Three Ways to Share SOLIDWORKS BOM Using OpenBOM

Millions of designers and engineers utilise SOLIDWORKS at tens of millions of businesses. It is a widely used design and engineering program available. SOLIDWORKS, renowned for its variety of features and high functionality, is utilised in various professions and industries around the globe.

SOLIDWORKS employs parametric design, making it a valuable tool for designers and engineers. This means that the designer can see how changes to one element will affect its neighbours and the overall solution. For instance, increasing the size of a single component would affect the joint or hole to which it is attached. This enables designers to identify and correct errors quickly.  

AutoCAD is yet another widely used CAD software in the world. It can be used to create accurate 2D and 3D drawings and models, in addition to electrical diagrams and construction drawings. Take up an AutoCAD mechanical course to learn more about the software.

SOLIDWORKS and OpenBOM

Solidworks is a fantastic design tool. When it comes to communication and data sharing, however, it does not provide many options. You can share files, but what if the Bill of Materials needs to be shared? 

After speaking with numerous Solidworks customers, we determined that the most common method for sharing BOM is to create a Solidworks drawing containing the BOM and export it to Excel. While this is still a valid method for extracting data from Solidworks and sharing it with procurement, production planning, and contractors, we believe there is a better method. This is why OpenBOM was created.

Today, we’re going to examine more advanced OpenBOM data-sharing features. Here are some examples of communicating your BOM to manufacturing or suppliers

 1. Share your BOM via the read-only link, the most straightforward method of sharing. Copy the link from the share dialogue and send it via email, text message, Slack, or?? Excellent for sharing with mobile users.

 2. Export data by selecting one of the many export options from the “Export” option in the BOM toolbar.

3. Share information using OpenBOM – share the actual BOM with particular OpenBOM users, similar to a Google doc. Try it out in Excel!

Conclusion

The era in which manufacturing required a single large facility or was centralised in a single location has passed. Currently, everything is distributed. Even a small manufacturing company can easily be located in multiple countries, with engineering in the United States and Europe, production in Asia, and supply chain and subcontractors all over the globe.

As a result, we viewed BOM as the lifeblood of engineering, manufacturing, and the supply chain process; we aimed to make openBoM compatible with distributed manufacturing networks. The first requirement for collaboration is the ability to quickly and easily share data with others.

OpenBOM simplifies sharing information between team members, contractors, and suppliers by maintaining data synchronisation with Solidworks and supporting real-time collaboration. SOLIDWORKS is an efficient software.  You can learn this software quickly by taking up a SOLIDWORKS course.