Bill of Materials Dialog Box

You can use the Bill of Materials - BOM dialog box to create Bill of Material (BOM) templates to display the components of CAD assemblies and drawings.

The BOM column dynamically lists selected variable values from the data card of all referenced components to a selected main file, based on what is stored in the SOLIDWORKS PDM database.

SOLIDWORKS PDM has the following default templates:
  • BOM
  • Item BOM
  • Weldment BOM
  • Weldment Cut List

To display the Bill of Materials dialog box:

  • To edit an existing BOM template, expand Bills of Materials and double-click the template.
  • To create a BOM template, right-click Bills of Materials and select New Bill of Materials.
Bill of materials name The BOM template name.
Type Select one:
Bill of Materials

Appears as a BOM option on the Bill of Materials tab for a CAD assembly or drawing.

Weldment Cutlist

Appears as a BOM option on the Bill of Materials tab for a multibody part with a BOM or cut list.

Weldment BOM

Appears as a BOM option on the Bill of Materials tab for a multibody part with a Weldment BOM or cut list.

Item BOM

Appears as a BOM option on the Bill of Materials tab for an item in Item Explorer.

Preview Shows how the column set appears to users.
Columns Lists columns that have been added.
New Column

Adds a new column. Set column properties under Selected column.

Delete Column

Removes the selected column.

Move column leftwards

Moves the column up in the Columns list, which moves it to the left in the Preview.

Move column rightwards

Moves the column down in the Columns list, which moves it to the right in the Preview.

Users and Groups Lists users and groups to which you can assign rights.
Activate computed BOM Users with this right can activate computed BOMs. Activate a computed BOM to display it in the BOM view in the client. This option is not available for item BOMs.
See computed BOM Users with this right can see computed BOMs on the Bill of Materials tab in the client.

Selected column

Set these options for each column you add.

Variable Select the data card variable whose value should be retrieved on the Bill of Materials tab.
The variable list includes all variables that have been defined for the vault and the following system variables, which are enclosed in < >:
<Associated Item>

Item that links to the file, if any. If the file is associated with multiple items, one item ID is listed followed by , .... This variable is available for SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional only.

<Category>

Category of the file. This variable is available for SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional only.

<Checked Out By>

If checked out, shows the user who has the file checked out.

<Checked Out In>

If checked out, shows the system and path where the file is checked out.

<Configuration>

Name of the used/referenced configuration for the components listed in the BOM.

<File Type>

Registered file type of the file.

<Found in Version>

Most recent file version the search criteria is found in.

<Found In>

Path in the vault where the file is found.

<ID>

Unique document ID assigned to each file in the vault, which can be useful when exporting BOMs to XML.

 
<Latest Version>

Latest version of the file.

<Modified>

Date file was most recently modified.

<Name>

Name and extension of the file.

<Part Number>

The component part number.

<Reference Count (BOM Quantity disregarded>

Quantity of weldment components. Required for Weldment Cutlist templates.

<Reference Count>

Number of instances each component of the same name and configuration appears in the BOM. Required for Weldment BOM templates.

If the file's data card contains a "UNIT_OF_MEASURE" custom property, the quantity value can be overridden by the BOM Quantity setting. This setting is specified in the SOLIDWORKS file on the Configuration Specific tab of the Summary Information dialog box.
<Size>

Size of the file.

<State>

Current workflow state of the file.

Name Name of the column that will appear on the Bill of Materials tab. Defaults to the variable name but can be modified.
Alignment Alignment of the column value (Left, Right, Center).
Default Width Default width of the column. Users can change the width.
You can modify the default width by moving the column dividers in the Preview.
Look for variable in... Select how configurations are searched to locate variables when a user displays a BOM for a file with multiple configurations, or select Look for variable in reference specific values to define a link attribute.
Select one:
Look for variable in all configurations

Displays the value of the first variable in any configuration. For items, select this option unless you are defining a link attribute.

Look for variable in list of configurations

Displays the value of the first variable in a configuration in the list of specified configurations. The configuration list is searched from the top down.

Look for variable in referenced configuration

Displays the value of the first variable from the referenced configuration.

Look for variable in referenced configuration, and, if empty, in custom properties

Displays the value of the first variable from the referenced configuration. If the variable does not exist in the referenced configuration, SOLIDWORKS PDM searches for it in the file's custom properties.

Look for variable in active configuration

Displays the variable value from the active configuration.

Look for variable in reference specific values

Displays the variable value related to the specific parent and child reference relationship. Select this option to define link attributes, where the value is not derived from the file or item but is instead an attribute of the relationship. For example, use link attributes to store position numbers, reference designators, and comments.

Configurations When Look for variable in given list of configurations is selected, lets you select configurations and their search order.
Add configuration

Displays the New Configuration dialog box, where you can specify a configuration to be searched for the variable.

Remove configuration

Removes the selected configuration from the list.

Move configuration upwards

Moves the selected configuration up in the list. When retrieving a variable value, configurations are searched based on the list order.

Move configuration downwards

Moves the selected configuration down in the list.