What is a CAD Bill of Materials?
A CAD BOM is a list of the parts and materials that are being used to construct an assembly model in a design. These tables are incredibly useful for all kinds of stakeholders; they provide manufacturers, managers and vendors with a deeper insight into the design than the bare model can offer. Viewers can better understand the relationships between the different parts and assemblies of the CAD model through the CAD BOM. Onshape’s balloon callout feature allows stakeholders to scan over the design and easily link a part in the design with its row in the table for easy identification.
Real-Time Updates to Your CAD Bill of Materials
CAD BOM data is accessed and edited directly in the Assembly model. Changes made to the Assembly model update the table in real time and vice versa for simultaneous editing. Onshape’s cloud-based CAD data management allows the design and CAD BOM to update in real-time simultaneously for purchasing agents, assembly technicians and everyone else shared into the design on their respective devices. As a result, your data is always in sync, providing an accurate representation of the state of your Assembly model at all times. CAD BOM tables can be placed on a Drawing if required and intelligent balloon callouts added to show any required data field from the table.
Custom Views for Your CAD Bill of Materials
Dynamically display CAD BOM data in a hierarchical table view or as a flattened parts list with part counts. Add or remove columns from the table to display any available component property and edit in place if required for a quick way to mass-populate data into an Assembly. BOM customization allows you to decide which rows and columns to highlight or erase depending on the needs and interests of the viewer. Custom views are saved with the assembly, so each project can use a different set of data columns.
CAD Bill of Materials Items
Non-geometric items that are critical to the assembly build such as adhesives, lubricants and paint can be inserted directly into the CAD BOM from a predefined company-managed inventory. Bulk item definition includes quantity, units and the parts they are applied to. Add different elements to capture design intent and bring your 3D model to life.
CAD Bill of Materials Application Programing Interface (API)
For customers with more advanced, multi-discipline requirements, Onshape provides a dedicated BOM API that enables customers and partners to build custom apps to harness the BOM data in the table. This data can be downloaded as a CSV file or connected directly to an ERP system through the BOM API.
Bill of Materials on the Cloud
Collaboration is at the heart of what the Onshape product development platform delivers. Our cloud-based CAD collaboration and data management features accelerate time to market, facilitate teamwork, and encourage product innovation. Edits to a part in your design will update - both on the model and in the CAD BOM - in real-time for everyone who has been granted access to the 3D model.
Simultaneous Bill of Materials allows users to accelerate time to market with custom views and real-time updates
"Onshape allows us to keep everything much more organized without needing a PDM system. Onshape probably cuts our design time in half because we’re designing our parts together in one place versus flipping back and forth between files. We can make changes without worrying about breaking the assembly."
"Getting accurate part information to our engineers, designers, management and the manufacturing vendor is crucial. Previously, out-of-sync information had led to incorrect parts being manufactured. Onshape now enables us to share information quickly and ensures that everything is as accurate and as up-to-date as possible. "
Suggested Content
Tech Tip: Adding Parts to Your BOM
Bill of Materials Tips and Tricks
This webinar is focused on tips and tricks to get the most out of Onshape's Bill of Materials functions. Topics covered include using the Bill of Materials table, inserting the Bill of Materials into drawings, and using Items in the Bill of Materials.
