Click the Plans tile to begin creating a new plan
- Click the New Plan button to initiate the plan creation process
- On the New Plan creation page, select the “from pdf drawing” option
- Complete all required information fields and upload the drawing for the plan
- After all information is provided, click the Go button
Step 3: Balloon the Drawing
- In the left menu bar, click the Ab (AUTO) icon to access the Auto Balloon feature
- Click the Go button to start the automatic ballooning process for the drawing
In this step, you can easily see each balloon linked with its inspection control callout and tolerance region, including Characteristic Type, Characteristic, Nominal dimensions, Tolerance specifications, and other relevant data.
Verification: Click on any balloon in the drawing to view its details. For example, clicking balloon 12 will display its complete specification information.
Step 4: Enable White Out Feature
In the left menu bar, click the WHITE OUT icon.
You will see all the balloons disappear, and the already called-out tolerance regions become white rectangles. This means all called-out dimensions have been ballooned, and now you can focus on ballooning the remaining regions.
Understanding the Display:
- White rectangles indicate regions that have already been ballooned
- Rectangles with numbers or tolerance callouts indicate regions that still need to be ballooned
To balloon an open region: Hover your cursor over the un-ballooned callout and press Shift + Right Mouse Click.
Step 5: Verify Regions Still Missing Ballooning
By clicking the WHITE OUT or SHOW ALL icon, you can easily identify regions that have not yet been ballooned versus regions that have already been ballooned. This method is very important to help users avoid missing any inspection control callout features in the drawing.
Toggle Between Views: In the left menu bar, click the WHITE OUT or SHOW ALL icon to switch between display modes.
Best Practice: Use the toggle function multiple times during the ballooning process to systematically verify complete coverage of all drawing specifications. This ensures that your inspection plan addresses every critical dimension, geometric tolerance, and specification callout on the drawing.
Real-World Application
In practice, the White Out feature helps quality teams ensure comprehensive inspection coverage, particularly with complex drawings containing numerous dimensional callouts. By visually distinguishing between ballooned and un-ballooned features, users can work systematically through drawings without overlooking critical specifications, which is essential for maintaining compliance with ISO 9001, ISO 13485, AS9100, and IATF 16949 standards.